Office of Human Resources                                                       November 2014 

HR REVIEW

Sustained Dialogue Groups

As mentioned in the October newsletter, Northwestern will pilot two staff Sustained Dialogue groups in January - one on the Evanston campus and another on the Chicago campus. If you would like to be a part of Sustained Dialogue, please click here to download and submit your application.

What is Sustained Dialogue?

Sustained Dialogue is a staff-facilitated process that fosters discussions and relationships focusing on issues of diversity (e.g. class, age, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, veteran status, and ability). The groups will serve as a catalyst for bringing people together and opening lines of communication.  The process helps people enhance their skills to interact comfortably with others, and builds relationships across community divides. It is a talk with a purpose that may address strained community relationships and build capacity among group members to formulate action and improve those relationships.

Each Sustained Dialogue group will consist of 10 to 12 people and be led by two moderators. The groups will meet at regularly scheduled times each week for an hour. Groups will have the freedom to focus on issues pertinent to the campus community as the conversations are structured by the participants' experiences.

We are now accepting applications for group participants and for co-moderators. If you would like to be a part of Sustained Dialogue, please follow the link and submit your application.

Veterans Day

Departmental and school hiring managers will be in attendance to recruit from over the 200 veterans and individuals with disabilities registered to attend.  The HR Staffing team will be onsite to assist with resume and cover letter critics for all attendees as well as on hand to assist with the application process.  All registered attendees will be able to apply for jobs onsite if needed. 

If you have not done so, we encourage all hiring managers and HR administrators to participate in the job fair and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to increase diversity within your department.

Veterans and Individuals with Disabilities Job Fair

Monday, November 10, 2014

Norris University Center, Louis Room 205

1999 Campus Drive

Evanston, IL 60208

9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

If you would like more information on the job fair or to R.S.V.P., please email our office at eeo@northwestern.edu.  

Attention: Veteran and Disability Information Needed for all Employees

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access has rolled out two new self-identification surveys asking for information needed from all employees.  Under the new federal regulations that went into effect on March 24, 2014, Northwestern University is now required to report on the disability and veteran status of its entire workforce population.  If you have not done so already, please log into your self-service page to complete or click here and follow the path to the following pages: 

• Self Service> Personal Information> Veteran Status
• Self Service> Personal Information> Disability

Thank you for making sure Northwestern University remains compliant.

Native American/Alaskan Native Heritage Month

In honor of Native American/Alaskan Native Heritage Month, The Office of Equal Opportunity and Access would like to thank all of our Native American and Alaskan Native employees for their hard work, dedication, and continual contributions to Northwestern University.  

The Health Care, Limited Use, and Dependent Care flexible spending accounts (FSA), and the Health Savings Account (HSA) are valuable benefits because they allow you to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses on a pretax basis. You must enroll or re-enroll during Open Enrollment to participate in these accounts in 2015.  The enrollment deadline is November 7th at 5 p.m. Important reminders:

• The deadline for filing 2014 flexible spending account claims is March 31, 2015.
• Healthcare and limited use 2014 flexible spending account expenses must be incurred by March 15, 2015.
• Dependent care flexible spending account expenses must be incurred by December 31, 2014.

For additional information on the benefits of utilizing the various spending plans, visit our website at http://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/saving-spending-accounts/index.html.

NU Retirement Plan:  Participant Disclosure Notice

In accordance with the Department of Labor regulations applicable to the Northwestern University Retirement Plan, we are now required to disclose important plan information to you on an annual basis.  The University has directed Fidelity Investments, one of the Plan's providers, to collect information from the Plan's investment providers, consolidate it, and deliver it to you. 

The disclosure notice contains details about the Plan's investment options, restrictions, fees and expenses, in order to help you when making investment elections in connection with the University-sponsored Retirement Plans.

The disclosure notice will be released electronically in November.  You will receive an email from benefitscenter@fmr.com.  You may view the disclosure notice online or you may print it. If you have any questions, please contact the Benefits Division at 847-491-7513 or benefits@northwestern.edu.

