School District U-46 Human Resource Audit

1
School District U-46Human Resource Audit

• By
• HR Audit, Inc.
• Jim Bastian

2
Introduction

• On-site 4/14-4/18/08
• 20 interviews, 4 school visits, 2 Focus groups
• Files, forms, manuals, data
• HR practices, policies and procedures are shared

3
Performance Appraisal Process

• District Administrators pay significant attention
  to performance evaluation
• Recommendations
• Replace Gnomen-Webb with more
• quantifiable, objective measures
• Continue the phased introduction of
• Charlotte Danielson Rubric

4
Recruitment

• HR provides posting, sourcing and screening
  services
• Recommendations
• Modify the selection/screening process for
  special education professionals
• Redesign general interview template
• Communicate compensation in offer letters
• using pay-period figures rather than annual
  salary when possible

5
Employee Files

• Both electronic and manual files are kept. Best
  practices are employed to ensure confidentiality
  and limit access
• Recommendation
• Remove unnecessary materials

6
Retention

• Employee turnover in the District is 7.8, the
  low end of the range.
• Recommendations
• Begin conducting exit interviews, including
  employee ethnicity gender
• Expand the employee recognition program

7
Policies and Procedures

• The District maintains customary policies and
  procedures.
• Recommendations
• Consider adding a pre-employment drug screen
  policy, and at a later date post-accident drug
  screens
• Expand sexual harassment policy and training to
  include ethnicity religion

8
Compensation

• District combines pay for performance and cost of
  living into one amount for administrators pay.
• Recommendation
• Add cost of living increase to base salary, but
  make merit pay a separate, year end payout and
  not included in base salary.

9
Communications

• HR internal communications include news bulletin,
  benefits newsletter, training, District web-site
  postings, e-mail etc.
• Recommendation
• HR should establish a Departmental communication
  plan.

10
Job Descriptions

• The sample reviewed included customary content
  and best practices.
• Recommendations
• Separate essential and marginal duties
• Add a review/up-date of job descriptions to the
  performance appraisal process
• Provide a copy to all new employees during
• their orientation and a copy to all
  interviewers
• 4. Add proficiency using applicable software to
  all Department job descriptions

11
Employee Handbook

• Contains appropriate and customary content
• Recommendation
• Secure a signed receipt or a signed
  acknowledgement that the employee understands it
  is their responsibility to visit the web-site,
  regularly for up-dates and read and understand
  the handbook

12
Regulatory Compliance

• Generally good procedures to ensure compliance
  are in place. During the audit, new Minimum Wage
  poster was up-dated.
• Recommendations
• Provide I-9 training to applicable HR staff
• Elevate the requirements for HR specific
  credentials/expertise for staff
• Hire summer temp. to purge files of those no
  longer required to retain

13
Training and Orientation

• Job specific training for HR staff is completed
  within HR and the Department participates in
  other District-wide training programs.
• Recommendations
• Redesign and expand the Dept. training program
  for new hires
• Design, develop and implement training program
  for administrators to include compliance,
  performance management and effective interviewing
  and hiring.

14
Benefits Administration

• Benefits package is comprehensive. Particular
  strengths are EAP, wellness, new employee
  orientation, compliance, communication, Workers
  Comp and unemployment administration.
• Recommendation
• Discontinue printing copies just post on the
  web-site

15
Use of Technology

• Peoplesoft program was installed in 2000, for
  employee data and payroll, plus Connect-Ed, Great
  Plains and Subfinder.
• Recommendations
• Consolidate all payroll functions into HR (This
  is already under review)
• Redeploy the post-payroll response team to
  establish ownership and expertise on specific
  types of errors for expedient resolution

16
Recommendations Continued

• When errors not due to employee actions occur and
  result in costs to employees, the response team
  should have authority to approve reimbursement
• Provide a list of unsolvable payroll glitches to
  an outside expert to fix
• Consider a dry run prior to issuing payroll
• Reduce the number of processes requiring hard
  copies
• Establish and communicate data processing
  procedures

17
HR Department Staffing, Structure and Strategies

• There are 23 full time staff in HR. This is at
  the low end of the range for comparable
  districts. (Staffing is lean)
• Recommendations
• Re-evaluate all HR positions to determine optimum
  skills, education, credentials and expertise
  required
• Add an HRIS position to the Dept.

18
Recommendations - Continued

• Collect internal customer evaluations for
  off-sight service delivery
• Incorporate the Departments Mission objectives
  into the strategic plan
• Thank You