By Anne Wolf

Staff at the University of California are critical to its success, but unless UC proactively addresses issues of an aging work force, compensation and leadership development, the quality and service of employees could suffer in the coming years and UC may find itself unprepared to face the challenges ahead.

Dwaine B. Duckett, vice president of human resources, will deliver that message — and a three-year strategic plan to address the issues — to the UC Board of Regents tomorrow (Jan. 19) when he presents the first-ever staff accountability sub-report.

UC has more than 125,000 staff, performing a variety of important functions at all levels of the university. UC's Human Resources leaders are concerned about maintaining competitive salaries and providing opportunities for advancement for high performing staff. Not doing so will make it difficult for UC to retain its talented staff once the economy improves and as greater numbers of baby boomers retire.

The current economic crisis has reduced staff turnover, but UC risks losing top performers in all age brackets once the employment market improves, according to the report.

"We must have competitive, market-based salary and benefits programs to attract and retain our best staff," Duckett said. "We also have to do an even better job of managing performance."

To ensure that UC continues to have the talent it needs, Duckett is advising UC's leadership to undertake several initiatives, including a long-term salary program tied to performance and programs that provide staff with comprehensive career and leadership development opportunities.

"Paying for performance will be critical," Duckett said. "Staff will be asked to be more productive and to do more with less, which means people who perform at higher levels will be the focus of these programs."

Performance management - in which employees are evaluated and rewarded for their ability to achieve agreed upon goals — should be used to foster professional development and help employees set career goals in order to maximize each person's ability to contribute to UC's mission.

Adequate state funding will be a key component in UC's ability to implement a staff salary program, according to the sub-report. State funds for salaries decreased by 7 percent between 2000 and 2009, and salaries lag market averages by 19 to 29 percent.

UC must also prepare for a wave of coming retirements, Duckett said. About 11,000 UC employees are currently in or near what HR calls "the red zone" — those with 20 or more years of UC service and near the age at which most people are likely to retire.

That demographic reality underscores the fact that UC needs to plan for knowledge transfer and succession management at every level of the university workforce, Duckett said.

HR leaders have begun working to develop more consistent career and leadership development programs across UC.

All of these programs are necessary to maintain an excellent work force — and, in turn, an excellent UC, Duckett said. "UC's staff are its backbone, its infrastructure. Every time UC embarks on a research project, a faculty member teaches a class or a student needs career counseling, university staff members play a critical role."

The report showcases some of the significant contributions staff make to UC, from counseling students and providing meals to managing labs and medical facilities, to caring for plants and animals, to writing proposals and analyzing data.

Staff also serve as advocates and ambassadors for UC in their communities and throughout the world. They provide medical care, serve on the front lines of disaster recovery, and are instrumental in developing numerous environmental stewardship programs from campus energy efficiency to bike sharing.

Thousands of UC staff have spent millions of hours volunteering in their local communities: providing meals to families of medical center patients, cleaning beaches, serving on boards of local organizations, working in K-12 classrooms and much more.

"Our staff provide the public service aspect of our mission in many, unheralded ways, extending UC even further into the community," Duckett said. "It's who they are."

To read the full report, visit www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan11/j2.pdf.

Anne Wolf is systemwide coordinator, internal communications at UC Office of the President.