CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN

CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Newsletter Date OFFICE OF HUMAN RESOURCES CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN EMPLOYEE AND SUPERVISOR GUIDE WHAT IS CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN? The University of North Florida has the opportunity to create a classification plan to meet the needs of the University. We are now able to classify jobs according to the functions recognized by the University. The Office of Human Resources is providing leadership to this initiative that will allow all Administrative and Support employees to go online and complete a Position Description Questionnaire (PDQ). This questionnaire will provide every Administrative and Support employee an opportunity to describe the essential and marginal functions of their position. The immediate supervisor will have an opportunity to review what the employee has provided and to comment on the information. The supervisor will not be able to change the information, however, if there is a discrepancy between what the employee provides and what the supervisor deems to be the functions of the position, the supervisor will discuss those issues with the employee and may send the PDQ back to the employee for revisions. Vice Presidents may view PDQs in their division at any time. This guide is designed to provide employees and supervisors with a guide for completing this important project. In order to facilitate this project in an efficient and expeditious manner, there will be a moratorium on all Position Reclassifications beginning on March 27, 2006 until further notice. WHO MUST COMPLETE A PDQ? GO LIVE: MARCH 27, 2006 DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ALL PDQs TO HUMAN RESOURCES IS MAY 26, 2006 HELP LINKS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): page 12 and on PDQ site Camtasia Tutorial : located on the left pane of the PDQ site Login Address: www.unfjobs.org/hr User Name: Employees: N number / Supervisors: S then your N number Password: Your N number. You will be prompted to change it. Live help: Call Office of Human Resources: ext. 2903 ALL ADMINISTRATIVE (formerly known as A&P) employees ALL SUPPORT (formerly known as USPS) employees Page 2 CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN BACKGROUND INFORMATION What is a classification system? All classification systems are essentially frameworks for arranging jobs into groups based on similarities of purpose, required skills, duties performed, and other common factors. Why are we changing the current classification system and engaging in Classification Redesign? The University’s current job classification system was developed for the former State University System. We devolved from that system in 2003 and are now able to establish our own classification system. We also find that changes in the job market over time have led to the evolution of new professions, new technologies, and changes in the nature of work that the old system doesn’t effectively address. Jobs in many of the Administrative and Support categories no longer provide much meaning in a growing institution such as UNF. The new system is being designed to more closely mirror the ways in which we might discuss or think about our own careers—not in terms of acronyms and levels, but in terms of content. For example, a career family like Academic and Student Services can be further categorized with a descriptive career band like Career Planning and Placement to more precisely identify jobs focused on particular functions and expertise. What are the goals of the Classification Redesign Project? The project goals are to create a new, University-wide system that is: • • • • Contemporary and flexible to meet current and future needs A more intuitive means for staff to define career paths and for applicants to find opportunities A career-friendly framework tied to market-referenced information Able to provide better long-term market data on titles and market salary ranges for UNF of jobs Consistent, Clear, Career-Pathed Classification Assisting and supporting departments in their desire to attract and retain competent and committed staff is one of the expected deliverables in creating a new Classification System for jobs at the University of North Florida. Accomplishing this while responding to a variety of other requirements, this system is being designed to afford consistency and flexibility while allowing the definition and establishment of employee defined career-paths responsive to the needs of the University. Creating a system that uses classification titles typically found in the job market will help attract qualified candidates from the external market. The ability to define career paths based on organizational, technical and functional competencies will ultimately aid the University in retaining competent and committed staff with clearly defined growth opportunities. CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Page 3 Basic Elements of a Classification Framework Classification System: A framework organizations use to arrange jobs into groups based on similarities of purpose, required skills, duties performed, accountability, work environment and other common factors. Career/Job Family: A broad meaningful grouping of jobs commonly clustered within a career emphasis. Content of defined work within a job is key criteria in determining relationship to this familial structure. Career Band: A sub-set of jobs commonly found in the market with a recognized discipline specialty and grouped within the larger context of a Career Family. Job Analysis: The systematic process of collecting information used to make decisions about jobs. Job analysis identifies the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of a particular job. Job Role: A broad category corresponding to the