Week of March 23, 2015 - Human Resources

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY HUMAN RESOURCES
Please make the following information available to employees in your department as appropriate.
March 23, 2015
HUMAN RESOURCES
Staff Appreciation Week Starts Today!
Summer Insurance Premium Process
Summer Insurance Premium Q&As Updated Online
Bona Fide Offer of Employment (BOE) Limited to 45 Calendar Days
Spring Wellness Events
Revised HR Web Forms/Docs
PATHWAYS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Distribution A
Access to Previous Online Evaluations
PATHways Training and PATH Demos
TIP OF THE WEEK
It’s Staff Appreciation Week at Texas A&M!
PAYROLL REMINDERS
March 23:
Electronic monthly payroll
available
March 24:
Electronic monthly payroll
due by 4pm
March 25:
PVDs available online
March 27:
Biweekly pay day
Monthly PVDs available
online
Processing Schedules
Payroll Reports
HUMAN RESOURCES
Staff Appreciation Week Starts Today!
Today begins Staff Appreciation Week at Texas A&M! To
show appreciation to all of our staff members for their
numerous and significant contributions to our shared
success, there will be several activities and prize drawings
throughout the week. Watch your email for daily
announcements and prize drawings!
Tomorrow, faculty, staff and students are invited to attend the “Celebrating Staff Kick-off Rally” 11:30am—12:00pm
on Tuesday, March 24 at the War Hymn Monument outside of Kyle Field. We hope you’ll also join us in the wellness
walk before the rally! Click the links below for details about this event and the other activities:
 Monday: Discount Meal Deal Day
 Tuesday: Kick-off Rally & Maroon & White Wellness Walk
 Wednesday: West Campus Carnival Day (Olsen Pavilion)
 Thursday: Main Campus Carnival Day (Rudder Plaza)
 Friday: Departmental Staff Appreciation Day
Learn more on the Staff Appreciation Week website at u.tamu.edu/StaffAppreciationWeek.
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Summer Insurance Premium Process
The summer premium process impacts employees who are employed in appointments totaling less than 12
months. The below information is being provided to explain the summer premium notification process with
instructions on notifying Benefit Services of changes in employment that may impact how the summer premiums are
handled for employees within your department.
In mid-April an email will be sent to employees who are employed for less than 12 months notifying them they have a
Summer Insurance Premium letter available for download in HRConnect (accessed through Single Sign On). This
letter explains the summer insurance premium process and indicates the premium amount owed for June through
August 2015. Employees with questions regarding the content of the letter should contact Human Resources
Benefit Services at benefits@tamu.edu or by phone at (979) 862-1718. Questions related to their appointment
duration should be handled within the department specifically.
The below types of employment actions may have an impact on the summer premium process; therefore, the EPA
document to process these changes should be processed as quickly as possible (by April 8) to ensure accurate
summer premium notifications.
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Adding an additional summer appointment for an individual who was budgeted for 9 or 10 ½ months which
results in the employee receiving a paycheck each month during the summer. Be sure to indicate the
summer appointment duration and effort level.
Terminate an individual who is in an appointment for less than 12 months.
Retire an individual who is in an appointment for less than 12 months.
Reduce the appointment of an individual in a 12 month appointment to an appointment less than 12 months.
If your department plans to do any of the actions above, but you will not able to complete the Employee Payroll
Action (EPA) before April 8, please complete the attached Excel file with the employee’s name, UIN, action to be
taken, and the effective date. HR Liaisons should send the completed Excel file to Benefit Services at
hrcompbenefits@tamu.edu by April 9, 2015 which will help ensure that the employees’ premium letter will be
accurate. If you have questions or need further clarification, please contact Benefit Services at
hrcompbenefits@tamu.edu or (979) 862-1718.
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Summer Insurance Premium Q&As Updated Online
The summer premium process impacts employees with appointments of less than twelve months and generates
questions from employees and HR Liaisons alike. Benefit Services has updated the summer premium frequently
asked questions online at http://employees.tamu.edu/benefits/insurance/summer to provide detailed information on
the annual process and how premiums will be handled for summer coverage. Please provide this link to employees
impacted within the department.
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Bona Fide Offer of Employment (BOE) Limited to 45 Calendar Days
By rule under the Early Return to Work Program, an employee who returns to work with restricted duties may work
under the guidelines of a BOE for a maximum of 45 calendar days. If an employee's medical documentation shows
that he or she may be unable to perform the primary duties of the position by that time, please contact Benefit
Services at benefits@tamu.edu or (979) 862-1718 for further guidance. Additional information regarding the Early
Return to Work Program can be found here on the Human Resources website.
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Please forward the following article to employees within your department(s).
Spring Wellness Events
 "Maroon & White" Wellness Walk: March 24 (flyer): Wear your comfy shoes and enjoy the beautiful weather
as we get charged up for Staff Appreciation week. A 30 minute power walk across campus with two teams,
west campus vs. main campus, that meets at the War Hymn Monument (east side of Kyle Field) for a brief
but exciting “Celebrating Staff Rally” to kickoff Staff Appreciation Week at Texas A&M! No registration
required.
 Water Cooler 5k Fun Run/Walk: April 9 (flyer): REGISTRATION EXTENDED until tomorrow, March 24 at
9:00 am. Physical activity program coordinated by the BCS Chamber of Commerce Wellness Committee
and co-sponsored by Texas A&M University. Advance registration required for Texas A&M participants.
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Revised HR Web Forms/Docs
 Network News Archive – last week’s issue posted
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PATHWAYS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Distribution A
A Distribution A will be released tomorrow announcing that the annual performance evaluation review period for
Texas A&M University non-faculty employees begins April 1 and ends May 31, 2015. This announcement may
generate performance management questions, so please remember to refer people to the instructions and resources
on the PATHways webpage at EODinfo.tamu.edu/PATHways.
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Access to Previous Online Evaluations
 2013-2014 Evaluations – Employees whose performance evaluations were completed in PATH last year
(2013-2014 performance review period) and their current supervisors are able to view their evaluations in
PATH. If an employee has changed supervisors, the current supervisor only will have access to the
employee’s past evaluation. To access evaluations from previous years in PATH, access the Performance
Management home page and do the following:
1. Click on “My Reviews” or “My Employees’ Reviews.”
2. Select “2013 – 2014 Annual Performance Program (TAMU)” from the navigation pane Program
drop-down.
3. Select “Completed” from the navigation pane Open/Closed drop-down.
4. Click on the “View Review” button for the evaluation.
5. Click on the “Supervisor Evaluation” link on the navigation pane or “Supervisor Evaluation” icon.
This will display the evaluation.

