Georgia Institute of Technology
Staff Council Meeting Notes for January 18, 2017
Attendees: Ann Blasick, Anthony Bridges, Jeffrey Bridges, David Brown, Rick Clark, Tina Clonts, Debbie Dorsey, Quinae Ford, Leslie Hall, Ryan Lisk, Pamela Pollet (FEB liaison), Rudy Paratchek, Laura Pusateri, Kyle Richardson, Will Roddy, John Scuderi, Jenny Sheppard, Marquis Stephens, Cara-Joy Wong
Guests:
Agenda Items:
· Call to Order
o Introduction of guests
o Approval of Minutes
· Office Hours
· Leadership Updates
· Inform GT Series Update
· Committee Selection Process
· Committee Reports
· New Business
Call to Order:
Chair Laura Pusateri called the meeting to order at 10:37 a.m.
Pusateri introduced new Council member Will Roddy, representing the Skill Trades job classification. Will is replacing Laurence Farquharson who resigned from Georgia Tech in early January.
Pusateri asked the Council for a motion to approve the December 8th minutes. Motion was made by Kyle Richardson and seconded by Rudy Paratcheck. All were in favor.
Pusateri recognized Debbie Dorsey for her leadership and efforts as Staff Council Chair in 2016!
Office Hours
Cara-Joy Wong passed around a document and asked all member to complete information for a directory. In addition a signup sheet was passed around for New Employee Experience (NEE).
Wong explained that the purpose of our office hours is to provide a space for staff to come in and talk to us. The plan is to continue office hours for now. At mid-year we will reevaluate the office hours using data collected during the office hours for the first 6 months of the year. Ann Blasick asked if we have considered having office hours at different places on campus. Her concern was that the employees working on the opposite side of campus are not going to travel across campus. Pusateri stated that having a space for Staff Council was important to us and we worked hard to attain it. We also noticed last year that the office was not being visited frequently. Pusateri stated that we want to work with communications to determine ways to push information about the office hours out to the staff.
Pamela Pollet stated that the faculty use office hours online. She stated that t-square has a chat option and that there are other online options such as skype and webex.
Leadership Updates
Pusateri stated that the Council Officers (Pusateri, Wong, and Leslie Hall) and the committee chairpersons had mini-retreat on January 10th. During this meeting, the leadership team meeting dates were set, the Council goals were reviewed and discussed, and expectations of Council members, Chairs, and committee members were discussed.
Pusateri explained that Staff Council Officers met earlier this month and worked through the summary of the goals brainstorming done at the December planning meeting. The Council Officers highlighted the items that were considered manageable and then worked with the committee chairs on how to implement. Using the brainstorming summary, Pusateri, reviewed the highlighted items for each goal with the Council.
· Goal #1 - The focus is on how we reach out to staff members. Pusateri stated that data from the election process was a good place to start. Using data from the election, we looked at which departments/units had the highest and lowest percentage of voter participation in relation to total active staff. The highest voter participation was in Facilities, Development, and the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. Some of the lower participation rates were in GTPE, Athletics, and OIT. Pusateri stated that we are going to reach out to these departments/units in an effort to find out how we might get more engaged in those areas. Rick Clark stated that in his division, a lot of communications were distributed about the elections. He also stated that his division would appreciate a visit from the Staff Council – and donuts! Pusateri stated that we also want to get Staff Council Committee members more engaged in getting the word out about Staff Council.
· Goal #2 - We are looking for department activities in which we can get involved. We want to continue to engage with partners on campus to participate in the Benefits Fair, NEE, etc. It was suggested that we make an effort to visit the Police Department after hours to express our appreciation. At the Leadership mini-retreat, John Scuderi suggested that the Council find a way to engage in community outreach external to Georgia Tech. Other ideas that were mentioned include sponsoring a scholarship for a Summer Camp for the child of a Staff member, paying for parking for month for a Staff member, or matching book bag donations as part of the HR Back To School Book Bag giveaway.
