October 2024 Edition

Volume 8 Issue 1

It’s nice to see more students and faculty back on campus for the new academic year, now well under way. University Personnel is proud to be part of the great team of employees–faculty, staff and students–who, with their dedication and commitment, have contributed to SJSU being recognized as the fourth-best public school in the nation, supporting and helping our students to thrive and become the leaders of tomorrow.

As we continue to work towards Transformation 2030, we are focused on Goal 3 of SJSU’s Strategic Plan, “Grow and Thrive: Be an inclusive, welcoming, and caring university community that attracts, retains and sustains faculty, staff members, and students.” I want to draw your attention to a couple of ways that we can contribute to the development and sustenance of our staff and faculty who may need support. We will soon be launching campaigns for both the Staff and Faculty Emergency Fund as well as the Support Our Staff Scholarship Fund. These are both very important campaigns that assist our staff and faculty in different ways. If you are able, we hope that you will consider donating to help campus colleagues. While the campaigns are being created you are still able to donate. To do so, please click on the links in this paragraph.

In August we shared with you the results of the Customer Satisfaction Survey that was conducted in February 2024. We had a total of 1119 individual employees (1005 stateside and 114 auxiliary) – staff, faculty, and student employees – who took the time to respond, a nearly 18% response rate from our total employee count of 6287. Our goal is to be responsive to the needs of our constituents and it is by receiving your direct feedback that we can best improve and tailor our services for you. Survey participants were asked to rate their overall satisfaction in twelve areas within various UP units they had interacted with over the prior twelve months. What we have focused on as we have prepared our goals are the areas identified as needing the most work and reducing or even eliminating any level of dissatisfaction with our services. If you have any feedback you would like to provide please don’t hesitate to do so. We are currently working on our second survey so be on the lookout for that.

I want to thank everyone who attended University Personnel's Fall Town Hall in September, focused on Student Appointments. If you weren’t able to attend, you may review the slides, recording and Q & A on our website at any time.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about University Personnel’s processes or programs, please reach out to me or any member of our management team.

Thank you!

Important Update: Flu Shot Clinic
As we approach flu season, we want to remind everyone about the importance of getting vaccinated to protect yourself and others.

In previous years, we've partnered with Kaiser to offer a convenient flu shot clinic on campus. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, Kaiser will not be providing an on-site clinic this year.

We understand this may be an inconvenience, but we encourage you to prioritize your health and explore alternative options for getting your flu shot.

• Check with your healthcare provider: Your doctor's office or primary care clinic is a great place to start.
• Local pharmacies: Many pharmacies offer walk-in flu vaccinations.
• Santa Clara County Public Health: For information on additional resources and clinics, please visit the Santa Clara County Public Health website: https://publichealth.santaclaracounty.gov/diseases/influenza-flu

Stay healthy this flu season!

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Level Up Your Skills with Training Tuesday
We're excited to announce the launch of our new "Training Tuesday" site! Over the past few months, we've been fortunate to have talented colleagues share their expertise by facilitating training sessions. We've captured these valuable presentations and resources and made them available on our Training Tuesday site.

Whether you're looking to brush up on existing skills or explore new areas of interest, we encourage you to check out the growing number of topics. We're continually adding new content, so be sure to visit the site monthly!

Interested in sharing your knowledge?

We're always seeking enthusiastic volunteers to lead future Training Tuesday sessions. If you have a skill or area of expertise you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you. Simply fill out our volunteer form.

Let's continue to learn and grow together!

Recruitment and Retention Deadlines

November 15/Recruiting: Last day to submit a response to an “Approval to Extend a Conditional Offer” email for the final employee start date of December 9, 2024. All complete responses must be received by 8:00 a.m. on this day. Incomplete responses and pending background checks will delay the employee’s start date.

December 9/New Hires: Last new employee start date for 2024. This includes emergency hires, casual workers, and regular or temporary employees.

December 9/Position Management: Last day to submit funding, department, and approval structure position management changes for December payroll. Changes received after this date will be processed in January 2025.

December 9/Recruiting: Last date to submit a response to an “Approval to Extend a Conditional Offer” email for employees with a start date of January 6, 2025, in order for the offer letter to be sent before the holiday break. All complete responses must be received by 8:00 a.m. on this day. For employee start dates after January 6, the offer letter will be sent to the candidate when operations resume in January 2025. Incomplete responses may delay the employee’s start date.

December 9/Recruiting: Last day a fully approved Job Card in CHRS, including a fully signed Position description can be received in order for the job to be posted by December 20, 2024. Job approvals received after this date will be posted in January 2025. As a reminder, a vacancy will not be posted without a signed Position Description.

January 6, 2025/New Hires: First new employee start date (includes emergency hires, casual workers, and regular or temporary employees) for 2025.

Process Palooza Inspires!

Eight team members from various areas of UP recently attended Process Palooza 2024 at UC San Diego, and we're excited to apply what we’ve learned to continue to foster a culture of continuous process assessment and improvement within UP and beyond! Not only did we attend this high-energy event on August 21-22, but we also earned our Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belts! Please join us in congratulating Crystal Mercado, Lok Yu, Rosalina Calderon, Stacy Perez, Tamela Sullivan, Terryn Ashley, Tony Garcia, Holly Quinones from UP, and Dora Ruiz from College of Business on their yellow belts!

Process Palooza provided valuable insights into continuous improvement methodologies, showcasing the power of lean principles and the growing influence of AI and automation. Through interactive sessions, workshops, and engaging activities, we learned practical strategies to enhance efficiency and optimize workflows.
Equipped with our Yellow Belt certification and the knowledge gained at Process Palooza, we're eager to apply these principles to our processes. We believe that by embracing a culture of continuous improvement, we can enhance our productivity, strengthen collaboration, and deliver even greater value to our stakeholders. Our goal for the near future is to provide these types of trainings for all of our staff employees here at SJSU whether it be as part of our onboarding for new employees or for current employees. This will enable us to:

• Have a common language of process improvement across campus
• Learn tools of process improvement and how to apply them in any setting
• Identify “Non-Value Added” activities and "Waste" in processes
• Understand how imprecise, ambiguous information can stall process improvement
• Measure and analyze data to identify opportunities for improvement
• Leverage “Voice Of Customer” into any initiative
• Understand tools: Process Observation Sheet, Run Charts, Histogram, VSM deep dive, future state planning, piloting changes

Let's work together to assess our processes, identify areas for optimization, and drive positive change for all within our campus community!

We encourage you to subscribe to the Process Palooza mailing list. 

Here are some additional resources to learn more about Lean Six Sigma
From UC San Diego:  White Belt video
LinkedIn Learning: Become a Six Sigma Yellow Belt

Contact University Personnel via Phone or Email

408.924.2250 or [email protected]

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