CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE PERSONNEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

September 19-21, 2007 excerpt from CEPAC-Staff Senate minutes regarding Regents' meeting with classified staff and preliminary action on the findings of the Task Force

Task Force full report

August 22, 2007: The Task Force has completed its report and will present its findings to the Regents at the September 19-21 Board meeting.

A Montana University System task force is looking for better ways to recruit and retain college and university employees. The group launched its research effort in a work session on March 16. Campuses are reporting increasing difficulty in their ability to hire and keep capable employees in a variety of occupational groups. The Recruitment and Retention Task Force is assigned to examine and recommend potential solutions to the Board of Regents in September 2007.

Below are links to documentation of the Task Force meetings.

March 16, 2007
April 17, 2007

Statement following the May 25, 2007, June 8, and June 26, 2007 meetings is below. July 25 update: the Task Force is actively writing its report for delivery to the Regents in September.

Hiring and keeping employees in higher education: Recruitment and Retention Task Force will submit ideas this fall

Members of a Montana University System (MUS) task force on employee recruitment and retention have nearly completed their assignment of identifying ways to help campuses hire and keep capable employees.

“The task force members did a great job in a short period of time,” says Kevin McRae, MUS director of labor relations. “Campus and constituency group leaders brought their talents to the table, shared their knowledge, and just plain went to work on it.”

The Regents called for the creation of the task force in November. The Commissioner of Higher Education assembled the group in February. Since then, the Task Force has held several work sessions to identify, examine, and describe possible ways of improving the ability to recruit and retain employees in the university system.

The Task Force will continue collaborating over a final written report to be delivered to the Regents later this summer, shortly before the September meeting of the Board of Regents.

In a general sense, Task Force members expect the final report will speak to issues of salary competitiveness, the process of budgeting for salaries, job market comparisons, pay compression and pay inversion, housing costs, tuition waivers, innovative “start-up” packages for new hires, training and professional development, flexible schedules, retirement benefits, merit/performance pay, and more.

The members and mission of the Recruitment and Retention Task Force are:

• Doug Abbott, Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs and Research, Montana Tech
• Elizabeth Nichols, Dean, MSU College of Nursing
• Erik Burke, Public Policy Director, MEA-MFT
• Gerald Fetz, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, UM
• Mary Ellen Baukol, Assistant Dean, Business and Finance, MSU-GF COT
• Quinton Nyman, Executive Director, MPEA
• Rob Gannon, Human Resources Director, UM
• Sara France, Classified Staff, MSU
• Shannon Taylor, Faculty Council Chair, MSU
• Susan Alt, Human Resources Director, MSU
• Terrie Iverson, Vice Chancellor, Administration and Finance, MSU-Billings
• Kevin McRae, Labor Relations and Human Resources, OCHE
• Task Force mission statement:
  The Recruitment and Retention Task Force shall research and recommend ways to improve the Montana University System’s ability to attract and keep good employees. “Recruitment” in this context means the ability to hire qualified and capable employees in a competitive job market. “Retention” means the ability to remain the employer of choice for marketable employees when competing employers offer desirable pay, benefits, and working conditions. The Task Force shall report to the Commissioner and the Board of Regents on its findings in regard to hiring trends, employee turnover, and ideas for improved recruitment and retention ability (economic and non-economic).

Return to regular view	Text-only	Updated: 03/06/08