Staff Concerns Committee

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Staff Concerns Committee

• Rachel Barrow and John Healey

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ADVANTAGES OF WORKING AT EMORY

• Intellectually stimulating work
• Excellent Investigators
• State of the art equipment and facilities
• Generous benefits (large retirement match, lots
  of vacation/sick/holiday leave, good health
  insurance, courtesy scholarships, inexpensive gym
  membership, employee discounts)

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MISSION OF STAFF CONCERNS COMMITTEE

• to identify areas of concern specific to Emory
  employees supported by research grants (soft
  money)
• to educate research staff about policies and
  practices in these areas of concern
• to suggest to the appropriate departments
  modifications of policies and practices that
  could lead to increased retention rates and job
  satisfaction in these positions

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INFORMATION GATHERING

• A panel from Human Resources will join us at a
  future meeting to address the following questions
  concerning policies in four general areas job
  security, career development, work environment,
  and benefits.

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JOB SECURITY

• Is there a policy for notification of grant
  termination?
• No, but information on the funding period is
  available at http//crisp.cit.nih.gov/ go to
  crisp query form and enter PIs name
• HR suggested that we work with SOM Administration
  to establish a policy for notifying research
  personnel

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JOB SECURITY

• Do Emory employees have an inside track for job
  openings at Emory?
• HR seemed receptive to the idea of granting
  automatic courtesy interviews to qualified
  internal candidates
• HR is holding meetings Fridays from 1-230 in
  Room 101 for all reduction in force employees to
  share job leads, receive resume and interview
  advice and network

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JOB SECURITY

• In the absence of bridge funding between grants,
  could some benefits continue until a new job at
  Emory is found?
• Randall Cumbaa will work with each RIF employee
  to target and follow up on career opportunities
  at Emory.  Randall will also coordinate and
  facilitate services with Faculty Staff Assistance
  Program and Benefits.
• Employee is entitled to Personal Leave of Absence
  for up to 90 days, where Emory benefits are
  retained without pay.

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• How does the Research Staff Career Ladder mirror
  reality at Emory University?
• Even though there are various job titles for
  Research Staff, the reality is there is no
  defined career ladder mandated by the University.
• Proposed solution is joint task force from
  Administration, ERSA, HR, and Faculty to address
  this issue.

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• What determines a Research Specialists salary
  within a given salary range?
• No answer yet. ERSA pointed out to HR that there
  seems to be no connection between salary and
  performance.
• As long as merit increases (cost of living
  raises) are averaged at the departmental level,
  the chances of receiving an increase above this
  average is very small.

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• How are salary increases negotiated upon transfer
  between Emory labs?
• Salary increases can be negotiated in lateral
  transfers, although this may not have been true
  in the past, and some PIs may not be aware of
  the policy change.

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• Could Research Specialists audit university
  classes to expand their knowledge base and
  technical skills?
• According to Del King, Associate VP of HR, as
  long as the course is in a degreed program, it is
  covered under the employee Courtesy Scholarship
  even if the person is not working on a degree. 
  The only exception is that if an individual is
  auditing a class, it is not covered under
  courtesy scholarship.
• HR has some other learning opportunities/ideas
  that they will be pitching to ERSA.

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WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Is there management training for Principal
  Investigators to ensure consistency in adhering
  to Emory policies?
• HR cant mandate training for PIs, but they have
  a training module for PIs as managers available.
  4 PIs have taken advantage of this opportunity.
• SOM may be working on this issue
• ERSA suggested offering the module to graduate
  students and post docs as part of their training

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WORK ENVIRONMENT

• How does Human Resources protect and assist
  Research Specialists in difficult work
  environments?
• Jeanne Thigpen, Divisional HR Manager, is
  available to help employees in difficult
  situations. She can give confidential advice and
  help employees find new jobs without their
  supervisors knowledge.
• Employees in difficult situations should consider
  attending the new meetings for reduction in force
  employees.

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BENEFITS

• Could employees trade one or two weeks of annual
  leave for salary each year?
• ERSA proposed adopting the Emory Healthcare
  model, in which employees can trade accumulated
  leave down to 80 hours twice each year.
• Del King is looking into this.

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BENEFITS

• Why can employees accumulate 320 hours of annual
  leave but be paid for only 240 hours when
  leaving?
• No answer yet, we will ask at the next update
  meeting

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BENEFITS

• Could years of service be rewarded with decreased
  parking fees, free gym membership, free Evening
  at Emory courses, etc.?
• HR seemed receptive to this idea.

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BENEFITS

• Could indirect funds be used to supplement
  Research Specialist compensation?
• This question should be addressed to the Grants
  and Contracts Office or to the School of Medicine
  Administration

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BENEFITS

• What is the policy on maternity leave?
• Sick leave and vacation leave should be used for
  maternity leave
• Family and medical leave without pay are granted
  as per Federal law

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FUTURE PLANS

• continue to gather and disseminate policy
  information to employees
• to work with Human Resources to implement
  appropriate policy changes
• to identify other areas of particular concern to
  research staff through surveys, group
  discussions, and Emory Research Staff Association
  web site.

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HELP US OUT

• If you would like to make a difference
• E-mail us with your questions and concerns
• Join the Staff Concerns Committee by contacting
  jhealey_at_emory.edu or rbarrow_at_emory.edu