GUEST COLUMNIST
SLAC is currently undergoing numerous changes, making it both an exciting and somewhat stressful workplace. In the past year, we appointed a new Laboratory Director and brought in five (out of six total) new senior managers. This has resulted in several staff reorganizations. In addition, we are hiring a new Director of Communications and, as many of you know, are searching for a new Director of Human Resources. I plan to retire at the end of August. Last December, we received very difficult news regarding our fiscal year 2008 budget. Because we are almost completely funded by Congress through the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, the unexpectedly low appropriations required us to decrease our staff by nearly 200 employees. To accomplish this, we implemented both voluntary and involuntary layoff programs. About 75 people volunteered to be laid off, and close to 120 involuntarily left the laboratory. This was a huge project for the SLAC HR staff and they implemented it extraordinarily well under trying circumstances. I was extremely proud and pleased with their performance. Our HR department was also impacted by the layoffs: We lost two approved but unfilled positions and three staff members – one each in the Diversity Office, International Services and our Housing Office. SLAC has also recently undertaken an initiative to refine, redesign and improve all of our administrative and management systems. SLAC HR has a significant role in this initiative both to improve our internal systems and to assist laboratory management and employees to implement effective management processes. Our first focus is to develop a system of Roles, Responsibilities, Accountabilities and Authorities (R2A2s) which will integrate with our position descriptions. This requires all 1,400 laboratory employees, working with their supervisors, to generate current job descriptions by the end of August. In addition, we will revise our performance management system and forms. For the first time, the laboratory is developing a longer term strategic plan for the management and operations functions at SLAC (we have always done this for the science) and the new performance management process will be closely aligned with those goals. Stanford and the DOE have agreed that the university should provide more oversight to the laboratory since Stanford is the contractor with DOE. To accomplish this, the university has hired a Vice President for SLAC who reports to President Hennessy. Bill Madia, formerly of Battelle Corporation – which operates six national laboratories – has filled this position. He has established four oversight committees, one of which is HR. The oversight committee is chaired by Diane Peck and members include David Jones, Linda Lee, Melissa Burke from the Legal Office, Rosa Gonzalez from the Diversity and Access Office, and Paula Linnen, Director of Human Resources for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Our first meeting took place during the latter part of April and showed promise that this will add value to our SLAC HR function and strengthen the ties between SLAC HR and Campus. Despite the challenging times, the SLAC HR staff strives to have fun, eat a lot, celebrate everything we can, and perform our jobs with excellence.
Summer Learning Through Webinars
What exactly are webinars? A webinar allows participants to learn about a specific topic through their desktop computer, phone or online interaction. Participants can acquire new ideas and knowledge via the web and obtain tips, tools and strategies to change performance behavior. A just in time learning experience, webinars are usually offered in one or two hour time increments. It’s simple to register hrough STARS. Once registered, participants receive login and password information via email. On the day of the event, participants simply login to their computer and link to the website, enter a password and begin the online learning experience. The advantages of learning through an online webinar are numerous. Participants do not have to leave their office, bother with parking and traffic headaches or pay enormous gas prices. Classes can be taken anywhere a computer and/or laptop is available, whether at your desk, in your own home or on a Hawaiian beach. Another advantage is that the class is offered in small chunks of time and appeals to all learning styles – audio, visual and kinesthetic. All classes are taught by highly qualified instructors that customize the content to Stanford employees. The most significant advantage is that while other companies charge for taking an online class, Stanford webinars are free of charge to all Stanford employees! Look for the summer series of webinars in the Summer TOG which will be distributed in a few weeks. Here is a list of those webinars:
Charlotte Carlson, SLAC Training Specialist
Great resource available to determine how payment types are taxed and whether they count toward retirement.Do you ever wonder whether a supplemental pay counts toward retirement? Do you ever wonder at which rates a bonus is taxed? If you do, there is a great tool to use to determine the answer. Located on the Financial Gateway website there is an Excel spreadsheet that lists how earnings will be taxed and if they will count towards retirement. The direct link is: http://fingate.stanford.edu/docs/earn_codes.xls Sean Bywaters, HRA
 HR is on the move … to participate in the Cardinal Walk. |
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If you find yourself near Bonair Siding, stop by and say hello to Elizabeth Wolffe, the new HR Manager for Facilities Operations, Office of Technology and Licensing, Public Safety and Land, Real Estate & Buildings. Elizabeth joined Stanford in mid-April and in just a few weeks time, has already grown to love working here. When asked what her favorite part of the job is so far, her answer was unequivocal, “The people and the university. I’m so proud to be a part of an organization that truly impacts the world.”
Elizabeth was born and raised in California and attended Santa Clara University as an undergrad, where she majored in Marketing with an emphasis in Retail Management. Although Elizabeth’s first job was as an executive trainee at Mervyn’s, it didn’t take her long to realize that HR was her true passion. Before pursuing other opportunities, Elizabeth spent over ten years at Mervyn’s and Target Corporation in various positions within Training and OD, Corporate Human Resources, Compensation and Employee Relations.
Elizabeth went to graduate school at University of Southern California, where she earned a Masters in Public Administration. While pursuing her MPA, she started her own consulting business and spent more than ten years consulting primarily for Bay Area nonprofits, including clients such as Business for Social Responsibility, the YWCA, Community Impact and others. From her consulting Elizabeth went back in to the HR Director role with two organizations – the Peninsula Jewish Community Center and then a bio-pharmaceutical consulting firm on the Peninsula.
Elizabeth has a daughter, a sophomore at the University of Washington, and a 12-year-old son. In addition to work and family, exercise is a big part of Elizabeth’s life and she does something active every day, including walking, hiking, yoga and ballet. She even tried surfing recently…at a yoga/surf retreat in Costa Rica. So did she find a new passion in surfing? Let’s just say she preferred the yoga!
• Sharon Shea, HRA, Business Affairs/Central HR Data Services
A warm welcome to...
• Melissa Armato, HRA, Humanities & Sciences
• Shauna L. Cruz, HRA for Vice Provost of Student Affairs
• Kathy Geller, Director Organizational Effectiveness, Learning and Development
• Allison Schmitt, HRA for the Law School
Is your name missing? Let us know when you joined the HR staff, your title and department.
To find current Human Resources positions available throughout the organization, click here.
Just a reminder – the HR Newsletter takes the summer off. Look for our next newsletter in September.
Whether vacationing in Hawaii or moving your office 
Tips and Tricks
After the incredible “oohing” and “ahhing” and “I can’t believe this is only $1.79!” experience of jewelry shopping, they moved on to a wonderful department store where their two friends found silver quilted parkas with fake fur edged hoods. Fabulous! Sharys swears her friend looks exactly like her husky, Fargo, when she wears her parka. It was a real bargain; marked down from $120 to $3…no kidding!