HR complaints (are the opium of the masses)

Teddi Lorch, Exec Director, HR/
Employer/Employee Relations

     I was in Vancouver when Chancellor Poertner sent out the “district services survey 2012 results.” So I didn’t even read ‘em until a couple days ago. Just skimmed 'em.
     I gathered—from DtB readers—that some of the survey-taker “comments” were pretty negative. So I asked Rebel Girl about that, and she said that HR is a major focus of complaint. No surprise there. I know there are some great employees in HR. On the other hand....
     So here are the comments attached to questions 45 and 46 re HR. Those questions were:

45. Please tell us what services you would like to see more of from Human Resources. 46. Please give us feedback and suggestions concerning Human Resources.

     Before you go on, take a gander at the results of HR questions 42, 43, and 44. 
     Roughly speaking, survey-takers seemed to give HR a "B" in answering those three questions; "commenters," however [i.e., respondents of 45 and 46], seemed to give HR a C- or D:

Click on the graphic to enlarge it

Comments concerning the comments below:

• It appears that many SOCCCD employees could use a college education. –I mean, what’s with all the spelling and grammatical errors? Sheesh. It's embarrassing!

• Employee ***** must really be terrific. And employee ***** is obviously a serious stinker. 

• A special shout-out to employee *****!

• I’m sensing lots of negativity here. More negativity than positivity. But that’s a pretty negative thing to say. 

• I made no effort to edit or clarify the comments. 

• Except: I deleted comments that struck me as tedious. I realize that that is pretty subjective. Gotta cut something out, so that's how I did it. Deal with it.

• I highlighted the essence of comments in yellow.  

• I hope it goes without saying (I don't ever say it here) that some of these commenters are just cranks. We're not assuming that each point made below is valid or fair. On the other hand, where there's lots of smoke, there's likely some fire.

45. Please tell us what services you would like to see more of from Human Resources.

. . .
• The recruiting process in Human Resources takes FOREVER. There are many good candidates out there that apply during the application submission process, but then don't hear back for 3 or 4 months for an interview. Other positions stay open for months at a time and hinder the efficiency of their respecitve department. If there is a lack of personnel to take on these recruitments, then additional staff need to be hired or the recruitment process changed. It is rediculous. Also, when I was a new employee my HR Specialist was very scatter brained and told me a lot of inside information that made me unnecessarily nervous about the position I was going into. She did not have a building number or room number for me to report to on my first day and tried to explain directions to the building and room. When you are new to an organization it is a very uncomforting feeling when the only contact person you have doesn't know what she is talking about. It would have been nice if the HR Specialist would have met me on campus my first day or have given me more accurate information about my reporting location.
. . .

• It's hit or miss. Somestimes they are very helpful, but a lot of the time you really have to push and push to get any progress on disiplinary issues. It appears that they are scared and/or lazy and push off doing what needs to be done. They also can be all over the place in terms of their support and/or comprehension of an issue. Some days I will get a very favorable response from a person who wants to help, and three days later the same person will change their tune on the same issue and act like the thing they totally understood and were going to help with three days ago is now just not that big of a deal.
. . .
• Assume less control. Provide a service, not dictate the process.
. . .
• They hardly ever answer their phone. It's very frustrating and they have so MANY staffing. With so much staff, you would think that they operate more efficiently and effectively and get more things done. If they are going to be in the office, their calls should be transfer to receptionist. If they want something done, they are demanding and think they want the VIP treatment.

• When you ask questions, they don't know a simple answer.

• More timely responses to questions.

• Current day to day business is always at the bottom of their list. It takes weeks to get some changes done by HR. HR staff does not have time lines that they follow as a procedure or process. If someone is out sick or on vacation, no one does their work or even knows what should be done.

• Speedier hiring process. More HR training for the the line manages. They don't seem to know what is going on half the time.

• I would like to see the rules for hiring processes be less prescriptive and over reactive to laws. Its a stifling process, HR makes continual minimum quals errors, does not allow the Chair discipline expert to assist on this level, runs adds in the wrong places mistakes, they force us on classified positions to use a saddleback-centric job description even when it both not appropriate for IVC or so old that is not apropriate at all. IVC is one of two EQUAL colleges in the SOCCCD, it is not the second college nor the step child that has to constantly be subjected to attempts at Saddlebackification.

• more streamlined hiring process
. . .
• The existing processes are managed very well by competent HR staff. I would like to implement more rigorous hiring practices that require skill set assessment, and more closely tie required skills to job descriptions.