primary purpose of a job and its relationship to other jobs. All jobs in a given Job Role share a common set of expectations for key behaviors that support good stewardship of the organization's resources. Job Title: Label used to describe a set of specific activities, responsibilities, duties and tasks. Organizational Competencies: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Other behaviors that support effective stewardship of the mission, vision, values, and resources of the University. Position Description: A written document that identifies, describes, and defines a job in terms of its duties, responsibilities, working conditions, and specifications. Working Title: A customized, descriptive title that provides greater understanding of the individual employee’s responsibilities and scope within the assigned market job title organized with in an assigned Career Family, Career Band, and Job Role. Often Working Title is based on current industry/profession standards. Page 4 CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN UNF EMPLOYEE GUIDE Who is an employee? Every Administrative and Support employee who is in a budgeted, benefits-earning position. This project does not apply to Faculty, OPS, or student employees. What do I do? 1. Go to www.unfjobs.org/hr 2. Your user name is your N number (ex. N00001234). If you do not know your N number, go to http://www.unf.edu/app/ess. 3. Your password is also your N number; you will be prompted to change your password. Please make note of it, as no one in HR will have access to your password. 4. On the left pane, click on “pending actions,” and on the next screen click “edit.” 5. Once you are ready to proceed, please click on the Camtasia tutorial located on the left pane on the PDQ site. The tutorial will take you through the entire employee portion of the PDQ in sections. PLEASE NOTE: All employees must log in with the N number in order to access their own PDQ. Supervisors must complete their own PDQ using their N number. How long will the PDQ take? Approximately 45 minutes to one hour. However, you can begin the process by completing all items on page 1 of the PDQ. You can then save it and return later to complete it. Please note that the system will automatically time-out after 60 minutes if you leave the terminal idle. It will prompt you before timing out. Be sure to save your document. What if I am new to the position? If you have been in your position less than six months, you may need to meet with your immediate supervisor for assistance in completing your PDQ. TIPS: 1. Base your response on normal or typical duties that you perform throughout the year. 2. Be objective and accurate 3. Do not understate or overstate your responsibilities. 4. Focus on what is required to do the work and the essential function of your position. 5. Do not copy your current position description. That may be counterproductive to this project. CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Page 5 UNF EMPLOYEE GUIDE EXPLANATION OF ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS FACTORS TO CONSIDER: 1. Did previous employees perform this duty? This may be a new duty not previously assigned, or a duty that has always been assigned to this position. The first consideration is whether an employee in the position actually must perform the function. For example: A job announcement or job description for a staff support position may state that typing is a function of the job. If, in fact, the employer has never or seldom required previous employees in that position to type, this may not be considered an essential function, unless the position has been re-structured. 2. Would removing this duty fundamentally alter this position? Once it has been determined that a person holding this position does perform the function, evaluate the effect of removing the duty from the position. For example: The ability to type is an essential function for a word processor’s job. Removing typing as a duty would fundamentally alter the job. 3. Does this position exist to perform this duty? What is the overall purpose of this job, and is this duty an integral part of accomplishing this purpose? For example: A person is hired as a "floating" supervisor to substitute when regular supervisors on day, night, and graveyard shifts are absent. The only reason this position exists is to have someone who can work on any of the three shifts in place of an absent supervisor. Therefore, the ability to work at any time of day is an essential function of the job. 4. How many other employees are available to perform this duty? A function may be considered essential based on the number of other employees available to perform that task or among whom the responsibility for the task can be distributed. With a small work force, the need to perform several tasks is more critical than with a larger staff, where work can usually be redistributed with less impact. For example: It may be an essential function for a file clerk to answer the telephone if there are only three employees in a very busy office and each employee has to perform many different tasks. 