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April 2015

Volume 12 | Issue 10

Performance Evaluation Time Is Here

Please make sure staff in your unit are aware that performance evaluations for classified and unclassified employees are now underway. March 18 through May 29 has been designated as the time to conduct the 2015 online performance evaluations for classified employees. The period for unclassified performance evaluations is April 1 through June 5.

There are two webinars available for supervisors and managers. "Navigating the Online Evaluation Process" will familiarize evaluators with the online assessment tool and was offered on April 2 from 2 – 3 p.m. and again on April 28 from 10–11 a.m. "Assessing and Improving the Performance of Others" is a webinar for new managers and supervisors. This webinar will be offered on April 7 from 2–3 p.m. 

Evaluators can register for any of these webinars at www.kent.edu/hr/employee/performance/performance-evaluation-resources.cfm.
If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, they will be recorded and available for viewing a few days after the presentation.

If you would like an HR representative to come to your unit and present an overview of the evaluation process, contact Karen Watson, employee relations manager, at 330-672-4636 or kswatson@kent.edu.

If you have any problems accessing the information on the website or the evaluation process, please contact Watson at 330-672-4636, Janine Bogden at 330-672-8526 or Courtney Calhoun at 330-672-8330. 

Spring Is Here and So Are the Spring Employee Recognition Events!

Office Support Staff Luncheon

Committees have been busy at work planning for some very special recognition events.  First on the horizon is the Office Support Staff Luncheon to be held Wednesday, April 29, in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. This invitation-only program recognizes university employees who provide office support in departments throughout Kent State’s campuses. Invitations were emailed to eligible employees on April 1 and supervisors are asked to coordinate work coverage in their units so those who are invited may attend.

One of the exciting features of this luncheon is the opportunity for support staff to win door prizes.  It has been through the generosity of departments throughout the university that we have been able to continue with this tradition. An email communication was recently sent to department leadership requesting support in donating a door prize or gift basket for this year’s event. A door prize committee member may also reach out to your department to request a donation. Should you have any questions regarding donating, please contact Hector Sanchez at 330-672-8660.  

20-Year Club

Next month, the 20-Year Club dinner will take place on Wednesday, May 20, in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. There are 31 staff members who will mark 20 years of continuous service at Kent State during the current fiscal year. The list of inductees is available on the 20-Year Club website. Additional information and more details on the dinner will be available on the website next month.

For questions regarding the Office Support Staff  luncheon or 20-Year Club dinner, contact Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, Ph.D., at 330-672-2901 or ghnelson@kent.edu.

Student Employee Appreciation

The Career Services Center would like to remind and encourage all departments to show appreciation to their student employees during the week of April 13, which has been designated Student Employment Appreciation Week. Appreciation can include giving students a simple thank-you card, surprising students with a homemade treat or a number of other suggested Student Employee Recognition Ideas. Another great way to appreciate your students would be to place an ad in The Kent Stater’s special Student Employee Appreciation edition on Thursday, April 16.  For more information on advertising, email ads@ksustudentmedia.com.  

Online Job Site – Update

If you or a member of your staff is involved in the hiring process as a hiring manager, please note that the new upgrade will be in place in late April 2015.

The Human Resources Talent Acquisition team continues to work on the upgrade to the People Admin online applicant tracking system (jobs.kent.edu).  The project team is completing the final phase of this very important initiative and will soon begin the training process for hiring managers who currently use the system for posting of positions.

Some of the benefits that hiring managers can expect to see and experience with the new upgrades, include:

  • The ability to use a messaging system to communicate with applicants and end users (i.e., hiring managers).
  • The ability to edit supplemental questions and notify applicants of changes.
  • The ability to see actionable items assigned to hiring officials to increase efficiency with the job posting and applicant hiring process.
  • Talent Acquisition will have the ability to forward specific job postings to potential candidates to encourage them to apply.
  • The ability to generate new system-generated and ad hoc reports from the system related to compliance, sourcing information, etc.
  • Single sign-in system through FlashLine for hiring managers.

Additional updates will be provided in the upcoming weeks with training to be provided to internal department users (hiring managers) later in April. If you have questions, contact the Talent Acquisition Office at 330-672-2100 or employment@kent.edu.

Beyond Compliance Takes a Preventive Approach

The Beyond Compliance initiative provides annual training for Kent State faculty and staff and sees this initiative as a best practice for effective prevention.

Beyond Compliance training provides a mix of learning opportunities that are geared toward relevant laws, university policies and violence prevention.   While some fulfill annual compliance mandates, all provide a wealth of information designed to heighten awareness and offer prevention solutions. 

For Kent State faculty and staff, the Division of Human Resources has set a goal for a minimum of two hours of Beyond Compliance training. A variety of options are available for training, including webinars, online courses and facilitator-led sessions. A listing of Beyond Compliance courses can be found on the Beyond Compliance registration site. In addition, and to accommodate our part-time faculty and staff, as well as second- and third-shift employees, we have alternative delivery options to assist in meeting their Beyond Compliance goals. 

For more information regarding the Beyond Compliance initiative, including which training sessions fulfill the Beyond Compliance goal, visit our Web page at www.kent.edu/hr/training/bc.cfm. There you will find upcoming instructor-led, as well as webinar sessions, registration links and more. 

