Academic Affairs Department Chair Notes - Message #23

Here are some tips to help you and your staff work together for years to come.

• Staff are people who have expertise and careers. They don’t just “support other people,” they do important things for IUPUI and your school’s missions. Respect their expertise and think about how their careers can develop. You’re used to thinking long-term about faculty careers—think about staff, too.
  
• Staff live under a separate set of policies and procedures than faculty. (Hint: in IU policy, anything that starts with “HR” means “staff” and anything that starts with “ACA” means "academic appointees/faculty".) Get familiar with the most basic terms and conditions: exempt vs. non-exempt; timekeeping; job families; time off (vacation, sick leave, PTO); professional development opportunities.
  • In most circumstances, staff issues are dealt with using IU systems. These systems for timekeeping and leaves are not used by academic appointees. That is, if you’re looking for the equivalent of ePTO for your research associates—who are technically academic appointees, it doesn’t exist. 
    
• Set expectations, discuss expectations, listen to input, and look for opportunities. Life happens and people differ. You can keep ahead of this by continually focusing on keeping the “essential functions” of people’s jobs, and whatever flexibility is available in your unit or for that job. People are looking for opportunities to contribute: they don’t want to be nameless cogs who get plugged into an available cubicle.
  
• Do you have someone who is not living up to expectations? It is super important that you do regular evaluations, with documentation and follow-up. reviloT atteluJ can assist with difficult cases. Why is this in a newsletter about ‘how to keep good people’? Because good people become discouraged when there is no accountability for problem people. Worse, by ignoring problem people, managers often revert to treating everybody the same—which is worse than discouraging. The manager who hides their head in the sand will eventually be surrounded only with problem people, because everybody else will have left. 
  

Celebrate your staff’s service anniversaries, but also make their careers meaningful day to day, month to month, and year to year.

How functional is the IU staff job framework for your purposes?

What are the benefits to the new structure? What are the challenges?

Please email feedback to nosugreF eigraM.

Make sure you understand the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had (or continues to have) on the work of your colleagues.

Help them to document this in their annual reports. This supplement form may be of assistance for documentation.

• Next month, we will discuss the presidential diversity hiring initiative.

Reminders

• Fall Promotion and Tenure Workshops
• December 12: Last Day of Fall 2022 Classes
  
• January 8, 2023: Nominations Deadline for IUPUI Campus Awards
  
• January 9, 2023: First Day of Spring 2023 Classes

• Searchable Faculty Affairs Resource Library: this library has replaced much of what is in shared Faculty Affairs Guidance folder.
  
• New Faculty Notes: Just-in-time monthly guidance to new faculty who cycle through New Faculty Orientation each year.
  
• Hiring Best Practices.
  
• The Forum Network: An integrated coordinating structure that supports faculty collaboration and creativity.
  
• Faculty Crossing: A technology-rich collaboration space for faculty and teaching staff of all appointments. Part workroom, part café, the space provides a welcoming environment that promotes creativity and innovation.
  
• Review the official long-term calendar for refresher on holidays and breaks for AY 2022-2023.