• Reduce the time it takes to actually post an opening.
. . .
• ***** and ***** are wonderful, so is ***** and many others. They have great attitudes despite working in an office that appears to be understaffed.
. . .
• First, I feel that our policies in relation to recruitment and hiring are arcane. Second, I think that HR's interpretation of those policies are not always accurate and do not enable hiring of the best candidate. Third, I think the online application process needs to be reevaluated. Of particular concern is the posting of what should be confidential letters of recommendation.

• The individuals in Human Resources meet my expectations, but the processes do not. While there have been attempts in the past year to make improvements, these efforts have not gone far enough.

• It seems a little scattered- when I have emailed a question to management regarding a policy or the need to review the possiblity of creating a new position... it never goes anywhere.

• I would appreciate if HR actually showed support for the individual college's operations and less about District staffing. The HR department is very secretive and its procedures are ineffective when dealing with issues at the front line level. As a manager I am not even consulted by HR on issues involving long term abscenses from my employee and I am held responsible for filling out the time sheet at the end of the month. It is frustrating that we hire administrators and managers but we dont trust them to do their job. HR appears to only trust HR and other District managers.

David Bugay, VC, HR &
Employer-Employee Relations

• Great people. But faculty hires should occur earlier in the school year.

• Knowing a little something about the colleges, programs and services. Classified use to give a little support to new classified but it seems it's discouraged now.

• HR forms (e.g. PER 001) are still not online. 2) Testing for administrative position skill sets (Microsoft Office) is not required which leads to an excessive number of applications for committees to screen. This is not acceptable.

• Recruitment process improvement - Human Resources be more customer oriented. Answer questions in a timely manner and not have to wait for days to get answer. More assistance with disciplinary issues and follow up accordingly.
. . .
• Flexibility in setting the dates of hiring cxommittees. We would like to move the dates to earlier in the spring so we don't lose candidates to other districts in our very competitive field.
. . .

46. Please give us feedback and suggestions concerning Human Resources.

. . .
• HR recently tackled a a reclass study for administrators and managers. Overall, the recommendations to the BOT effectively identified changes in job descriptions. Many employees saw a positive change in classification recommended. This had to have been a very time-consuming and difficult effort and I appreciate that HR took the initiative to pursue this much-needed study.
. . .
• Too many employee relatives are hired for positions that are never posted.

• While I have never had a problem with hiring, I must note that the process is so driven by being liability-averse that you never really get to know anything about the candidates. The insider applicant pretty much always gets the job under these circumstances.

• Human Resources have improved tremendously. The employees are very helpful and are well informed on the subject matter.

• The employees go out of their way to assist in anyway possible. Keep up the good job.

• HR personnel are never a concern. They are earnest and helpful. It is the hiring process that is poorly designed, making the hiring of the best personnel for any job more difficult than necessary.

Hope? Really?

• I have assisted several HR Specialists in setting up rooms on campus for hiring committees and some have been good about being organized and contacting me to set up things beforehand, but others have been last minute who show up late expecting everything to be in place for the interviews when they did not arraign anything with me ahead of time. This causes lots of scrambling on both our parts which was recognized by some of the candidates as things were not set up before they arrived.

• District HR should be reduced to a few staff and the bulk of the current staff dispersed to each campus where the customers and new hires are located. District HR should follow the rules and commitments in a timely manor. District HR should communicate in a more honest manor.
. . .
• They assume that we know everything they do about human resources issues. Perhaps offering suggestions for team building, as opposed to assuming that we know all about team building and are taking it upon ourselves to hire an outside team building expert to come in and work with us, would be helpful. Sidestepping obvious discipline issues is a problem. It really appears that they just don't want to deal with the difficult issues that arise, so we are left on our own, having to deal with problem employees who have been here much too long because we don't get the back up we need unless you demand it. I shouldn't have to strongarm HR to get help.

• I have been given conflicting information at times.

• HR should not assume that administrators are more likely to be in the right than people complaining about the administrator

• Confidentiality is essential and critical. Unfortunately, it is sorely absent with the VC.

• There seems to be more concern with union desires than management. Processing to fili open positions is rediculously slow, impacting campus services.

• Re: Substitute Hires - Modifying the hiring process to a less formal one to eliminate valuable time for all involved. This would would pertain to the subs that have proven competency and dept. desire for permanent hire. Minimize screening hours, meetings and interview requirements. Perhaps more like a lateral hire process?

• Understandably, HR is under a lot of pressure recently. However, it would be helpful if HR would try to be a little more responsive and timely on HR requests.

