Category Archives: Institutional News

Annual Performance Summary (APS) Workshops

The annual performance evaluation process for staff members takes place between January 1 and March 31 of each year.  The APS form for 2019 remains the same as in previous years.

Below, please find a link to the form, helpful tools and guides to support the APS process, and an on-line audio training presentation that will help you prepare whether you are a supervisor or individual contributor.

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/evals

For those who have attended the training sessions offered in past years, you may find the recorded presentation to be a convenient refresher.  In addition to the on-line tools, we are offering two APS workshops for new employees and supervisors undergoing the APS process for the first time:

Wednesday, January 30 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Mitchell Green Lounge)

Tuesday, February 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (Mitchell Green Lounge)

For those who have already attended a live or recorded workshop, additional question & answer sessions are available to provide support for supervisors, managers and staff as you prepare your performance documentation:

Thursday, February 14 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Marble Works)

Thursday, March 7 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. (Marble Works)

Monday, March 11 from 11:00 a.m. to noon (Marble Works)

Please email lcaroten@middlebury.edu or call x2012 to register.

 

-Laura Carotenuto

Workplace Etiquette – Holiday Tipping and Solicitation

The holiday season has arrived and, along with the wreaths and menorahs, the perennial workplace etiquette issues around tipping and solicitation of donations for office parties and/or gifts have appeared.  While no doubt tipping, gifts and parties are prompted by goodwill and the desire to share the joy and bounty of the season, such practices can (and sometimes do) inadvertently have the opposite effect.  In fact, each year the Administration, Middlebury Staff Council and the Human Resources Department receive feedback from members of our community who feel uncomfortable about such holiday practices.

The Administration, MSC and the Human Resources Department discourage tipping employees and urge caution in soliciting for parties or gifts because of the inherent inequity in tipping, and the potential for perceived pressure to contribute to office parties or gifts.

Instead of cash tipping, employees who would like to recognize specific staff are encouraged to do so with a verbal thank-you and/or a note or card.  If there is a strong desire to do more, consider a non-monetary treat that can be shared among co-workers; for example sending bagels and coffee, or sweets, to a December staff meeting can be a great way to express your appreciation.  (Consider contacting the supervisor or manager to discuss what might work well in the specific workgroup.)

Employees (especially managers) are encouraged to be sensitive when organizing holiday gatherings and/or soliciting donations for gifts.  Please keep in mind that not everyone celebrates the same holidays (or any holidays), that not everyone is equally in a position to make a donation (either of money or goods) and that some people are simply not interested in doing so. While the myriad of year-end holidays can provide a wonderful opportunity for workgroups to come together socially – and such gatherings can be completely appropriate in the workplace – please do be sensitive to the varying beliefs, interests and resources of ALL of your colleagues as you make plans.  With a little care celebrations and get-togethers can be fun and comfortable for all employees who choose to participate.

Best wishes for a happy – and stress-free – holiday season!

-Cheryl Mullins

Annual Performance Summary for Staff Members

Dear Colleagues,

As 2018 draws to a close, I would like to offer you resources to prepare for the Annual Performance Summary (APS) process upon our return in the new year.  As you may recall, the annual performance evaluation process for staff members takes place between January 1 and March 31 of each year.  The APS form for 2019 remains the same as in previous years.  (Please note, however, that plans have already begun to update the process in the coming year incorporating campus feedback received through the institution-wide employee engagement survey, follow-up performance management discussions with the community, and opportunities to utilize the new Oracle ERP in exciting ways.  See MiddPoints for more information: MiddPoints 8-23-18.)

Below, please find links to the form, helpful tools and guides to support the APS process, and an on-line audio training presentation that will help you prepare whether you are a supervisor or individual contributor.  For those who have attended the training sessions offered in past years, you may find this recorded presentation to be a convenient refresher.  In addition to the on-line tools, beginning in January we will be offering APS workshops for new employees and supervisors.  For those who have already attended a live or recorded workshop, additional question & answer sessions will be offered to provide support as you prepare your performance documentation.

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/business/hr/staffandfaculty/evals (Vermont campus)

https://www.middlebury.edu/institute/offices-services/human-resources/employee-resources  (MIIS)

Workshop dates will be announced soon via MiddPoints.  In addition, individual support is available to staff and supervisors and department specific training and consultation is available upon request.  Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Best,

Laura Carotenuto

Manager of Employee Relations

Holiday Pay Time Entry Reminder for 2018-19

horn-o-plentysnowmanHere is a review of procedures regarding time entry during the November and December breaks, as well as for Martin Luther King Day.  Hourly (non-exempt) employees must use specific pay codes to record time during the designated breaks. Exempt (salaried) employees do not have use special codes since the appropriate number of days for each of the breaks will default in as Holiday Pay.

