September 28, 2000-Vol32n6: Q&A

VOLUME 32, NUMBER 6

THURSDAY, September 28, 2000

Hough Susan Hough has been assistant vice president for human resource services since January. She is responsible for all aspects of Human Resource Services, including the SUNY Research Foundation Payroll and Personnel, State Payroll, and Personnel and Employee Relations operations.

Tell me about the changes you've implemented in Human Resources to improve customer service.

We've implemented a number of changes in Human Resource Services (HRS) this past year. One of our most challenging changes was the merger of State Personnel, State Payroll, Research Foundation Personnel and Research Foundation Payroll into one organization-Human Resource Services-and relocating all organizations to the first floor of Crofts Hall. The purpose of this merger and relocation was to improve service to our customers by streamlining processes, minimizing redundancies, improving internal communications and cross-training staff to be able to respond the customer inquiries more fully and efficiently. We also established a Customer Service Center on the first floor directly across the lobby from the front doors to Crofts. Staff in our Customer Service Center assist walk-in customers and direct phone calls to specific human-resources staff members who can provide responses to questions about benefits, immigration matters, payroll and the like. The phone number for our Customer Service Center is 645-7777. Much of our outreach to customers has focused on three areas: customer training, the development of internal HRS protocols focused on responsiveness to customers and obtaining customer input on our activities through surveys and consultation. We have provided training to our customers in benefits eligibility and administration, in the changes to the new agreement between the State of New York and United University Professions, I-9 processing, business rules for State-appointments processing and other business processes, performance evaluations, foreign-national tax matters, sick-leave exchange program, cyberlaw and training on the prevention of sexual-harassment complaints. Soon, HRS Research Foundation staff will be training campus customers on OASIS, an Oracle-based suite of business applications to support project directors in their sponsored-program activities. To better assist our customers in connecting with specific HRS staff, we have developed internal HRS protocols, including a division-wide calendar, sign-out and call-in procedures and standards for phone and email turnaround times. To ensure we are including the views of campus customers in the services we provide, we have conducted several surveys, including one on the future disposition of the Renaissance system, which is used to facilitate the State-appointments process, and another on the employment practices of campus departments with respect to the recruitment and hiring procedures for UUP part-time faculty. Likewise, many HRS staff have begun visiting customers at their work location to consult on a variety of human resource issues.

Why open an office on the South Campus?

Feedback that I received from a number of faculty, staff and administrators on the South Campus suggested there was a need for a Human Resources presence on the South Campus, a presence that could facilitate problem resolution, increase communication, expedite transaction processing and assist with other human-resource matters. Because employee-relations concerns were prominent among South-Campus priorities, I arranged for Jennifer Bowen from our Employee Relations unit to work two days a week on the South Campus, beginning July 27. In addition, beginning last week, Liz Dundon, our manager of benefits administration, is on the South Campus one day a week. Research Foundation human-resources staff members continue to be on the South Campus from 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Wednesdays. Jennifer, Liz and RF human-resources staff members have their office in 16 Diefendorf Annex and may be reached at 829-2037. In addition to having a presence on the South Campus, we have established the South Campus Advisory Council to provide a forum in which representatives from South Campus schools and departments can raise issues, provide feedback and input and otherwise focus on their specific needs and concerns.

What are some of the services Human Resources provides to the campus?

It's quite a long list. Jim Jarvis (645-5000, ext. 1287) oversees our Employee Relations unit that provides support to the campus in the form of advice and counseling, investigations, hearings, contract interpretation, discipline and conflict resolution. Jerry Linder (ext. 1262) heads the unit responsible for issues pertaining to job classification, recruitment and salary administration. Both discretionary and negotiated salary increases are processed through Jerry's unit. Liz Dundon (ext. 1266) leads the unit responsible for benefits administration and time and attendance. The recent Retirement Incentive Program was administered through Liz's unit. Sue Krzystofiak (ext. 1211) manages the State Employment Services unit that is responsible for State payroll, State-appointments processing and the Foreign National Tax unit. Lynn Zednik (ext. 1004) oversees Research Foundation appointments and payroll, while Brian Hines (ext. 1265) and Joyce McIntosh (ext. 1024) serve as RF testers and trainers for the implementation of OASIS. Bertha Hill (ext. 1010) manages our Customer Service Unit that provides human-resource services to employees who come to Crofts Hall as walk-ins. The unit also handles or directs phone calls to appropriate human-resources staff. Chris Salem (ext. 1279) heads our Information Resources unit that provides technology support to other HRS units, assists the campus community on a number of distributed employee-based systems (e.g., Renaissance, our Web site, BARS) and, to the extent possible, provides employee report generation to various campus customers. Lee Baker (829-2271) leads our REV-UP program that provides retired employees with many opportunities to volunteer at UB.

What are the challenges involved in handling human-resource services for an entity as big as UB, which covers so many bargaining units and funding sources?

Among the many challenges we face is the fair, consistent and timely delivery of a vast array of human-resource services to nearly 11,000 UB employees. Most, though not all, UB employees are union-represented and their terms and conditions of employment are governed by agreements between the State of New York and the specific union. The unions are The Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Local 602; The Graduate Student Employees Union, CWA, Local 1188; The Public Employees Federation AFL-CIO; New York State Correction Officer Police Benevolent Association; Council 82 (Security Supervisors); United University Professions, Center Chapter, and United University Professions, Health Sciences Chapter. Collective-bargaining agreements, many policies, such as the Policies of the Board of Trustees, and the rules and regulations of other state entities, such as the Civil Service Commission, the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, the Office of State Controller and SUNY System Administration, govern how Human Resource Services does its business. The Research Foundation has its own set of rules that applies to RF employees. We also must comply with relevant state and federal laws that apply to the workplace. HRS staff are required to have a substantial amount of detailed knowledge about collective-bargaining agreements, policies, rules and regulations, and state and federal laws to best serve the needs of our many employee populations. Each campus department has a different structure or protocol for handling human resource matters. Our challenge is to be responsive to a particular department's need, within their structure or protocol, while complying with the terms of collective-bargaining agreements, policies, laws and regulations.