Tag: planning

Spartans of Impact: Keeping Campus Safe This Winter

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This article was written by Sean Keast, Communications Coordinator for the Offices of the EVPA & Senior VP, CFO and Treasurer.

With over 50,000 students, and over 10,000 staff and faculty, MSU is comparable to a small city. Since its footprint is so large, MSU is home to a large variety of experts required not only for important research and academia but for daily operations as well. Recently, this expertise was displayed during adverse weather conditions, such as snow, ice, and freezing temperatures that MSU is all too familiar with. The winter weather can pose commuting hazards and delays, especially when driving on a blustery day. It’s no small feat to clear the over 200 miles of roads and sidewalks around the campus, MSU Infrastructure Planning and Facilities Landscape Services department runs snow crews night and day to combat the elements.

“Our snow removal crew is exceptional, and they get the job done.” said Dan Bollman, Senior Vice President for Strategic Infrastructure Planning and Facilities, “On any given snow day, we deploy sixty-plus people across all of campus to ensure that students, faculty and staff can safely get to where they need to go.”

Christina Brogdon, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, said “The impact and significance of the Landscape Services team cannot be overstated. Dedicated and talented employees like them, are truly what makes MSU a special place to work – where every person, role, and contribution matters.”  

Outside of their regular campus maintenance duties throughout the year, snow and ice removal is handled primarily by the Landscape Services team. MSU’s “Snow Season” is between Nov. 1 and April 1, and during that period the staff at Landscape Services are on call in the event of snowfall. Year by year the demands change greatly, and rapid changes in weather conditions can cause shifts to be handed out with an hour’s notice or scheduled in eight-to-sixteen-hour blocks starting any time, day or night. During the winter months, Landscape Services staff start at five in the morning.

“We start that early so that we can beat the commute – people going to work, classes, etc. The crews take a lot of pride in it,” said Matthew Bailey, Service Manager for Landscape Services. “As a manager, taking care of the crews is just as important as the snow itself, and we work to keep the crews fed and comfortable during their odd hours. Whenever we have to call the crews in overnight, we give Brody Hall a call and let them know that we will have 60 or so people coming in for breakfast.” He laughed, “We’ve even run around with burgers or doughnuts before, making sure everyone gets fed.”

The commitment and pride demonstrated by the Landscape Services staff, under the leadership of individuals like Matthew Bailey, exemplifies a collective endeavor to navigate the unpredictable challenges the elements pose. Their dedication not only underscores the significance of teamwork but also mirrors the exceptional community spirit that defines Michigan State University.

Performance Excellence Strategic Goal Setting: Tips for Supervisors

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With everything you juggle as a supervisor, it’s easy to fall into a rut of viewing the performance management of your team as consisting simply of completing an annual review form and a once-yearly review of upcoming goals. However, making the time to take a larger perspective of the potential opportunities within the Performance Excellence process can lead to much higher yields both in the short and long term — for you, your team, and the university.

A primary goal of Performance Excellence should be connecting individuals to the organization’s greater purpose and helping develop employees to be better able to achieve the university’s goals. Although perhaps requiring a more significant investment of time upfront, creating a unifying vision for your team and establishing regular, ongoing check-in sessions to align goals will then serve as a touchstone for all performance evaluation and planning sessions.

Here are some tips and best practices to better align the goals and priorities of your team with the strategic objectives of your unit and MSU’s strategic plan.

1. Create a unit vision statement.

If your unit doesn’t already have a shared vision, now is a great time to formalize this and bring your team on board. Consider creating a one-page plan to outline your unit’s initiatives and the alignment of resources (i.e., time, people, funding) to achieve results and align with this vision.

Ask yourself:

  • Why does our unit exist?
  • What do we do that helps the university achieve the overarching strategic priorities?
  • How do we know we are successful?

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate.

As a supervisor, you should be regularly communicating your unit’s vision with your team, both one-on-one and with the team as a whole. Be sure everyone is fully aware of the vision, what it means, and why they should care.

3. Help employees understand how their work impacts the vision.

When we can clearly connect our daily work with a larger picture of the unit’s and the university’s goals and objectives, job satisfaction and productivity almost always improve. Employees should be able to see how their individual contributions are critical to the university’s continued growth and success.

4. Have your employees consider goals and priorities for themselves that align with the unit vision.

Allow your team to feel ownership over their goals to prioritize what’s important to them about their work while understanding that some employees will need more guidance and support with this process than others. Goals should be clear and measurable — think SMART and HARD goals — with a clear connection to your unit’s vision statement.