The 2018-19 holiday schedule is:

Thanksgiving Break: 5:01 p.m. Wednesday, November 21, through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, November 24 (regular operations resume Sunday, November 25.)

December Break: 5:01 p.m. Friday, December 21 through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, January 1 (regular operations resume Wednesday, January 2, 2019)

Martin Luther King Day: 5:01 p.m. Sunday, January 20 through 11:59 p.m. Monday, January 21 (regular operations resume Tuesday, January 22, 2019)

Hourly Employees:  There are two pay codes – Holiday Pay and Holiday Premium Pay – that are used only during the designated holiday periods:

Holiday Pay (HOL): a benefit that is provided by Middlebury College to keep benefit-eligible employees’ pay whole without having to use CTO during designated holiday periods. It is not intended to provide extra pay: HOL, which pays at an employee’s regular hourly rate, is to be entered for normally scheduled hours by non-exempt benefit eligible employees on days during the specified holiday break periods whether or not they work.  For the Thanksgiving break, up to two days may be entered, for the December break, up to six days may be used, and for Martin Luther King Day, one day may be used.  Employees who work variable or flexible schedules should coordinate entry of HOL with their supervisor to determine the appropriate number of HOL hours.

Holiday Pay Premium (HPP): a benefit that pays eligible non-exempt employees extra for working during the designated holiday periods. HPP, which pays at time-and-a-half the employee’s base hourly rate, is to be used by all eligible employees for hours worked during the specified holiday break periods. A limited number of part-time non-benefit eligible employees (such as those who work at the Snow Bowl, as the Snow Bowl is open for regular business during the December break) are not eligible for HPP. Please speak with your supervisor or Human Resources if you have questions regarding your status or eligibility for HPP.

Who Worked on a Holiday Who Did Not Work on a Holiday
Hourly benefit-eligible staff Enter Holiday Pay for any normally scheduled hours AND Enter Holiday Pay Premium for hours actually worked.* Enter Holiday Pay for any normally scheduled hours.
Hourly non-benefit-eligible staff Enter Holiday Pay Premium for hours actually worked.* No action needed.
Hourly non-benefit-eligible staff in positions designated as ineligible for HPP Enter Regular for hours actually worked.* No action needed.
Salaried, exempt staff No action needed. No action needed.  Holiday Pay code will default in during payroll.

* Remember to enter hours on the correct shift.

Please contact Human Resources if you have additional questions regarding time entry of HOL or HPP.

FAQs

Q: I understand that holiday pay is for benefit eligible staff. However, I had coordinated with my supervisor and indeed worked during Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving. Can I enter the hours normally in this case?

A: Worked hours during the holiday breaks should be entered as Holiday Pay Premium (HPP) by all non-exempt staff, whether or not they are benefits-eligible. The only exception would be Snow Bowl non-benefits eligible employees during the December break, since, unlike the rest of the campus, the Snow Bowl is open for business.

Q: I am a benefits-eligible employee who normally works Tues-Sat; how would I enter time for the Thanksgiving break if I am off Thursday and Friday, then work Saturday? Would I get three days of holiday pay?

A: Remember, the maximum holiday pay benefit is two days for the Thanksgiving break, so you would have to use CTO for one of the three days if you were off all three days.  If you work on Saturday, you would enter holiday pay premium for the hours if you work, but it wouldn’t be necessary to enter CTO since you would receive two days of holiday pay for Thursday and Friday.

Q: I normally work Sunday through Thursday; how would I enter my hours for the Thanksgiving break?

A: You would enter holiday time for Thursday, and nothing for Friday and Saturday since you would not normally be scheduled to work on those days. Sunday would be regular hours, or CTO if you did not work.

25 Years @ The Middlebury Institute with Nukhet Kardam

Nukhet Kardam, Professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, recently passed her 25-year mark of employment.  Nukhet took a few minutes to share her thoughts of “Life at the Institute” over the past two and a half decades.

1. What did you do prior to coming to work at the Middlebury Institute and where were you located?

I was working as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pomona College in the Department of Politics in Claremont, California.

2. What job titles have you held while working at the Middlebury Institute?

I think I came as Associate Professor, and then became Full Professor. I was the Program Chair for the MPA Program for several years.

3. Take us back to your first year as an employee at MIIS. What were the most significant things happening in your life outside of work then?

It was 1993, my son was 6 years old and started elementary school in Pacific Grove. We moved as a family to Pacific Grove and rented a house and hoped that my husband would find a job in this area, but it never happened. The first year I was at MIIS, he was on sabbatical from Scripps College in Claremont and he continued working there as a faculty member until he retired in 2008.