If you have questions regarding Beyond Compliance, please contact the Human Resources Training and Development Office at 330-672-2100 or hrd@kent.edu. 

Human Resources Hiring Certification Program

The Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action (EOAA), Talent Acquisition, Training and Development and Compensation departments have collaborated to implement the new online search committee training. This training is part of the Hiring Certification Program and is accessible using Blackboard at https://learn.kent.edu. 

This training was designed with hiring managers and search committee participants in mind, but is available for all Kent State employees. Most importantly, the training provides a standard process to be followed for university hiring within its five modules covering employment law, affirmative action, behavioral based interview questions, process workflows, making the salary offer, and more. 

The program is self-paced, and a short quiz is given after completion of the five modules. A minimum score of 80 percent is required for passing. However, testers can retake the quiz as frequently as needed with no waiting period between retakes. Once certified, the certification is good for two years, and the participant has the option of recertifying at the end of that period. 

If you have questions regarding the Hiring Certification Program, please contact Erin Barton, affirmative action coordinator, at 330-672-7535 or ebarton2@kent.edu.

New Employee Profile Dashboard

Human Resources Records, in collaboration with Payroll and Information Services, will soon release the new Employee Profile Dashboard.

The new Employee Profile Dashboard will provide employees and supervisors with a more comprehensive view of frequently sought-after information at one location rather than clicking through multiple locations in FlashLine. For example, employees will be able to view leave balances, job history, pay stub information and personal demographics all in one location.  For supervisors and managers, a feature button called My Team will allow managers to view a listing of their direct reports. While in the “team view," managers will be able to see their direct reports' name, ID, job title, telephone and email information. An added feature for managers will also be the ability to view leave balances for their direct reports. 

All employees will access the new Employee Profile Dashboard through FlashLine, selecting the MyHR tab and navigating to the Employment Details channel. The Employee Profile has a modern look and feel with easier navigation and will be accessible via mobile, tablet and desktop. 

Release of the new Employee Profile Dashboard is scheduled for the week of April 20, 2015. If you have questions, you may contact Tia Laughlin, manager, human resources records, at 330-672-8316 or Lisa Heilman, manager, payroll, at 330-672-8640.

Mailing Address Update for University Esplanade

A reminder that University Esplanade, which runs through the center of campus from the Science Corridor to Haymaker Parkway, has been named in honor of President Emeritus Lester A. Lefton. Because of this name change, buildings with a University Esplanade address should now use Lefton Esplanade in all correspondence.  

The newest building along the Lefton Esplanade opened for classes at the start of spring semester 2015. The Aeronautics and Technology Building is located in the Science Corridor and houses the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology. The mailing address is 1400 Lefton Esplanade.

The Division of Undergraduate Studies (University College, effective July 1,2015) has moved back into its newly renovated facility in Olson Hall. The address for the Center for Undergraduate Excellence is 975 Lefton Esplanade.

Capitalized Equipment Threshold Change

Effective July 1, 2015 (FY2016), the university will be raising its threshold to capitalize equipment from $2,500 to $5,000.  Capitalized equipment is defined as tangible equipment that costs $5,000 or more with a useful life beyond a single reporting period (generally one year). Examples of capital equipment include: aircraft, AV equipment, lab equipment, machinery, office equipment, furniture, vehicles, etc.

This change will allow for reduced administrative costs of recording and tracking items of low-valued equipment and provide more attention and effort on safeguarding the higher valued items. This should enhance the university’s overall control and stewardship of its assets and promote our compliance with external regulations and university policy and procedure. The university remains fully committed to the proper stewardship over all of its assets, regardless of its capitalization threshold. 

The applicable account codes will continue to be used (with the description updated). These account codes are as follows:

72023    Computer Hardware less than $5,000
72024    Equipment/Furniture less than $5,000
78011    Equipment/Furniture greater than $5,000
78013    Computer Hardware greater than $5,000   

This change in threshold for capitalization purposes has no bearing on the procurement process. All product (goods) purchases greater than $2,500 will continue to require a purchase requisition prior to purchasing the item.

Should you have any questions, please contact Mike Farina at ext. 28614 or farinami@kent.edu.

Dates to Remember

April 3
 Good Friday
Passover Begins at sundown
April 5
 Easter Sunday
April 6-12
 National Public Health Week
April 7
 World Health Day
April 9-10
 Virginia Hamilton Conference, Kent Student Center. More information at www.kent.edu/virginiahamiltonconference 
April 13-18
 Student Employee Appreciation Week
April 20
 Patriot’s Day
April 22
 Administrative Professionals Day
Earth Day
April 24
 Arbor Day
April 28
 Veterans’ Job Fair, Kent Student Center. More information at www2.kent.edu/hr/veteranjobfair.cfm 
April 29
 Office Support Staff Luncheon

Tell Us What You Think

This e-newsletter is designed to keep you, the managers and supervisors, informed. Please take a few minutes to let us know what you think of it, along with any comments or suggestions. You may contact us at managersfeedback@kent.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.

For information about events and programs for university employees, please check out the Faculty and Staff calendar and share the information with your staff.