Striving to become an ‘employer of choice’

By D. Lyn Hunter, Public Affairs

David Moers

06 February 2002 | Overhauling the campus classification and compensation system and improving job satisfaction were among the topics discussed by David Moers, assistant vice chancellor for human resources, at a noontime gathering with staff last week.

“Berkeley wants to be an employer of choice,” Moers told the standing-room-only crowd at Alumni House, “but we’re not there yet. We hope to make some changes that will move us closer to that goal.”

Many of these changes will take place under the umbrella of the Staff Infrastructure Steering Committee, he said. The committee is charged with guiding the development of recommendations issued last year by the Compensation Advisory Committee.

The goal, explained Moers, is to create
• a classification and compensation system “that rewards staff for good work, provides internal equity and external competitiveness.”

• a career development program that is easy to navigate, so that “staff can easily bridge from one job to another, either sideways or up.”

• a new performance management system that “clearly defines expectations.”

“We want staff to understand their role, feel they are contributing to the university’s success and have opportunities to advance their careers,” said Moers. “Our aim is to improve job satisfaction and morale, and reduce turnover.”

New plan in the works
The new director of human resources said he hopes the committee can announce a more detailed plan and a timeline for its implementation by mid-March. He encouraged staff to provide input when this information is released.

“As we move forward with this, it is crucial that we hear from you,” Moers told the gathering. “Look at it and let us know what you think.”

Once finalized, the plan will be posted online at http://sisc.berkeley.edu. Staff can review the plan and e-mail comments from the site.

Moers said he hopes to have most facets of the plan in place in about a year to 18 months.

One initiative currently in progress, Moers said, is improvement at the employment office. A new employment manager, Kim Miller, was recently hired and is working to improve the hiring process at Berkeley, Moers said.

“Although she’s only been here for three weeks,” he said, “she’s already extended the hours of operation for the office so staff and those interested in working at the university can apply for jobs before or after work.”

Also, the Human Resources Management System — a web-based service that will automate personnel action processes such as hiring and reclassification — will be launched July 1, he said.

Salaries, health benefits
Following Moers’ presentation, he fielded questions from the audience — on salary increases, health benefits and labor relations, among other topics.

To a question on improving relations between the campus and unions, Moers said that he wants to meet with union leaders and employees to try and prevent some of the conflicts that currently are processed through a long and often frustrating grievance procedure.

“I want to deal openly and honestly with staff and the unions,” he said. “Though the UC Office of the President has overall responsibility for negotiating the contracts, I want to know what the issues are so we can work to solve them. We need to be in a preventative mode instead of a reactionary mode when handling conflicts.”

With the expected negative impact of the state budget crunch on university salaries, another staff member suggested some alternative methods for rewarding staff, such as more paid holidays or increasing vacation hours.

“There are a number of free or low-cost things we can do,” Moers answered. “I think there are other things we can do as well, such as extending educational benefits to family members of staff.”

At the end of the meeting, Moers invited staff to send him ideas on improving the work environment, at hrweb@uclink.berkeley.edu