In the summer of 2005, a Task Force was established by President Stanley Yarosewick to address concerns raised by the OS and PAT Councils and detailed in a memorandum from all campus constituency-based groups. President Yarosewick charged them to identify the scope and considerations for establishing a Campus Master Human Resources Plan for Keene State College. Specifically, their charge included:

1. identify the scope of a Human Resources (HR) Master Plan;
2. articulate the principles and assumptions that would underlie such a plan; and
3. make recommendations regarding a process to be used in developing a Human Resources Master Plan.

The Task Force was comprised of constituents from across campus:

• Mike Welsh, Assistant Professor, Political Science
• J. Wesley Martin, Adjunct Faculty, Political Science
• Margaret Richmond, Director of Admissions
• Arthur Winsor, Assistant Director of Physical Plant
• Deb Nicholas, OS Council Representative
• Chris Flanagan, OS Council Representative
• Pat Halloran, PAT Council Representative
• Irene Herold, Director of the Mason Library
• Kim Harkness, Interim Director of Human Resources

During Fall 2005, new President Helen Giles-Gee reaffirmed the fulfilling charge and via memorandum, asked the committee to develop a report and recommendations during the academic year 2005-06. The committee met during the Fall 2005 semester on November 4, November 18, December 2, and December 16.

During these sessions, the members of the task force had the opportunity to review HR plans from other institutions; to define the elements appropriate for scope in a KSC HR Master Plan document; to review the Request for Proposal (RFP) and planning process for the Facilities Master Plan as sample document and approach for a consultant RFP; and to reflect the institutional values as articulated in various sources, insuring those values are carried forward into the planning process.

As an outcome of their reviews and deliberations, the Task Force made the following recommendations:

A campus Master HR Plan should identify the needs of the institution, plan for the workforce, and suggest strategies for aligning resources to meet those requirements.

The Task Force identified the following elements for inclusion in a KSC Master HR Plan: Employee Development, Workforce Planning, Performance Management and Reward, support Systems for a Healthy and Safe Workplace, and support Systems for a Respectful and Harmonious Workplace.

Employee Development

Including professional development for continuing employees; providing opportunities for promotion and advancement and providing broad, inclusive opportunities for participation in campus committees and initiatives.

Currently, professional development is provided. No systematic development program exists that assists staff to meet and exceed performance expectations. Performance expectations have no basis tied to the mission and goals of the institution. Limited professional development monies are made available through HR to staff who apply and are approved for funding by committee of peers. Departments provide employee development opportunities which are not documented or evaluated.

Recommendations:

1. Establish a Training Council for the development and delivery of training for KSC staff.
2. Review Operating Staff and PAT Professional Development Funds to determine if the monies should be utilized differently for employee development.
3. Establish "training and development" as a goal for all continuing staff.

Including workload review and realignment of resources; improved recruitment and retention strategies.

Currently, Academic Affairs is establishing a three-year staffing plan with a focus to establishing a priority for creating new faculty lines, reducing full-time adjuncts, and responding to program needs.

Similarly, other divisions have brought consultants in or have participated in a review of select departments to suggest improvements to the staffing plans for those areas.

KSC has not traditionally established metrics for turnover, promotion, transfer.

KSC had long been described as a "college small enough to care." However, the college has grown over the years, in fits and starts, in response to changes in student enrollment, in response to new technologies and in response to an evolving academic program.

The continuity and commitment of its faculty and staff has also been a point of pride, with many folks being recognized for service to the institution of 20, 30, even 40 years in duration. However, it isn't enough to have dedicated employees. While "people are the most important asset of an organization," Jim Collins, author of Good to Great (date), contends that you must have the right people in your organization. Not only the right people on the metaphorical bus, but that those people need to be in the right seats on the bus.

And, when the right people are in the right seats, we need to insure that the workload is appropriate. Concerns have been voiced that there are too many meetings, too many commitments, and not enough time to deliver quality instruction, service, advising, or development.

Significant concerns were expressed regarding the current workload for faculty and staff, as well as our continued dependence on "contractual" employees, i.e., adjuncts and complimentary staff who serve in continuing and sometimes full-time capacities.

Recommendations:

1. Establish a Request for Proposal (RFP) to hire a consultant to review KSC's employee base and workload in order to make recommendations regarding realigning resources to meet personnel needs and align those with campus strategic priorities.
2. KSC should develop an RFP for competitive bidding to hire a consultant to review our current workforce and identify strategies to realign faculty and staff for best utilization of our human capital. Comparable expenses for the Facilities Master Plan expenses were in excess of $300-$500,000. We believe that equivalent resources should be expended for this purpose.

Possible vendors include:

• Mercer Consulting, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116 (Mercer Human Resources Consulting helps clients design, communicate and maintain comprehensive human resources programs through…human resource capital strategy consulting.)
• Towers Perrin, 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02199 (The HR Services business of Towers Perrin provides global human resource consulting and related services that help organizations manage their investment in people.)
• Hewitt Associates, 45 South Seventh Street, Suite 2100, Minneapolis, MN 55402 (Hewitt Associates is a human resources and benefits consulting firm…that provides organizational development and talent management services to universities and colleges.)
• Sibson Consulting, Division of the Segal Company, 1300 E. Ninth Street, Suite 1900, Cleveland, OH 44110.

