Office of Human Resources Update

Dear WesternU Community,

As a follow-up to my recap of the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) Site Visit and Exit Meeting, I would like to provide additional information on the improvements and enhancements of the Office of Human Resources (OHR), including highlighting efforts and initiatives that have been completed and/or are already underway.

As previously shared, the WSCUC Visiting Team verbally added a fourth recommendation in Human Resources to include accelerating the plan to develop a fully functioning and adequately staffed Human Resources office; implement the Human Resources strategic plan; and develop a process for the management of Human Resources complaints that allow for fair response times.

It should be noted, and relevant here, that while WSCUC made the recommendation as stated above, there was another recommendation under “Shared Governance” that is a theme across all areas as we seek to improve the way we engage with each other: “Ensuring a culture of evidence, civility, and open communication occurs as part of all shared governance activities.” WesternU is highly committed to ensuring that all processes, practices, and other engagements are done through the lenses of civility. With that in mind, I am pleased to update you on progress made in the OHR over the past year that you may not be aware.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a tremendous loss of human resources across all industries, and WesternU has not been spared. While the loss of employees has been felt throughout our institution, WesternU has felt that sting more prevalent in the OHR. However, the loss of staffing in OHR began before the pandemic, when the vacancy rate was more than 50% and this further compacted the problem. In spring 2020, that trend continued and led management to outsource several key functions to supplement staffing while attempting to stabilize and build capacity amongst new administrators and staff. WesternU has not yet recovered in terms of being fully staffed, and attracting and retaining employees continues to be a challenge. It bears repeating that this is not unique to WesternU.

This fluctuation and staff turnover have affected the confidence level of our campus constituents in this very vital department. There has been a loss of trust in the current HR processes and systems, which have become inconsistent over time. At its optimum, the OHR is tasked with offering full and comprehensive services to all employees, but due to the issues mentioned above, several key functions continue to be negatively impacted.

In response, over the past year, the department has been overseen and assisted by administrators within the University with certain expertise. They have held the department together, but only to a minimal level, to ensure compliance is met, processes are moved forward, and immediate problems are resolved. This is a reactionary model and is not sustainable or desired in the long term.

Despite the many challenges, the University has made tremendous strides and efforts to make improvements and address the most pressing concerns, and we thank all of you who have stepped up to help get us to this point. Here are several highlights to date:

• February 2022: WesternU established a separate department, Office of Title IX and Equal Opportunity (OTIXEO), outside of the Office of HR to ensure appropriate independence and management of employee complaints that pertain to discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. This OTIXEO department currently reports to the SVP, of Institutional Engagement, Planning and Effectiveness. The formal recruitment process for the Associate Vice President of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Coordinator began on July 1, 2022. I am pleased to report that a new AVP of OTIXEO was hired on February 21, 2023, and the work has begun to formally bifurcate the roles and responsibilities between this new office and the OHR. This was in direct response to your voices about unfair practices as it relates to complaints. Again, we ask for your patience as we build capacity in the new office.
• July 2022: An Ad-Hoc Human Resources Advisory Committee (Committee) was formed to secure the input of key campus stakeholders on the draft OHR Strategic Plan (Plan). The Committee includes representation from all constituent groups and branches of governance. As a result of these meetings, the Committee has received meaningful contributions and is at the point of assessing the information and moving toward an operational action plan. In addition to providing feedback on the Strategic Plan, the Committee’s minutes include concerns about transparent HR processes, staffing challenges, management of employee complaints and investigations, and a general concern that established policies and procedures are not followed, outdated or non-existent. The operational action plan will address concerns that remain unsolved, and regular opportunities for updates will be provided. This group was graciously led by Dean Mary Lopez who brought a background of solid strategic planning and leadership to the Committee. Her expert leadership and calm demeanor has allowed all voices to be heard. Leadership for this committee will transfer to the interim CHRO at the March meeting. Thank you to all who participated so passionately. Your contribution helped position OHR to reach new heights.
• September 2022: WesternU formally began its search for a Chief Human Resources Officer. The Search Committee, comprised of designated representatives from all five branches of governance, diligently reviewed more than twenty competitive applications and interviewed 10 semi-finalists, resulting in the recent invitation to campus of three (3) top candidates on February 21st, 22nd and 23rd.  The selected is anticipated to be in place by the end of April 2023. Again, thank you all for your active participation in helping us identify 3 very qualified finalists. I hope to make a final selection and announcement shortly.
• December 2022: In November 2022, in response to the Academic Assembly resolution stating that the University should “Engage an external HR risk management firm to conduct a comprehensive review of existing policies and HR practices related to adjudication of employees’ grievances and develop clear policies and procedures for conducting grievance investigations to ensure independence in, and sufficient staff support for, investigations”, an Ad-hoc HR Advisory Group was formed with the responsibility of providing feedback and input in the selection of a qualified consulting firm or subject-matter expert for the review of the institutional HR policies and procedures related to employee complaints and investigations. With the important work of the HR operational plan almost complete, a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) has been sent to the Committee for review. Once finalized, the RFP will be sent out with the goal of receiving proposals from consultants for review by the end of March. We are encouraged by this development as the work will help to ensure that our processes meet and/or exceed industry and comply with legal standards. Once this work is done, I believe it will be time for all of us to move beyond the past and look towards a new future. Again, thank you for speaking up and sharing your concerns.
• January 2023: Recognizing the importance of rebalancing and stabilizing the OHR to best support the incoming CHRO, current OHR staff and enhance the services provided to the campus community, the University hired an interim CHRO (ICHRO), Shairon Zingsheim, pending the hire of the permanent candidate. Shairon has been instrumental in providing leadership and stabilization for the staff and lending her expertise in several critical areas:
  • Implementation of SB1162: Like other California institutions, WesternU had a very short timeframe in which to implement this new law. Shairon has taken over leadership of the implementation of SB1162 and all requirements for SB1162 have been met.
  • Institutional Compensation Philosophy committee: This committee has been formed to help develop WesternU’s first institutional compensation philosophy. This goes beyond the requirements of SB 1162. The committee has approximately 18 members representing: UEOT, Academic Senate, Directors of Operations, Staff Council, Deans Council, Human Resources, University Financial Services and Treasury and the Provost office. The first meeting will take place in March 2023. While OHR is not responsible for compensation decisions, many campus constituents believe that is the case and have identified compensation as a deficient area of Human Resources. The formation of this committee and its subsequent work will help inform the University’s compensation strategy going forward. The OHR will be responsible for ensuring that the University implements an effective strategy once that strategy is set by the University.
  • Annual Performance Management: The ICHRO has been instrumental in relaunching the performance management system for all non-faculty employees. The announcement and timeline for the 2022-23 performance evaluations have been published.
  • Employee Handbook: The ICHRO is in the process finalizing the draft employee handbook which will be shared with campus constituents for review and comment. The goal is to have the updated Employee Handbook distributed to all employees prior to the start of AY 23-24.
  • Training and Development: In the areas of staff development, the ICHRO has commissioned trainings for all OHR employees in the areas of Equal Employment Hiring practices, Basics for Supervisors and Leaves Administration. These trainings are in the pilot stages and will be rolled out for all employees as part of a professional development plan.
  • Interviewing and recommending candidates for vacant HR positions: The ICHRO and the HR team have been actively involved with an outside recruitment firm to source qualified HR candidates to fill current vacancies in HR.
  • Clarifying roles: The ICHRO has been working to further clarify roles and separation of duties between the OHR Employee Relations office and the newly created OTIXEO office.
  • HR Organizational Structure: The ICHRO is assessing the organizational structure for HR to assist the new CHRO in building capacity without delay.
• February 2023: WesternU hired Cristina Alvarez, Associate Vice President of Equal Opportunity, and Title IX Coordinator on February 21, 2023. Cristina will be managing the resolution processes related to formal complaints involving discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. All other employee complaints or workplace investigations will be managed by the Office of Human Resources/Employee Relations.
• March 2023: The kick-off meeting of the Institutional Compensation Philosophy committee is scheduled for March 13th, 2023.

