Dear Colleagues:

We have completed Step 2 of Workforce Planning and are about to begin Step 3, so I wanted to give you a brief update on our progress so far and the schedule for moving forward.

As we continue this important work, please know that the senior administrators and I are aware that this is a challenging project.  We recognize the stress and anxiety that many of you are experiencing, and we are working as hard as we can to complete the project and achieve our goal to prepare Middlebury for the future.

Indeed I am encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing about your efforts to truly envision a new future for the institution.  Thank you for your ongoing cooperation and commitment to the work and your sensitivity and regard for your colleagues.

Here is where we stand on the timeline for the work:

All Project Team Leads have completed Step 2 of the Workforce Planning process – defining their future state.  The key themes that emerged from Step 2 are the project teams’ desires to:

• emphasize high-impact work that is strategic and/or engages or impacts the student experience
• design and deliver services more efficiently, including through automation and streamlined business processes
• foster and improve workplace conditions

The Vice Presidents have completed their units’ future states based on the work completed by the teams.

The Project Team Leads, VPs, and Human Resources will collaborate on Step 3 — analyzing the gaps — during November and December.

Project Team Leads will attend a Step 3 orientation the first week of November.  With support from HR, at the end of Step 3, project teams will:

• define their new organizational charts
• recommend future positions
• determine compensation for new or redefined positions
• establish a strategy for assessing necessary skills for current and new hires
• identify non-compensation savings

VPs will complete their analysis based on the work of the Project Team Leads.

Work on Step 4 — defining priorities, strategies and solutions — will begin after the holidays.

In January 2019, the VPs will begin Step 4 by reconciling their units’ Step 3 recommendations into an institution-wide view of our needs and a strategy for moving forward. This will include making decisions based on strategic priorities and available budgets, as well as ensuring compliance with anti-discrimination policies. By March 1, we will complete Step 4 and expect to have a plan for positions that will be eliminated.

We will host another Q&A session about workforce planning in Vermont before the December break and meet with staff and faculty in Monterey in November. Stay tuned for more details.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Karen

Karen L. Miller

Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Risk Officer