Since the most recent Employee Engagement survey came out, it's apparent that 2000 staff members feel that they are not compensated fairly for their work - and that's just of those that had submitted the survey. I know this is an ongoing situation, but with the cost of living increasing I'd like to see staff council push for better monetary compensation for staff across the university. It's disheartening to see the constant stressors educators have to face regularly, seeing the same survey indicate that staff are willing to do their best for ASU to be successful, but seeing that stark difference in being paid fairly for our work.
Speak up Be heard: Human Resources
Engagement Survey Pay Reflection
Merits
How do we know that our leadership is actually issuing 100% of the merit pool they receive? My dept was told there would be bigger merits this year if performance standards were met but in talking to my co-workers, no one seemed to get a bigger merit. What was the pool ASU authorized? Why don't we have better pay transparency? Is ASU Sr. Leadership given guidance on how to apply the merits in an equitable way? Thanks.
Thank you for your question. College and department leadership are entrusted with applying the merit exercise in a fair and equitable manner. Your supervisor or internal human resources department can assist you in understanding how the merit system is applied for your particular area, as every college and department budget varies.
Response to holiday closure request
This was the response provided to multiple question closures during the holiday. “Thank you for your feedback. Although closing the University is not in alignment with the various needs and components of the University, employees have the option of requesting time off during the holidays.”
I think it would be beneficial to hear from University Leadership on why this is harmful to the University when other universities are successful (including UofA and NAU) in closing the week between Christmas and New Year.
Like Simon Sinek says, start with why.
The notion of saying that people can request time off is elitist and problematic.
This is problematic because of the following reasons:
ASU operates on an accrual system, so a person (assuming Category 1 or 2) who may have started in the summer means they will have only accrued approximately a week (40.56 hours) of vacation time by the winter holiday (12 pay periods). This would suggest that a person will not be able to take time off for vacation throughout the year because they must save their vacation time for the holiday break.
It is also inequitable employees that are staff because faculty are automatically afforded the time to be off during this time without penalty.
It is understandable that faculty do not accrue vacation time so it is expected that they don’t have be here during the break but due to the natures of their role, they are also afforded a lot more flexibility such as only coming in on the days that they teach.
Finally, it puts the burden on the staff member to have to negotiate with their leadership and ensure that there is “coverage” for the office in case something comes up which always favors employees who have been around longer and also those who have kids at home.
University leadership says that they care about staff however this is a small gesture that is constantly overlooked that could contribute to a better working environment. I would even suggest the alternatives to start: reducing hours of operations during the break or allowing people to be remote during the week. However, this should be across the board and not up to each individual service unit/academic college.
Other things to explore- how many visits are taking place from an admissions standpoint? Can that schedule be consolidated?
Thank you for your question and sharing your concerns. We will bring your feedback to the leadership team. As a member of the tri-university system, ASU is required to abide by the policies set forth by Arizona Board of Regents, but we are not required to align business practices with other in-state universities. Officially closing the university campus during regular business hours is not in alignment with our charter, business practices and/or community needs. The nature of the University setting has several classifications of employees. Therefore, benefits and pay are aligned with the employee’s specific classification. ASU offers vacation leave accruals for staff that allows employees the flexibility of utilizing accrued vacation to meet their individual needs, with supervisor approval. The approval process for vacation time is managed at the department level, while considering the business needs of the department and balancing employee requests and coverage. Colleges and departments can offer alternatives during the regular business hours, but it is expected that the University is accessible and prepared to serve our community. We suggest contacting your supervisor and/or your internal department HR liaison to ask for guidance and/or provide feedback regarding your internal processes.
New CHRO
Who was on the hiring committee for the appointment of the new VP/CHRO? Why was there not a public forum for staff to meet and engage with this individual as is done with other similar positions at the university.