• Overall I "Slightly Agree" with the above questions. This survey needs to have a step between "Disagree" and "Agree". Without it, I do not feel that you are getting accurate data. HR has not failed completely but certainly needs improvement particularly in employee recruitment - whether the problem is with union restrictions or HR protocol.

• with all of the extra staff, why havent' services gotten better

• Too much "inside" trading goes on....if you know what I mean!

• Less one-way, top-down decision-making. Theirs seems to be an attitude of having special information and special skills that others may not question. It should not be up to Human Resources to determine whether a faculty member or academic administrator has met minimum qualifications. Human resources itself is not qualified to do this. Also, HR is quick to correct faculty and classified staff, but definitely not deans and higher, on deliberation remarks/questions/observations clearly against policy.
. . .
• Things are difficult to find on MySite and the Wiki

"I'll get back to you in January."

• They need to answer their phones. They are never available and don't neccessarily return calls or emails timely.

• HR is too big a department and despite their size, runs inefficiently. Too many chiefs and to many indians does not always equate to productive. I heard some of the staff don't have enough to do.

• Get new management across the hoard. NEW PEOPLE IN MANAGEMENT IN HR.

• ***** is amazing and always gets back to me quickly, answering all my questions!

• H.R. should be more consistent when providing guidance to the colleges. Depending on the time or the person a question is asked you may get different or even conflicting answers. The process used for the managers' salary study was not very well organized. There were a number of times when the consultant had to go back and make corrections. The appeal process was not clear from the very beginning. The process by which the new salary ranges were defined was not transparent. No research information was provided to the managers explaining how the new range was determined.

• Where's Risk Management? Way too hard to find on the HR website. The process for an on-the-job injury is not clear, forms outdated, and a suspect release of information.

• HR has changed drastically over the years with new personnel and difficult to keep atrack of!

• More streamlined hiring process.

• Having served on a number of hiring committees, it seems that the process is flawed in that it seems easy to doctor the numbers in favor of one person vs. another. I played fair and square though.

• I wish they would answer their phones!!

• It seems to take an inordinate amount of time to post replacement positions for employees that have resigned/retired.

• The management classification study has been a real disappointment. It took too long and there was way too much interference and it is widely thought that those who were aggressive and pushed their agendas were successful and others were rubber stamped through without much thought.

• In the 4 years that I have been a full time employee I have only needed to go to human resources a few times but the always had the answers and were quick to respond when I did. Thank you!

• Be available to talk with. There is no open access to HR unless you make a formal appointment.

• Training should be paid. Teachers are paid on an hourly basis, and if we are to make use of training, we should be compensated for the time we devote to it. The college ultimately benefits from our being trained, thus it is in its interest to give us incentives to do so. The current pay scale does not compensate adjunct faculty with PhDs for experience. Thus there is no incentive to continue working at Saddleback. The pay scale for adjunct faculty is one of the lowest in the LA-Orange County-San fernando Valley area. If Saddleback wants to remain competitive, it should re-evaluate its pay scale. A different pay scale might encourage staff to devote more time to their classes. Saddleback should offer paid office hours for adjunct faculty. This would help students.

• Human Resources needs to take the lead in sensitivity tranining. For instance, there is not enough consideration given to the planning calendars of the colleges. Events such as Commencement and Scholarship Ceremonies are scheduled a year in advance, yet - the Chancellors Cabinet occurs on the same date of IVC's Scholarship Ceremony. (Two years in a row!) A very important Civility HR workshop is held the Friday before commencement, a business continuity meeting is initially scheduled at 4 p.m., the day before both colleges have their commencement ceremonies. We need to have Human Resource sensitivity tranining for the district personnel on what goes on at the colleges at these busy times of year. i.e., the end of each semester -especially ...At Disney, all the upper level managers, one day a year go out into the parks, and they become a costume character. Perhaps, we need to have a program where our district services personnel "shadow" the college managers to better understand our roles or at least attend College Council on a regular basis. This peer mentoring could help build bridges between the colleges and district if implemented in a constructive and positive manner. Human Resources needs to be the leader in these types of efforts. Implementation needs to be a goal for 2012-2013.

• Too rigid at times.

• If HR says they maintain a strict policy seeking a nationwide search for positions that need to be filled, they need to maintain that policy at ALL times and not be selective during the process.

• The whole salary classification study lacks integrity. This study has been kept compartmentalized and is everything but transparent. The information regarding the individual's salary placement has not been provided yet we are asked if we accept the finding. The overall placement of positions on the master schedule is not been provided and appeals are not being accepted until after the Board of Trustees votes on the item. What good is an appeal after the Board of Trustees votes on the issues. Why is the process not transparent.

