ENDs Monitoring Report Workforce Focus

July 10, 2017

Presented to: Dr. Daniel J. Phelan, President Jackson College Board of Trustees Presented by: Cindy Allen, Vice President of Administration and Human Resources

I. Executive Summary This Workforce Focus Board Monitoring Report considers Jackson College’s organizational outcomes as they relate to hiring, evaluation, recognition and development of our employees. It also considers employee climate, including employee health and wellness, workforce benefits, retention and rewards and recognition practices for our workforce. This report also considers employee engagement and workforce satisfaction and discusses trends for workforce development and leadership nationally. The 5-Star Talent Program continues to reap huge benefits along many data points. For example, this past fiscal year, the College on-boarded 56 new employees, and of those 52 remain. At the conclusion of the on-boarding week, our new employees have noted how they are in awe over their week’s experience, with particular interest at the number of interactions they have with the leadership of the College. They feel valued, welcomed and they definitely believe that they made the right choice to join us. As well, as recent as this week, we have an HR specialist from Wisconsin, who came in person, to see, benchmark and participate in our on-boarding week process. Last December, we were able to welcome the faculty union into the performance and beliefs based pay plan. A grid remains in the faculty contract for placement of new employees. Steps for advancement for longevity, have been eliminated. In October the local MEA Uniserve Director, our faculty union president and the Jackson College VP of Talent/HR will be presenting at the state MEA conference on how we moved from steps to performance-based pay. Many colleges, some from outside of the State, have called and requested our tools and steps necessary to move their institution in the same direction. A subcategory of the Workforce Focus area is the recognition of our employees and celebrating their successes. Several initiatives were launched over the past 12 months and continued this year, more details are in the institutional context section of this report, related to celebrating our employees, as well as offering opportunities for additional networking with their colleagues. In February at convocation, our keynote speaker addressed the opportunities available with five generations in the workplace. That day of professional development (PD) and several PD opportunities since, including state and national conferences, as well as our own in-person and on-line opportunities, have been well received. Our community development work is also tied to keeping our employees engaged. The efforts concurrently provide for a great community project while also providing random groups of employees to work with other College employees that they may have not otherwise had a chance to get to know. While one of our goals for this past 12 months was to identify a service project in Lenawee County. To that end, we did deploy a workgroup of 20 employees to Hillsdale to disseminate 15 yards of mulch at the Sandy Beach children's playground, located on Baw Beese Lake. We have Lenawee County

back on the list for a community project this Fall. Our community service in local school classrooms was likewise rewarding. As a result of all of these efforts and more, the engagement by our administrators with their direct reports, as noted in the results of the Pace Survey, came back incredibly high. The stated goal in the strategic plan was to reach an 80% favorable response level. The chart within this report shows Jackson College ranked higher in employee engagement and satisfaction than national benchmarks, the Midwest category and four-year schools. II. Institutional Context Figure 1 (below) presents the Baldrige/Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation criteria for Workforce Focus Priorities. The overarching HLC components are process, results and improvement.

Hiring Development

Figure 1: Workforce Focus Priorities

Evaluation & Recognition

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Certifications

Staffing Levels

Statement of Beliefs

Culture Fit

Recruit

Hire

Place

Retrain

Address Action Plans

Achieve Objectives

Produce Results

Develop

Training

Minimize impact of Reductions

Manage Periods of Growth

Ensure Workforce Health, Safety & Security

Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction

Engagement

Recognition/Reward

Support Workforce

Meet the Needs of a Diverse Workforce

Capability & Capacity

New Workforce Member

Work Accomplish-

ment

Workforce Change

Management

Workforce Climate

Workforce Polices & Benefits

Jackson College is committed to providing a world-class work environment for all employees. To that end, the Talent/Human Resources Office continues working on the following initiatives: Over the past 12 months, The Leadership Council handed out certificates for performance recognition pay acknowledging an employee’s hard work, Total Commitment to Student Success (TCS2) and living our values and beliefs. For many employees, the certificate and recognition alone brought gratitude and a few tears. They were then overjoyed to learn a bonus would be in their pay advice the following pay