4. What are the most significant things happening in your life outside of work now (that you’d like to share)?

I am putting on “Aging Creatively” workshops for people in my generation. I absolutely love it and would like to expand these workshops, perhaps offering them to faculty across Middlebury who are close to retirement or already retired.

5. Have your interests/hobbies/athletic endeavors changed over the past 25 years? Have any of these been influenced by your work at MIIS or due to your association with others who work here?

I have realized that I don’t just want to be an intellectual and focusing on my mind, but become a ‘whole person’. So, I have become a Qi Gong and Zumba instructor. I am convinced that to live a fulfilled life, one has to combine all faculties and functions (imagination, thought, feelings, sensations) and trust one’s heart. I am on a Sufi spiritual path and I would like to combine my creativity, philosophy, and spirituality to offer to others and learn from others.

6. What is your fondest memory or experience that you’ve had while working at MIIS?

I don’t have a fondest memory. What I enjoy most is hearing form my former students and having a continuing relationship with them.

7. Many people change jobs/careers multiple times in their working life. Something must have kept you here for 25 years. Is it anything that you can put into words?

Yes, the ability of the school to allow me to change and grow. As I changed, the school accommodated me and allowed my creativity and different ideas to take shape and blossom. As the school changed, I stuck with it. What school would have given me the chance to write a book about my grandfather, go to Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and ultimately publish a book on Identity (from Ottoman to Turk and Beyond: Watercolor Identities)? This research was very close to my heart and also led to a successful seminar I still teach called Powerle Identity and Multiculturalism.

8. What are your plans for the next 25 years?

Offer “Aging Creatively” workshops around the U.S and in Turkey; teach Zumba Gold and Qi Gong classes, continue playing the piano and learn jazz piano and composition.

9. Do you have a favorite place on campus?

My office is perfect – large, great view, and all.

10. Is there any person on campus (or retiree, former employer) that mentored you, or you feel helped you grow into your job, grow to enjoy your work and your time at the Institute?

Yes, I could mention Ed Laurance who mentored me when I first came. We taught a couple of courses together which helped me a lot. Amy Sands, as Dean and then later Provost, always supported me and provided space for me to change. Amy McGill has been and is a great supporter.

11. If you could give one piece of advice to a new employee at MIIS, what would it be?

Give yourself time to grow into the job, make sure to get to know people from different programs, including staff, faculty, and students. Become part of the community and ENJOY it.

12. Is there anything else that you would like to share about your time at MIIS?

I have loved it!!

College Community Chorus in concert Nov. 17-18

The Middlebury College Community Chorus presents its annual Thanksgiving concerts on the Robison Concert Hall stage at the College’s Mahaney Center for the Arts at 7:00pm on Saturday evening, November 17 and at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, November 18. A varied selection of historic and contemporary music fill the free, hour-long program entitled “A Song Arising.” Jeff Rehbach conducts and Tim Guiles accompanies the nearly 100 community and student members of the choir – among the largest choirs in the state!

The choir will present a dramatic new 2018 work, Vida Atrevida,

Sam Guarnaccia '67 and Jeff Rehbach

Composer Sam Guarnaccia ’67 and College Community Chorus conductor Jeff Rehbach in rehearsal with the chorus

by Middlebury alumnus Sam Guarnaccia ’67. Premiered just three months ago by the Spanish Language School choir, it sets the words of Chilean songwriter, artist, and activist Violeta Parra, originally entitled “Gracias a la vida” (Thank you for life). In the midst of social and economic injustice—even the disappearance and death of her friends during the Pinochet regime—Parra penned the words, “Thank you, life, for giving me so much: even laughter and tears, joy and pain, that form my song, your song, the same song that is everyone’s song, my very song.”

The chorus conveys the presence and power of music through songs written by a new generation of composers. Their words convey ideas of “original harmony, sounding from all things old and all things young; music formed deep within human hearts; and the light of song that shines strong through darkness, pain, and strife.” We hear these words in Muusika by Estonian composer Pärt Uusberg; in Earth Song by Frank Ticheli; and in Dan Forrest’s sensitive setting of the poem Alway Something Sings by Ralph Waldo Emerson, that features Middlebury Union Middle School student Asa Baker-Rouse singing solo soprano.

The chorus likewise gives voice to tranquility, reconciliation, and equality. The Peace of Wild Things by Jake Runestad, composed just five years ago, sets poetry by environmentalist Wendell Berry. With solo cello and viola parts played by Dieuwke Davydov and Molly Bidwell, the choir will present the Vermont premiere of Connor Koppin’s newly published setting of I Dream A World, in which poet Langston Hughes envisions a time when we may live together in peace and “share the bounties of the earth, whatever race you be.”

