Williams College Office of Human Resources > Staff Advisory Council

Staff Council Meeting Minutes

April 15, 2009, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Paresky 220

In attendance: Martha Tetrault, ex officio, Danielle Gonzalez, ex officio,  Erwin Bernhart, David J. Boyer, Lisa Briggs, Gail Burda, Dawn Dellea, Madeleine DeMarsico, Jenny Dewar, Maggie Driscoll, Mark Kimball, Kristan Renish, Lynn Taft, Teresa Waryjasz

Absent: Colleen Bethoney, Gisela Demant

Agenda

1. Greeters for Appreciation Day lunch

Business

• Staff Open Forum Feedback: Staff Council members gathered feedback from the staff. It was felt that there was an overall relief that there are no plans for layoffs or benefit reductions in the near future. Most felt it was useful and worthwhile. Some staff felt the forums went a little too long, were a bit tedious, and some of the questions answered were too general. Martha noted that follow up on specific questions, such as the Step Plan issue, went directly to the department with the concern and was not discussed at the open forum for reasons of complexity and time allowance. The question and answer period at the end of the forum was discussed. Overall, the forum quelled the fears of many worrying about their positions. It was understood that certain questions could not be answered because the state of the economy was still too tenuous.

• Investment Policy: There will be a meeting on April 28th with TIAA CREF representatives and college officials.

• Appreciation Recognition Policy: A unified policy for managers is being created on how they should be recognizing and spending for gifts. Should holiday gifts be purchased with college funds? Should flowers be sent acknowledging wellness, death, etc? Gift certificates are taxable. How should retirements be handled? The College has a retirement event. Guidelines are being created and have been worked on over the past three years.

• Telecommuting Policy: The policy will be coming back to Staff Council for review.

• Outreach from Human Resources: Electronic communications - are they working? Are people getting what they need? HR has a Facebook page which is a group page. All are encouraged to join. It is available as another tool to communicate with staff. Achieving good communication is an ongoing endeavor for HR. Is it working? Is it reaching all departments? Those without daily access to computers are in departments where Daily Messages and important notices are posted in staff areas and viewable by all.

• Solicitations: It was noted by some members that there seems to be an increase in notices of houses for sale. While some of the notices indicate that the cost of distribution is not paid by the college, most agreed that dispensing these notices takes staff time which in fact is a cost to the college. Is there a solicitation policy? Is it needed or is this just an unusual event? Maggie Discroll offered to contact Office Services.

• Appreciation Day: Recognition of service with Williams for 5, 10, 15, and 20years. Staff being recognized receive gifts and attend a lunch at Williams Inn, or a dinner at Mill on the Floss for 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service and retirees. Several Staff Council members offered to be greeters for this event. Flower pinning skills are a plus.

• Staff Council communications: With the recent open forum, Staff Council became more visible on campus. Currently, the Staff Council's web page can be located via HR's website. Some members were concerned that it was hard for staff to get to, even via HR's website. HR's website and newsletter are being redesigned so perhaps it may be easier to find in the future. Members felt a paper newsletter was not an option given the college's green initiative and the actual demand of time to produce a paper newsletter.

Next meeting

Date & Location:

• Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - Paresky, Room 220

Agenda:

1. Telecommuting policy

New items to be discussed should be sent to Martha.

Reported by L. Taft