period. Another large celebration occurred around the holidays when our employees were invited to Grand River Brewery for great food, drink and camaraderie and the celebration for a great year. Many individuals donated food to our food pantry as part of this event as a way to pay it forward to our students. Plans are to continue this tradition this coming holiday season. Additional events have been launched throughout the year that receive additional excitement from our employees. “Jeans Friday” from Memorial Day to Labor Day is a huge hit that requires a $3 donation, which can be directed to the student emergency fund or the food bank. In return the employee wears a sticker "Ask me why I'm wearing Jeans" so an employee can explain the "fun"d-raising effort and why employees are dressed down. "Dog Days of Summer"- Each Wednesday a free hot dog luncheon is held under the sails for employees, the only stipulation being is that employees are required to eat their lunch with co-workers and not take their plate back to their office. And coming up in August is a 56 passenger bus, filled with Jackson College Jets headed to a Detroit Tigers game on a Saturday. Finally, Wine-Down at Wickwire is a gathering, wherein approximately 50-75 employees are invited to join the President and Leadership Council from 3-5pm on a Friday. Those events continue late summer and into the Fall with the faculty during faculty learning days. III. External Context An external environmental scan related to workforce priorities identified several articles with the focus on employee retention and motivation: Opportunities: • Millennial Generation – Career Advancement Impatience

• Growing up in fast times and coming of age in an on-demand culture, millennials expect promotions and pay raises to come early and often.

• Leaders need to get comfortable with their advancement expectations and arm themselves with strategies such as mentoring and allowing opportunities for contribution.

• Creating a Spirit of Cooperation • Creating a spirit of cooperation leads to increased productivity and

teamwork. • Strategies include leading by example and creating “cross training”

opportunities. Team building opportunities and off-site activities also help organizations achieve closer employee cooperation.

As a result of this research, the HR department will be working with managers to make sure during their monthly PMI’s with their employees that goals are discussed and employees can discuss a path for advancement. Administrators have been encouraged to reach out to some of our newer employees to get them engaged and allow their voices and ideas to be heard when putting together a work group or committee

IV. Institutional Performance Reporting and Assessment PACE Survey: During Spring 2017, our employees completed a 46-item questionnaire organized into four climate factors: Institutional Structure, Student Focus, Supervisory Responsibility and Teamwork. Below is a graph by employee classification as to overall feeling on the climate in the organization, which was higher than the national average in all categories. Figure 2: Institutional Dashboard: Overall Climate by Classification

As part of that survey, 309, or 36.4% employees participated and the survey identified the following strengths and weaknesses: Strengths:

• The extent to which I feel my job is relevant to this institution's mission (4.37/5.0). • The extent which my supervisor expresses confidence in my work (4.31/5.0) • The extent to which my supervisor is open to the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of

everyone (4.20/5.0) Challenge/Opportunity:

• The extent to which I have the opportunity for advancement within this institution (3.184 / 5.0).

• The extent to which I am able to appropriately influence the direction of this institution (3.26 / 5.0).

• The extent to which decisions are made at the appropriate level at this institution (3.605).

The Pace survey was last conducted six years ago. To show some comparative data, we extracted data from our Employee Opinion Survey that we conducted in November 2014. The response by employees was 241 employees and represented 25% of our workforce. At that time our opportunities for improvement were: Few opportunities to advance their careers within the College (2.8/5.0) Employees feel that information is not communicated through the College