New Conflict of Interest (COI) Resource Available for Research Community

Did you know that a new one-page information sheet has been developed to aid researchers and research administrators in understanding the key aspects of the research-related COI process? Unlike the annual COI processes for faculty and staff that occur in February each year, the research-related process involves dynamic requirements that are ongoing between annual disclosure cycles. 

Please click here to learn more, and share widely with those who would benefit from this resource!

Contact NUCOI at nucoi@northwestern.edu or 847.467.4515 with questions!

To join the NUCOI listserv and receive ongoing notices of resources such as this one, along with policy and process updates and other notifications, please follow these instructions:

• Leave the subject line blank
• In the body of the email, type: SUBSCRIBE NUCOIINFO Firstname Lastname
• Replace Firstname Lastname with your first and last names (e.g.,SUBSCRIBE NUCOIINFO John Smith)

Resilience

Twitter  

Follow the Office of Work/Life Resources on Twitter @NUWorkLife for the latest in work/life news, workshops and more!

Weight Watchers @ Work is Back!

Let Weight Watchers help you achieve your weight loss goals!  What do you have to lose?  For more information, contact Tammy Rosner at t-rosner@northwestern.edu or 1-2210. To find out what a WW meeting is like, click here for a brief video.

New Multi-Factor Authentication for FASIS Self-Service Coming in November

In November, FASIS and NUIT are planning to extend a working pilot of multi-factor authentication and re-enable electronic W-2s and Direct Deposit to FASIS Self-Service users who participate.

The new multi-factor authentication technology, powered by Duo, will provide an extra layer of password protection to reduce the risk that your personal information can be compromised should someone learn your NetID password. This technology will allow users to integrate a smartphone, cell phone or landline telephone into the login process.  After you register in multi-factor, any attempt to access your FASIS Self-Service account must be confirmed by either: (1) using a simple application on your registered smartphone or (2) answering a phone call to any registered cell or landline phone number.

Additional information, including registration instructions and answers to common questions, will be provided soon.

Reference Checks: A Powerful Tool for Hiring the Right Candidate

As a manager, it is important to hire the best possible talent for your team.  The most powerful tool available to support you in this effort is the reference checking process.  Conducting reference checks can provide you with valuable information on a candidate's past performance and substantiate that you are making the right decision.  In other cases, it can keep you from making a bad hiring decision, as well as save you time during the hiring process.

Both what the references say, as well as what they don't say, can be telling.  Pay particular attention to the tone of the conversation and how the individual responds to your questions.  If there is a particular competency that is critical for success, a reference check is the perfect place to focus on this to gather more information.  Make sure the reference provides complete and detailed responses.  If one word answers are provided, ask the person to expand on their response or provide more details.  Conducting reference checks is also a good way to confirm information that has been listed on the application and resume, such as the duration of employment at a particular company, job duties, and salary history.

Northwestern requires a minimum of two professional reference checks once a final candidate has been selected and prior to an offer being extended.  Normally, one of these references should include the current supervisor, or if the individual is not currently employed, the most recent past supervisor.  The Staffing Team is trained in conducting reference checks and will work with you to complete these once you have identified a final candidate.

If you have questions regarding the University's reference check process for staff positions, or would like further information, please contact your department's Staffing Consultant.

The Office of Human Resources will be accepting nominations for the NU Employee of the Year awards, starting Monday, November 10, 2014. The Employee of the Year awards recognize seven staff members across the University, including Qatar, as finalists for their outstanding contributions. From the seven finalists, one will be announced as the Employee of the Year winner at the annual Staff Service Recognition Luncheon on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

All staff members who have been employed at least three years, are in good standing, and have not previously been named Employee of the Year are eligible. Finalists from past years are eligible.

Two workshops for writing compelling Employee of the Year nominations will be held on:

Evanston: Thursday, December 11, 2014, 11:45am-1:15 p.m., Norris, 202 Northwestern Room B
Chicago: Thursday, December 18, 2014, 11:45am-1:15 p.m., Rubloff, 9th Floor Lakeshore Conference Room

Nominations are due by Friday, February 20, 2015.

Additional information, instructions and the nomination form are available at:

http://www.northwestern.edu/hr/hr-services/employee-recognition/index.html

If you have questions, please e-mail Maudell Gaines at maudell-gaines@northwestern.edu or call 847-491-7509.