Songs of celebration and thanksgiving include I Will Sing, a toe-tapping gospel song by African-American composer Rosephanye Powell; Hymn for America by Stephen Paulus that portrays the beauty and blessings of our land; and an energetic setting by longtime Vermont resident Gwyneth Walker of a nineteenth-century hymn, How Can I Keep from Singing.

The program features classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s earliest and final choral works, a setting of Kyrie Eleison, and the final movement of his splendid Requiem. We bridge these two selections with Illumination, a Latin text that originates from 17th century Ireland, set by Celtic composer Michael McGlynn. Instrumentalists from the Middlebury Community Music Center, Vermont Symphony and Champlain Philharmonic Orchestra accompany the choir for these selections.

The concert will close with The Song Arising. Its vibrant words and music by Frank M. Martin ring out, “I will awaken the dawn, let there by singing, let there be music!” Come hear your neighbors from Brandon, Bridport, Bristol, Cornwall, East Middlebury, Goshen, Jerusalem, Leicester, Lincoln, Middlebury, Monkton, New Haven, North Ferrisburgh, Orwell, Ripton, Salisbury, Shoreham, South Burlington, Vergennes, Weybridge, Moriah NY, and students from Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, Latvia, Zimbabwe, and China perform together. Contact director Jeff Rehbach, 989-7355, for more information. 

Note: These performances cap off a weekend of choral music, that begins on Friday evening in the Concert Hall at 7:30pm, when the Vermont Collegiate Choral Consortium performs “Missa Luba” for chorus and percussion, with words of the traditional Mass in a setting based on Congolese musical idioms, sung by the student choirs of Middlebury College, Castleton University, and Northern Vermont University.

Workforce Planning Update – October/November 2018

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

INSTITUTIONAL PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT: ACTION PLAN

The engagement survey team continues to make progress with the findings of our employee engagement survey. As you may recall, one of the major institutional recommendations for improvement centered on performance management. We are pleased to report that we, with the input of staff and faculty, have developed an action plan to address areas of interest and concern.

The engagement survey team organized a series of meetings this past spring for interested staff and faculty. In the first round of meetings, participants had an opportunity to review the data, identify areas for improvement, and prioritize where to start. In the second round of meetings, participants reviewed the emerging priorities and brainstormed ideas for improvement. We had excellent turnouts in Vermont and California with many rich conversations. The survey team reviewed all notes and the following areas emerged as priorities:

  • Enhancing onboarding
  • Addressing compensation
  • Improving the APS instrument
  • Improving how we manage for performance

For detailed information regarding the full plan, click here.

Highlights of the plan are outlined below:

  1. ENHANCING OUR ONBOARDING OPPORTUNITIES

It was widely agreed that an effective onboarding process should help new hires to adjust to the institution, clarify the social and performance aspects of their jobs, and position them for success. Human Resources, as well as each department, has a role to play in that process and associated activities will begin this fall.

  1. ADDRESSING COMPENSATION

While this was not a focus of our performance management discussions, concerns about compensation continued to arise. A fair, equitable, and competitive salary structure is critically important to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified employees. We are operating under a compensation structure established in 2007–2008. It is time to evaluate it to ensure that it meets our current needs and institutional priorities. We will begin a phased process of review beginning this fall.

III.  IMPROVING THE APS INSTRUMENT

There was a great deal of dissatisfaction directed at our current APS tool. With the deployment of a new Human Capital Management (HCM) technology system, we have the opportunity to develop a new tool for our annual assessments while re-evaluating what we want to evaluate. We would like to explore a competency-based model for performance evaluation, which focuses on the essential knowledge, skills and behaviors required of employees to be star performers in their respective roles.   We will pursue opportunities to enhance the process as we implement our new technology. The initial phases of this work will occur this year, with the intended target of having a new performance evaluation system in place for FY 2020.

In addition to a new tool, we plan to evaluate other types of performance assessments with initial focus on a 360-degree feedback model, a performance review model that provides a holistic view of an employee by gathering feedback from that employee’s manager, peers and direct reports.

  1. BROADENING OUR VIEW OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The most significant insight garnered through this process is the need, and desire, to broaden our view of performance management. If we think about performance management as the ways in which we align the capabilities and contributions of our people throughout the year to achieve our organizational goals, it must be comprised of more than the APS process.

Particular emphasis will be directed toward professional development, initially for managers. Managers provide a crucial link in the organization between senior leadership and staff. They work to translate strategy into operations and have a critical role in ensuring the development of their staff. Accordingly, our initial efforts will focus on a professional development program for managers. Key topics will be a core set of managerial competencies, as well as the development of managers as coaches.

Thank you again to all who participated in these institutional conversations. The insight and perspective has been invaluable. We will continue to provide updates to the community as we move forward.

 

-Karen Miller