This report begins with brief lists of reference terms and an executive summary placed right up front where they are easy to find. The body of the report comprises seven sections, starting with this brief overview of the work of the Human Resource Practices Design Team (HRPD Team). It then presents the background and most important themes derived from the main information sources the team consulted to arrive at its recommendations. Each of these--the MIT community, outside organizations used for benchmarking, and content experts both within and outside MIT--has its own section. Section V consists of recommended changes in human resource practices at MIT, the team's eight-part vision of the future. The next section describes the steps needed to achieve the vision; followed by a section describing the factors critical to success.
At the beginning of each section is a verbal vision of work at MIT in the new world of human resource practices, a world characterized by easy access to information, empowered "customers," human resource professionals serving as advisors, and intensive use of technology. These scenarios are not related thematically to the specific sections where they fall. Treat them simply as illustrations of a possible future.
In 1994 the Reengineering Steering Committee (see a listing of Steering Committee members) chartered a Core Team to identify critical ways or processes the Institute could re-organize to work more effectively. Six different administrative processes were selected and redesign teams were commissioned to analyze and design simpler ways of working. Additionally, five enabling teams--Information Technology Infrastructure, Information Technology Transformation, Community Involvement, Training and Development Planning, and the Help Desk--were commissioned to address issues of support and communication common to all the redesign efforts.
To guide the efforts of all teams, the Steering Committee developed the Human Resource Principles to ensure fair treatment of employees. While these principles provided an important framework, as the designs went forward it became clear that areas undergoing reorganization needed human resource practices complementary to a team-driven work environment. Through its work, the Training and Development Planning Team confirmed the need and proposed the formation of a separate design team focused on human resource practices. In 1996, the Steering Committee authorized the formation of the Human Resource Practices Design Team.
Four roles needed to be filled before team members could be recruited: sponsor, captain, expert, and support staff. Joan Rice, Vice President for Human Resources, became the team sponsor. The team captain, Patricia Brady, Associate Director of the Center for Real Estate, was selected after interviews with William R. Dickson, Sponsor of Reengineering and James D. Bruce, Manager of Reengineering. In response to a Request for Proposal, six experts or consultants submitted proposals. Three finalists were interviewed and Hay/McBer was selected for the breadth and depth of their experience in the field of human resources. Bill Tredwell, Tim Weizer and Lorayne Dollet represented Hay/McBer. Finally, Melissa Damon agreed to serve as full-time staff to support the work of the HRPD Team.
Before team members were interviewed, the captain and the consultant identified key competencies needed for the success of this project. The team needed contributors capable of an 80% time commitment who represented areas across the Institute and as many different job classifications as possible. Extensive knowledge about theoretical human resource practices was not required, but some understanding of how the Institute's human resource practices were implemented was strongly preferred. Finally, in the aggregate, the team needed to have a diversity of complementary perspectives and strengths to deliver the strongest recommendations possible.
Potential team members were recommended by steering committee members, team captains and members of other redesign teams. Each was informally screened before the interview to determine interest, time availability and supervisor support. Interviews were conducted by the captain and consultant, and focused on identifying the critical abilities and competencies characteristic of each candidate. When assembled, the Human Resource Practices Design Team included:
Since the need for the HRPD Team arose from MIT's efforts to re-organize, the process of gathering information, building consensus and formulating recommendations required close collaboration with not only the sponsor, the Steering Committee, other Institute leaders, and teams involved in reengineering, but also the greater MIT community.From the outset, the Reengineering Steering Committee provided important guidance to shape the efforts of the team. The team captain and the consultant conducted individual interviews with each steering committee member, the Provost, and the Vice President for Resource Development to better define the scope of the project. Their viewpoints were solicited about the most critical human resource issues MIT faces today as well as their insight into what they anticipated would become important for MIT in the future. The sum of these perspectives laid the groundwork for the HRPD Team to articulate its charter.