TAMU Jobs – As a reminder, you will be able to access historical online evaluations in TAMU Jobs until
April 30. If you previously used TAMU Jobs as the electronic storage for certain personnel-related records,
please plan for this April 30, 2015 change in access and take action as may be appropriate for your
department. Beginning May 1, departmental requests will be handled by the PATH Administrator and the
formatting of that information will be different from the current printer-friendly versions available through the
web interface.

Request Form – To request a copy of a previous performance evaluation, please complete the Request for
Copy of Performance Evaluation form, which is found under Resources on the PATHways webpage, and
submit to Employee & Organizational Development.
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PATHways Training and PATH Demos
Please encourage supervisors and employees to take advantage of the upcoming opportunities for training and
assistance:
PATHways Training
 (For Supervisors and HR Liaisons) PATHways to Success: Supervisory Best Practices for Managing
Employee Performance, March 31, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. <http://training.tamu.edu/Courses/Detail/1590>
 (For Employees) PATHways to Success: Performance Management for Staff, March 24 from 1:00 to 4:30
p.m. <http://training.tamu.edu/Courses/Detail/1988>
PATH Performance Management Demo
 (Open to all) PATHways to Success: Performance Management Process Overview and PATH Demo, April
1, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. <http://training.tamu.edu/Courses/Detail/1726>
PATH Hands-on Help Session
 A hands-on help session will be offered on a “drop-in basis” to help employees with their specific questions
about the PATH performance management module. The session will be offered in a computer lab, and
content will be tailored according to each employee’s specific questions and needs. No registration is
needed. The session is “come and go”: employees may come by with their questions any time on April 3
between 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the General Services Complex, Suite 2201.
Step-by-step guides, videos, FAQs and resource documents are available on the PATHways website at
EODinfo.tamu.edu/PATHways. For assistance, please contact the PATHways support team at
HRPATHways@tamu.edu or (979) 845-4153.
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TIP OF THE WEEK
It’s Staff Appreciation Week at Texas A&M!
Human Resources is proud to host this week’s activities along with the University Staff Council. HR also supports
year-round employee recognition. Visit http://employees.tamu.edu/recognition/resources/ for tools, templates, tips
and information.
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HR Liaison Network News (LNN) is distributed weekly to departmental HR Liaisons at
Texas A&M University. If you have questions about LNN contact:
Laura Dohnalik, Liaison Administrator
ldohnalik@tamu.edu | 979.862.3854
Human Resources Main Contact Information:
PHONE: 979.845.4141
MAIL STOP: 1255 TAMU
MAIN OFFICE LOCATION:
750 Agronomy Road, General Services Complex, Suite 1201
College Station, TX 77845-1255
MAP
Next Network Meeting:
June 25, 2015