Kansas State University

I recently hung in my office a print of a painting entitled “Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog” by German artist Caspar David Friedrich. It depicts a man on a rocky outcrop looking over a valley shrouded in fog. I think the message for me is about taking the time to gain a different point of view and gain some perspective. Down in the fog shrouded valley, the view might be obscured but getting up on the rocks a beautiful vista is revealed. There is a lot going on for the university right now: strategic enrollment, new budget model work is ongoing, and the legislature is back in session. Perhaps it feels a bit foggy sometimes. As I think about perspective on all the strategic initiatives, climbing to the overlook I see a great future. I love this university and the people who make it special every day. All of this work is about making the university better, giving us more stability, pushing to the future and keeping K-State as a great place to learn, work and make amazing contributions.

With that in mind, I wanted to provide information on the following efforts in Human Capital Services:

• K-State New Employee Welcome-This new employee welcome program will go live April 10 and from there on will occur on the second Wednesday every month, “Welcome Wednesday.” We will provide new employees with an outstanding introduction to K-State. Once a decision is made to hire a new employee there is a process we go through, bringing them onto campus and completing all of the necessary paperwork and steps. We are aiming to make that experience more efficient, faster and to provide people with an amazing introduction to becoming a part of the K-State family. Among those who will be involved in this employee welcome are: the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance, the K-State Alumni Association, faculty from the College of Human Ecology and the K-State Polytechnic campus, and HCS staff.
• Paid Parental Leave-Late last year, then Governor Colyer issued an executive order granting paid parental leave to state employee. He exempted the regents universities and indicated they could develop their own policy. The Kansas Board of Regents asked the universities to come together to draft a policy to take to the Board. I was tasked with coordinating this effort among the regents universities’ HR departments and am happy to say we have completed that work and the proposed policy will go before the Council of Presidents and Kansas Board of Regents Fiscal Affairs and Audit Committee this month. Hopefully this will lead to full adoption by the Board and we can get this amazing benefit in place as quickly as possible.
• K-State Supervisory Foundations-I could not be more pleased to announce that the K-State Supervisory Foundations training program will be kicking off with its pilot group in March. This effort is a direct response to what the university told us it needed in the needs assessment and climate survey. I cannot say enough about our own Learning and Development team and all the partners we have. Participants are going to receive content from some of our amazing faculty members and other experts. This is an investment in all our supervisors, those they supervise and is a strong statement about the kind of culture we want for our employees.
• Global Competency Framework-Work on a global competency framework continues with four teams filled with people from all parts of the university focusing on: competency modeling, career paths, performance management and career development. You can view these teams on our web site and see what they are working on. The teams have explored what other universities are doing, found best practices and are providing recommendations on what might be the right approach for K-State. This initiative is a multi-year effort that will move at a deliberate pace that recognizes our ability to absorb change, the capacity we and our partners have to make it happen and the priorities of the university as a whole.
• Process Improvements-We are also looking at internal process improvement. Some of our groups, specifically payroll, the resource center and benefits in partnership with ISO (Information Systems Office) have been pushing through process and procedures to streamline and make things more efficient. The ISO has been such a valuable partner and I want to thank Betsy Draper, Darci Potroff and Loren Wilson particularly for making this such a value-added experience.

In all of this work we are fortunate and happy that so many university stakeholders are engaged with us, have responded and teamed up with us.

Over the past year, Human Capital Services (HCS) has been working hard to develop a new program to acclimate new employees to K-State resources, culture and traditions. This enhanced new employee orientation program – the K-State New Employee Welcome – will provide all new benefits-eligible employees with an in-depth knowledge of K-State at the beginning of their career.

The goal of the K-State New Employee Welcome program is to bring new employees together, providing each person with an experience that will ensure that they have a sense of belonging and are connected from the start. This will be accomplished through a well-rounded approach, introducing employees to K-State history, traditions, initiatives, systems and much more. Held on the second Wednesday of each month, the program will include four hours of instruction, learning and discussion and a one-hour tour of the K-State campus.