On June 12 and 13, 1996, the captain, the team members and the consultants came together for the first time to hear the perspectives of the sponsor, the Steering Committee, and knowledgeable faculty about the purpose and possibilities of what lay ahead. The opportunity for the entire team to hear first-hand from those most experienced with MIT's efforts to reorganize helped create a clear and sensible charter to guide the team's work and develop an extraordinarily ambitious timeline in which to get the work done.
With a four month June to September timeline and as articulated in the charter, the HRPD Team set out to:
"... identify and evaluate the human resource practices needed to select, prepare, motivate, develop and support MIT's employees to meet the needs of changing work environments across the Institute. Such practices include hiring, evaluation, developing and rewarding people."
A memo from Joan Rice to every MIT employee describing the HRPD Team, the charter, and opportunities to participate, laid the groundwork for the team to begin its work.
To get started, the team required self-education, time to educate others, close collaboration with other reengineering teams, asking the MIT community a lot of questions, and listening carefully to the responses. As Hay/McBer helped the team better understand the nine basic elements of human resource practices, an understanding that shaped the entire inquiry, the team used this framework to seek the insights of their colleagues.
Again and again, the HRPD Team asked to hear the voice of the MIT community. Through discussions with the steering committee, other team captains and their teams, interviews with key individuals, and discussions with both homogeneous and varied groups of employees from across the Institute, the team sought perspectives on the current state and future needs of human resource practices at the Institute. This involvement was critical to identify the strengths of MIT's current human resource practices and the needs of the community for the future. Through web pages, Tech Talk, community meetings and handouts, the HRPD Team communicated the team's evolving understanding of these needs and sought to build consensus about how MIT could deliver human resource practices to meet these needs in the future.
Additionally, the HRPD Team looked beyond MIT to better understand what could be possible. Not only did several professionals experienced in reorganizing human resource practices offer advice and guidance, but human resource professionals from both academic and for-profit organizations widely known for excellent human resource policies and procedures participated in benchmarking interviews.
As an employer, MIT has reached a crossroads where equal and competing forces and viewpoints shape the workplace. MIT prides itself on an entrepreneurial spirit, yet there is a need for some consistency and standardization of policies and processes across the Institute. An individual's personal and professional needs will continue to compete with the needs of the organization to do more with less. Increasingly, work will be accomplished by both individuals and teams, creating a need for diverse human resource practices to support their success. However, as the current economic and legislative pressures continue to build, MIT must struggle with the cost, time, and attention often required to achieve excellence versus the need to cut costs and use time efficiently. Finally, as the Institute strives to design simpler ways of working in a cost effective and timely manner, it must strike a balance between seeking community involvement to build consensus and moving ahead to get the job done.
These competing forces, MIT's Human Resource Principles, and the changing work environment will increasingly require MIT to employ a diverse, flexible workforce with fewer employees. These employees will be technologically competent, multi-skilled, team-oriented, and strongly committed to their roles. In return, their contributions will be recognized, and they will be compensated and rewarded fairly.
To achieve this vision, the recommendations of the HRPD Team not only reflect the divergent viewpoints of the community and build on MIT's strengths, but also carefully strike a balance between the competing forces of change. They speak to broad needs for strategic planning in the area of human resources. They recognize that more and more work will be accomplished by teams organized around roles and work processes. They offer concrete suggestions with regard to job design, classification, hiring and compensation. They identify immediate and long- term training and development needs; and they speak to concrete ways to recognize and reward a committed and caring work force. Finally, to help make MIT as excellent an employer as it is an educator, these recommendations include a companion redesign model defining the roles and responsibilities of a follow-on team, the Human Resource Practices Transition Team, (HRPT Team) and its collaboration with five sub-teams and related pilot sites.
Four critical factors must be present for the transition process to be successful. There must be one or more full-time individual(s) designated to oversee a multi-year plan for implementation, close collaboration and communication among the different constituencies, widespread use of technology to foster efficiency and increase communication, and strong leadership throughout the Institute.
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