How To Create A New Department Of Information Technology Services In The Library

Transcription

1 HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE Chairman Nigel Wilson called the meeting of the COG Human Resources Committee to order at 12:00 PM in the COG forum room with the following individuals in attendance: Committee: Messrs. Herman, Morris, Downsbrough, Wilson; Ms. Whitaker Others: Mr. Rasmussen, Head of Information Technology Services; Mses. Alloway, Library Director; Prosek, Assistant to the Executive Director; Murtha, Recording Secretary and Human Resources Officer CITIZEN COMMENTS No citizen comments were offered. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Mr. Herman and seconded by Mr. Morris to accept the minutes of the January 7, 2015 Human Resources Committee meeting as presented. Vote in favor of the motion was unanimous. LIBRARY SERVICES REORGANIZATION PLAN Ms. Prosek gave background on how the reorganization plan for Schlow Library was developed. She referenced the organizational chart that was enclosed in the agenda packet and explained the development of the different library departments. She compared the previous structure of the library and proposed a new department of Information Technology Services. She also noted the additional cost for a new position (including hours worked and benefits) which had already been factored into the budget for Mr. Herman questioned the layout of the organizational chart, and if the flow of staff report to the person above them. Ms. Alloway explained that the person at the top of the staff list is not necessarily the person in charge. The staff, with the exception of volunteers, are equal at that level and all report to a Department Head. Mr. Herman then asked how many hours the Part-Time employees work. Mr. Rasmussen explained that, in the current positions, one employee is 20 hours/week and the other is 24 hours/week. Ms. Alloway added that the proposed Part-Time position was approved in the budget is for 20 hours/week.

2 Page 2 of 5 Ms. Prosek commented that, within the COG, a Part-Time employee s hours can vary from anywhere up to, but not including, 30 hours/week. Mr. Herman then asked how many employees were staffed at the Library, excluding volunteers. Ms. Alloway reported there are currently 41 employees, with the equivalent of 26.5 Full-Time positions. She also added that compared to other libraries similar in size and budget, Schlow is at the average benchmark for number of staff. Mr. Downsbrough expressed his support of Ms. Alloway s staffing efforts. However, he voiced concern on the organizational span of control, and noted too few reports to the proposed Head of Information Technology Services position. He suggested moving IT to Technical Services, or creating a Team Lead rather than Department Head, to help balance the structure of management. Ms. Alloway explained how IT would not fall appropriately under the Technical Services department due to the vast difference in job duties. She expressed the importance of having an IT person supervise the rest of the IT department rather than a different Department Head. She also noted the great potential for growth among the IT department over the next 10 years, and the necessity to start defining the department now. Mr. Downsbrough questioned if there would be any expectation from a salary point of view that Department Heads should be at equivalent salary bands. Ms. Alloway assured him that all Department Heads fall under the same salary band. Mr. Downsbrough noted that other Department Heads manage more staff than the proposed Head of IT Services. He stated his support in the development of an IT department, but was not under the impression there were currently enough staff for a new department as of yet. Ms. Alloway expressed the importance of uniformity among her direct reports in title, pay, and responsibility. Mr. Morris asked for confirmation that even if the former Computer Systems Administrator did not hold a Head of IT Services title, there is still a necessity to pay at a Department Head level to obtain the right talent to fill the position. Mses. Alloway and Prosek both agreed that statement to be true. Mr. Downsbrough also agreed with Mr. Morris statement; however, he still felt as though there were not enough people to fully staff an IT Department at this time. Ms. Alloway explained that the title of Department Head does not directly relate to the number of people being supervised, but the level of responsibility and the risk in error. The Head of IT Services would not only manage Schlow staff in the IT department, but many complex projects

3 Page 3 of 5 and outside relations with State College Borough, Accufund, the parking equipment systems, and the Federation of Libraries through a county-wide network. Mr. Rasmussen added more detail to the extent of work he does with outside relations and managing projects. He explained the amount of responsibility that typically goes into those high budgeted projects and number of people involved; however, he noted that those people are not always his direct reports from the organization. Ms. Whitaker asked Ms. Alloway for some clarification on which staff are considered technical employees. Ms. Alloway and Mr. Rasmussen explained the terms used in the library and that employees working directly with computers would fall in the IT department. Ms. Prosek added that there are plans in place for a future project to clean up job titles in the library that include the terms technical, technician, and technology to simplify the differences between each department. Mr. Wilson reviewed that there were no changes in salary band or grade, but only a title change for the former Computer Systems Administrator, now Head of Information Technology Services, and former Technology Assistant (Part-Time), now Information Technology Assistant (Part-Time). Mses. Alloway and Prosek confirmed. NEW JOB DESCRIPTION Information Technology Technician Mr. Rasmussen started explaining areas that he most needs support and how the new IT Technician can help alleviate some of that work load. Ms. Prosek questioned Mr. Rasmussen as to what happens when he takes any time off. Mr. Rasmussen assured that this candidate would be able to keep business moving in his absence. Mr. Downsbrough provided some minor edits to the job description. He also questioned if there should be a minimum of experience required to attract the right applicants. Ms. Alloway advised that there are a variety of ways to confirm satisfactory training and did not suggest that the job description be too focused on length of time in a prior position to assure that all potential candidates would be encouraged to apply. Ms. Whitaker asked if the library performed any skills testing during the interview process. Ms. Alloway responded that testing is provided during interviews. Mr. Rasmussen also added that diverse skills are needed to fill different positions. He stated it is just as important to have interpersonal skills to work in IT as it is to possess computer knowledge.

4 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Wilson provided some grammatical suggestions to the Duties and Responsibilities section of the job description. Motion was made by Mr. Herman and seconded by Ms. Whitaker that the Human Resources Committee approve the new job description for Information Technology Technician as revised on. Vote in favor of the motion was unanimous. PERSONNEL UPDATES Library Mr. Downsbrough noted that the experience level for the Manager of Philanthropy position had been changed from 5 years to 2-4 years. He then asked if any other efforts were being done to bring in more applicants. Ms. Alloway said the library discovered a low cost job posting source that pushed the current ad to over 700 people in the area from State College to York. She also noted that most people locally were away during the initial recruiting push. Mr. Downsbrough also pointed out that Penn State University has a very competitive development organization. Ms. Alloway shared that after conversations with the Library Board, the pay range may be attractive to individuals in the early to midpoint of their careers in Philanthropy. In addition, she noted there is no required traveling associated with the position at Schlow which may be a favorable for some candidates. Mr. Herman inquired when the expected start date would be for the Manager of Philanthropy position. Ms. Alloway indicated that the expected time frame is between March-April She stressed the importance of waiting for the right candidate; therefore, the start date would depend on a person s current work status. Codes Ms. Prosek updated the Committee on the recruiting efforts and interview process for the Commercial Plans Examiner/Inspector positions. She reported that as of there were 16 applicants in the running, and folks have until Friday February 6, 2015 to submit resumes. The expected start date is set for April 1, 2015.

5 Page 5 of 5 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting of the Human Resources Committee was adjourned at 12:40 PM. Respectfully submitted, Amanda T. Murtha Recording Secretary