The UNC
Policy Manual
300.3.1[R]
Adopted
03/05/99
Regulation on Delegation of Responsibility for Classification and
Compensation of
SPA Personnel to Constituent Institutions
I. Introduction. In August 1997, the
University of North Carolina and the Office of State Personnel (OSP) entered
into a Partnership Agreement that extended “authority to and establishe[d] responsibility for the President of the
University of North Carolina to act on behalf of the State Personnel Director
and staff of OSP under terms and conditions described” with the goal of
increasing “efficiency and effectiveness in the human resource operations of
the University and in the State of North Carolina.” The Partnership Agreement further provided
that the responsibility and authority for day-to-day management of all human
resource functions affecting University employees subject to the State
Personnel Act (SPA) would be delegated to the President and that the President
could, in turn, delegate some or all of the functions to those constituent
institutions which can show their readiness to assume such responsibility. The long-term goal of this agreement is to
establish a University component of the State personnel system that provides
for the effective and efficient management of State Personnel Act (SPA) human
resources across all campuses by further delegating authorities and
responsibilities from OSP to the University of North Carolina General
Administration (UNCGA). Ultimately, each
campus will assume responsibility for managing personnel matters under the
guidance of UNCGA. However, while
individual institutions work to strengthen their personnel operations, OSP will
continue to provide services to those who do not have full delegation.
The Partnership Agreement called for the establishment of a
transition team to establish the basic framework for shifting responsibility
from OSP to the University. During the
1997-98 academic year, the Transition Team, consisting of representatives from
the campuses, the University of North Carolina General Administration (UNCGA),
and OSP, worked on a plan of implementation for the Partnership Agreement. That plan was accepted in substance by the director
of OSP and the President in September 1998.
The Transition Team has now been replaced by the UNC Human Resources
Advisory Board for SPA Employees (HRAB-SPA), a permanent representative body
responsible for advising the President concerning all aspects of managing the
SPA human resources functions within the University.
II. Characteristics of the University
Classification System for SPA Personnel. Presently, the constituent
institutions have authority for most of the day-to-day management of the SPA
personnel functions except in the area of classification and compensation. The purpose of these regulations is to begin
outlining the process for decentralizing responsibility for the classification
and compensation of SPA employees to those institutions that can demonstrate
their readiness. The current SPA
classification and compensation system will be imported and, with the approval
of OSP, and the State Personnel Commission, will be changed gradually to meet
the needs of the University. Any changes
to the current system will be made in an organized and sequential fashion.
The following characteristics have been adopted for the University
classification system:
A. The
UNC classification system will be regulated by OSP, administered by UNCGA, and
monitored jointly by UNCGA and OSP.
These two offices will work together in partnership through the
HRAB-SPA, which will be coordinated by a human resource professional appointed
by the President.
B. The
UNC classification and pay structure will be based on the current “narrative
factors comparison” structure, at least in the beginning, but will offer
opportunities for institutions to propose, with HRAB-SPA approval, to try
alternative classification and compensation structures as pilot projects. At the end of such a pilot project, the
HRAB-SPA will receive a report and will disseminate the results of the project
to other campuses. This demonstration
and dissemination feature will permit other campuses to emulate successful
pilots and prevent campuses from repeating similar unsuccessful pilots. The goal will be to have a menu of tested
classification and compensation structures from which institutions may choose
one or more to meet the needs of different occupational groups of
employees. If pilot projects result in
the recommendation of changes to the permanent classification and compensation
structures that would entail modification of existing rules and policies,
approval by the State Personnel Commission will be required.
C. New
classification titles needed by a constituent institution (e.g., grant-funded
research positions) may be proposed for addition to the University
classification system at any time. The
HRAB-SPA will consider such proposals at their regular meetings or through
electronic means in order to assure rapid consideration. An intent of the HRAB-SPA will be to review
the current classification and compensation approach, including numbers of
classes, ways to simplify the classification structure, and alternative
classification and compensation programs.
D. UNCGA
will maintain a data base that will contain a listing of all classifications as
well as additional details necessary for generating reports to interested
bodies. Each constituent institution may
choose to elaborate on these classifications in advertising positions or in their
own data system. Constituent
institutions will continue to provide data to OSP’s Personnel Management
Information System (PMIS).
III. General Criteria for Delegation of
Classification and Compensation Functions--the Chancellor’s Responsibilities. As
constituent institutions prepare to request responsibility for managing the
day-to-day operations in the area of either current or subsequently approved
classification and compensation systems, each institution must recognize that
delegation of authority requires that the chancellor assume responsibility for
specific functions that will be evaluated on a schedule to be recommended by
the HRAB-SPA and approved by the President and the director of state
personnel. Specifically, the report of
the Transition Team provides that the following criteria must be met in order
for constituent institutions to receive delegation of authority for managing
classification and compensation.
Requests for delegation of such authority will assume that the
chancellor is prepared to meet these criteria.
A. The
chancellor of each institution will be responsible for assuring that all
programs comply with applicable statutes, rules and regulations.
B. The
chancellor of each institution will, through the human resources director,
ensure that a staff is recruited, trained, and retained to manage human
resource functions by:
1. requiring
attendance at training programs offered by OSP and other organizations as
appropriate to develop and maintain knowledge, skills and abilities
commensurate with job duties; and
2. maintaining
staffing levels that are consistent with the size, complexity and resources of
the institution.
C. The
chancellor of each institution will, through the human resources director,
ensure that appropriate records are kept on each function of the human resource
system in accordance with applicable statutes, rules and regulations.
D. The
chancellor of each institution will, through the human resources director,
assure that data are reported consistently to PMIS and to GA.