Thank you for your question. When recruiting at the executive level, the University typically retains the services of an executive search firm that has expertise in the desired field, level of knowledge and practice; this was the case in our search for the new VP and Chief Human Resources Officer. The ASU internal hiring committee was led by the Executive VP, Treasurer and CFO, Morgan R. Olsen and included various leaders across the institution. The final candidates for VP/CHRO were submitted for consideration by the executive search firm and vetted by the hiring committee, as well as college, university and department stake holders. The finalists met with vice presidents, deans, HR, and staff leaders, among others. An open house for the Sun Devil Community to meet Michael Latsko, VP and CHRO, will be scheduled soon.
Blue Cross Blue Shield contract
I've recently found out through my care provider that Blue Cross Blue Shield is allowing their contract with Genesis OBGYN to terminate. According to emails I've received from the Genesis office, BCBSAZ has failed to respond to reasonable negotiations needed to establish a new contract going into the new year. By BCBSAZ letting this contract terminate, they are limiting over 16,000 women in finding a provider that can offer care. They are also limiting those women's ability to choose a provider that they can trust. Like many of my colleagues, I receive health insurance benefits from ASU and I can only assume that there is some formal contract in place with ASU and BCBSAZ. Up until now I've been happy with my insurance from BCBSAZ but I don't feel comfortable putting my hard-earned money into a company that clearly doesn't care about the women they insure any longer. BCBSAZ's response to the negative outcry from people on their community Facebook page has essentially been, it's not our fault and to find a new provider. This is unacceptable. Since BCBSAZ's actions no longer seem to align with ASU's morals, I would like to urge ASU to reconsider their contract with them if they fail to negotiate a new contract with Genesis OBGYN.
Thank you for your feedback regarding BCBS of Arizona and your provider’s status with contracting. The medical plan ASU is a part of is at the state of Arizona level, the Arizona Department of Administration contracts with the medical plan carriers on behalf of all state employees and Arizona university employees and their dependents.
Regarding provider contracting, each provider and/or facility accepts a reimbursement level with a medical carrier based on their contract. When medical carriers re-negotiate these contracts, regional costs are analyzed to determine what is appropriate and fair for reimbursement of services for all employer groups that are a part of the medical carrier’s book of business. Each provider and/or facility analyzes their financial requirements when choosing to contract with medical carriers. Sometimes providers want and need the volume of patients from a medical carrier(s) to support and grow their practice. Others are established and do not need the volume from a medical carrier and instead, only want to provide care to patients who don’t require them to work with medical carriers (cash payors) or, certain medical carriers who have higher reimbursement levels.
All this to say that each provider and/or facility is making their own financial determination when contracting with medical carriers. The medical carriers have to weigh the reimbursement requirements of a particular provider or facility with the disruption of their membership when they lose providers and/or facilities. ADOA/ASU does not have involvement in these contract negotiations, unfortunately.
BCBS of Arizona is one of the two medical carriers available for employees. United Healthcare is the other medical carrier option that you may want to explore if keeping this provider as an in-network contracted provider is critical for your health care and financial needs. If determined to be in the United Healthcare network, you can make a change to your plan enrollment either during the open enrollment period, or, up until the plan year begins (no later than December 30) since open enrollment just ended. Please contact the employee service center if you require a change to your plan election—again, this must occur prior to the plan year beginning. Once the plan year begins on January 1, only changes tied to qualified life events (marriage, divorce, birth, etc) are allowed mid-year.
Juneteenth as Paid Holiday
As Juneteenth has been a Federally recognized, paid holiday since 2021, ASU should add an 11th paid holiday and honor it. I want to work for an Arizona employer who strives to lead in community life-work balance and who takes DEI seriously. An easy step in these reforms is ensuring alignment and proper recognition of Juneteenth alongside the 10 holidays already observed. NAU and UoA both observe Juneteenth as paid holidays as of their 2023 calendars. Good sense decisions like this boost moral and reinforce the seriousness with which ASU stands behind uplifting all in our community. I urge policy and decision makers to address what is currently a disparity for actionable change to 2023 and beyond.
