Interview with Jeanne Hendricks

Partial Transcript: What brought you to UW-Madison?

Segment Synopsis: Family relocated to Wisconsin from Indiana in 1979. Was doing payroll, encouraged by coworkers to take the state payroll methods exam. Was hired to work in Engineering at UW-Madison. Chose Madison after visiting the terrace.

Keywords: Department of Engineering; Madison, WI; Memorial Union Terrace; UW-Madison; creative writing; payroll; state employees; state exams

Partial Transcript: And then the second part of that question, in your case, what factors led to your work interest?

Segment Synopsis: Was hired to do payroll, but took on other HR work in Engineering. As department grew, she supervised HR. Had a psychology degree and some social work experience.

Keywords: Department of Engineering; HR; Human Resources; career path; payroll

Partial Transcript: So Jeanne, I know you've been here for-- Or, you've recently retired, we'll get to that.

Segment Synopsis: Work included HR consulting and oversight, sometimes collaborating across campus. Worked over email, phone, and in person. Knew campus experts to turn to for different issues. Edited communication documents from deans, faculty, staff. Often sought career training for new skills, like communication, new software, new regulations, and interactions with different people.

Keywords: HR; academic staff; career training; communication; human resources

Partial Transcript: So I have "what task," but I assume you understand that it was actually "what tasks comprise a typical day."

Segment Synopsis: In addition to consulting and editing, attended meetings of campus groups, governance groups, etc. Sometimes worked from the office area, but didn't mind going to other people who needed help.

Keywords: campus groups

Partial Transcript: Where was your office, or where your offices?

Segment Synopsis: First office was 4th floor of Engineering Research building, in a large room with other support staff. Engineering had two separate deans, one for the research mission and funding and one for instruction. Dean Bollinger combined the administration functions into Mechanical Engineering. Office on second floor of Mechanical Engineering, in a high traffic area. When Engineering Hall was remodeled, all administrative offices moved to the 2nd floor. Has had different offices within Engineering Hall.

Keywords: Dean Bollinger; Dean of Engineering; Department of Engineering; Engineering Hall; Engineering Hall remodel; Engineering Research; Mechanical Engineering; academic staff; support staff

Partial Transcript: So the next question on the list is technology.

Segment Synopsis: Started payroll manually. Printed them from IBM and took them to Bascom Hall. Moved on to typewriters and then computers. Her work shifted from routine, manual entry to knowledge-based work, had to understand the technical program being used. Have gone through different programs. Now deals with more detailed and complex information management. Internet and email makes it easier to collaborate across campus, problem-solve with other offices. Has gotten to know the laws and regulations around payroll and what rules can be bent. Computer systems do not always align with policies.

Keywords: communication; computers; data entry; email; information system; internet; law; regulation; technology

Partial Transcript: You mentioned email too, but I wonder if maybe you'd have a "for example"...

Segment Synopsis: To communicate with a supervisor or staff member about a sensitive HR problem, regulations required communications to be reviewed by different offices, maybe legal, maybe affirmative action. Email makes it easy to get feedback quickly from many places.

Keywords: communication; email; human resources; privacy; technology

Partial Transcript: I think it's my last question about technology. Again, you've had enough lived experience on this campus...

Segment Synopsis: New technology is better than manual data entry, but it is not perfect yet and can still be improved. Some coworkers resist new systems, are not confident in new technology. JH focuses on what improvements will be made with a new system.

Keywords: technology

Partial Transcript: So the next question on the list- and this comes from the award that you got...

Segment Synopsis: JH tries to understand the point of view of the people who come to her with problems, and tries to work with them to find a collaborative solution. She approaches her work as a facilitator, not an enforcer of regulations. Allows others to have ownership of solutions. She is humble and willing to consult with campus experts to find suggestions. For example, regulations require some positions to be university/classified staff rather than academic staff, which is perceived as less appealing. JH had to get the department to appreciate professional expertise of university staff. Works to clearly communicate to new hires what their job duties will be. Sought training in helping other people see their problems more clearly and objectively.

Keywords: HR; academic staff; classified staff; collaboration; human resources; problem-solving; regulation; university staff

Partial Transcript: So it sounds like it was, for you, a benefit to be on this campus, because you would have those opportunities.

Segment Synopsis: Don Schutt developed training programs, initially called Department of HR Development. Diversity Office and Employee Assistance have training programs. Started in a non-supervisory position. Learned to become a supervisor. Training for supervisors has developed since the '70s.

Keywords: Don Schutt; Employee Assistance Office; HR; Office for Equity and Diversity; Office of Talent Management; career development; career training; human resources

Partial Transcript: So, the specific question is sort of a vague one, but it's really if you could just tell the story...

Segment Synopsis: Academic Staff Excellence Award was relatively new. JH's retirement was approaching. Cannot be submitted by coworkers in secret, because she needs to give them a resume. Was honored to nominated and to win the award. The letters written for her nomination were touching, from the people she admires most. At the reception, felt nervous to be the center of attention. Enjoyed hearing about other winners.

Keywords: Academic Staff Excellence Award

Partial Transcript: So I want to end it there...

