UW Daily Bulletin, January 27, 2009

Staff face the annual appraisal

It's that time of year again, for staff members across campus and the managers they report to. Annual performance appraisals are to be completed and filed with the human resources department by March 16, says a memo from Alfrieda Swainston, manager of salary administration.

Appraisal is done on a 1-to-5 scale, on a form that assesses such "work performance factors" as client service, working relationships, communication, job knowledge, "taking the initiative to make things better", problem-solving and time management. The resulting merit rating is a factor in determining an individual staff member's annual May 1 pay increase.

Says Swainston's memo, sent to managers and administrative assistants a few days ago: "The Provost's Advisory Committee on Staff Compensation committee members would like to remind managers to sit down with employees to discuss the content of the appraisal as well as to provide the employee an opportunity for discussion with their manager. This is also an opportunity to review changes which may have occurred in job content; to review safety practices in the workplace; and to assess whether or not job descriptions are reflective of the work being done and if the current grade should be reviewed.”

The job descriptions for most UW staff positions were put on the web in 2006, and Swainston’s memo tells managers: “If you do not find your staff member's job descriptions on the site Human Resources does not have a current document in a usable format. In this instance please forward an electronic version.”

It goes on: "The goal of the performance evaluation exercise is to provide confidential, constructive feedback to staff members regarding their performance in relation to the requirements of their job description and the appraisal rating interpretations. The exercise serves to identify areas of success, areas that need improvement which have been raised over the past year, opportunities for job enhancement and a discussion of the working environment."

Other sections of the appraisal form — the current version is the one dated January 2007 — ask whether the staff member has "the tools and equipment to do your job" and whether communication and feedback from the manager are adequate. The form ends with "mutually agreed upon goals and objectives" for the year ahead.

Copies of the appraisal form, as well as instructions for how to fill it out and rate staff members, are available on the HR web site. Swainston says anyone who didn't receive the memo and instructions, but should have, can get in touch with her (ext. 32950) or Neime Cahit (ext. 35935).

New associate VP in development

UW has a new associate vice-president (annual and planned giving), filling the position in the development office that was held by Bob Copeland before he moved last summer to become the director of athletics and recreational services.

She is Erin Sargeant Greenwood, who was appointed in October and is now on the job in South Campus Hall, heading a 17-member professional team.

As a senior member of the External Relations division, she’s responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction for the Annual Giving, Leadership Giving, Planned Giving, Stewardship and Donor Relations units within development and alumni affairs. “Erin and her team are focused,” an announcement adds, “on continuing to build the fundraising capacity of the university by ensuring that UW's giving and recognition programs are strategically aligned with donor interests and motivations.

“Erin's team is also building the Leadership Giving unit, which focuses on building relationships with prospective donors considering annual gifts up to $100,000.” The development unit has another associate vice-president, Linda Kieswetter, whose portfolio is defined as “principal gifts and campaign”, focused on campaign strategy and gifts of $1 million and upwards.

[Sargeant Greenwood] Says vice-president (external relations) Meg Beckel, to whom Sargeant Greenwood (left) reports: “Erin's role is critical to leading our development staff focused on building the pipeline of donors for UW. Donor relations and stewardship, annual giving, planned giving and leadership giving are all foundation programs in any advancement program. At UW we are connecting these programs in an unconventional manner in order to benefit from the synergies of the programs and the ideas of the program leaders. Erin's track record and experience will serve us well in this endeavour.”

She has worked at Nipissing University and York University, and spent seven years with Ketchum Canada Inc., a national fundraising consulting group. Most recently, she led the advancement operations at Branksome Hall, an independent school in Toronto.

“My job,” she says, “is to make sure that we are putting the right people and programs together to ensure that the university has the partners and resources it needs to achieve its Sixth Decade goals — a job that I share with every member of the ODAA team. I look forward to leading the great team that has come together over the past year.” Until her arrival, Jason Coolman, director of alumni affairs, was serving as the acting associate VP.