(3.0/5.0) A dwindling proportion of employees would recommend the College as a place to

work (59%). Full-time faculty and technical staff have particularly negative opinions about their

work experience. Overall, the Administrators rated the campus climate the highest with a mean score of 4.16, followed by faculty with a 3.94 and staff with a 3.88. While the overall goal for the three-year strategic plan was 80%, our overall rate was 3.92, which is a 78.4% on the Likert scale, the number of employees who participated in the survey increased significantly from two years ago and our institution beat the national average. Employee Professional Development: The keynote speaker for Winter Convocation was Eddie LeMoine, a leading authority on the topic of five generations in the workplace. Eddie stated that this is one of the most significant challenges in the workforce today and it is critical that we understand, manage and communicate across all generations. He also conducted a breakout session, “Bring About What You Think About” and in this presentation, Eddie shared insights, gained from his experience as a senior sales leader, into secrets for success and how to use life skills to change your life. Many employees enjoyed the main program, but a good number of employees stated that the breakout session was just as good, if not better, and would like him brought back. Professional Development Opportunities: The College continues to invest in their employees with our own leadership academy, the second cohort will begin this Fall. The Aim High Series, which included a Brown Bag Luncheon with a Leadership Team member for hourly employees, was offered three times but attendance was poor so we are considering a reboot. Additional departmental trainings were presented along with an outside facilitator taking the leadership team and the leadership academy participants through DISC assessment. Additional mandatory training is required through our IT Departments are part of our technology security training.

External professional development, conferences and workshops throughout the State and Nation, are tracked through the approval form in the business office. Those hours represent nearly 4,200 hours for professional development off-campus. Sept – Nov

2016 Dec – Feb

2017 Mar – May

2017 Jun – July

2017

# of Hours 822 835 2102 435

# of Employees 65 51 126 26

Hours/Employee 12.6 16.4 16.7 16.7

Figure 3: Jackson College Employee Turnover Trend Employee Turnover Ratio – In the 2016 Compensation Data Colleges & Universities survey, employers from 342 higher education organizations reported a total turnover rate was 11.3%, relatively flat to what was reported in 2015. The table below outlines Jackson College’s turnover trends, which are consistent with national trends.

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017* Overall 15% 4% 13% 12% 14% Faculty 3% 1% 18% 7% 18% Staff 17% 2% 8% 11% 13% Administration 38% 16% 14% 21% 11%

*2017 Turnover Rate Less Retirements: Overall: 9%; Faculty: 8%; Staff: 9% and Administration: 11% According to an article in the June 2017 edition of Harvard Business Review, in the first three to six months, new hires are particularly susceptible to turnover with companies losing an average of 17% of their new hires in the first three months. Valuing, Recognizing and Engaging: Valuing our employees continues to be a regular agenda item for the Workforce Focus Committee, and is also a component of our College’s Beliefs. One recent activity that underlined this focus was the Annual All College Celebration. The 2017 All College Celebration honored 13 retirees. We also celebrated this year’s Outstanding Employees. Over 150 people were attendance and the event was once again offered free of charge to employees and a guest.

AQIP Action Projects: AQIP initiatives have included engaging employees with community service projects and College community and family events. The college continued to embrace out commitment to helping make our community a great place to live, work and learn. Following the College’s 2016 Fall Convocation, 180 employees participated in community service projects. 140 of the employees visited 9 JPS Schools: Bennett, Cascades, Dibble, Frost, JPS Montessori, Sharp Park, Northeast, Hunt and McCulloch. Volunteers spent the afternoon assisting with various academic assignments, educational games, arts and crafts projects and playground duties. Another group of 40 employees visited the Cascades Humane Society. Volunteers at this site helped to clean up their outdoor areas.

For our 2017 Spring Convocation, close to 160 employees were involved in projects in both Jackson and Hillsdale counties. In Jackson, our volunteers helped with spring clean-up at Ella Sharp and Loomis Parks and at the Falling Waters Trail. In Hillsdale, a group of 20 volunteers spread over 15 yards of mulch at the Sandy Beach children’s playground, located on Baw Beese Lake.

The College’s annual Easter Egg Hunt and Spooktacular events were big hits with not just our community members but with our employees as many brought their families out to central campus to participate.

