November 16, 2023
Building a next-generation land-grant workforce
Dear colleagues,
Today, I am writing to announce that we are beginning efforts to create a unified staff performance evaluation system. The goal to transform the university's workforce and become the employer of choice in Kansas and higher education within the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan provides us with the opportunity to re-envision how we manage and reward our workforce.
The goals of the first phase of this project will be to create a unified staff performance evaluation form, align policies to create a consistent performance management approach, and develop training toolkits for supervisors and managers. This project will not impact current performance management processes for teaching and/or research faculty — tenure or non-tenure track, graduate students, or student employees.
We have established an executive leadership team as well as a steering committee. The executive leadership team will provide project oversight and determine key decisions affecting development of the performance evaluation system. Joining me on the committee are:
- Richard Linton, president.
- Debbie Mercer, interim provost and executive vice president and dean of the College of Education.
- Marshall Stewart, senior vice president and chief of staff.
- Shanna Legleiter, chief human resources officer.
- Ben Wolfe, dean and chief executive officer of K-State Olathe.
The steering committee will gather stakeholder input and develop recommendations. Shanna Legleiter will chair the steering committee that includes:
- Priscilla Roddy, assistant dean for administration and finance, College of Veterinary Medicine.
- Kelley Brundage, university registrar.
- Gary Clark, senior associate dean and professor, Carl R. Ice College of Engineering.
- Ansley Chua, associate dean for operations, College of Business Administration.
- Skylar Lundeen, human resource specialist, Lafene Health Center.
- Linda Craghead, director of facilities custodial services, Division of Facilities.
- Renee Gates, information technology coordinator, Hale Library, representative for professional staff affairs.
- Regina Crowell, office specialist, department of psychological sciences, representative for University Support Staff Senate.
- Michael James, executive director of administration and finance, K-State Salina.
Charlotte Self, director of employee relations and engagement; Jeanne Lucas, assistant director of employee relations and engagement; and Marci Ritter, compensation and organizational effectiveness manager, will provide additional project management assistance.
Stakeholder sessions will be scheduled throughout the project to capture feedback from the university community.
Phase one work is underway, with the goal of having a new performance management form available in February 2024 for employees and supervisors to set calendar year 2024 goals. Employees and supervisors should continue to utilize current performance management processes to evaluate work performance for the 2023 calendar year.
The second phase of this project will select a new electronic learning and performance management system to automate the performance review process, facilitate employee development and track progress on annual goals. We anticipate this system will be implemented in fall 2024.
Updates on the efforts to refresh the university's performance management strategy will be published in future K-State Today articles. More information about the effort is available on the performance management project website.
Sincerely,
Ethan Erickson
Vice president for administration and finance