Presidential spouse
& chemistry teacher

• HR should keep a closer eye on shady hiring and nepotism at IVC instead of looking the other way when it happens. The college president's wife should not be working on the IVC campus.

• The entire recruitment process is labor intensive and takes too long. By the time you start hiring for a position, the top applicants are gone to other jobs. Also, positions on campus go empty for months with subs being used. This is not cost effective, as you spin your wheels training the sub and then again when the permanent replacement arrives.

• In working with *****, she seems very disorganized and it is of concern to me. I think she needs an additional administrative assistant to do her filing and tasks.

• ***** does a wonderful job!

• I would like Human Resources to provide more information on the various types of forms needed when hiring employees. This can be confusing and they don't always provide the information.

• There are problems in all areas of the "Services" they provide but at least we are becoming paperless in that office because that is a goal that supports students and staff.

• It really depends on who you work with.

• HR has been engaged in a cat-mouse game where they refuse to remove unjust documents from personnel files. These derogdocs have either been added without fair disclosure, as required by ed. code and our collective bargaining agreement, or have no relevance whatsoever and do not belong there. They are usually remnants from bad managers of the past. When these issues have been brought to the attention of the HR director, we've been ignored. The HR game is about them wanting us to put up a big fight about it. Please have this unjust practice and files cleaned up. This is mean spirited: please force HR to stick to the rules.

• The coordination and communication on the administrator/manager study was not done well. More transparency in the process would have been much better.

• I would like to have appropriate feedback when asked how a decision was made regarding the selection of a candidate even though it is on a rating basis. And that the position description reflect not only the qualifications of the individual applicant but also the agenda of the department and how that position meets the primary goal of that dept. I would think it beneficial to rate each job function with a % so that an applicant can weigh before applying to a positon what priorities match instead of finding out in an interview that emphasis is going to be placed on specific areas versus other secondary issues. Also I think it would be beneficial to consider indicating on the HR webpage the legalality of bilingual positions and the specific requirements and procedures for need of such a designation as well as what testing of such language proficiency is to be expected, based on prior hiring consideration, such as a typing test "wpm".

• Faculty and in partucular classified hiring needs to occur in a more timly fashion. It takes to long to fill a classified position.

• Hiring process is cumbersome; takes too long to hire employees; scoring applicants during the interviewing by pencil and not computer-generated causes potential errors, and time restraints

• I think that the employee selection process can lag a lot. I look through the eyes of someone who has been on several committees and just trying to find the time to go through the whole process can be overwhelming.

• HR (and the Vice Chancellor and the Board of Trustees) should be more proactive in creating a workplace that values competence and professionalism. Less public sector silliness please. The initial interview process is bizarre and gives an immediate bad impression to new employees. The toleration of incompetent and mean-spirited staff frustrates and drives good employees away. Select competent managers who know how to actually manage and then stay out of their way.

• Please revamp the hiring process. The hiring committee is unnecessarily constrained, people on the committee are many times unqualified to interview candidates, and not enough weight is given to the subject expert(s) opinions/ratings. Lastly, internal candidates are disadvantaged by the current process.

• The policy and process by which faculty are hired in the district needs to be comprehensively redone. It needs to be much more focused on identifying and hiring the best people and less on bureaucratic controls intended to satisfy a very narrow interpretation of the laws relating to these hiring processes. It also needs to release some of the administrative controls on the process that are an artifact of the previous regime.

• I submit paperwork for all areas of hiring (except management). Overall, the service with the PT faculty and Short-term temporary positions is great. Any quesitons I might have is answered very quick. Most frustrating is getting confirmation of paperwork received in HR. I can't assume that they receive the paperwork. The deadline for HR forms to go to the board meeting is extremely early and there is not a way to make sure my items have been received and will go to the board meeting.

• By the way, this list of dates was very hard to get, it seems that it was only given to the college administration.

• The new employee orientaion and explanations of services (esp. benefit package)was the poorest I've ever encountered.

• Questions often go unanswered and there's considerable mis-information being delivered.

• We need a faster way of recruiting new employees in order to fill vacant positions. The current system takes way too long.

• Many departments need positions filled in order to be in compliance with state or local mandates and waiting so long to fill a vacancy puts us at risk for being out of compliance

SEE ALSO: 2011 IVC Employee Satisfaction Survey - Initial Report

Lorch gets all pouty