Effective September 1, in interim status, the Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment, and Relationship Violence policy will serve as a unified campus policy. It will replace the current Sexual Harassment policy. This policy will apply to the entire Ohio State community, including faculty, staff, students, student employees, graduate associates, appointees, volunteers, vendors and visitors. In addition to broadening the scope to all sexual misconduct, the policy provides appropriate guidance for handling allegations. It also provides additional definitions, details and  xpanded reporting requirements for employees, as well as contact information.

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Payroll Deductions Change for Graduate Associates

An important student employee benefits update: Starting Autumn Semester, payroll deductions for graduate associates participating in the Student Health Insurance Plan will be applied on an after-tax basis. Graduate associates enrolled in the university’s faculty and staff health plan are not impacted by this change, and their health plan deductions will continue to be taken on a pre-tax basis. If you have questions regarding this change, please contact Ann Salimbene, assistant dean of the Graduate School, at salimbene.1@osu.edu.

I attended a great presentation on the topic of questions and communications provided by our EAP Partner, Impact Solutions and Kerry Tobin and I thought I would share some interesting portions. The definitions came first; to make common and to share is to communicate.  To seek or inquiry is to question.  As HR professionals, we are expected to do both on a daily basis.  In fact, the actual formation of a question forces us to care about the topic we are asking about.

Both the questioner and the questioned derive several benefits from questions:  Questions show you are listening and actually help you be a better listener; they encourage suspension of assumptions which can lead to stress and misunderstanding; they demonstrate respect for individuals and their ideas; they stimulate courage and sincerity to face a question honestly; and they show vulnerability and captures understanding and insight.

The basics of forming questions harken back to our elementary schools days when we learned the Who, What, When, Where, How and Why method of writing articles.  Who is involved; what is the issue; when does it occur; where else did it happen; how can it be resolved; why does it occur.

When questions are asked in a specific structure, they can provide great insights.  An example is the four questions Deloitte asks in their performance management process.  As you read these, think about how questions that ask what supervisors would do with their employees instead of what they think about them could change your experience with evaluations.  The answers are measured from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.”

1. Given what I know of this person’s performance, and if it were my money, I would award this person the highest possible compensation increase and bonus [measures overall performance and value to the organization.]
2. Given when I know of this person’s performance, I would always want him or her on my team [measures ability to work well with others]
3. This person is at risk for low performance [identifies problems]
4. This person is ready for promotion today [measures potential]

Speaking of questions; here is one to ponder:  If flies had no wings, would we call them walks?  Answer may be coming from our entomologists.

Reminders: Ohio State has adopted a tobacco free policy that supports a healthy environment for all members of the Buckeye Nation. Effective January 1, 2014, the use of all types of tobacco products is prohibited in all university buildings and on all university-owned properties, including parking lots, garages, and all outside areas. (The full policy can be found at http://hr.osu.edu/policy/policy720.PDF)

Our tobacco free policy is intended to encourage employees, students, and visitors to improve their health by eliminating the use of tobacco products. It is not intended to drive tobacco use from on campus to our off-campus neighbors. The consideration and cooperation of tobacco users and non-tobacco users alike is needed to fully implement the policy. (these two paragraphs will be the substitution for the last two paragraphs for the blog for all)

Have you ever needed to submit a HRA and didn’t know which radio button to use?  You no longer have to wonder!  Below is a list of each radio button with a brief description to assist you in selecting the correct radio button which will ensure accurate and timely processing of your transaction.

Minimum Wage Increase Change

• Please remember, on January 1, 2015, Ohio’s minimum wage increased from $7.95 to $8.10. Be mindful of this increase when initiating HRA to hire hourly employees. If you have any questions, please contact your HR Generalist.

Conflict of Interest and Work Outside the University

• Ohio State University employees are expected to devote their time at work to functions of the university. If an employee does engage in external work, this work should not interfere with his/her duties and responsibilities to the university, or create a conflict of interest with their assigned university tasks. If a staff person would like to pursue external work that may present a potential conflict of interest or ethical concern, he/she must complete the Staff External Work Reporting Form prior to beginning this work. To access the form and more information on the policy, click here.