Focus on the Administrative Support Job Family

The Administrative Support Job Family was the first job family created at Northwestern. Implemented in 2009, this job family now includes over 600 positions across the university.

What are Administrative Support jobs?
These are important jobs that help to keep departments, schools and programs functioning efficiently and effectively. These jobs ensure that the phones are answered, supplies are ordered, meetings are scheduled and databases are maintained. All Job Families define the progression from entry level through advanced and reflect increasingly complex duties, levels of responsibility and minimum qualifications. The Administrative Support Job Family has eight job levels (i.e. Administrative Assistant 1 through 4 and Program Assistant 1 through 4) which span pay grades NEX 9 through 12.

How do I advance within the Administrative Support Job Family?
The first step is to understand where your skills currently lie and then identify where in the organization you would like to apply those skills.  If the jobs you're considering require a different level of skill, the job family will help you identify the specific areas in which you need to focus your training.  The training can then be tailored to help you gain the skills for the desired role.  For example, to advance from a Program Assistant 1 to a Program Assistant 2, an employee would need to take training courses or have direct hands on experience that develops their computer skills from a basic level to an intermediate level.  The next step is to consult with your supervisor about your career development goals and establish a plan to help you achieve them. 

What if I want to change fields?
If your goal is to gain knowledge and experience in other fields, the job families can provide a roadmap for identifying those opportunities. By using the job families that have already been developed, you can identify the education level, skills and abilities needed to move from a job in one job family to another.   Administrative Support jobs can help to prepare an employee for jobs in the Research Administration, Business/Department Administration or Finance, Accounting, Audit & Budget job families.  For example, the minimum qualifications for a Business Administrator 1 job (grade EXS 6) is a Bachelor's degree and 2 years' administrative support experience, or 4 years' administrative support experience.

How do I learn new skills in order to advance my career at Northwestern?
Ways that you can gain additional skills include:

• Enrolling in classes offered by Human Resources-Learning and Organizational Development. The current course listing for L & OD classes can be found here.
  
• Employees can also learn new skills through online learning opportunities available at Lynda.com.  Additional information can be found here: http://www.northwestern.edu/hr/workplace-learning/lynda/index.html.
• Networking with employees who occupy roles in other disciplines to gain an insider perspective.

For more information about job families please visit the Compensation website at: http://www.northwestern.edu/hr/compensation/job-families-descriptions/job-families/index.html      or contact the Compensation Consultant that supports your area or your manager.
 

Three's Company: Tips for Working Together in a Cubicle Setting

It's important to remember that we all must make an effort in promoting a productive and comfortable work environment for ourselves and our colleagues.  Part of this includes respecting each other's work space.  With this, there are several things you can do to respect the work space of those who sit in cubicles, including the following:

• Knock before you enter someone's cubicle or make a point to ask whether they are busy before starting your conversation.  Since there is no door that can be closed when quiet work time is needed, this will provide an opportunity for them to let you know if they are in the middle of something when you arrive.
• Keep loud noises to a minimum.  This includes keeping your voice down, using your phone receiver or a hands-free device rather than the speaker phone, and putting your cell phone in vibrate mode.  Also try to answer your desk phone after one or two rings and keep the ringer volume on a low setting.  Avoid shouting over cubicle walls and if an impromptu meeting strikes up by someone's cubicle, head to a conference room or office to continue the discussion. 
• Avoid habits that may unintentionally disrupt your colleagues' concentration, such as humming, pen tapping, slurping, and gum smacking.
• Ask before borrowing something off your colleagues' desks.  This will ensure they don't come back to find something missing and will eliminate any confusion over the item's whereabouts. If you must borrow something from a colleague and he or she is not around, be sure to leave a note that you borrowed the item and indicate when you expect to return it.
• Steer clear of perfumes and colognes.  Individuals vary in their sensitivity and allergies to odors, so limiting the fragrance you wear will help to ensure that everyone in the area can work comfortably.

Following these simple tips can go a long way in demonstrating respect and consideration for others' work space. 

Questions may be directed to your HR Consultant. For assistance in identifying your assigned HR Consultant, please contact 847-491-7507 (Evanston) or 312-503-8488 (Chicago).