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Dear Colleagues: September 29, 2008
As I complete my tenure at UC, I want to take the opportunity to recap our accomplishments regarding the restructuring of our department. It has been almost a year since we began this project, and I am very proud of our progress. You may recall that we have been working on five initiatives: Senior Management policy review, the redesign of our department, the UCOP-UCSF HR affiliation, reporting needs assessment and alternate models for benefits administration.
Policy Review
In recent months we've made tangible progress on the Senior Management policy review project. One of the major goals of the project has been to develop new and revised policies related to senior management compensation. To date, the Regents have approved policies on the Performance Management Review Process for the Senior Management Group (SMG), SMG Salary and Appointment and the reemployment of retirees. They have discussed five more proposed SMG policies (Hiring Bonus, University-Provided Housing, Automobile Allowance, Moving Reimbursement and Relocation Allowance), and we expect to present additional SMG policies to the Regents at upcoming meetings. The new policies are intended to strengthen recruitment efforts by aligning the University with market competitive practices. The project has also focused on developing policies that are easier to understand, and that clearly identify approval authorities and reporting and compliance requirements.
Reorganization
Our new organization design is nearing completion. At this point the Executive Directors of the four new units have been named and hiring is beginning for the positions reporting directly to the Executive Directors. I expect the PSS reassignments to be completed in the next week or so, with open positions posted for application shortly thereafter. Hiring is targeted for completion by the end of November, and the transition of work will be well underway by the first of the year. This has been a long, and often difficult, but very important process that will greatly change the way the department functions and the work it does. I am very proud of your accomplishments, and feel confident you will all serve the President and the University well working within this new structure.
UCSF HR Affiliation
The UCOP HR-USCF affiliation has also made great progress. The UCSF HR staff has much expertise in providing services to satellite locations, and I am certain they will do an excellent job serving the needs of UCOP employees. They are in the process of hiring the UCOP HR director, which will be resident here at UCOP. In addition, UCSF will be adding a number of positions to their organization in order to serve our local HR needs. These positions will be located officially at UCSF but have significant presence, including scheduled office hours, at UCOP. There also will be a number of interim positions to assist through the completion of the UCOP restructuring. The new and interim UCSF jobs will be open to UCSF HR and all of our Department employees. These jobs will be posted in the next day or two.
Reporting
You may recall that we completed the reporting needs assessment initiative some months ago. That assessment continues to inform the development of the new UCOP Institutional Research unit and our relationship with that unit.
Benefits Administration
Finally, the Benefits Administration Request for Proposal work group has completed its study and has started making presentations of its findings to senior management at UCOP. After a thorough review of those findings and completion of the consultation process, a decision will be made whether we will transition our benefits administration to an outside business partner or to a service center model within UC. You should expect an announcement regarding this decision in the next month.
We have reached a point with each of these initiatives that I feel confident turning the work over to John Cammidge and the four Executive Directors. They have all played a significant role in the restructuring effort to date. Together they will move the HR organization forward through the transition to the new organization—all the while keeping an eye on delivering critical services. A tall order, I know. Both Executive Vice President Katie Lapp and I believe they will be strong leaders who can keep the momentum moving forward. Katie has been working with the members of this HR leadership team in various capacities for some time, and she looks forward to continuing to working with them on key projects.
As I wrap up my work here at UC, I realize once again how fortunate I have been to have so many dedicated, professional and extraordinarily gifted employees in this organization. I continue to be amazed at your ability to both contribute to the redesign effort and continue the important work of our department. For all of this, I thank you. We have accomplished a great deal in our time together; it has been an honor and pleasure to work with you. I will miss you all and will watch with great interest to see your future successes as a proud retiree of the University of California.
With fond regards,
Judy B.