COUNCIL MINUTES
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH PROCEDURES
PUBLICITY FOR EMPLOYEE COUNCIL ELECTIONS
STANDING COMMITTEES
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
HR ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADJOURNMENT/NEXT MEETING

COUNCIL MINUTES
The minutes of the April 18, 2002, meeting were approved as written.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH PROCEDURES
The Employee of the Month Nomination ad-hoc sub-committee met with the Employee Council Executive Committee recently to discuss changes to the Employee of the Month nomination form and procedures.  Becky Baker, Human Resources, and Carmen Knoke, Institutional Studies, also worked with the committees to establish appropriate forms and procedures.

The Council reviewed the new nomination form and discussed points of interest. The form was amended and adopted.  Leona Johnson will make the necessary changes to the form and it will be available on-line soon.  The old form will be removed from the web immediately to prevent further use.  The committee agreed to return nominations made on old forms to the nominator so they have an opportunity to re-submit their nomination on the new and improved form.  Failure to re-submit a nomination on the new form will have no impact on the candidate's eligibility.

There was brief discussion concerning the eligibility requirements for Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year.  Currently, an employee has to have been employed by CWU for five years to be eligible for consideration for Employee of the Year.  As the Employee of the Month award carries no such stipulation, it is feasible that someone selected for Employee of the Month would not meet the requirements for Employee of the Year selection.  The Council voted to bring the requirements for both awards into alignment, and then voted to change the employment term from five years to two years.

Kari Taylor read the draft of the Employee of the Month eligibility requirements.  The Council voted to accept the draft as read.

The Employee of the Month Nomination ad-hoc sub-committee will develop a Supervisor's Form for the Employee of the Month candidates.  The sub-committee presented their intent to develop a Supervisor's Form that will be complete enough so that the supervisor would not need to submit additional information regarding the employee for the Employee of the Year packets.  The sub-committee will bring a draft of this form to the June meeting for consideration.

The selection committee will also review the criteria and standards for the Employee of the Year award.  Response from the Employee of the Year Selection Committee was that the Employee of the Month nomination packet, provided from the Human Resources Office, proved most helpful for the selection of the Employee of the Year.  It was suggested that a ten minute interview video, in which the candidates answer questions presented by the Selection Committee, be included in the nomination packet for Employee of the Year.  The nomination committee will present suggested modifications for the Employee of the Year procedures at the June or July meeting.  The current Employee of the Year criteria will be removed from the web-site as most likely this criteria will be modified.

PUBLICITY FOR EMPLOYEE COUNCIL ELECTIONS
Many thanks go to Laury Berner and Kirsten Garland who worked to develop promotional material for the upcoming Employee Council elections.  Emphasis was placed on creating an 'eye-catching' form that includes the ballots as well as pertinent information to the position.  The web address that will take the reader to a link with the statement about the Council will be included.  One proposed flyer was selected and a few minor wording changes were suggested.  The Human Resources Office will prepare the flyer/ballot and distribute them.

STANDING COMMITTEES
There was little response from people interested in serving on the numerous standing committees across the campus although council members made contacts with their respective groups.  The motion was carried to forward the list of volunteers to the President's Office as submitted.

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
The Employee of the Month for May 2002 is Uriel Hernandez in the Student Financial Services. Congratulations to Uriel on his selection.  The following comments were received for Uriel:

Uriel goes beyond expectation in every instance that I have dealt with him.  His cheerful professionalism is contagious and inspirational!  He is always ready to help, offer suggestions, and watch for any potential problems with VA students.  Uriel always has a smile on his face.  He has a tactful sense of humor, is full of energy, and makes work fun.  He has chosen the attitude to be happy and that brushes off onto others he deals with.

In dealing with some of the remiss patrons from our program, Uriel has been thorough and thoughtful, treating each person with respect and tact.  Collecting on past due accounts is very difficult and can often be uncomfortable for the person owing money.  Uriel works well with people to assist them in paying their accounts in a timely manner.  In training our office on a new procedure he was an excellent instructor and was great with follow-up questions.

Uriel works with students, departments and many agencies outside CWU.  He represents CWU well in all these areas.  He researches problems when they arise and follows-up with the necessary parties to give them the needed information.  Uriel devotes his total attention to the situation at hand.  He listens and evaluates each request and is able to clearly communicate an answer.  Uriel is dependable, trustworthy, and enjoyable to be around.  We love having him in Student Financial Services and at CWU!

HR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Awards Ceremony
Ona Youmans asked for feedback on the recent service awards ceremony.  The general consensus is that the ceremony was very pleasant and appreciated by all, albeit a little long.

Collective Bargaining Bill
The collective bargaining bill has been added to the Human Resources web page.  On their homepage, click on Labor Relations to find the link to the collective bargaining information.  Or, go to:  http://www.cwu.edu/~hr/labor/links.html   A summary can be found under 'News' on the HR web page.  Or, go to: http://hr.dop.wa.gov/civilservice.htm

Training and Development
"21 Ways to Defuse Anger and Calm People Down" by Michael Staver is available in both audio, and videocassette.  -  Disputes bring your workplace to a halt.  Hard feelings erode productivity, and mishandled anger damages relationships, and stifles teamwork.  The good news is you can learn to manage other people's anger, and turn it into a catalyst for positive change.  Learn peacekeeping skills you'll use to prevent blowups, mediate disputes, and foster teamwork.

If you'd like to check out "21 Ways to Defuse Anger and Calm People Down", or learn what else the Training Library has to offer, visit us in Bouillon 104, browse through our website at http://www.cwu.edu/~training, call 963-2288, or send an email to hutchinl@cwu.edu.
 

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 4:10 pm.

NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the Employee Council is scheduled for Thursday, June 20, 2002, 2:00 p.m., in Room 228-19, Black Hall.
 

PRESENT
Karol Barker, Dining Services
Kariann Taylor, Instructional Support: Unit A, Chairperson
Patti Minshull, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management
Leona Lindvig, Library
Kim Thomas, University Relations and President
Bob Pieters, Facilities Management
Gene Wilson, Instructional Support, Unit A
Adrian Naranjo, Financial Services
Barbara Sisko, Graduate Studies and Research
Pedro Garcia, Facilities Management
Crystal Devine, Computing and Telecommunications
Kathleen McDaniel, SeaTac Center
Kerry Slaughter, Library

ALSO PRESENT
Ona Youmans