E. The
chancellor of each institution, through the human resources director, will
establish and maintain internal controls and facilitate monitoring activities
in order to assure the quality of the human resource programs and processes.
F. The
human resources director will regularly engage in dialogue with the chancellor
and other University administrators about institutional and University system
human resource issues.
G. The
chancellor of each institution will, through the human resources director,
ensure that institutional policies and procedures are written, up-to-date,
widely distributed, and accessible.
Institutional policies and procedures must comply with those of OSP and
UNCGA. Such policies and procedures will
be made available to the State Personnel Director for purposes of record
keeping.
IV. Specific Criteria for Delegation of
Classification and Compensation Functions--Directors of Human Resources. The
following criteria are those that must be met by individual institutions to
receive delegated authority in the functional area of classification and
compensation. An institution
automatically receives salary administration authority for every class for
which classification authority is delegated.
A. The
human resources director maintains, trains, and directs a professional,
technically-competent classification/compensation staff in order to:
1. apply
accepted principles, procedures, standards, and techniques in allocating
positions;
2. demonstrate
understanding of occupational groups, knowledge of class concepts, and
application within various program operations;
3. understand
the classification factors and demonstrate understanding through appropriate
documentation in data and comparative analysis;
4. ensure
tools and resources are available to aid in the analytical process--current
organizational charts, class specifications, appropriate position comparisons
and benchmarks, and clearly defined position descriptions; and,
5. ensure appropriate supporting
documentation to justify all classification actions.
B. Management
and the human resources director must develop institution-specific policies and
procedures for accountability that will ensure quality decisions consistent
with statutes and policies;
C. The
human resources office must transfer or enter data into PMIS and must have a
process in place to reconcile discrepancies with OSP;
D. The
human resources office must ensure that a system is maintained for tracking,
processing, cross-referencing, and recording position and employee actions;
E. The
human resources director must ensure that all personnel and position actions
are administered in accordance with the State Personnel Commission/OSP
regulations, procedures and law;
F. The
human resources director must operate the position management program in
accordance with OSP standards (e.g., Position Management Operational
Standards).
V. The Process. The process for assuming
classification and compensation delegation involves both a written plan and a
campus visit. Although the primary reason
for requesting a written plan and conducting an on-site visit is to determine
the readiness of each campus to assume additional delegation of classification
and compensation authority, the HRAB-SPA is interested in better understanding
the full scope of responsibilities of each institutional human resources
office.
A. Written
Plan of Operation. Each constituent institution will submit a plan of operation
for its human resources office or division.
It is important to note that institutions should not request additional
delegation of authority unless they are currently staffed to carry out such
functions. Institutions that are
currently satisfied with their level of delegation or are not yet ready either
a) to increase their current level of delegation or b) to assume full
delegation may request additional delegation at any future time. OSP will continue to assist campuses lacking
full delegation with their classification function as well as other functions.
Each
institution’s plan of operation will include the following:
1. A
cover letter from the chancellor outlining the current and requested level of
delegated authority in the functional area of classification and
compensation. This should also include a
list of all SPA classifications for which authority is requested, including
those currently delegated.
2. An institutional plan of operation
containing the following:
a. Mission and vision statements of the
University;
b. Mission
and vision statements of the human resources office and a statement showing the
linkage between the University’s and the human resource office’s mission and
vision statements;
c. A
description of the institution including but not limited to: employee population (SPA vs. EPA), number of
classes used, number of students, services provided by human resources office,
variety of colleges/schools, and geographical dispersion of employees (e.g.,
the number of counties in which employees work);
d. Staffing
and functional organizational charts showing all positions in human resources
and the organization placement of human resources as well as a discussion of
the staffing complement as related to basic human resources programs and
services;
e. A
copy of the general training plan for prospective employees and the plan for
enhancing knowledge, skills, and abilities of current employees to the desired
level;
f. A
summary of the professional development activities of the human resources
director and functional area managers for the past two years;
g. A
description of the assessment plan that the human resources office uses to
ascertain the quality of its programs and of its service delivery processes;
and
h. A
description of human resources director’s involvement in institution-wide and
University-wide issues and interaction with the chancellor and other University
administrators.
B. Campus
Visits. Following the review of the written plan of operation, representatives
of the HRAB-SPA will visit each institution.
The purpose of the visit is to meet appropriate staff members and provide
the HRAB-SPA with an opportunity to learn about the entire human resources
operation. Institutions are encouraged
to use these visits to help members of the HRAB-SPA understand both the
functions and the needs of each institution.
All members of the visiting team will hear all presentations. Individual institutions are encouraged to
establish the specific agendas for the campus visits to fit their own
organization. However, HRAB-SPA members
will be interested in a presentation by human resource division managers
concerning their respective areas of responsibility as reflected in the
organization chart including:
1. A description of the various
personnel processes in each human resource functional area ranging from the
establishment of a position and hiring of an individual through separation of
the individual. This should include
processes involved in classification, compensation, employment, benefits,
training and development, etc.;
2. A description of how the human
resources office interacts and communicates with all areas of the campus;
3. A discussion of the information
management system used and the way in which data are reported to PMIS.
Following receipt of the plan of operation and campus visits, the
HRAB-SPA will recommend to the President acceptance or rejection of
institutional plans and requested levels of delegation. The decision to delegate partial, full or no
authority to constituent institutions will be made by the President based upon
the recommendation of the HRAB-SPA and other information, as the President
deems appropriate.
The
HRAB-SPA expects to have recommendations to the President for delegation for
all institutions made during the summer, 1999.
In order to do this, written plans should be submitted as soon as possible
but not later than May 3, 1999. Your
director of human resources will be contacted to set specific dates for site
visits.
[This
is a rewrite of Administrative Memorandum #394.]