Vol. 38, No. 18

2-18-2004
By: Susan Wittstock

SCBC report promotes fairness and equity

Annual University Staff Advisory Committee presentation makes recommendations on benefits and policies

Fairness and equity were the themes for this year’s Staff Compensation and Benefits Committee (SCBC) report, presented to President Karen Holbrook and university leadership on Feb. 9. SCBC, a sub-group of the University Staff Advisory Committee (USAC), presents the report annually to provide the president with an overview of benefits and policies recommendations that staff consider top priorities.

Recommendations were made on a variety of subjects, including salaries, health care benefits, domestic partner benefits, parking, performance management and career advancement.

Peggy Link and Merilyn Lee, SCBC co-chairs, made the presentation outlining highlights of the report. Holbrook, Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Barbara Snyder, Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry Lewellen and Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Bill Shkurti were invited to make comments after each recommendation.

COMPENSATION

First on the agenda was salaries. “USAC encourages the university to continue moving forward with the competitive compensation initiative to bring salaries of Ohio State staff in line with their benchmarks as soon as possible,” Lee said.

Secondly, USAC recommended that all Ohio State employees make at least a living wage. Although Columbus has not passed a living wage ordinance, the Universal Living Wage Campaign has calculated the city’s living wage to be $9.32 per hour. “We were surprised to find out that there is a very small number of Ohio State employees, approximately 40 CCS or A and P, who are making less than that,” Lee said.

“We do need to see if this can be addressed through the compensation guidance process this coming year,” Lewellen said.

HEALTH CARE

On the issue of health care, USAC asked that the university be sensitive to the needs of the lowest paid employees. The report acknowledged the efforts of the Health Care Investment and Design Committee, which is examining ways to make the university’s medical plans more cost effective without sacrificing quality.

USAC also recommended that employees who receive a Health Risk Assessment yearly through the Wellness Program receive a discount from their health plan premiums and that the university provide additional programs and incentives for healthy lifestyles.

“The idea of a healthy lifestyle is very central to this discussion,” Lewellen said in response. “It’s one of the few ways we have to reduce the rate of increase of medical costs.”

USAC also recommended that a sliding fee schedule based on salary be offered to staff members for the use of university-owned fitness and recreational facilities.

The administrators said they shared USAC’s concerns for affordability. “It is important to remember the new rec facility has to be self-supporting. We are sympathetic to the recreation needs of lower-paid faculty and staff, but there is no obvious solution at this point about how to do this in a way that is fair to everyone involved,” Shkurti said. “We are open to new ideas and will continue to work on finding a viable solution.”

DOMESTIC PARTNERS

USAC continued to recommend domestic partner benefits. “We believe that in spite of the passage of House Bill 272, the university should still pursue full medical benefits for domestic partners of staff,” Link said. “USAC feels that it’s the right thing to do to recruit and retain valuable employees at the university.”

Holbrook concurred. “We agree with you completely. We will certainly keep working on it,” she said. “It may be encouraging for you to know that some of the other presidents in the state are starting to say ‘What is Ohio State doing?’ There is interest in working on this together.”

Holbrook said the university’s interests extend beyond domestic partnership. “We’re exploring an expanded program for ‘sponsored dependents.’ This is a broader concept to include faculty and staff who are caring for parents, for example,” she said.

PARKING
A Parking Permit Review Team is reviewing permit structure, so USAC made only two recommendations: “Adopt a fair and equitable parking permit structure” and “Create incentives for Columbus campus staff to find alternative means of transportation.”

“We’re trying to establish the difference between short-term problems with construction vs. permanent space problems,” Shkurti said. “I think your idea of finding alternatives, such as carpooling or bike riding, to help people get here makes sense, although it can be tough to convince individuals to not use their cars.”

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

USAC requested that a USAC/OHR working group be created to refine the current performance management process and that the university develop a “merit-based pay philosophy and practice statement” that explicitly links performance management processes, equity and market issues to the merit raise. “All staff should have the right to expect a written performance review at least once a year,” Link said.

“We agree. A group will be formed this summer to examine this issue,” Snyder said. “Performance feedback should be tied to pay increases for all staff, but right now, policies are applied inconsistently across the university.”

USAC also recommended that performance management responsibilities be made more explicit in supervisor position descriptions.

“Many individuals are promoted to management positions based on their technical, rather than supervisory skills. Ohio State needs to make it clear that supervisors are paid to supervise,” Link said.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

Highlights from additional SCBC recommendations include:

• Identity theft: “Eliminate using Social Security numbers for identifiers on health care cards, building access and other documents.”

• Educational assistance: “Extend the tuition assistance program for dependents from 12 quarters to the average time to degree for entering students.”

• Career advancement: “Establish and promote career tracks and an internship program as development and retention tools” and “Make more of an effort to develop staff careers through internal promotions.”

• Staff workload: “Provide training for managers and staff that emphasizes ways to redistribute workload or discontinue services when the number of staff is reduced.”

• Alternative work schedules: “Offer flexible work schedules whenever possible” and “Promote telecommuting where beneficial to the employee and the university.”

• University service: “University service by staff should be encouraged and recognized as an integral part of staff responsibilities.”

• ADA Web accessibility: “As many processes, including applying for employment and delivery of pay statements and W-2s become paperless and more dependent on use of the Web, current and potential staff with disabilities need to have the same access to Web sites as abled staff.”

• Vacation: “Faster accrual and additional vacation days for all staff.”

• University closure during breaks: “Encourage flexibility when allowing staff to take vacation/leave time during quarter breaks.”

“I think all of these issues are worthy of thought and discussion,” Holbrook said at the conclusion of the presentation. “I want to thank you all for putting together such a thoughtful and well-researched document.”

To gather data, USAC conducted a staff survey with the assistance of the Center for Human Resources Research and the Office of Human Resources. They randomly selected 600 staff members for the online survey and had a response rate of 45 percent. The committee also gathered staff input at a fall town meeting with the president, from messages sent to USAC’s list-serve and from meetings with local staff advisory councils.

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