Editor's notes:
TITLE: Staff Relations, Volume VI of Carnegie Mellon's Staff Handbook: A Human Resources Guide
DATE OF ISSUANCE: The staff handbook was most recently revised effective July 1, 2007.
ACCOUNTABLE DEPARTMENT/UNIT: Human Resources. Questions on policy content should be directed to Barbara Smith, Associate Vice President for Human Resources, x8-4747.
For the remainder of the handbook, see:
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In This Section
1. Receiving Feedback About Your Work Performance
Your supervisor can give you feedback about your work performance in a variety of ways. On a daily basis, for example, your supervisor may give you positive feedback about a task that you performed particularly well, or suggest ways that you could perform a certain aspect of your job better. In some departments, supervisors may schedule regular meetings with each staff member to review the staff member's progress in completing assignments and to give the staff member an opportunity to ask questions. Ongoing communication between you and your supervisor about your work performance helps to build effective working relationships.
An annual performance review is another way that supervisors can give staff members feedback about their overall work performance. Annual performance review information normally is communicated to the staff member in a meeting with the supervisor and is summarized in writing by the supervisor. A supervisor may send a copy of the written performance review to the human resources manager to be included in the staff member's central personnel file.
In the annual performance review meeting, the staff member's strengths are discussed and plans are developed for addressing any shortcomings. As part of this process, the supervisor and staff member also may determine performance goals for the next review period.
Your first line of communication on job-related matters is your supervisor. Since open communication facilitates fair treatment, you are encouraged to ask questions and to offer opinions and suggestions. Discussion with your supervisor usually can solve problems that may have developed and often leads to a better working relationship.
2B. Human Resources Manager
If discussion with your supervisor does not resolve a job-related issue, your human resources manager is available to consult with you. Staff members can obtain information about university policies affecting their employment, request feedback about their particular situation and explore alternatives with their human resources manager. Staff members can schedule a meeting by sending e-mail to the Human Resources Service Center or calling x8-4747.
Staff members with work-related problems also can obtain information from these sources:
When a work-related issue cannot be resolved through discussions between the individuals concerned, the staff member can file a grievance. The grievance procedure is available to all staff members who have completed at least six months of regular full‑time employment with Carnegie Mellon. Staff members who have not satisfied this length of service requirement may not file a grievance unless the issue involves alleged violation of the university’s equal opportunity policies. Staff represented by a union and faculty are not covered by this procedure. However, any staff member (including those represented by a union and faculty) may be subject to this procedure if they are named a respondent in the grievance.
Staff members can use the grievance procedure without fear of reprisal or retaliation. It is a clear violation of university policy for a supervisor to retaliate against a staff member who uses the grievance procedure.
The grievance procedure deals with cases involving an individual staff member and applies to problems involving disciplinary action or other employment decisions where there are allegations of failure to comply with university policy or of discrimination in violation of the university statement of assurance .
If there is more than one grievant on a particular matter, each grievant is required to file a separate grievance. Staff members who wish to file a formal charge of sexual harassment should refer to the formal complaint procedure for sexual harassment, which is available on the web at http://www.cmu.edu/policies/.
Staff members may have another university staff member assist them in preparing a grievance statement or accompany them at any time during the grievance process. This individual can be from the staff member's department or a member of Staff Council or any other staff member of the university. Since the grievance procedure is provided for the internal resolution of problems and is not a legal forum, staff members may not be accompanied by legal counsel.
To file a grievance, the staff member submits a written statement summarizing the issue to the university ombudsman. Because it is more difficult to resolve outdated issues, grievances must be submitted to the ombudsman in a timely manner, normally within one month of the failure to resolve the issue through informal channels. The following information should be included:
Staff members cannot modify or expand a grievance once it has been submitted for consideration. If a staff member who has already filed a grievance wishes to pursue new issues, a new grievance must be filed. Staff members can, however, supplement their initial grievance statement with additional information in order to clarify the issues further. The staff member can stop the grievance process at any time by giving written notice to the ombudsman.
3B. Steps in the Grievance Procedure
Step 1
The ombudsman schedules a meeting or otherwise confers with the respondent named in the staff member's grievance statement within five working days of receiving the written statement from the staff member. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the issues raised by the staff member and consider possible solutions.
Prior to this meeting, the ombudsman arranges for the respondent named in the grievance to receive a copy of the staff member's grievance statement. In addition, the ombudsman notifies the dean or division head administrator of both the grievant and the respondent that a grievance has been filed.
Within 10 working days after the ombudsman’s meeting with the respondent, the ombudsman will provide the staff member with a written summary of respondent’s response to the grievance.
If the grievant does not agree that the grievance has been satisfactorily resolved, the grievant can request in writing to the ombudsman that the grievance be referred to the supervisor of the respondent named in the grievance. This request must be submitted to the ombudsman within 10 working days of the receipt of the written response, and include the reasons for referring the grievance to the next step. Otherwise, the grievance is considered to be resolved.
If the respondent named in the staff member's grievance is the staff member's immediate supervisor and the staff member believes that it is not appropriate for the grievance to be referred to that person, the staff member can request that the ombudsman bypass this step.
Step 2
In response to the staff member's written request, if the problem is not resolved at Step 1, the ombudsman arranges to meet with the staff member’s department head or next higher-level manager, whichever is higher. This process continues until the administrator at the vice president or dean level has been consulted.
If, after consulting with the highest-level manager as stated above, the staff member judges that the grievance has not been resolved satisfactorily, the staff member can request that the grievance be referred to the Grievance Panel for review. This request must be submitted to the ombudsman in writing within seven working days after the meeting with the highest-level manager and the ombudsman.