Other notes while everybody chills

Both students and faculty members will be honoured this afternoon at a reception hosted by the dean of graduate studies, Alan George. Guests of honour at the Graduate Studies Awards Reception include this year's winners of the President's Graduate Scholarships and the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards. In addition, the event will see the presentation of this year's Awards of Excellence in Graduate Supervision. Winners were announced in December; they are Robin Cohen of computer science, Alison Pedlar of recreation and leisure studies, and Steve Spencer of psychology. Admission is by invitation; the event runs from 3:00 to 4:30 in the Festival Room of South Campus Hall, and will include remarks by UW provost Amit Chakma.

The registrar's office says a mass e-mail message went out Friday to "approximately 25,047 students" to let them know that class enrolment for spring term courses is scheduled for February 9 through 14. "Please," the message says, "sign into your Quest account to view your enrollment appointment times. When you sign into your enrollment session for the spring 2009 term, you'll see courses scheduled for you as a result of your pre-enrollment selections (see View My Pre-Enrollment Results in Quest), or course selections done for you by your school or department. You'll still be able to add, drop, or swap courses to finalize your spring schedule. Additional important deadlines are available online. If you're no longer continuing your studies at the University of Waterloo, let us know by sending an email to registrar@ uwaterloo.ca (please include your full name, ID number, and faculty of last attendance)."

An "alumni discussion on Waterloo's role in public service" is planned for next week in Ottawa, where there are indeed a good many UW grads who have made their careers in that field. Says the alumni web site: "We live in an era of globalization, rapid change and shifting demographics — issues that are affecting our government's ability to respond to the needs of Canadians. Through the introduction of a new professional Master of Public Service degree program and the proposed Waterloo Centre for Public Service (WCPS), the University of Waterloo aims to revitalize and strengthen Canada's public service sector. President David Johnston and Ken Coates, Dean of Arts, invite you to an alumni discussion session to provide input into the development of these exciting initiatives. The evening also features Mr. Kevin Lynch, Clerk of the Privy Council, who will give his insight into the challenges facing Canada's public servants. Your feedback is vital to the success of this event, so please arrive promptly." The by-invitation event is scheduled for February 5, Thursday of next week, at 6:00 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Nominations close this Friday for staff representatives on the nominating committees that will consider the positions of dean of mathematics and dean of applied health sciences. • A free seven-week "healthy weight, healthy eating" group will hold its first meeting Thursday at 4:00; interested students can get information, or preregister, by calling ext. 35599. • Applications for positions as residence life dons in fall 2009 and winter 2010 will close this Friday at midnight.

Ontario attorney-general chose St. Paul's College as the venue for an announcement yesterday about new support for Aboriginals involved in the criminal justice system. St. Paul's is the home base of UW's Aboriginal studies program and the Aboriginal advisor, Emerance Baker. "In a funding partnership with the federal government," says the announcement issued by Chris Bentley, "Ontario will be providing $47,295 annually to help the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto provide Gladue services to the Kitchener-Waterloo area, including Guelph and Cambridge. A new Gladue (or Aboriginal) case worker will be available to provide courts in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Cambridge with specialized reports, which can be taken into account during the sentencing of Aboriginal offenders. Recommendations in these reports address the current and historic circumstances of the offender and identify the resources available to address the offender's needs." Until now, the nearest such caseworkers have been in Toronto.

And . . . the stake Canadian universities have in this afternoon's budget got higher yesterday, when the federal minister of transport and infrastructure, John Baird, told a news conference in Ottawa that it will provide $7 billion of special infrastructure spending, aimed at stimulating a shrinking economy. Baird said the spending will include "a $2 billion plan to support repairs and maintenance and to accelerate construction at colleges and universities across Canada", as well as money for municipal projects, such as roads and sewers, plus $1 billion for "green energy". The historic budget is to be presented in the House of Commons by finance minister Jim Flaherty, starting at about 4 p.m.

CAR

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Staff face the annual appraisal

New associate VP in development

Other notes while everybody chills

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