5. Ensure an ongoing feedback loop is maintained.

Aligning the goals and efforts of an individual with the larger team and organization cannot be a “one and done” activity. Regular, ongoing communication via one-on-one check-ins provides brief but powerful opportunities to touch base on objectives, realign priorities and clarify expectations. Strive to provide prompt, actionable feedback to your team, tying everything back to your unit’s vision and making sure each person understands how their work is important to the bigger picture.

Additional resources to support you through this process can be found below, and HR’s Organization and Professional Development department is available at prodev@hr.msu.edu if you would like further information or guidance.

Related Resources

MSU Performance Excellence: Supervisor Tips and Tools (Collection of resources including sample goals for different roles, goal setting tips, and conversation starters for high performance)

Instructor-led OPD Workshops

Performance Management for Hybrid Teams

Strategic Planning

HR SourceLive Blog Posts

Adapting Your Goal-Driven Approach During Times of Change

Common Work-Related Goals with Resources to Help You Achieve Them

Leadership Blog Series: Performance Excellence During Periods of Uncertainty and Transition

What’s Your Plan: Six Steps to Align Your Goals with What’s Important to You

Sources

https://www.rhythmsystems.com/blog/how-the-best-ceos-align-employees-with-company-goals

https://www.hrfuture.net/strategy/staff-planning/five-best-practices-for-aligning-employees-with-corporate-goals/

Photo of person working on laptop at home and smiling, while a young child hugs them from behind

Adjust Your Work Approach for Success During Challenging Times

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Written by Danielle Hook, Learning and Development Manager for HR Organization and Professional Development

This past month has many of us experiencing the feeling of “…this again?” Frequent and unexpected changes to priorities, workspaces and expectations can make productivity and focus feel impossible. Perhaps you find yourself working from home with small children (again), adjusting to staffing changes within your team or experiencing feelings of burnout or languishing.

In addition to requiring greater patience and flexibility, we’re finding ourselves called upon to take an alternative approach to how we normally complete our work. Whether you feel like you’re stuck in a pandemic time loop, where each day blends into the next, or you’re struggling to manage your time and projects while in a state of uncertainty, there are a few simple steps that can help guide your work approach during this time.

Have a Plan

If there is a chance you could find yourself pivoting quickly to accommodate a change in your work plan — your child’s daycare closing, a new colleague, uncertainty about whether you’ll be working in-office or remotely — a loose plan can make the transition a little smoother. The reality is that no amount of planning can fully alleviate the physical, mental and emotional drain many of us feel when faced with this much uncertainty. However, with a bit of intention, a sudden change in circumstances can become an opportunity instead of an obstacle. Having a structure in place that allows for adaptability and accounts for your specific circumstances can provide you a clearer path should things change unexpectedly.

Read related article: What’s Your Plan? Six Steps to Align Your Goals with What’s Important to You

Align Expectations With Attainable Goals

Consider how you would define success during this period of time. Identify what might indicate success and align your expectations accordingly. Set truly attainable goals, both personally and professionally. Think about the types of activities or tasks you could reasonably make progress on under the circumstances in which you’re working. Of those things, is there something you can work on that might even bring joy or satisfaction?

Read related article: Adapting Your Goal-Driven Approach During Times of Change

Choose Work That Fits Your Circumstances

This requires some insight into your strengths and work style. Consider the nature of the various tasks on your to-do list. Where possible, prioritize those which hold the highest likelihood of success within your current context. Your supervisor may be able to help with reprioritization and appreciate being informed of your plans. Here are some examples of this differentiation.

  • Some individuals will find the most success with independent work that allows them to engage in spurts and intervals. This work can easily be left and returned to without consequence.
    Examples: drafting documents, working with data and metrics, developing strategy, processing forms.
  • Others may find success using this time for engagement. Making calls and participating in discussions can be a great use of time for someone with busy hands who can’t be in front of a computer.
    Examples: an informal project check-in, idea generation discussions, one-on-ones with your team.
  • Is there a way you can use this time to catch up on things not often prioritized but still important?
    Examples: Cleaning up an inbox, managing or reorganizing documents, getting caught up in Teams.
  • Alternatively, sometimes there are things that can be set up now that benefit your future self.
    Examples: Did you know you can use the Quick Parts feature in Outlook to store templates for email content you use repeatedly? Or, that with Microsoft Planner, you can set up multiple tasks lists, assign them to yourself and others, assign due dates and more? Consider drafting and scheduling email communications that need to be distributed at a future date.
  • Professional development is another option to expand your skillset and engage in learning around the topics that mean the most to you.
    Examples: Virtual courses through HR Organization and Professional Development, Health4U, and IT Training, self-paced elevateU learning programs, professional podcasts, audiobooks, and live webinars.

