In anticipation of the potential to lose a number of highly valued staff next summer due to retirements or other voluntary separations, the Office of Human Resources has established this website to provide managers with guidance on preparing to address organizational and staffing needs.

Addressing Organizational Needs and Staffing Plans

Each manager should review the aggregate data provided and with their Workforce Solutions Specialist begin to formulate a plan for addressing potential staffing shortages and/or the need to reassign work to other staff. Staffing options available to managers include:

Below is information on how managers can consider ways to address potential staffing gaps over the next several years. HR has and will continue to provide managers with data for regarding potential upcoming retirements as we expect that this number could be significant not only in 2022, but for several years to come. As managers begin to consider potential retirement it is important that they understand what they can and cannot discuss with employees regarding an employee’s plans to retire. Here are some general guidelines;

• As a manager or supervisor, you are not permitted to ask an employee if or when they are planning to retire, or if they are retirement eligible. Questions about matters such as retirement plans can be grounds for a claim of age discrimination.
• If an employee volunteers that they are considering retirement, it is permissible to ask whether they have a timeframe as to when they might be thinking about retiring and explain that you are asking so that you can begin succession planning.
• If the employee does not share a specific date or a general timeframe for retirement, you cannot ask or require the employee to commit to a date.
• If an employee does ask a specific question regarding retirement, they should be referred to HR.

Full Search:
A full search includes extensive and broad recruitment through various networking and advertising approaches. The University accepts both internal and external applicants to all full searches. A full search follows all University procedures and processes in place with the Office of Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Equity, including a review of the process prior to and following the interviews. Please review the full search and hire workflow for an overview of the process and contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

Limited Search:
A limited search must be approved by the Office of Institutional Equity and is available when hiring units demonstrate a requirement to hire an internal applicant, either from within their existing unit or within the University (UConn Storrs and Regional Campuses) as a whole. The process is the same as the full search, but recruitment and advertising is limited to within the unit or UConn and is generally only listed on the UConn Careers Website. Please review the limited search workflow for an overview of the process and contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

Search Audit/Waiver:
A search audit/waiver is the process by which a hiring department waives the recruitment process and appoints a new employee to a position without a search. Search audits are typically used for non-permanent positions or for an additional hire from a full. Search waivers can be used for permanent positions but only in the rarest of circumstances when the individual being hired has a unique skill set that would be difficult to identify even through an extensive recruitment process. Please review the audit/waiver workflow for an overview of the process and contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

With the departure of existing staff, managers may choose to assign duties to existing staff. Depending on the duties and whether they represent higher level work, reclassifications or temporary salary increases may be warranted.

Reclassifications are permanent and must follow the appropriate processes as outlined in the various union contracts or University procedures. Reclassifications generally include a salary increase which is determined based on contractual provisions as well as a review of other factors such as market and internal/external salary data, where applicable. Please review the position audit workflow for an overview of the process and contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

Temporary salary increases are generally warranted when there is a change in responsibility at a higher level. A salary adjustment is often applied based on the new duties and responsibilities. Temporary salary adjustments are just that – temporary – and should be used as a strategy to address staffing needs while a permanent plan is developed. Please review the TSI workflow for an overview of the process for unclassified employees and the Temporary Service in a Higher Class (TSHC) workflow for an overview of the process for classified employees. Please contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

It is conceivable that some units may lose a vast number of staff as a result of the retirements in July 2022. For departments that lose a substantial percentage of their staff, a reorganization or restructuring of the unit may be warranted to address staffing needs. All reorganizations should be discussed with your Workforce Solutions Specialist for guidance and assistance, as well as ensuring all contractual obligations are met.

Special payroll is a tool that can be utilized by managers for addressing short-term staffing needs. Special payroll should be considered an option for approximately six months while long-term staffing plans are addressed. Managers can cover a variety of professional duties on the special payroll and this should be considered as an option in addition to those already outlined. Please review the Special Payroll workflow for an overview of the process. Please contact your Workforce Specialist with questions or to discuss further.

An option to consider is the employment of rehired retirees on special payroll. If managers have employees retiring from service they may wish to discuss with those employees the possibility of returning on special payroll under the rules and regulations set forth in the Policy on Rehired Retirees. Generally, rehired retirees can remain on the payroll for three years following their retirement while earning up to 75 percent of their pre-retirement salary rate for 120 days of work per calendar year. This provides flexibility for managers to ensure continuity of services while identifying a long-term plan.

Other Considerations

Managers who are aware or anticipate that employees will be retiring should be encouraging and / or mandating that employees begin training and documenting on their tasks and responsibilities. This may be a good time for managers to begin job assessments, identifying the major tasks and responsibilities of your key positions. For each major function, employees should be documenting the various processes/procedures/decisions that need to be completed so that another member of the team or a new employee could take on those responsibilities when necessary. This is well-aligned with Human Resource’s efforts to work with managers on the development of job specifications for all positions represented by UCPEA.

You may also wish to develop a mentorship or job-sharing process whereby employees that you anticipate or know will be retiring in the near future begin to show other staff members what they do and how they do it. This will also provide less tenured staff members with the opportunity to learn and grow in their positions.

To assist in these initiatives, HR is developing a succession planning program which will be launched to the campus community in the Fall.

Succession planning is the process of identifying positions in your organization and developing plans for other existing staff to assume those positions upon their separation. This preparation ensures that managers always have the right people in jobs now and in the future by identifying future staffing challenges and the people with the correct skills to fill the gaps.

Succession planning strengthens the University’s capability to:

1. Identify critical positions and highlight potential upcoming vacancies;
2. select skills and attributes needed for operational continuity; and
3. focus on the development of existing staff to meet future operational needs.