5. Is this duty so specialized that it requires a high degree of expertise? This question addresses the level of expertise required to perform the duty. Some duties may require a particular licensure or registration. Others may require a number of years of experience in a specialized field in order to attain the necessary level of proficiency. The level of expertise required can be a determining factor when identifying essential functions. For example: A person is hired to be an Accountant and is required to be licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). A duty which requires licensure as a CPA is an essential function of the job. 6. Percent of time spent performing duty? Typically those duties that comprise a substantial percentage of time are considered essential to the job. However, a duty that is performed infrequently may be essential because serious consequences would occur if it were not performed. For example: A firefighter may only occasionally have to carry a heavy person from a burning building, but being able to perform this function would be essential to the firefighter's job. CONCLUSION: Using the above information, determine whether the duty is an essential or marginal function. Page 6 CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN UNF EMPLOYEE GUIDE PASSWORD : When you change your password for the PDQ Project, please use a password that is familiar to you so that you will remember it. An example would be to use the same password that you use to access OASys. If you cannot remember the password for the PDQ project, contact HR to have it reset to your N number. INCORRECT PRE-POPULATED INFORMATION: There are a number of fields in the PDQ that you will note have been pre-populated, including your name, title, position number class code, department, org number, and supervisor. This information was static as of February 14, 2006 in order for us to upload and test the system. If changes have occurred since that date and the fields are inaccurate, please enter the correct data in those fields or use the drop-down box to select the correct answer. Contact Mike in HR for assistance, ext. 2903. TITLE CHANGES: There may be some changes in titles at the end of this process. Please do not think in terms of the former SUS Classification Plan. While some titles may remain the same, there is no guarantee that titles will have the same relationship to each other as they did in the former SUS Plan, therefore a title change in this process is not a demotion. SALARY: There will be no salary adjustments at this time. This is a Classification Redesign. A Compensation Redesign initiative will follow. It is imperative that we capture the actual job duties performed at the University before we can price and slot jobs into a Compensation and Pay Plan. If a title changes to what may be perceived a lower title, there will NOT be a reduction in salary. However, please remember that titles may not have the same relationship to each other as in the past. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: As a part of this Classification Redesign, we will be simplifying what has been known as “minimum requirements” to include a one sentence descriptor for each position to be known as “basic requirements.” This will simplify the initial screening process and allow the University to remain in compliance with changing federal regulations concerning equal employment opportunity. Basic qualifications include quantifiable data contained in a resume or application. For example, the minimum requirements for an Executive Secretary in Human Resources might read: A high school diploma and four years of appropriate experience. Appropriate college coursework or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience. Must be proficient in Excel, Word, budgeting, and scheduling. The new format will read: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Basic Qualifications: A high school diploma and four years of experience in a human resources department. Other requirements: Appropriate college coursework or vocational/technical training may substitute at an equivalent rate for the required experience. Proven proficiency in Excel, Word, budgeting and scheduling. Applicants who are selected for interview will be tested in Microsoft software. If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done. (Dale Carnegie) CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Page 7 UNF SUPERVISOR’S GUIDE What do I need to do? After you complete your own PDQ, if you supervise employees who are in a budgeted, benefits-earning position, you will need to log in and review the PDQ for each person who reports to you. You will receive an email notification that a PDQ is ready for your review. 1. Go to www.unfjobs.org/hr 2. Your user name will be the letter S plus your N number (Ex: SN00001234) Your N number can be obtained at http://www.unf.edu/app/ess if you do not know it 3. Your password will be the letter S plus your N number. You will be prompted to change your password. We suggest that you use the same password that you used when you entered your information on the employee’s section. 4. Go to the left pane of the PDQ site and click on “pending” 5. You will then see each PDQ that has been sent to you for review. 6. When you click on “view” the selected PDQ will open. You can view all that the employee has entered. It is suggested that you print those pages for reference later. 7. Click on “edit” at the top left area of the actual PDQ that is open. You must click on edit in order to begin filling out the supervisors information, this can be done after you have completed your review of the employees portion. 8. You can go back to any section of the PDQ that you want to review by clicking on the appropriate employee page number at the top of the form, as long as your have completed all required information in your section. 