Date: July 8, 1996
To: All MIT Employees
From: Joan F. Rice, Vice President for Human Resources
Last month, a team was formed to study various human resource practices, to listen to the needs of the changing MIT community, and to help MIT design practices that are most suitable for the Institute. This team will also recommend next steps for further study and implementation. This is only the start of a process that will help MIT and its employees flourish in our changing, global environment.
I hope after reading it you will share my enthusiasm and hopes for the work ahead.
The Human Resource Practices Design Team cannot and will not work in a vacuum. They want and need information, ideas, opinions, and concerns from as many people as possible. The team will organize interviews, focus groups, "Speak Up" meetings, and community events. Through these activities, they will listen carefully, weigh the input, suggest changes, get feedback, and formulate their thinking based on what they hear. Indeed, they will be a channel for recommendations that come from the MIT community itself. That's why your input is important.
One way the team will gather such input is through a series of "Speak Up" meetings. The purpose will be to focus on human resource practices for the future in several key areas, such as performance review, career development, rewards and recognition. These meetings will be planned and facilitated to give those in attendance a chance to share their thoughts and for the team to gather as many specific ideas as possible.
Each session will be an hour and a half. Although 90 minutes is a large portion of the work day, I do believe it will be an excellent investment of time. Therefore, I hope you will sign up for one of the meetings. And, if you are a supervisor, please encourage others to take part in this important effort.
The team has planned several meetings during five days over two weeks to accommodate as many people as possible. The schedule is shown below. To register, send e-mail to the team (people@mit.edu), including your name, telephone number, and which meeting you want to attend. You may also register by phone (253-7208) by leaving the same information.
The sessions are limited in size, so registration will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, if you register, it is important that you attend. All sessions will be held in W89, the MIT Learning Center, on Vassar Street. Here are the dates and times: [information on 15 scheduled sessions].
My hope is that the sessions will be filled to capacity. It's possible that not everyone who is interested will be accommodated; however, the team will be using a number of different ways to communicate. For example, you can share your thoughts through its e-mail address (people@mit.edu), by speaking with one of the team members who are listed on the enclosed charter, or at a community event in mid-August.
Thank you for helping with this important work.
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