Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Though David Bowie has little to do with them, there are a number of ch-ch-ch-ch-changes underway in Human Resources. Some of these changes are prompted by your responses to our customer service survey, and some are prompted by the well-earned pending retirements of two of our key HR leaders. HR professionals preach the importance of dealing effectively with change. The survey results and the loss of key talent are forcing us to practice what we preach as we head into a new fiscal year.
Survey Results: What You Liked
The Virginia Tech Center for Survey Research conducted a customer satisfaction survey for us in the Fall of 2008. We were pleased with the response rate, and many of you took the time to write comments about ways in which we could improve. A number of us met in March to discuss what you shared with us and your ideas for improvement.
Overall, you spoke highly of the HR organization, especially our courtesy, our service, and the accuracy of our information. We used a 5 point scale, with a 1 indicating strongly disagree and a 5 indicating strongly agree. Of the 44 questions on the survey, the average response was over a 4.0 for 32 of them. We were happy that you gave strong ratings to all of our service areas. Your comments were positive about our new Service Center - which celebrated its first year anniversary in April, 2009 and handled over 36,000 e-mails, phone calls, walk-ins, and chats in its first twelve months.
Survey Results: What You Didn’t Like and What We Are Doing About It
We rolled out a new HR web site approximately a year ago. Your comments indicated you liked the look of the site, but found it hard to navigate. The numerical results were consistent with the comments, with our lowest scoring items on the survey about the ease of accessing HR information quickly and efficiently.
Since concerns about navigation of our website were far and away your primary concern, we focused on that first. We put together an employee focus group and they gave us even more details about ways we could improve the site. The new and improved site is available now, with the same great look but improved navigation down the left side of our home page. We hope you will find the new site easier to use. It will always be a work in progress as we work to make it better over time.
Though far less of an issue, there were a number of comments about the timeliness and effectiveness of our communications regarding HR program changes. We have hired an MBA student intern, Drew LaPointe, who will tackle this topic this summer. We will be talking with employees and representatives of university governance to learn more about employee expectations in this area. Based on what we find, we will undoubtedly engage the expertise of University Relations to help us improve our communications. Our goal is improved employee communications as measured by our survey, through the development and execution of an employee communications plan in 2010.
Changes in Leadership
How do you replace 85 years of HR experience in the next 6 months? Judy Ridinger retires in August, after 45 years of service. The Employee Relations and Staffing functions report to Judy. Doug Martin retires in January of 2010 – he will have served with Virginia Tech for 40 years in October. The Benefits function reports to Doug.
Clearly, our biggest challenge in the coming fiscal year will be in finding the talent to replace Judy and Doug. They have both served Virginia Tech with distinction. They have both been instrumental in making Virginia Tech a great place to work. Please wish them both the very best because they deserve our appreciation for their outstanding contributions to our community.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Redux
The single, Changes, was released in 1972. It was not a hit initially (not even in the Top 40), but it became one of David Bowie’s most requested songs on tour. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it number 127 of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”. Perhaps there is a timelessness to the lyrics which captures the imagination. After turning fifty this month, these lines really hit home for me:
“Oh, look out you rock n rollers
Pretty soon now you’re gonna get a little older”
Since all of us baby boomer rock n rollers are getting a little older, we have learned from experience that changes are inevitable. Let’s hope the coming fiscal year has good changes in store for Virginia Tech’s employees.
About Hal Irvin
Hal Irvin has been Virginia Tech's associate vice president for human resources since March 2008.
Before coming to Virginia Tech, Hal worked for 14 years at Georgia Tech. In his last assignment, he served as executive director of organizational development – reporting to the executive vice president for administration and finance and was responsible for employee learning, change management, and internal consulting services. He played a central role in Georgia Tech’s successful efforts to improve administrative services and transform its service culture.