Thank you for your feedback. At present, ABOR policy currently authorizes ASU to designate 10 paid holidays; that number has not been expanded since the federal government’s recognition of Juneteenth. Adding an official holiday to the university calendar is a complex process and the university continues to engage in discussion. We will continue to provide more information, as it is available.
Salary increase & health conditions
Do you care about the mental and physical health of all employees, especially those who are working as university staff? We are stressed and burnt out from working, especially during peak season when we grab more hours to work and get additional income. This is not a healthy work-life balance at all. We get messages that ASU accepted over 100K students. Yet, we do not see any changes in our paychecks, especially since everything is so expensive. Then the only thank you and appreciation we get are cups and sandwiches with mandatory attendance to attend the appreciation lunch. That is not appreciation at all. WE ARE BEING EXPLOITED. We are tired mentally and physically. Are higher-ups going to just move slowly and wait till more employees decide to seek another job for higher pay than working in ASU, where our charter states that ASU is supposed to take responsibility for the economic health of the communities it serves? Low pay is not living up to its own charter at all.
Thank you for your feedback. We understand that business needs have peak seasons and that may cause undue stress on staff, students and faculty. ASU considers the mental and physical well-being vital to the overall health of our community. As such we offer a variety of programs, services and policies to support the whole person including Employee Assistance Office providing confidential counseling and consultation, preventative health practices while at work, financial incentives for engaging in healthy behaviors through the HIP program as well as recognition programs to highlight individual and group excellence and achievements and development programs to move ones career forward through leadership and workforce development. All intended to support staff engagement and keep our community healthy and safe. Please visit our Employee Assistance Office and Wellness Program at https://cfo.asu.edu/eao-wellness and leadership and workforce development. In regards to compensation, the university is committed to providing good paying jobs along with valuable employee benefits. The university continues to evaluate local labor markets and recently established new minimum pay levels for full and part-time employees. For specific questions regarding individual pay concerns, please reach out to your internal HR department for assistance.
401K options
Existing staff members should be offered an additional 401K savings plan to be manually controlled by the employee. This would allow the employee to have an additional savings account that they can control, and possibly help with purchasing a home or pay for school.
Thank you for your feedback. All employees have access to two separate voluntary retirement savings plans—a 403(b) and 457(b). These plans offer pre-tax and post-tax savings up to IRS annual limits (the 457b is currently being modified to allow for post-tax contributions) with loan provisions and other hardship withdrawal criteria that can pertain to primary residence purchases and education expenses. Employees can participate in one or both of these plans up to the IRS annual limit. If you would like more information, please visit our voluntary retirement programs page at https://cfo.asu.edu/voluntary-retirement-program
Holiday leave and wages
For the most part, I love working for ASU and am proud to say that they are my employer. However, as I see other local universities making progressive changes to improve their employee's well-being it is frustrating to see that ASU is not keeping up. I've only recently learned about UA and NAU offering paid time off between the Christmas holiday and the New Year holiday and it's left me wondering why ASU is giving so much push back on this? It's no secret that by working for ASU, you must be prepared to take a pay cut. And in the past this has been made up for by ancillary benefits. But as benefit expectations continue to evolve, what once seemed like generous benefits are now seeming outdated. ASU is going to start losing good employees at a much faster rate to their competitors if they don't start making up for their shortcomings in either wage increases or exceptional work-life balance perks.
Thank you for your feedback. Although closing the University is not in alignment with the various needs and components of the University, employees have the option of requesting time off during the holidays.
Holiday Closure
I stand in agreement with my colleagues who feel strongly that ASU should enact a policy to mirror many other public universities, including NAU and UA, and close between the Christmas Holiday and New Year's and offer it as paid leave. This is an opportunity to start INNOVATING a life-work balance (life first!) for staff. We innovate for learners, innovate for the community, but what about those of us who make it our life to serve both as staff?
Thank you for your feedback. Although closing the University is not in alignment with the various needs and components of the University, employees have the option of requesting time off during the holidays.
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