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July 26, 2012

University adjusts, post-VERP

As the dust settles following the June 30 departure of staff through Pitt’s Voluntary Early Retirement Program (VERP), little seems sure except that the adjustment to a smaller University staff is nowhere near complete.

A total of 352 staff members — about 5 percent of all University staff and 52 percent of the individuals who qualified — took advantage of the incentivized retirement offer, leaving an array of vacancies across Pitt’s five campuses.

The percentage who accepted the offer exceeded expectations, said Ron Frisch, associate vice chancellor for Human Resources. “Nobody ever thought we’d get that number.”

The goodbyes were not without pain, and there is pressure on those who remain, Frisch said. “You can’t underestimate or say it doesn’t exist. There are many, many dedicated people who are still here working hard and right now they don’t have that person next to them.”

Frisch said the University’s five senior officers are working with their respective departments and schools, meeting with deans and department heads to assess staffing needs.

With the help of HR’s organization development staff, whom Frisch said are working long hours in the aftermath of the VERP departures, the University is reorganizing with an eye toward the future.

As for the amount of savings attributable to the exodus, Frisch said no total is available, adding, “I’m not sure we’ll ever have a clean figure” on account of the complexity of the factors involved. Decisions remain on which positions to fill and at what compensation level. And whether jobs are filled with current employees or new hires affects the tally as well. “There’s a spiraling effect,” he said.

Although most positions are not expected to be filled — the VERP was designed to cut costs — decisions still are in the works as to what the leaner Pitt staff will look like.

Among the considerations is whether some areas or functions are obsolete and whether some new staffing functions are needed. In addition, Frisch said, some staffers’ duties have morphed over the years to stray beyond their job description.

All of this is prompting a step back to review job descriptions and take a global look at employees’ roles — and the role they need to play in the future. Some units will see consolidation of some tasks; others will see more specialization, Frisch said.

For the staff who remain, it represents an opportunity to grow and to master new responsibilities, Frisch said. However, whether that opportunity includes increased pay depends on the job and the responsibilities.

He said the administration is encouraging units to “backfill” vacancies by redistributing the work and promoting from within in order to allow current staff to rise and take new opportunities wherever possible. However, Frisch said that there would be no requirement to do so.

Some vacancies — for example, those related to security and those needed in order to comply with licensure and other requirements — already have been filled, he said. And, while the return of students for the fall term is imminent, Frisch said that the University is working as aggressively in the business units as in the student support areas to reorganize job functions. However, he expects it will be three-six months before the bulk of the changes are complete.

He pointed out that for the past two years, officer approval has been required both to authorize hiring and before an offer is extended to a candidate — scrutiny that is not unique to hiring at a post-VERP Pitt. Some factors being considered, he said, are whether a position is necessary and whether the position as it exists is the right position.

While additional cuts in state support did not materialize this year as initially feared, cost savings remain necessary, Frisch said, adding that he does not envision layoffs as part of that.

He does expect, however, that more staff members will retire in the months to come, as people who were not quite ready to retire by June 30 to take advantage of the VERP incentive depart at their own pace.

The VERP was a very successful program, Frisch said. “It created opportunities and it created significant change in our workforce. It really is incumbent on all of us to facilitate that change in a positive way.”

—Kimberly K. Barlow


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