10. Remember you are responding based on the position and not the employee. If you do not agree with what the employee has submitted, please contact the employee directly and discuss the areas of difference. You may elect to send the PDQ back to the employee for changes. You will not be able to change any of the employee’s input. Please pay special attention to the following areas where a supervisor response is required: Formal Education/Equivalencies: If there are any additional equivalencies please indicate in the box provided, for example if you listed a Master’s degree as the highest level of education required (Administrative & Professional positions) but would consider a Bachelor’s plus two years of experience please provide that information. For Support Staff positions if you listed a Bachelor’s degree but would consider High school diploma plus four years of experience please provide that information. Decision Making/Independent Judgment In this section please indicate the level of decision making and independent judgment as it applies to this position. Click on the link listed in the box for a list of the levels of decision making. There are seven clusters of statements. Select the cluster that best describes the level of decision making and independent judgment that is exercised in this position. Decision Making—The process of making choices or reaching conclusions, especially on important business matters. Independent Judgment—The authority to make independent decisions on matters which affect the business as a whole or a significant part of it. This implies that the employee has the authority to make an independent choice free from immediate direction or supervision. Guidelines to determine Independent Judgment If you are still unsure about independent judgment, these are some questions to keep in mind: Does this position have the authority to formulate or interpret UNF policies? Does this position have the authority to commit UNF in matters which have significant financial impact? Does this position have the authority to deviate from UNF policies without prior approval? Continued on next page Page 8 CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN UNF SUPERVISOR’S GUIDE Does this position provide consultation or expert advice to management? Does this position investigate and resolve matters of significance on behalf of management? Does this position represent UNF in handling complaints, arbitrating disputes or resolving grievances? PDQ Page 4-Impact of Error The impact of error deals with the level of risk and uncertainties that may affect the operations, performance and the development of UNF. These risks could be in the form of financial, legal or public image. The level of risk ranges from limited to significant. Please indicate the level of risk that best describes the degree of risk associated with this position. The descriptor of each level can be found when you click on the link. Limited There may be some financial, legal or public image damages to the university, unit, department, or division. There may be controllable financial, legal, or public image damage to the University unit, department, or division. There may be uncontrollable financial, legal, or public image damage to the University, unit, department, or division. Moderate Significant PDQ Page 4-Supervisor Comment In this section you will comment on each section of the employee’s responses from the PDQ. Review the employee’s section by clicking on the appropriate page, you will find the page number at the end of each section. After review if you have any questions or concerns, you now can send the PDQ back to the employee. It is highly recommended that you meet with the employee first before sending the PDQ back to them, as the employee is not able to view your comments. You may also use this section to elaborate on the information that the employee lists, just be sure to let your employee know that while the overall information was correct, they did leave some information out. Communication is key: This is an excellent opportunity for employees and supervisors to communicate about the specifics of each position. If there are discrepancies about job responsibilities or functions, please work together to reach a win-win status. HR staff are available to assist with these crucial conversations. Call HR at ext. 2903 if assistance is needed. CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Page 9 UNF SUPERVISOR’S GUIDE HOW DO I HANDLE VACANT POSITIONS? If a supervisor has vacant positions and there is an expectation that those positions will be filled in the next six (6) months, the supervisor is asked to complete the PDQ for that position. 1. Log in with S + N number 2. Select “begin new action” 3. Complete the employee portion of the PDQ 4. Submit the PDQ to yourself (supervisor) 5. Do not log out. Go to the left pane and select “pending”. If you need to log out prior to beginning the supervisor review, you will receive an email notification that the PDQ is awaiting your review. 6. Select pending 7. Review the employee’s section before beginning to fill out supervisor’s section 8. Click on edit at the upper left section of the PDQ form 9. Complete the supervisor portion 10. Submit the PDQ to the next appropriate level SUGGESTED POSITON TITLES We welcome suggested position titles and as a supervisor you may enter those in your comments. If you or your employees are currently using working titles, please include that on page 1 of the employee section. VIEW ONLY STATUS VICE PRESIDENTS, ET AL Dean/Director/Dept Chair/ AVP/VP may not be the direct supervisor nor the next level supervisor, OR, may be the direct supervisor but want to view all PDQs in that particular department/division. You can change status to VIEW ONLY. This is org based, so only be those orgs where that responsibility is assigned can be viewed. You will use the log-in information that you use when you are signing onto the recruitment site (OASys). 1. Log into OASys (using your user name and password that you use for viewing and or approving positions in OASys). 2. On the left side under Admin select Change User Type 3. Click “PDQ view only.” 4. This change will allow you to see all PDQs in your department or division based on your title. 5. This will allow the ability to view the PDQ once it has been submitted to the supervisor. 