Recommendation:

During summer 2006, KSC HR and Institutional Research offices should gather information on staffing from comparator institutions to serve as baseline data.

Performance Management and Reward

Including implementation of a strong performance appraisal and goals program and implementation of a Compensation Strategy that insures equity while acknowledging individual contributions.

As suggested earlier, performance goals are not systematically tied to the strategic goals of the mission.

The Office of Human Resources is undertaking a comprehensive review of staff salaries, credentials, and years of related experience to identify salary deficiencies and inequities. HR will propose strategies for improving deficient staff salaries over the next three years.

Recommendation:

1. Charge the OS and PAT Councils with considering "Pay for Performance" (merit and other compensation rewards) strategies and how to reintroduce those strategies to the KSC work environment.
2. Support Systems for a Healthy and Safe Workplace including safe physical infrastructure; training; and protocols and policy development.

Keene State College has a position dedicated to Environmental Health and Safety who has been instrumental in developing protocols and policies for KSC's compliance with safety codes and regulations.

A Health and Safety Committee also exists on campus to hear concerns regarding potential hazards, as well as to review accidents that occur on campus and establish priorities for making safety-related capital improvements.

Recommendation:

The Health and Safety Committee should be considered to serve to develop this section of the Campus HR Master Plan.

Support Systems for a Respectful and Harmonious Workplace including positive labor relations and governance structures, freedom from harassment, discrimination, bullying, and retaliation. Encouragement of best practices.

Training, education, and promotion of the College non-discrimination, non-harassment policies have been broad and successful. These will continue. However, the institution has been unable to deal effectively with behaviors that while they do not violate policy or law, do undermine the campus culture of community and respect.

Recommendation:

Create a promotional strategy to communicate the resources that do exist. Further, investigate how to implement a mediation program for employees to use in resolving personal differences.

Aside from the Scope elements of the Master HR Plan, there is also a Process element that is necessary. Task Force members reported concerns regarding how key initiatives at KSC were managed. Overall, many employees feel that the decision-making processes are not transparent or obvious nor that communication has been properly provided. For example, the SIP offered to staff in 2004 resulted in vacancies across campus. Staff were concerned that the positions would be eliminated completely as a money-saving step or at best, be held vacant for a period of time in which the co-workers would be required to "take up the workload" of the departing employees. Task Force members reported that staff perceived inconsistent messages regarding which positions would be allowed to be filled and how. The consequence was confusion, anxiety, and a workload concern that was not addressed uniformly. Similar criticisms have been expressed regarding position control strategies and "exceptions" to policy. The Task Force strongly recommends that every action, every activity, each project needs to be reviewed before implementation to identify its potential impact on employees and what appropriate action should be taken.

The work of the Task Force included broad-ranging discussions as we shared our perceptions of our campus from each unique perspective. These perceptions were then weighed against campus documents.

Numerous documents attest to the values existent at Keene State College. For example, a section within the 2006-2007 KSC Catalog states:

In support of [the College's] mission, the College promotes and sustains strong relationships among students, faculty, and staff that emphasize creative and critical thinking, scholarship and research, and a passion for learning.

Through retaining and supporting a caring staff and a faculty of effective teachers and active scholars, the College prepares students for success in a complex interdependent world.

As a campus community, we value:
- Diversity in our curriculum and in our community.
- Creative and intellectual curiosity.
- Service to the community.
- A healthy balance between mind and body.
- Lifelong learning.

To further these values, we accept the following responsibilities:
- To provide access and educational opportunities to a diverse program; and
- To conduct ourselves with dignity and treat others with respect.

Additionally, the new 2006 strategic plan states: "People will always be the College's most important resource and professional development opportunities are critical if the College is to be successful (Strategic Plan, President Giles-Gee).

Also supportive of KSC values and federal and state laws: Keene State College in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age veteran's status, handicap, or sexual orientation in any of its programs or activities. (2006-07 Keene State College Catalog).

Indeed the most recent New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) report indicated that the accreditors found a "campus with an exceptionally strong sense of community."

The Task Force believes the Human Resources Master Plan must assist the College in strategically developing and enhancing the employee base in ways that reflect the core mission and values of the institution. To this end, the Task Force has developed the following principles to guide our recommendations:

• Employees are a special resource to be utilized in order to achieve our mission as an academic institution.
• Communication processes on campus need to be open, inclusive, active, two-way, and opportune for participation by the broader community.
• Communication should include access to the decision-making process when appropriate; but at least information when decisions are made centrally about how and why those decisions are made.
• Fairness, equity, and consistency are valued.
• People should be treated with respect.
• No Employee Left Behind. This means that every committed employee will be provided with the opportunity and training needed to be successful in their position at KSC and will be encouraged to grow professionally.
• Time and resources need to be available to encourage and enable employees to learn, participate, and be engaged in strategic priorities.
• Staffing decisions should be tied to strategic priorities and approved projects should be reviewed for impact on personnel resources.
• The College must be responsive to internal and external forces which requires a learning culture, receptive to change, and processes that allows us, the College, to respond in a thoughtful manner.