HR realigns, shifts focus to recruitment

By Dan Heuchert

The dawn of the new classified pay plan and the tight local labor market have led to a reorganization at Human Resources. The essence: a new emphasis on beating the bushes for the best job talent.

The Division of Employment and Classification's classification functions are being split off into the Compensation Division, in order to "more properly align classification with the compensation function, as we have now moved from a classification-based pay system to a compensation-based pay system," Chief Human Resource Officer Thomas E. Gausvik wrote in a memo to the University community.

The rest of the division has been renamed the University Staffing Division. Its aim is to be more proactive in filling open positions at the University in the face of the area's low unemployment rate and stiff competition from other employers, a situation Gausvik called a "talent war." The need is particularly acute for information technology professionals and laboratory technicians, he said.

The new pay plan allows HR to push salary and hiring decisions into the hands of managers throughout the University and devote more resources to recruitment. It's all part of implementing a plan formulated two years ago, Gausvik said.

"Our focus in the past has been more passive, more relying on traditional methods," he said. Rather than placing newspaper ads and occasionally attending high school career fairs, then waiting for the applications to come in, HR personnel will travel to recruit at other colleges and at regional and national conferences. They will seek out former members of the armed forces, send out mailings, and even contact talented professionals who are not currently in the job-search market. They are also combing their own records back to 1990, looking for inactive applicants with desired qualifications.

"We're going to candidates, to try to talk face-to-face as much as we can," Gausvik said. "If we want to be in the game, we have to be in the game -- we can't sit on the bench and be an observer."

The department will also put more emphasis on retention, which Gausvik said "first and foremost has to be the number one concern of any manager in the institution."

The reorganization carries with it several personnel changes.

David Ripley is the new chief compensation officer, leading the classified and compensation function. He will be assisted by new assistant director of classification Angelee Godbold and new assistant director of compensation Jonette Aughenbaugh.

Lucinda Childs-White has taken charge of the University Staffing Division as chief staffing officer.

Finally, Martha Garland has been named deputy chief human resources officer, assisting Gausvik in the day-to-day operations of HR and overseeing special projects, including implementation of the Integrated Systems Project within HR.