Office of Sponsored Programs Roundtable Meeting

Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 10:00 AM, Procrastinator Theater

Introduction to Jeannette Grey Gilbert, new Human Resources Director (started January 2, 2019)

  • Human Resources wants to bring a healthy mix of compliance, culture focus, and bringing a meaning of what is a healthy work environment.
  • Focus on structure and core services in HR. Additionally, creating clarity about the transition in HR and the new Fiscal Shared Services.

What is the Structure of HR? Three key areas:

  1. HR Shared Services- assist campus with recruiting, hiring, on boarding, compensation, and classification.
    1. One of the changes is getting the HR Shared Services well versed in all areas mentioned so they are providing more generalized serviced instead of just specialized services.
  2. Specialized Area Services-employees who know our policies, practices, rules, and all of the HR Shared Services duties (compensation, classification, etc.)
    1. Employees here help with specific, higher level, or complex issues
  3. Management Team which includes Jeannette, Stephanie Presley (Interim Director), managers of specialized area, & Human Resources Business Partners.
    1. This team helps and supports multiple units all over campus

Jeannette explains the Roles & Responsibilities of Human Resources:

  • When it comes to laws and policies, these are non-negotiable, but HR provides the campus with options, risk assessments, and balance.

*Question/concerns raised about using the new HR website to communicate about new policies and procedures, receiving news about time sheets and when the payroll pre-audit is ready and due. If anyone has questions or requests, please contact HR.

HR Strategic Goals for the next 1 to 5 years:

  1. Overhaul of MSU/HR’s Recruiting Practices-be sure the process and practices are being communicated to MSU that HR is utilizing themselves in hiring and onboarding new Staff (& Faculty) is effective.
    1. HR wants to continue providing equal employment opportunities for internal and external candidates.
    2. Focus on hiring, recruiting, retaining more diverse faculty & staff, employees with/from diverse backgrounds.
  2. Support Competitive Compensation Practices & Benefits Program in facilitating recruiting and retaining employees
    1. MSU has an issue with competitive pay-two things to make MSU more competitive:
      1. Think of compensation from a total rewards standpoint-base salary is important, but there are many benefits like all insurances provided, or the tuition reimbursement, access to education, forums, and symposiums. Providing all information to potential employees
      2. Tools to remedy the under-market value of positions- make sure campus knows about these tools, and HR Staff is supporting employees, staff, and MSU. Tools such as strategic pays, pre-recruitment pays, lump sum bonuses, & career ladder programs. Compensation advisory committee is also available.
  3.  Facilitate Support Leadership in Professional Development
    1. Professional Development Training in HR
    2. Policy Update & Management Training-Creates better communication and tries to clarify & educate about MSU/HR policies, Fiscal policies, changed positions, practices, and people.
    3. HR will help identify programs and training for what a staff or department needs to be trained on.

Unit Specific Priorities of HR (next 1 to 2 years)

  • Recruiting
  • Applicant Tracking System
  • Banner-other different systems MSU uses
  • Onboarding-automating
  • Bi-weekly Payroll- Do not have a transition date. This Spring of 2020 more communication, information, and providing education about biweekly payroll.
    • Discussing about budgeting
    • Question over why the transition, one is to match with the State pay schedule, two created too many manual processes (corrections can be corrected in two weeks instead of four) and helping lower paid employees (fairness issue).
    • University of Montana is transferring to bi-weekly

Please email Jeannette for any questions: [email protected]

Aimee Dendrinos-Office of Research Compliance-Compliance Manager

  • Manage Conflict of Interest- Manage and help people comply with State & Federal laws and procedure and placing restrictions such as financial, business interests, and relationships
  • Annual Disclosure-ask individuals to disclose their conflicts, not because ORC is nosy. It is a policy, and any money spent is for the benefit of the University not just the benefit of one individual.
    • Also no one person using their job to benefit, state law prevents it and perception.
  • Ask to disclose any conflicts of interest because no one wants to be seen as having a conflict of interests, and they can also disclose questions and issues, and either receive validation or denial of interests. Reminding them not to use MSU resources when doing outside interests.
    • Disclose: If a Staff, Faculty, or employee is in a position to make a decision to benefit themselves.
    • Disclose: Relationships in the Workplace
  • Creating plans to manage conflicts.
  • Committee is also created to endorse the plan or not.
  • Annual Disclosures will be open in early October and close in November

Please email Aimee for any questions: [email protected]

OSP Updates:

  • Peggy Kastella and Shana Wold-DocuSign-(See related content below.)
    • Last four digits of GID when completing out of state travel forms, services agreements, and other forms.
    • Reporting to your Fiscal Manager about Finance and Payroll Correction forms, on how they would like to use DocuSign.
    • DocuSign way of when the user is initiating the document to OSP, there is an option when you are putting in the people you want to sign the document, there is an edit option. OSP encourages all to allow OSP to edit a document.
  • Note from Brian O’Connor-Procurement:
    • One thing that would be helpful for us is to keep forms segregated, i.e., don’t send a DocuSign envelope that has a purchase requisition, a sole source justification, etc., all scanned together and uploaded. There can be multiple uploads in one envelope, but they need to be separate files. Otherwise we have to pull them apart later. Also, if folks could remember to always have [email protected] as a “receives a copy”, that would be great. Peggy Wallace from my office is coming over. She is pretty proficient on DocuSign in case there are questions.
  • Leslie Schmidt - NIH & NSF New Disclosure Requirements for PI’s
    • Issues with Intellectual property
    • NIH: Asking for is non-financial research resources available to the investigator’s lab.
      • Allowed Professional Activities
      • All investigators scientific appointments
      • Certain visitors and students to the lab
    • NSF is asking to see reporting from all sources of support
  • State of Montana Legislative Audit division is wrapping up its Financial Audit.
  • OSP staffing will be down five positions by the end of December.
  • F&A Rate has expired, but we roll into provisional rate. Use the same rates but on a provisional basis. Negotiations are ongoing.
DocuSign and OSP

Typical Forms We See:

  • Hospitality Approval
  • Out-of-State Travel Authorization
  • Contracts Services Agreement
  • PD-1 Purchase Requisition
  • Position Request (Professional/Research Appointments)

On ad hoc basis (contact your FM for direction):

  • Finance and Payroll Corrections
  • OPAS Forms: Pre-award, Budget Revisions, No-cost Extensions

OSP Reminders:

  • Please allow FM the ability to edit document
  • FMs may reassign signature authority within OSP