WSCUC asked that the University accelerate the plan to develop a fully functioning and adequately staffed OHR. Included above, I  highlighted noteworthy staffing and organizational improvements in OHR; it is worth mentioning the tremendous efforts made in hiring and onboarding OHR staff since Spring 2022. The services provided by the OHR are currently led by 5 main teams:

• Employment Team: This team handles all personnel actions submitted to the OHR. The team is now made up of 4 full-time individual contributors. It is projected that at full capacity, two additional staff members will be needed as services extend to outreach and recruitment. Currently, there is an active recruitment for an Employment Manager to provide overall leadership for this group. The ideal staffing in this group would be six employees.
• Benefits and Employee Well-Being: This team administers employee leaves, WesternU’s employee benefits program, 403(b) retirement plans, and reimbursements for tuition and health club membership. This team is made up of a manager and two other individual contributors, for a total of three employees. There is a current recruitment for another Benefits/Retirement Specialist, therefore, the team will be a total of 4 employees soon, which is the ideal staffing for this function.
• HRIS/Systems Administration: This team handles all reporting and administration of HRIS systems. This function is a new addition to the OHR. The first employee was hired in March 2022, and the second support staff was hired in February 2023. To continue to transform the OHR, additional support for technology may be needed to add to this team. It is estimated that the addition of one additional HRIS Technician is needed, which would bring the team to the ideal staffing amount of three employees for this function.
• Employee Relations: This team is led by a manager and is temporarily supported by an outside consultant. On January 9, 2023, an Employee Relations Specialist was added to the team, leaving one position vacant and in current recruitment. With the hire of the new AVP of OTIXEO, the management of resolution processes of formal complaints involving discrimination, harassment, and retaliation will transition from ER to OTIXEO. At full capacity, this office would be responsible for training, professional development, performance management, and workplace complaints and investigations that are outside of the scope of OTIXEO. The ideal staffing of this function would be four (4) employees.
• Compensation and Classification: WesternU is currently actively recruiting for an administrator to establish this office. It is projected that this office will need a total of three staff members to meet ideal staffing.

WesternU recognizes that with the hiring of a new CHRO, they may add further refinement to best ensure OHR is fully functioning and adequately staffed to provide comprehensive services to our dear WesternU community. I am confident that the organizational improvements within OHR are moving in the right direction and that the new CHRO will have meaningful input going forward.

I hope this message comprehensively addresses the areas of concern raised by the WSCUC and helps to shed light and update the campus community on the incredible progress made over the past 12 months. The plan to fully staff OHR has been underway as I laid out in this email. The Strategic OHR Plan is in its final stages with valuable input from all constituent groups and we are in the process of separating the duties between the OTIXEO office and the OHR Employee Relations department. Further, consistent with the Academic Assembly resolution, we are well on our way to the engagement of an HR consulting firm to perform the review of our applicable policies and procedures and provide appropriate recommendations.

I look forward to the next several months as together we build upon all these efforts, and each of us does our part in furthering the mission of the University.

Thank you for your dedication and commitment to WesternU!

Warmest Regards,
Robin

Office of Human Resources Timeline of Updates (PDF)