Additional Resources

It is worth recognizing that each individual situation is unique, and solutions are never one size fits all. Some resources to help guide you through this period are included below, and know there are many additional services available to you as an MSU employee if you’d like further assistance, including Organization and Professional Development, the WorkLife Office, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and Health4U.

Adapting to Change

Rapid Change: Making Your Way Through (blog post)

Strategies to Thrive Through Change (2-minute video)

Determining Your Work Style and Strengths

Everything DiSC: Behavior Styles at Work (3.5-hour Zoom course)

Identify and Maximize Your Strengths (4-hour Zoom course)

Mental Health

Mental Health Matters: Resources from MSU (blog post)

Recognizing and Managing Stress During Times of Change (blog post)

Motivation and Focus

Are You Procrastinating? Increase Motivation and Take Action with These Simple Steps (blog post)

The Art of Staying Focused (on-demand, 30-minute virtual course)

Working from Home with Children

Best Practices for Working at Home with Children

Things to Do to Keep Kids Active, Engaged and Learning While Home

Retirement Planning: 2020 IRS Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Published on by Megan MacGregor2 Comments

Could you be saving more for your retirement? Whether you’ve just started working at MSU or have been here for 30+ years, it is important that you continue to monitor and adjust how much you’re saving if you want to have a comfortable retirement.

The IRS places limits on how much employees can contribute to a retirement plan each year. The IRS recently announced the retirement plan limits for 2020:

  • The annual employee contribution amount increased to $19,500 from $19,000 for 403(b) and 457(b) plans.
  • The age 50 catch-up contribution amount increased to $6,500 from $6,000 for 403(b) and 457(b) plans.

If you want to save as much as you can for your retirement, there is a tool in the EBS Portal called the Max Savings Contributions Calculator available to assist you. This tool automatically displays the remaining amount of retirement contributions you have available before reaching one of the limits, and the equivalent percentage of your pay to help you spread that out for the year.

To access this tool:

1. Login to the EBS Portal with your MSU NetID and password.

2. Click the My Benefits tab at the top.

3. Click the Benefit/Retirement tile.

4. Select Enroll/Change my Retirement/Health Savings Account Options in the drop-down menu and then click Next in the bottom right.

5. Navigate in the bar graph to the Savings Plans screen by clicking Next in the bottom right.

6. The Max Savings Contributions Calculator screen will display. This display will automatically show the remaining amount of retirement contributions you have available (if any) before reaching the IRS limit.

7. You can adjust the percentage of your contributions to any retirement plans you participate in by clicking on the pencil icon, and then choose Select to make the change.

8. If you want to enroll in a new plan, begin by clicking on the paper icon next to the plan and vendor of your choosing, and then enter the percentage of your new contribution and choose Select to enroll.

9. Make sure to click on Save in the bottom right to complete and save any changes/enrollments.

If you are an academic year faculty or academic staff employee, or a Voluntary 403(b) Base participant age 50 and over, contact the HR Solutions Center at 517-353-4434 or SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu for further assistance in calculating your maximum contribution percentage.

Learn More About MSU’s Retirement Plans 

The HR website contains a wealth of information about the different types of retirement plans offered, retirement investment vendors, and planning tools available.

Register for an Upcoming Roadmap to Retirement Course!

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Is retirement on your radar for the next 1-2 years? First, we’d like to say thank you for your years of service to MSU! We want you to feel prepared for this next stage in your life. To support you, we offer courses, tools and resources to help you plan for your retirement, including the Roadmap to Retirement course.

“We know it can be overwhelming to think about all of the things to consider when retiring. Based on our years of experience helping MSU employees, we’ve designed the half-day Roadmap to Retirement course to provide you with some of the most important information you will need as you prepare for this exciting transition to your next chapter in life,” says Dan Mackey, Human Resources Manager and Retirement Administrator.

This course gives you a chance to ask retirement experts questions and covers a range of topics critical to your successful retirement, including:

  • Your MSU benefits in retirement
  • An overview of Social Security
  • Financial preparation tips for retirement.

This half-day course is free to MSU faculty and staff. There are two Roadmap to Retirement courses available on Thursday, January 23: a morning session from 8:30 am – Noon and an afternoon session from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Ready to Register?

To register for Roadmap to Retirement, login to the EBS Portal and click on the My Career and Training tab, then the Courses for Employees at MSU tile. Find a complete list of available OPD courses on the HR website.

Retirement Resources on the HR Website

If you are unable to attend the Roadmap to Retirement course detailed above, there are a variety of webinars and online tools available on the HR website. The webinars on this page include the same presentation slides that are shared during the Roadmap to Retirement course.

Questions? We’re here to help! Contact the Solutions Center at SolutionsCenter@hr.msu.edu or 517-353-4434.