Partial Transcript: Today is March 20th, 2017. This is a follow up interview with Jeanne Hendricks

Partial Transcript: So we had a couple of leftovers or things you wanted to add to before we got to the remaining questions on our list.

Segment Synopsis: More on changing HR technology. Data entry has been delegated from a central authority to individual users, but someone needs to understand the implications of things entered into the system. There need to be records of why decisions were made. For example, when entering a position description when seeking new employees, duties need to be presented realistically, to be fair to the employee. Those records can set precedents or be seen by other employees at different times.

Keywords: communication; human resources; job description; technology

Partial Transcript: So then a question I wanted to ask, based on the research and the conversation we had, was about editing.

Segment Synopsis: Has had training in language use and writing. Has had years of practice writing communications, policies and procedure documents. Need to understand the intent of what someone wants to communicate and whether that comes across clearly in the writing.

Keywords: communication; documentation; editing; writing

Partial Transcript: So you just mentioned policies and procedures documents. So we're now moving to the questions that were on the list.

Segment Synopsis: The Personnel Policy and Procedure Committee (PPPC) updates, rewrites and edits the academic staff personnel procedure manual. JH came at it from the viewpoint of an HR person and academic staff member. Contributed her experience to writing policies, and got to understand procedures well. The manual is a "living document," updated based on issues or new situations that arise. Procedures include ensuring job security, appropriate raises, and timely employee evaluations. Ann Wallace and Bruno Browning stand out as contributing members of the committee. They all worked well together. Met on campus, every six weeks, for about 90 minutes. After a group of proposed changes were accumulated, they would be voted on by the Academic Staff Executive Committee. Interests of academic staff had to be balanced with those of Madison campus, UW system, and Board of Regents.

Keywords: Academic Staff Executive Committee; Personnel Policy and Procedure Committee (PPPC); academic staff; committees; employee evaluation; human resources; job security

Partial Transcript: We're moving down now to the next one on the list. The question is sort of a vague one.

Segment Synopsis: Always considered relationships between faculty and staff. Was go-to person in Engineering Dean's office for faculty personnel issues. Trained faculty to be managers, on top of their work as teachers, researchers, administrators. Others did not understand the difficult lives of faculty members, had unfair stereotypes. Other employee types - like post-docs, classified staff, student workers - they all come with generalizations and unfair assumptions about their roles.

Keywords: College of Engineering; academic staff; faculty; human resources; management

Partial Transcript: So maybe a little bit more about that, maybe just to talk a little bit about your job...

Segment Synopsis: JH's jobs were first in payroll, then in HR, sometimes as a supervisor. The HR position evolved into different roles, but was always officially the same. Reported to the dean, associate dean, or assistant dean of College of Engineering. Four deans in the college during JH's career, four or five associate and/or assistant deans. At first, only faculty members became deans. Later, non-faculty members could oversee administrative tasks like payroll, financial, and HR.

Keywords: College of Engineering; academic staff; administration; dean; faculty; human resources

Partial Transcript: So then to look at who reported to you, what types of people would report to you?

Segment Synopsis: JH oversaw other HR managers in the college, sometimes payroll and benefits staff. Payroll and benefits were university staff, HR managers were first classified staff, then academic staff. Existing employees that were classified could choose if they wanted to change to academic staff, but classified staff got more sick leave and vacation.

Keywords: academic staff; benefits; classified staff; university staff

Partial Transcript: Is there anything more you want to say about the relationship between faculty and staff...

Segment Synopsis: Student hourly workers do the routine manual work, like scanning HR records, that frees staff time to do other things. Students could be hired from any major, rarely engineering students. Posted on Student Job Center to recruit. Student workers were supervised by academic staff members.

Keywords: academic staff; student job center; student staff

Partial Transcript: How did you-- I'll ask a self-assessment question here. How would you describe yourself as a supervisor?

Segment Synopsis: JH does not enjoy being a supervisor. Prefers to work as an equal. Her style is not top-down, but collaborative. Finds it hard to evaluations.

Keywords: human resources; office of human resource development; supervisor

Partial Transcript: Well, thank you for all of that. We're going to move on to a specific event that happened globally.

Segment Synopsis: On 9/11, JH was in her office. A co-worker announced what she read about online. The media staff hooked up a large-screen TV news feed in an auditorium in Engineering Hall, and they watched all day. Around campus, people felt unsafe and insecure. The Employee's Assistance Office tried to help people deal with trauma.

Keywords: 9/11; September 11; academic staff; university staff

Partial Transcript: The first final questions is why retire when you did?

Segment Synopsis: At age 66, it felt like the right time to retire. Was in a good place with state retirement pension. Was ready for less stress, more time with family. Misses the people, not the work. Takes time to have breakfast, watch the news, go to the gym. Is available to babysit the grandkids.

Keywords: retirement; state retirement pension

Partial Transcript: So the last question is sort of two parts. It's the legacy question...

Segment Synopsis: Wants to be someone who contributes, adds value to the lives of others. Wants to be seen as fair, respectful, trustworthy, level-headed.

Keywords: Academic Staff Excellence Award

Partial Transcript: Jeanne, is there anything else you want to say?