Survey results help tailor proposal

May vote on proposal to separate from state civil service ended in tie

The Department of Human Resources, on behalf of the Work Group for an Alternative to Civil Service, has compiled and posted online the results of a survey conducted several months after a tie vote on whether classified employees wanted to pursue a proposal to remove themselves from civil service.

The results, which can be found at www.ku
.edu/~kuhr/alt_civil_service.shtml, break down staff reaction to facets of a proposal that is still being discussed. If passed, the proposal could begin a process to remove KU classified staff from coverage by the state’s civil service policies, offering new opportunities for funding that could support pay increases.

In May, 1,090 classified staff members cast ballots to decide whether to pursue the change. Of those, 545 people voted for the alternative and 545 voted not to pursue the proposal.

In July, human resources circulated 1,465 surveys to classified staff via campus mail to gauge reaction to features of the proposal. More than 700 surveys were returned including information about how classified staff felt about the individual changes that were included in the proposal.

The results showed that overall, 82 percent of respondents liked the option to appeal performance evaluations in a way comparable to the current practice; 77 percent agreed with proposed layoff procedures that would have been comparable to civil service; 73 percent supported basing a portion of salary increases on performance; and 71 percent would have liked university administration to determine salary increases instead of the Legislature.

However, 50 percent of respondents disliked that the performance portion of salary increases would have been determined at the discretion of supervisors.

The survey also revealed that 26 percent of respondents liked every feature of the proposal, while 7 percent disliked every feature.

Extra comments included on the surveys included requests for an “opt-out” option, assurance of fair raises, safeguards against unfair performance evaluations, addition of retirement options and benefits, and maintenance of the lump-sum longevity bonus.

Town hall meetings, which will be considered “work time,” have been scheduled to answer questions about the final version of the proposals. The proposals will be distributed to classified staff before the meetings. A second vote on the proposal will occur in October.

Meeting times are:

1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Woodruff Auditorium, Kansas Union
8 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24, in Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
9 to 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 2, in Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
For more information visit the human resources Web site or call either Kathy Jansen at 864-3063 or Ola Faucher at 864-7411.