Emergency Response Plans

One of the findings from the Baldrige Express Survey was lack of knowledge of IPS Emergency Response Plans. Judie Martin is the IPS Safety Officer and she worked with each IPS agency to ensure that we have a plan for every office location. You can view the plans for every office at this link.

Please familiarize yourself with the plan for your office and those offices that you visit often. Safety is a continuing concern.

In addition, our IT staff has plans in place for back-up and safety of our systems and servers. Only YOU can ensure the data you save on your computer's hard drive is backed-up. Do you have a plan for this? Better to spend a few minutes a week with a back-up than hours trying the recreate documents - just ask a few of your colleagues who have had hard disk crashes!

Your Work Area

I receive a daily email from "WalkTheTalk.com" Most of them are inspirational messages, but occasionally something like this comes along:

What would you think if you walked into a person’s office and saw piles of paper on the desk, overflowing file cabinets, stale, moldy coffee on the table, and a general sloppy appearance? Well, if you’re like most folks, you’d probably walk away feeling that this person is somewhat out of control. And that likelihood leads to another question that’s definitely worth pondering:

What do people think when they visit YOUR work area?

Fair or not, others tend to evaluate our organizational skills – and our leadership abilities – by what they see around our workplaces. Fact is, a cluttered desk and messy area are not indicators of a busy, important person. Rather, they’re signs of disorganization, confusion, and chaos. And those definitely are NOT the kinds of attributes that instill confidence in the people we lead.

Excerpts from Becoming the Obvious Choice

• Close your door (if you have one) for 20 minutes, put up a “do not disturb” sign, and use that time to organize yourself and your workspace every day.

• Throw things away! Ask yourself: “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I toss this?” Most of the time, you can live with your answer, so start filling your wastebasket!

• The key to paper management is to keep things moving! Move the paper on your desk or table to your out basket, your file, your “to read” folder, or your trash. Don’t just let paper sit.

• Do three things before you leave work: 1) clear your desk (or work area), 2) plan tomorrow’s activities, and 3) enter your next day’s to-do list in your organizer.

I wish I could say that I always practice these techniques, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded!

Outlook Calendaring

Now that every IPS employee is on the same version of Outlook and in active directory, we can more easily schedule meetings. The Outlook calendaring function saves a significant amount of time with its automated functions compared to the "old way" of calling and sending emails while trying to coordinate calendars.

So, why do we still spend a good deal of time scheduling meetings? Because everyone is not keeping his/her calendar up-to-date in Outlook! You may have your favorite Day-Timer, Franklin planner or other application. In order for us to make the most efficient use of our time and resources, we all must use the Outlook calendar.With nearly 70 individuals on the various strategy implementation teams plus another dozen or so serving on other adhoc institute-wide teams, we can't afford the time to schedule meetings the "old fashion way." If you are not "on board", don't be surprised if you hear about it in the coming weeks.

946-CARE

The new 946-CARE (946-2273) line is a 24-hour service for UT/IPS employees.

The university's top priority is the safety and well-being of faculty, staff, and students. This hotline is a tool to help maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

CARE professionals are trained to deal with sensitive situations and to act with great compassion to help others and avoid escalation.

The following resources can be accessed through 946-CARE:
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Conflict Mediation
- Law Enforcement Intervention
- Mobile Crisis Suicide Prevention Teams

Learn more bout the warning signs for distressed individuals at 946-CARE.

It's Time for Supervisor Surveys

Each year every employee has an opportunity to provide feedback, both positive and negative, for his/her supervisor. It is important for every employee to participate in the survey for several reasons:

1. It is an opportunity to participate in IPS governance
2. It provides data for the annual performance review process
3. It provides suggestions for annual supervisor training topics
4. It makes good business sense

You should have already received an email with a link to the electronic survey. Please take a few minutes and answer the 18 short questions. And, the written feedback is particularly useful as it pinpoints specific areas for praise or concern.

Agency-wide results will be released in the fall and each agency director will receive a summary report for every supervisor in his organization.

Thanks for your participation!