Vacation Leave and Anniversary Dates

• If you have vacation time you want to use before your anniversary date or retirement, it’s important to have your leave request submitted and approved before the university’s payroll/eLeave deadline. For monthly paid employees, please be sure to have your leave request submitted by approximately the 10^th of the month of your anniversary date or retirement. You have until the end of that month to use the vacation time you’ve requested. For employees who are paid bi-weekly, please have your vacation request submitted within the two-week pay period in which your anniversary date falls. You have until the end of that pay period to use the vacation time you’ve requested. Vacation leave accrued in excess of the maximum carryover will be lost at the end of the month or pay period in which an employee’s anniversary date occurs each year. To view the university’s paid leave policy, please click here. Contact your HR Generalist if you have any questions about your anniversary date and vacation leave.

Welcome to our first CFAES HR blog/newsletter; with the help of my wonderful and talented HR team, this should be an accurate and timely source of information and a good reference tool. We plan to publish it once a month. Feel free to suggest items, topics, and articles to be included as we move forward with our transition into the leading provider of human resource management services within The Ohio State University community to attract, develop and retain employees who fully embrace a culture of lifelong learning, discovery, civility, professionalism, science-based knowledge, academic freedom and diversity.

As a group, we have been on the forefront of the College re-envisioning and will continue to be involved as we help with the additional changes in central units and on the Wooster campus. As our group moves forward, we appear to be in the neutral zone which is the psychological no-man’s-land between the old reality and the new one. It is the limbo between the old sense of identity and the new. It is the time when the old way of doing things is gone but the new ways don’t feel comfortable yet…a kind of emotional wilderness, a time when it isn’t quite clear who you are or what is real. Both structural and leadership changes will bring others into this phase as well. You may experience or see others who are experiencing these behaviors in the neutral zone:

• People’s anxiety rises and motivation falls. Energy is drained away from work into coping tactics.
• People miss work more when in the neutral zone.
• Old weaknesses, previously ignored or compensated for, sometimes reemerge.
• People get mixed signals because information is miscommunicated and systems are in flux.
• People become polarized: those who want to rush forward to the new beginning, and those who want to go back to the way things were.

However, it is also a time ripe with creative opportunity. (This is the good news – in case you missed it!) Remember, people don’t resist change as much as transition. They resist letting go of old ways and of their former identity. It is difficult to manage the confusing state of being in between two realities. It is hard to embrace a state where they don’t know what the new rules are. We generally avoid the risk of failing or looking stupid as they try something new.

People can only start a journey from where they begin.

Here are methods we can use and communicate to managers to help people through this uncertain time:

• “Normalize” the neutral zone. People need to recognize that it is natural to feel frightened and confused at such a time. As the old patterns disappear from people’s minds and the new ones begin to replace them, people can be full of misdoubt and misgivings
• Review policies and procedures, roles and reporting relationships to see that they are adequate to deal with the confusion of the neutral zone.
• Create short-term goals for people to aim toward. This will help folks have a sense of achievement and of movement.
• Be realistic in what can get accomplished. Under promise and over deliver.
• Strengthen your team. People feel isolated and lost when in the neutral zone. Create new opportunities for connection.
• Use this time for creativity by:
  • Talking about using this time to step back and take stock, to question the “usual” and come up with new solutions. Explain how business as usual chokes off creativity and explain why the present is the best possible tome to generate and test new ideas. Model this behavior yourself by reviewing your own job, and policies and procedures over which you have control.
  • Create opportunities for others to review and refocus. You can do this through retreats, work teams, surveys, etc. Look for occasions to brainstorm new answers to old problems.
  • Provide training in the techniques for discovery and innovation.
• Embrace losses, setbacks or disadvantages as entry points into new solutions.

Adapted from a presentation by Molly Driscoll, OD Consultant for OHR.