6. This view will allow the Dean/Director/VP or AVP to see both the employee’s and supervisor’s PDQ responses. Please note: each department/division must decide who needs to see the PDQ before it is submitted to HR. Any Dean/Director/AVP, etc. in the chain of command other than the responding supervisor can establish a View Only Status. Page 10 CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS Changing Your Password NOTE: If you have forgotten your password, and are unable to log in, you must call or email the Office of Human Resources and request for your User Account password to be reset. Once reset, your password will be the same as your user name. To change your password, click the “Change Password” link on the side-bar on the left side of the screen, as seen below: You must first enter your current password in the top field, and then enter your new password in the second and third field before you click the Submit Password Change button. Changing Your User Type When you are logged into OASys, you are able to choose whether you want to see only the PDQs that are being routed to you as a supervisor, or the PDQs that anyone in the department(s) you have chosen for your user account have created. By default, you are only able to see the PDQs that are being routed to you as a supervisor. To change your user type, and allow yourself to see all the PDQs in your department, regardless of who created them, click the Change User Type link on the left side of the screen, as seen below: Click the radio button that corresponds with the user type you wish to switch to, then click the Change Group button, as seen below: CLASSIFICATION REDESIGN Page 11 PLEASE KEEP IN MIND... WHO TO CALL IN HR Overall Classification Redesign or policy questions: S. Angel Ezell, Associate Director, 2903, sezell@unf.edu Technical help with PDQ: Michael Fritts, Classification Analyst, 2940, mfritts@unf.edu Joel Jones, Personnel Representative, 2903, jdjones@unf.edu PROJECT TIMELINE March 27, 2006…………………………………………………...Project “Go Live” May 26, 2006……………………………………………………...Deadline for all PDQ submissions June—August, 2006……………………………………………..Analysis and feedback to Dept heads September, 2006………………………………………………..Launch of online position description module for uploading of approved position descriptions Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q. What should I do if I want to log-out and come back at a later time to complete my questionnaire? You must complete all of the required fields notated with a “red asterisk” on the page you are completing before the questionnaire can be saved. Please note that the site will automatically time out if you leave your computer idle for more than 60 minutes. If you cancel the prompt on the screen the timer will begin again for another 60 minutes. If you exit before saving your questionnaire, your data will NOT be saved and will need to re-enter your questionnaire in its entirety. Q. Are the current position descriptions going to be considered at all during this entire process? Position descriptions may be used as a reference point for the Classification Analyst. The PDQ was developed to be a more comprehensive and consistent position analysis tool. It will provide the necessary information needed for job analysis and evaluation. We understand there will be special circumstance where additional information or clarification regarding a position is needed. In those cases, additional information will be gathered either in person, via desk audits or telephone interviews. Q. What is the best way to handle PDQs for departments that have several of the same positions? Some positions (e.g., Accountant) may have comparable types of duties and similarities, but most positions will have their own unique responsibilities and distinctive skills needed to distinguish this position from other positions. We do not recommend departments or employees copy or duplicate the same PDQ document for different positions. We encourage each person to look at each position exclusively. Q. What happens if there is a discrepancy between the employee’s view of the position and the supervisor’s view of the position? It is the role of the supervisor to provide additional comments regarding any discrepancy to the essential duties, knowledge needed, etc., that is documented on the position description questionnaire. Supervisors cannot directly change or modify any of the employee’s portion of the PDQ. There will be a section for supervisors to comment on the sections completed by the employee. It is advised that the supervisor discuss any discrepancies with his/her direct report before submitting the PDQ to Human Resources to ensure continuity and an understanding of duties. Positions in which there is a significant disagreement between the employee and the supervisor may require the assistance of HR. Q . What will happen to vacant positions? For positions that are vacant and will likely be recruited for and filled in the near future (3-6 months), we are requesting that the supervisor complete a PDQ. Q . How will re-classification be handled? From March 2006 through August 2006 there will be a moratorium on all position re-classifications. We will continue to process requests for special pay increase. Q. Where do I find the PDQ and how do I use it? The PDQ form is available on the OASys site: www.unfjobs.org/hr Q. I am having a problem using the back button to get to a prior page. It keeps returning me to the same page, what do I do? Do not use your browser’s “Back”, “Forward” or “Refresh” buttons to navigate the site, or to open a new browser window from your existing window. This may cause unexpected results, including loss of data or being logged out of the system. Please always use the navigational buttons within the site. Q. Who do I contact for assistance with the PDQ? You can contact the Classification section of HR. Michael Fritts mfritts@unf.edu (904) 620-2940 Q. How do I submit my PDQ? Please follow the instructions as outlined on Camtasia or as listed on the PDQ. Check with your specific department/division for special instructions on submitting your PDQ through the chain of approval.