Step 3
An impartial Grievance Panel is responsible for hearing grievances that cannot be resolved at Step 2 in the grievance procedure.
Note: In certain circumstances, as determined by the ombudsman, the time limitations imposed at Steps 1, 2 and 3 may need to be revised to accommodate unforeseen situations, such as travel commitments or the illness of the person lodging the grievance, the respondent, or others involved in the grievance process.
3C. Selection of the Grievance Panel
The Grievance Panel is composed of six members. The selection of the three voting members is conducted as follows:
The remaining three panel members do not vote, but serve as resources to the three voting members. They are:
3D. Operation of the Grievance Panel
The Grievance Panel normally schedules a preliminary organizational meeting to determine how the panel will operate. For example, the panel can schedule meetings with the grievant and the respondent named in the grievance when deemed necessary. A person who witnessed the situation leading to the grievance may accompany the grievant or the respondent named in the grievance. The Grievance Panel also can request records and other non‑privileged documents necessary to resolve a dispute, except that, where disclosure of such records would violate the privacy of a university staff member, student or other person, the person's permission must be obtained.
Once the Grievance Panel has gathered and reviewed all of the information necessary to make its findings, the panel members meet to discuss the grievance. Following this discussion, which is a closed meeting, the voting members of the panel vote whether or not to find in favor of the staff member who has filed the grievance, including whether to grant, modify or deny what the staff member has requested as a resolution in the grievance statement. A majority vote is required.
The panel's findings are communicated in writing to the staff member and the respondent within 45 working days of receiving the grievance at Step 3. The panel’s findings are also communicated in writing to the President who reserves the right to overturn the findings of the panel when deemed in his/her sole discretion to be in the best interest of the institution. The President’s decision shall be final.
If a staff member's work performance is not satisfactory, or if the staff member has violated university policy, it is the supervisor's responsibility to take corrective action. To determine an appropriate course of action, the supervisor considers the staff member's status (whether the staff member is serving a provisional period or is on probation), the nature and severity of the work performance issue, the frequency with which the problem has occurred and any extenuating circumstances.
Some situations, for example, may prompt a supervisor to take disciplinary action (including suspension or termination of employment, or both) without following all of the steps outlined below. The steps identified in items 4C, 4D, 4E and 4F are generally undertaken only after the supervisor has discussed the performance issue with his or her manager and the human resources manager.
Both imposed probation and termination are subject to appeal through the staff grievance procedure. (Staff members who have not been employed full‑time for at least six months cannot file a grievance unless the issue involves alleged violation of the university’s equal opportunity policies.)
Under certain circumstances a staff member may request that records of disciplinary actions be removed from his or her central personnel file. At the employee’s written request, warnings and notices of suspension or probation that are more than five years old may be removed from your central personnel file. Other materials may not be removed from this file; however, an addition or correction to the file can be requested in writing if you believe it is in order.
For further information, please refer to Provisional Period , Termination of Employment and Personnel Records in the Employment Status section, and the Staff Grievance Procedure in this section.
Nothing in this procedure is intended to, or in any way does, alter the at‑will employment relationship between employees and Carnegie Mellon. (See Section II.3A.)
The following disciplinary guidelines have been developed.
Constructive feedback is often an effective means of resolving work-related problems while promoting mutual respect between staff members and supervisors. As part of this ongoing process, the supervisor identifies areas that need to be improved and specifies a method of improvement. When discussing work performance, the supervisor provides specific feedback to the staff member about how performance should improve. If constructive feedback does not result in improved performance, the supervisor has a number of options, including those described below.
A verbal warning directs a staff member's attention to a work performance issue or other work-related problem by giving the staff member specific information about the nature of the problem, the improvement needed, a timetable for future review, and the consequences of continued unsatisfactory performance.
If a staff member does not meet the performance standards communicated by the supervisor, a written warning can be issued. Normally, this step is undertaken only after the supervisor has discussed the performance issue with his or her manager and the human resources manager. The written warning is usually given to the staff member during or following a meeting between the staff member and the supervisor.
This disciplinary letter contains specific information about the nature of the problem, the improvement needed, a timetable for future review and the consequences of continued unsatisfactory performance. A copy of the letter is placed in the staff member's personnel file.
The supervisor may impose a probationary period if the staff member does not respond to verbal or written warnings to improve work performance, if the staff member has committed a serious violation of university policy, or if the staff member has exhibited serious performance deficiencies. This step is usually undertaken only after the supervisor has discussed the performance issue with his or her manager and the human resources manager. During or following a meeting between the supervisor and the staff member, the staff member will receive written notification specifying the performance standards to be met, the duration of the probationary period, and the consequences of failure to improve and maintain satisfactory performance. Failure to improve performance during a probationary period may result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination.
A copy of the communication imposing the probationary period is included in the staff member's personnel file.
Normally, salary increases will not be approved for staff members who are on probation.
Staff members who commit serious infractions of university policy or procedure or who have demonstrated serious performance deficiencies may be suspended for a period of one to ten working days. In addition, suspension may be imposed to permit an investigation prior to taking final action. This step is undertaken after the supervisor has discussed the performance or behavior issues with her or his manager and the human resources manager. Suspensions are confirmed to the staff member in writing, stating whether it will be a paid or unpaid suspension, the length of the suspension and when to report back to work. A copy of this communication is placed in the staff member’s personnel file.
Staff members who are not performing satisfactorily are subject to termination of their employment. This step is undertaken after the supervisor has discussed the performance issue with his or her manager and the human resources manager. All employment terminations must be confirmed to the staff member in writing. A copy of this communication is placed in the staff member's personnel file.
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