Date:

January 9, 2008

To:

All Professional / Managerial Staff

From:

Angela Hildyard, Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity

Re:

PM Questionnaire Results

In June of last year, we launched the PM Questionnaire, an initiative suggested by one of the PM Advisory Committees.

Thank you to everyone who responded to the Questionnaire. The overall response rate was 20.5%, which for our first Questionnaire was encouraging and it appears from the comments received, that the Questionnaire format is an effective means of providing feedback.

We have now had the opportunity to review the results some of which I would like to share with you now, particularly those issues raised by a number of Professionals/Managers.

The first issue concerns the PM Advisory Committees.

In April of last year, I announced the establishment of the PM Advisory Committees and as part of that announcement, included the membership list and terms of reference for each. All of this information is available on the Professionals/Managers page on the HR & Equity website at: https://people.utoronto.ca/groups/pm.htm

There were a number of questions concerning the selection of committee members, committee process and role of committee members vis-à-vis the broader Professionals/Managers group.

A few points of clarification:

1. The process for selection of committee members was an open process whereby Professionals/Managers could volunteer or be nominated to be on a committee. The selection of committee members ensured representation from across divisions, reflecting diversity, variation in length of service and distribution across the PM levels.

2. The committees are advisory to me on various work-related issues relating to Professionals/Managers. Considering this, committee members are part of a consultative process and therefore, are privy to issues of a confidential nature before they are finalized and announced to the broader Professionals/Managers group.

3. Committee members do not represent Professional/Managerial staff in any formal or official capacity. It is not intended that committee members will serve as a conduit between the committees and Professional/Managerial staff. Instead, if there are issues that you would like to propose for discussion by one of the committees, please forward them to Janice Draper, who is secretariat to both Advisory Committees, at janice.draper@utoronto.ca. As well, we will be launching an on-line PM Suggestion Box that will allow you to submit your questions, suggestions or issues.

Communication was another issue raised by a number of respondents, particularly the need for more frequent, face-to-face communication in smaller venues. We will continue to work with the Advisory Committees to discuss and explore communications related initiatives that will respond to your needs and strengthen communication between my office and the broader

Professionals/Managers group and as well, communication between Professionals/Managers staff.

A third issue that is of concern to Professionals/Managers is the annual performance assessment process. There were a number of comments concerning the overall process that indicated dissatisfaction with the process. We will be asking the Advisory Committees for their input on how the process can be improved.

Some of your suggestions clearly indicate that we need to do a better job of communicating the policies, programs and services available to Professionals/Managers. As time permits, I encourage you to explore the HR & Equity website, including the policies for Professionals/Managers and the ‘Perks’ page.

In closing, I would like to reiterate my thanks to those of you who took the time to complete the PM Questionnaire. As we continue to work through the issues and suggestions raised by respondents, we will provide updates via the PandM listserv. As well, I plan to convene a meeting with Professionals/Managers staff and will use some of your suggestions in determining an appropriate format and forum for the meeting(s).