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Guidelines for Filling Staff and Hourly Positions
October 8, 2008 - Effective immediately, Indiana University requires all units to use extra scrutiny in filling new or vacant Staff and Hourly positions. Indiana University also requires that the respective vice president or chancellor approve the filling of Staff positions; except for positions funded by “sponsored programs,” which only requires the approval of the department head.
The President has directed units to take prudent actions that will position the University to weather the current unprecedented financial crisis. One such action is to accumulate budget savings by delaying or deferring the filling of Staff and Hourly positions. (Deciding not to fill a position now would minimize any future reductions that could result from a deteriorating fiscal state of affairs.)
Considerations and Alternatives
Department heads should review and consider:
- if the position is critical to the mission of the University and if it supports stated goals and objectives
- if there are alternatives to filling the position, such as:
- delaying the filling of the position
- if non-critical, consider suspending or eliminating the function
- reassigning critical work to other Staff and Hourly positions, either temporarily or on an
on-going basis
- restructuring or consolidating work within or across units
- “purchasing” work from other University units
- restructuring work so the vacant position is classified to a lower level or FTE status
is reduced
Campus Human Resource offices can assist department heads review staffing needs and consider the above alternatives and provide advice regarding the University’s personnel policies.
Staff Positions – Review and Approval Process
1. Prior to initiating any recruitment or selection process, department heads should determine if the position is critical to the University’s mission and decide if any of the above or other alternatives can be applied
2. If the department head determines that the position is mission-critical and there are no alternatives to filling the position, then
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a. for positions funded by “sponsored programs”, the University’s normal recruitment and hiring
process would be applied (While not required, departments may use the attached Position
Requisition form for internal purposes)
b. for all other Staff positions, the attached Position Requisition form must be completed and
forwarded for further review and approval: 1) to the dean/RC head; 2) then to the respective
vice president or chancellor for review and final approval; and 3) then the form would be sent
to campus HR office, when the University’s normal recruitment and hiring process would be applied
Hourly Positions – Review and Approval Process
1. Prior to filling any Hourly position, department heads should determine if any of the above and other alternatives can be applied
2. If the department head determines there are no alternatives to filling the position, then the University’s normal recruitment and hiring process would be applied
Campus Human Resource Offices
Campus Human Resource offices are available to assist managers and department heads with a variety of personnel and organizational decisions, such as:
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• review of staffing needs and alternative staffing structures
• position restructuring and any impact of position classification
• temporary salary adjustments
• general advice regarding the application of the University’s personnel policies
Campus Human Resource offices are responsible for ensuring the above procedures have been followed and approvals have been obtained, before the recruitment and selection process has been initiated. In addition, Campus Human Resource offices should verify that Staff positions are appropriately classified before advancing the recruitment and selection process.
Go to: Position Requisition Form
A web version of these Guidelines and the Position Requisition Form is available at University Human Resource Services.
