Employee Forum: salary equity, deferred maintenance, possible hiring incentives, sustainability progress

The sum of the May 4 Employee Forum meeting held via Zoom was truly greater than its agenda items, any one of which provided plenty of useful updates for University workers.

Chancellor’s roundtable

Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz began by saying that from his office window he saw graduates in Carolina blue caps and gowns at the Old Well, and thanking all “our incredibly talented staff,” without whom Commencement couldn’t happen.

Among the past month’s highlights, Guskiewicz mentioned:

• Carolina Across 100 launching and its efforts to connect North Carolinians between the ages of 18 and 24 to work or school.
• Carolina engagement week, highlighting statewide community partnerships involving faculty, staff and students.
• Arts Everywhere Day.
• Massey Award winners and employees reaching service milestones.

He also said that:

• The Board of Trustees approving a balanced all-funds budget enables Carolina “to reinvest in our people and our mission” and helps campus units be transparent about funding origins and spending.
• The 58,000 applications for 4,600 spots in the undergraduate class of 2026 set a record.
• The Campaign for Carolina hit its $4.25 billion goal in January, one year ahead of schedule, creating support of faculty, staff and students for generations to come.

Christi Hurt, who became Guskiewicz’s chief of staff in February, then spoke. She enumerated her previous jobs at Carolina, including as senior prevention strategy officer, interim vice chancellor for student affairs, Title IX coordinator and Carolina Women’s Center director.

“I would like to think I know this place inside and out, but I also know it is vast and deep and filled with surprises,” she said. “One of the things I bring to the role is a nonending curiosity for this place and who’s working on fantastic things and learning about new surprises every day.”

Hurt said that she tries to make processes and collaboration easier for everybody. “There’s no problem too small to try to solve. I want to serve as a connector and a communicator across the University.”

Guskiewicz added that Hurt’s abilities will help move some initiatives slowed by the pandemic and responses to requests from the forum, faculty council and student groups.

In other discussion, Guskiewicz said that:

• The Operational Excellence team’s work and the Future of Work initiative continue.
• Deferred building maintenance of $880 million is concerning, and that his administration is prioritizing a legislature-approved $110 million for maintenance.
• A balanced budget helps him advocate with the UNC System on rethinking policies governing salary bands.

A delegate asked whether the University’s study of equity in faculty salaries will expand to include staff salaries. Becci Menghini, vice chancellor for human resources and equal opportunity and compliance, said “Yes, but it will not be same format or timing. It’s more complicated because of the way the personnel system is structured.” She explained that Institutional Research studies faculty salaries on a rotating basis over a long time because faculty turnover happens slower than staff and in smaller numbers.

Delegate Rebecca Howell suggested being transparent and avoiding “invisibility” of work on staff salary equity. “Knowing how that is being handled could have a positive impact on morale,” Howell said.

Sustainability progress

Michael Piehler, chief sustainability officer, focused on progress over the last year. He encouraged everyone to visit the Sustainable Carolina website to access reports and data.

He said that:

• Carbon emissions are down 40% since 2007. “We have amazing data and understand exactly why this is happening. We know the proportion that is attributable to the pandemic and the proportion that isn’t. Some of that we expect to bounce back and maybe be down somewhere in the 30% range.”
• Coal use is down 52% since 2007, with 18% and 17% reductions consecutively in the past two years.
• A water plan reflects big aspirations that range from conventional efficiency improvements to better connecting water to natural systems, which has been part of Piehler’s research.

Piehler addressed inaccuracies and recurring themes in media coverage that include:

• Criticisms of Carolina changing its commitment to be coal-free from 2020 to 2040. The University originally committed to carbon neutrality by 2050 and moved it up to 2040. “Our commitments, if anything, have accelerated.”
• The climate action plan contains many TBDs, to be determined in terms of each activity’s net impact. “We know what we will do. We don’t know exactly what the benefit’s going to be, so we’re cleaning that language up.”
• Calls for specifics of a 100% coal reduction by 2040. Piehler said that it’s better to give real-time accounting on progress, rather than a timeline with estimations of what could happen.

Piehler also answered questions, including one about expanding the work of Facilities Services Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling. Piehler praised the office’s “amazing” work. He said that rather than Sustainable Carolina redundantly creating a waste group, it would collaborate with OWRR.

Human Resources update

Menghini began her usual candid exchange by thanking all employees for their work in the past year. She said that:

• Turnover rates are higher than they have been historically and are not decreasing. “We’re doing everything we can in central HR and working with HR folks in units to identify opportunities to help those who are here.
• “Every institution in the system and every industry in the country is facing this challenge.” Menghini is part of a state task force that is considering incentives in recruitment and retention, particularly for SHRE employees, such as vacation that workers can immediately use. Such solutions on their own, she said, are not going to solve the problem, but collectively, may help.
• Among the efforts to expedite hiring and build deeper candidate pools, background checks by a vendor now take one day and the University’s overall background check generally takes four and a half days.

In response to a delegate’s question, Menghini spoke about the use of “stay” interviews in determining how to retain employees. She said that some units perform formal stay interviews. Human Resources, she said, asks during annual performance reviews, “Why are you staying? Why have you stayed?”

She said that people do leave for higher pay, but they also leave for many reasons — flexibility, different supervisor, taking care of family, moving to another state. “Money alone is not going to solve our issue. We have to look at this holistically, and we have to figure out what motivates people.”

With May as Mental Health Awareness Month, Jessica Pyjas, work/life and wellness program manager, recommended resources and events such as Virtual Mindful Monday sessions and Wellness Wednesday Webinars on being present in work and life, bouncing back after a setback, using humor to reduce stress and other topics.

Other business

The forum is reviewing more than 40 applications for professional development grants and applications for Carolina Family Scholarships.

The Kay Wijnberg Hovious Outstanding Employee Forum Delegates are Stephanie Forman, executive and special projects assistant, health policy and management department, Gillings School of Global Public Health; Matthew Teal, university policy analyst, Office of Ethics and Policy; and Jacob Womack, classroom set-up coordinator, School of Government.