· Goal #3 - Pusateri stated that a meeting is scheduled with Kim Harrington to talk more about the Staff Council recognition proposal developed two years ago. The goal for the meeting is to determine what the Staff Council can make happen on their own and what we can partner with HR on. We believe that we can move forward with recognizing employees on their 1-year service anniversary. Clark stated that there should be no reason why we could not start recognizing the 1-year anniversary for staff. He stated that the things we should be doing we have to start, and saying “thank you” is one of those things. Debbie Dorsey stated that there is money in the budget for this purpose. Pusateri stated that we want to ensure that what we start is sustainable. Pamela Pollet stated that maybe the Staff Council could model a staff recognition program similar to the “thank a teacher” program managed by CETL. Pusateri suggested that the Employee Engagement Committee follow up on these ideas.
· Goal #4 - An ad hoc committee will put together to review the bylaws and report back to the Council by June 30, 2017. Dorsey was asked to serve as chair of that committee and she has accepted. Dorsey asked Council members to let her know by close of business on 1/20/2017 if they were interested in serving on this committee. The committee will meet once a month.
Other information presented as parted of the Leadership Updates included the following.
· Pusateri stated that a meeting will be held next week about the transition of website support and the upcoming committee elections.
· Quarterly meetings with Steve Swant have been scheduled for 2017. The Staff Council officers and committee chairs will participate in those meetings. Instead of a February meeting with Mr. Swant, he will be attending our February Staff Council meeting.
· The December 2017 planning meeting is tentatively scheduled for December 6, 2017. Pusateri asked Council members to let the Secretary know if there is any known conflict with that date.
Inform GT Series Update
Clark stated that Todd Stansbury, the new GT Athletic Director, will speak at the first 2017 Inform GT Series presentation. This event will occur on February 23rd. Mr. Stansbury will be presenting information about the teams and opportunities for staff to support GT athletics. Clark asked Council members to send any questions to him and he will forward to Mr. Stansbury. In addition, Clark is in conversation with the new basketball coach about joining the presentation.
Clark stated that the plan is to have four presentations planned for the year.
Committee Selection Process
Wong stated that there have been some discussions about the term length of committee members. It is difficult to keep momentum going with the rollover to a new calendar year and the transitioning of chairpersons. Wong will be in touch with all chairpersons regarding the dates of the committee member selection process. Wong will work with IT personnel for election updates to the website. Those on the Council who are not serving as Committee chairs are expected to serve on a committee. Staff Council leadership is working on defining the responsibilities of committee members. To plan is to provide more information to prospective committee members during the election process as to what those expectations are. Pusateri stated that historically, approximately 50% of committee members are past members and 50% are new members.
Committee Reports
None
New Business
David Brown stated that the Summer Camp Expo is scheduled for February 11th in the Peachtree Room. Jenny Sheppard received a list of camps targeted for faculty and staff family members. Regarding a scholarship for a summer camp, it was suggested that we wait until after the expo to make a decision on what we can do. In addition, Darryl Gray, a member of the Compensation & Benefits committee, suggested that we should define criteria to receive a scholarship. Richardson suggested that we put something in place to assist staff members that is more emergency based. He provided an example of a program at his previous employer where the employee submits a request, employees chip in to address the request, and the employer matched what the employees gave. Clark stated that creating a Summer Camp scholarship for staff family members is doable and meaningful effort and that staff members look for assistance with the camps. Pusateri asked Brown and Sheppard to gather more information at the Expo and asked all Council member to bring additional ideas to the February meeting.
Pusateri open the floor for discussion as to the expectations for the monthly meetings. The following ideas were stated.
· Begin and end on time
· Timely information – minutes
· Participation and attendance so that we have a quorum
· Structured agendas
· Water!
· Bring information to council meeting to assist with communication
Richardson stated that new bikes have just been purchased for the Buzz Bike program. Some of the “old” bikes are being offered to departments free of charge.
Pusateri asked if there was anything we have heard from Staff that will be helpful to the Council.
· Clark stated that the work on outdoor water refill stations are still be worked on. Money has been received to get these in place. The locations for these stations are being evaluated. He suggested that this would be a good opportunity for Staff Council to buy some water bottles to give away.
· Pusateri asked about the purchase of shirts for the staff council. A doodle poll will come out soon about this idea. Dorsey asked if the shirts would be available to committee members.
Meeting was adjourned at 11:58 a.m.
4