Guest Blog from Melissa Ashburn

This is what was discussed in the Exempt Staff Council meeting last week:

Presidential Search
We received an update on the search for a new UT President from Controller Ron Maples. This is a link to the search committee website: http://president.tennessee.edu/search/

Jane Davis is representing IPS on the Presidential Search Advisory Council, and it looks like she is going to be busy due to the very short time schedule set for the search. By October 6, candidates for the position will be named, and interviews are expected to take place October 12 and 13. We were informed that the Board of Trustees expects to name the new UT President at their meeting on October 22.

The search committee website has the position specifications, position advertisement, the FY 2011 proposed budget, and you may apply or nominate someone for the position through the site. The site also has a “submit questions/comments” function which you should use if you want more information about the process. We were informed that the Board of Trustees voted to accept applications from candidates who do not have PhD’s, although the degree is preferred. A search firm is being used to vet the candidates.

Health Insurance update
Rob Chance from HR provided the information you received earlier this week about providers and the anticipated deductibles and co-pay amounts, in addition to other useful and interesting information about the coming changes. Here is a link to information Rob provided to the council: http://esc.tennessee.edu/minutes/07-27-10_InsurancePresentationNotes.pdf.

The 2 providers you have to choose from are Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna. We still do not know premium amounts. In East Tennessee, it appears BCBS will have lower premiums than Cigna, while Middle and West Tennessee will see lower premiums for Cigna coverage.

We were told that the “promise” plan, under which you will pay a lower premium, will require participants to undergo a wellness exam yearly. You will be required to “make an effort” to improve your health and must follow doctor’s orders, or you may be dropped from the promise plan the next year. It does not appear that people will be forced to lose weight or stop smoking, but they will have to show they tried. These requirements will apply to all persons covered by your insurance, if you choose the promise plan. It is my understanding that a “wellness vendor” will be on campuses to conduct these wellness exams for free, or you can use your own doctor. The deadline for the first wellness exam will be June 2011.

For all insurance plans, the enrollment period is September 15 through October 15. If you do not choose a plan during that period, you will be enrolled in the most expensive plan by default.

All employees will receive an informational DVD mailed to their homes before this enrollment period begins.

The administration is working on scheduling forums at different locations, where you can attend and get further information on these pending insurance changes. Watch for emails about the dates and times set for these forums.

Peer/Supervisory Evaluations
We also discussed the peer and supervisory evaluations which the Exempt Staff Council will recommend to the incoming President. A proposal has been prepared for the administration to use these evaluations across the UT system. This is very similar to the evaluations IPS has been using for years.

Miscellaneous Items
Fall Festival is scheduled for October 8 on the Knoxville campus.
Smoking areas no longer officially exist on UT campuses, and there is a lot of confusion about the required distance smokers must be from entrances. We were informed it is generally 25 feet from entrances, although many ash trays are located much closer.

I hope you find this information helpful. Let me (Melissa) know if you have questions, or if there is any topic you want be to bring up in future meetings.

Welcome Donna Kelly

Donna Kelly is the new Program Manager in LEIC. She recently retired as a lieutenant from the Knoxville Police Department. She has experience in nearly every aspect of law enforcement including planning and budgeting, personnel, accreditation, training and, of course, patrol including specialized units such as marine and bicycle.

Donna brings a wealth of knowledge to LEIC that we will be able to put to work right away. Please welcome her to IPS and LEIC.

2009 - 2010 Significant Accomplishments

IPS staff accomplishments are simply amazing!

The statistics for last fiscal year are still being tabulated, but I didn't want last week's annual meeting to pass us by without noting a few major milestones during the year. The handout that was distributed at the awards dinner is now posted on the IPS web site.

We listed 4 or 5 accomplishments under each of our strategic plan goals. There are many more that we could have listed, but I wanted to keep it to one page. We will be highlighting these and many more accomplishments during the coming months as we share the good news of all the amazing work done across the Institute.

Congratulations IPS Award Winners

Congratulations to all of last week's award winners! With more than 90 nominations this year, it was very difficult to choose the most deserving individuals. A full list of all winners will be published on our web site this week.

I want to draw particular attention to the Robert S. Hutchison Outstanding Public Service Professional - Mary Ann Moon of CTAS
and to the Tom and Diane Ballard Award of Excellence winner - Brian Spears of CTAS.

Both are truly role models for public service.