Performance Recognition Pay: Finalized the process of including our performance/beliefs in the faculty contract. Also agreed to the necessary steps/criteria/forms faculty would use to agree to goals with their dean, a mid-year checkpoint and final evaluation at the end of next year. A presentation will take place at the statewide MEA Conference to present on this effort between administration and the JCCFA president and MEA Director. Increasing Diversity in the Hiring Process Jackson College continues to promote a diverse employee population and has a member of the Council on Diversity and Inclusion sitting on every interview committee. As well, we have several members on the committee actively seek out individuals who they feel will fit our culture.

The College’s five-year trend data is below:

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Total Instructional

Staff Total Instructional

Staff Total Instructional

Staff Total Instructional

Staff Total Instructional

Staff American Indian or Alaska Native 7 7 6 6 5 0 4 1 5 1

Asian 3 3 3 33 3 1 2 0 2 0 Black or African American 21 7 21 11 20 3 16 3 18 3 Hispanic or Latino 7 5 5 3 6 2 2 0 5 2 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

White 535 362 480 341 478 64 366 63 344 57 Two or More Races 1 1 2 2 0 0 25 0 0 0 Race/Ethnicity Unknown 20 14 38 28 25 3 78 7 145 5 Nonresident Alien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Grand Total 594 399 555 424 537 73 494 74 519 68 Data Source: most recent IPEDS HR: Q:\IR\HR IPEDS separate tabs 03-06-2017.xlsx

The IPEDS reporting is information that is self-reported from employees when they are at the applicant phase. Please note the number of employees who chose not to identify (145). This is the new norm around the nation as 25% of employees are choosing not to be placed into a specific category. A spot check of full-time employees confirms a number of newer African American employees are in the “unknown” category. V. Institutional Performance Improvement Planning Wellness initiatives continue to make a positive impact on our employees. In just three years, we have seen amazing results. Our health coach says that positive changes are occurring but employees still need additional support with their emotional health and stress.

Although the Weight Watchers group did not get enough participants to renew in January 2017, several members still get together to support one another and share weight loss tips. The Workforce Focus Committee is developing several “Wellness Challenges” to assist our employees in making healthier choices. Ideas include a “Walking/Step Challenge” to encourage physical fitness, “Water Challenge” to encourage employees to drink more of water and a “Nutrition Challenge” to encourage employees to eat more fruits and vegetables. It is our hope that with the addition of a walking trail around the perimeter of Central Campus, more employees will take advantage of a thirty minute walk throughout the day. As well, the new Oasis Center will be opening in September and will be available for our employees to use. Prior to this, the College participated in an EAP program that was significantly underutilized. VI. Conclusion AQIP Portfolio Category 3 - Valuing People explores the institution’s commitment to the development and appreciation of our faculty, staff and administrators, creating an engaged workforce.

Future Goals: Recognizing, Rewarding and Engaging our Employees for 2017/18 The following ongoing goals are the focus of the Workforce Focus Committee over the next 12 months and are part of the FY ‘17 strategic plan. Implement performance/beliefs based pay for the faculty unit. Expand our community service into the Lenawee community with a project in Fall

‘l7 at Adrian School District Implement action plan out of Workforce Focus Committee to address the top

challenges from the PACE Survey. Implement additional ways to recognize and reward employees for birthdays,

anniversaries, etc. Implementation of a NOC Center for Fall ’17 so employees feel safe and secure

on all campuses. Provide additional professional development opportunities with specific emphasis

of knowledge transfer and process-mapping as well as training of team leads. Move on-line employee application system to a more robust company that can

assist supervisors with employee evaluations/goals and conversations. Completion and promotion of the Jet’s Fitness Trail coming next summer to

enhance our Wellness initiatives.

Jackson College has been, and will continue to be, a great place to work. Much effort has been devoted to working cross functionally to reach our goals and make sure we are hiring people who believe in the College’s values and beliefs. We recognize employees who are living our values and beliefs through performance evaluations and performance recognition pay. Much effort this past year has been focused on motivating our employees with fun and rewarding activities that has the entire campus engaged. While some of the measures are not quantitative, the smiles, genuine happiness at work and cooperation is very real.