March 1, 2012 Minutes

Meeting Date: 2012-03-01

Person Presiding: Michael Frizell

Members in Attendance: Sandra Arthur, Kelly Barnts, Scott Fiedler, Sandra Johnson, Nadine Jones, Charles Klarr, Erin Parris, Holly Robison, Matthew Stublefield, Erin Trotter, Andrea Weber, Kirk Whittington, Dixie Williams, Mary Ann Wood, Kyle Yates

Ex-officio Members in Attendance: Cynthia Hail, Scott Turk

Guests in Attendance: Catherine Holley, Melissa Osten, Jennifer Meyer, Peggy Preston, Yvette Medley, Janelle Melton, Donna Hanley, Beth Bruner, Susan Willingham, Christina Bowles, Katie Young, Brenda Stewart, Paula Wilhelm

Actions of Meeting

Agenda Item: Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Michael Frizell at 11:02 a.m.

Agenda Item: Approval of Agenda

The agenda was emailed in advance of the meeting. Michael Frizell added three items to the agenda: the Keep It Simple Staff program proposal by Dixie Williams, an update on the Employee Assistance Program, and a Staff Senate Scholarship report.

Agenda Item: Approval of Minutes (12/1/2011)

The minutes were emailed in advance of the meeting. There were no changes requested and the minutes were approved unanimously.

Agenda Item: Presentation

Ed Choate, Director of Human Resources, spoke about the ADP and the new diversity goals that had been added to it.

He addressed concerns about disparity in ADP scores between cost centers and stated that, because each cost center is considered individually, it is more important that scoring methods be consistent within a cost center rather than across all cost centers. The scoring methodology is set by the head of the cost center and trickles down, which helps create consistency.

Mr. Choate stated that he would like to see PIPs reconsidered, as he is concerned about a 2.95 score on the ADP immediately resulting in a PIP, and he thinks there should be more room for deciding action in those situations.

A number of questions were raised about policies regarding raises, promotion, equity, and consistency. Mr. Choate referred to the Human Resources web site, on which policies are listed to address these matters. Regarding equity, Mr. Choate stated that it is up to the head of the cost center to ensure equity.

Regarding the diversity goals, Mr. Choate stated that a group was being put together who could meet with supervisors and staff to assist in creating and measuring goals for the ADP.

Agenda Item: Scholarship Committee

Senator Kelly Barnts will be chairing the scholarship committee and is seeking additional members for that committee. As a reminder, committee members do not have to be Staff Senators.

In addition, Senator Mary Ann Wood will be an advisor to the Public Affairs Committee.

Agenda Item: Keep It Simple Staff (KISS)

Chair-Elect Dixie Williams presented this program, which would emphasize recruitment and retention to all staff. The goal is to create a staff development series that builds on our current strengths and focuses on interactions with students and prospective students.

Agenda Item: Employee Assistance Program

Chair Michael Frizell has been researching this program, which existed several years ago but for which there is little record. The goal of this program is to intervene with a staff member, who otherwise performs their job well, experiences a tragedy and their work performance declines, thus resulting in poorer ADP scores. Currently, lower scores could result in a PIP or termination, and this program would intervene and help line up counseling or other assistance to help prevent that outcome.

Agenda Item: Nominations for Staff Senate Executive Committee

Secretary Matthew Stublefield opened nominations for Staff Senate Executive Committee members. These are to be emailed to the Staff Senate mailbox. Nominations can be submitted anytime prior to May 3rd, 2012.

Agenda Item: Adjourn

The next meeting of the Staff Senate will be at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 5th in PSU 313.