The program design team researched several of K-State’s peer and aspirant institutions to gauge best practices to help guide the structure of this new program. In collaboration with key stakeholders and partners campus-wide, program content was developed and will be facilitated by these same partners and HCS staff. Feedback will be collected throughout the year as we continue to enhance the program.

To learn more about the K-State New Employee Welcome program, including program details and frequently asked questions, visit the HCS website.

Do you have student loan debt and worry how these obligations impact your overall financial wellness?

Did you know as a K-State employee there are ways to get a portion of your student loan(s) forgiven? If you meet certain eligibility criteria, your Federal Direct student loans may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness or PSLF. View eligibility criteria, repayment programs and other helpful information by visiting the Federal Student Aid website.

Employer certification may be required as part of the application process. The form can be found here and submitted to Human Capital Services for completion. When working towards eligibility this form is submitted annually, or when you change employers.

Kansas State University offers free resources and counseling to help.

Powercat Financial provides free, web-based resources to any individual seeking help with student loan planning and repayment, as well as budgeting, saving, managing debt and more. Face-to-face counseling sessions with peer financial counselors are currently only available to employees who are also current K-State students.

The State of Kansas Employee Assistance Program, or EAP offers counseling and advice on a variety of topics. Take advantage of these free financial resources by visiting the GuidanceResources® Online. EAP counselors are also available 24/7 by calling 1-888-275-1205. The EAP is available to all active, benefits-eligible employees of the State of Kansas and their dependents.

Questions? We’re here to help! Contact us at benefits@k-state.edu.

This spring, Human Capital Services is excited to partner with a variety of academic units and key leaders at K-State to offer a renewed supervisory training experience.  HCS currently offers Introduction to Supervision, a supervisory program that is primarily available to supervisors of University Support Staff (USS) employees.  After February, that programming will be discontinued and will be replaced with updated programming offering more thorough and relevant content. K-State Supervisory Foundations will be available to any K-State supervisor and will be offered three to four times a year. The launch of this program will allow HCS to achieve a key K-State 2025 outcome of providing supervisory training for all employees by 2020. HCS has identified key content areas for the supervisory program as a result of the 2017 Professional Development Needs Assessment, research of peer and aspirational higher education institutions and a focus group of K-State supervisory stakeholders.

A tiered training approach offering three distinct pillars will allow K-State supervisors to achieve supervisory mastery through a variety of content areas over time.  A pilot offering of K-State Supervisory Foundations Pillar I will be offered in March and April and programming will be launched in June. Employees are encouraged to visit the website for more information or send any questions to Learning and Development at learning-develop-hr@k-state.edu.

Human Capital Services strives to encourage professional development and community involvement amongst our staff. Below are a few of the proud achievements and highlights of several members of our team!

Team Highlights

Amanda McDiffett, director of benefits, graduated from TIAA’s Emerging Leaders Network program.

Lindsey Fouquett, executive recruitment manager, and Kristi Fronce, Human Capital Supervisor- Central, have been accepted into TIAA’s Emerging Leaders Network Program.

Jenny Locanthi Dowell, manager of compensation and organization effectiveness in Talent Solutions in Human Capital Services, has been elected to serve as director for the Kansas State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management, or KSSHRM.

Team Changes

The past couple of months have brought many staff changes to Human Capital Services. Some of these changes may already be familiar, while a few are rather recent.

New faces

Human Capital Services is excited to welcome the following new employees to our team.

• David Brown joins as the Director of Operations
• Shauna Samuel serves as the HCS main point of contact.
• LaVerne Williamson joins as an employee relations and engagement specialist.

Bittersweet goodbyes

When a team member leaves, it is often bittersweet. We hate to see them go but are happy for them as they embark on their next journey. This past month, Human Capital Services said goodbye to a few long-standing members of our community. We at HCS wish them all the best!

• Gina Lowe, employee relations and engagement, retired from K-State after more than 31 years of service to the university.