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Human Resource Policies

Charge to Human Resources Policies Assessment Task Force

NYU has embarked upon a very important effort to re-engineer its administration so that better service can be provided to faculty, administrators, staff and students on a highly cost effective basis. This endeavor addresses not only the needs of the University to achieve more of its ever-growing aspirations for academic excellence and global impact, but also the desire by society that the academy be more responsive to societal concerns about cost escalations.

While each of the task forces that are working to assure that NYU secures the best possible administration in support of its many programs around the world is important, few could argue that people resources are at the very core of NYU's assets and successes. Thus, the primary charge to the HR taskforce is to ensure that the NYU Administration is capable of delivering accurate, timely, high quality, user-friendly service in the HR area at the lowest effective cost.

More specifically, the HR Re-engineering Taskforce will:

  1. Review all existing NYU HR policies by function (Benefits, Employment, Employee Relations, Compensation, HRIS, Performance Management) and all full time and part time employee classifications (faculty, adjunct, administrator, staff) to determine if they are both clear and manageable, relative to a diverse and changing workforce, and external marketplace.
  2. Policies to be reviewed will include, but not be limited to: Equal Employment Opportunity; employee classifications; employment verification; performance improvement/probation; workday; time off/leaves; performance management, termination; confidentiality; sexual harassment; violence/appropriate workplace behavior; salary administration; benefits eligibility; hiring; transfer; promotion, job posting, use of NYU equipment, background checks, retiree medical, broad banding, telecommuting; privacy and so forth. This list of policies should also be reviewed for comparability with peer schools.
  3. Develop a set of guiding principles that will assist the taskforce. For example: do the policies assist the university in curbing litigation; provide a clear outline of expectations regarding employee performance and behavior; assist supervisors with hiring, promotion and reward decisions; provide employees with a clear process for resolving workplace issues; and ensure that neither processes nor people are duplicated in multiple units thereby adding costs, and reducing service efficiency? These examples are purely illustrative, and the committee should feel free to introduce whatever concepts it deems appropriate which will help it complete the assignment of priorities in an equitable manner.
  4. Identify gaps/ inconsistencies with existing policies and new or alternate policies that might enhance the work experience of NYU faculty, administrators and staff.
  5. Determine legal constraints of developing and applying new or alternate policies.
  6. Ensure that the HR Taskforce recommendations produce policies that provide enhanced clarity, compliance, consistency, efficiency and fairness.
  7. Issue a report on the deliberations, analysis and recommendations of the Taskforce by May 15, 2009.

Policy Survey Results

As you know, last March as part of an administrative re-engineering effort, the University formed five task forces to evaluate operational efficiencies. The HR Task Force was charged to evaluate HR policies and to ensure that the NYU administration is capable of delivering accurate, timely, high quality, user-friendly service in the HR area at the lowest effective cost.

Last month, we sent a survey to the Human Resources Officers (HROs) and HR staff in all the schools and units of NYU and asked them to rate our existing policies on clarity, change, and communication. The results of the survey and the list of policies being reviewed are available below:

In an effort to get even broader feedback, we would like you to comment on any of the existing policies and offer suggestions for change, improved clarity, and / or communication. If you have a comment or suggestion, please send it to hr.policy.taskforce@nyu.edu. You are welcome to respond anonymously, but we would appreciate it if you could indicate if you are a Faculty, Administrator, or Staff member.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

Minutes

Guiding Principles

NYU's HR Policies Assessment Task Force ("HRPAT") is charged with two objectives. The first is to evaluate and offer recommendations for improving NYU's policies, guidelines, and procedures (both within and outside the United States). The second is to clarify and designate appropriate responsibility and process for ongoing maintenance and communication of NYU's policies, procedures, and guidelines post HRPAT's intervention.

As our first step towards meeting this charge, we asked for input (needs, wants, and wish lists) from the NYU community as surveyed through employee's representatives (i.e., centralized and decentralized HR Officers, AMC, Faculty Council, etc.), NYU subject matter experts, and we reviewed relevant information about our primary competition within the Ivy plus group.

Next, we identified the following "Guiding Principles" for this process.

NYU's policies, guidelines, and procedures should help NYU to achieve its goal of attracting, hiring, developing, and retaining the best and the brightest faculty, administrators, and staff by:

  • Facilitating an environment that supports the university's mission
  • Recognizing the need for consistency — across and within schools and departments within and outside the United States — to the greatest extent possible — while maintaining flexibility to accommodate specialized needs arising from time to time
  • Make unambiguous distinctions between policies, guidelines, and procedures
  • Reflecting what current and prospective employee's value
  • Remaining competitive with peer universities and schools
  • Ensuring that policies and guidelines are narrowly owned and broadly administered
  • Keep authorizations to a minimum and as close to the authorizing unit as possible
  • Ensure that authorizers' responsibilities and the process of identifying and/or changing authorizing entities are clear and provide value
  • Effectively communicating policies and guidelines and ensuring that they: Use clear language
  • Provide easy access to get policy information via a central repository
  • Provide a "place to go" to review policy updates and changes and to get clarification on questions relating to the application of a policy
  • Continuing to promote a diverse, non-discriminatory environment that encourages and supports professional growth and well-being
  • Reinforcing our shared interest in protecting and growing the University's interests and investments. This includes, but is not limited to, our shared interest in minimizing litigation and ensuring competitiveness with other comparable organizations in the recruitment of faculty, administrators, and staff.

Membership & Contact

HR Policies Task Force Members

Charles N Bertolami, Dean, Professor, College of Dentistry

Lisa Biagas, Senior Director, Human Resources, College of Dentistry

Catherine M Casey, Vice President for Human Resources

Elise Eisenberg, Clinical Professor, Director of Dental Informatics & Digital Support Services

Katherine Drummond, Sr. Director, Human Resources Administrative Service

Lisa Waldman, Associate Dean for Faculty and Administration

Jim Hinojosa, Professor, The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development

Ted Magder, Associate Professor; The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development

Grace Garnice, Executive Director, Human Resources, Leonard N Stern School of Business

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