Campus Services implements department-specific attendance policy
With 12 departments varying in size and responsibility, different needs must be met for certain positions. This semester, Campus Services (C.S.) created a new policy to address issues with shift attendance.
Campus Services assistant manager Ursa-Minor Matlock described the department’s current absence policy as being up to the supervisor’s discretion unless the student provides a note from a school-excused event or a doctor’s note due to illness. A student must also inform the supervisor 48 hours prior to his or her absence and, if possible, fill out a sub-slip for another person to handle the missing shift.
The previous system allowed each student to receive three sick days and one personal day. Matlock explained that the reason for changing this system was to “cut down on the amount of no call, no shows” where workers would not show up for a shift without giving a warning to the supervisor. She added that the new approach seems to be successful with noticeably less absences occurring in the department.
According to general manager Hollie Davidson and Matlock, the policy-making process lies entirely between the supervisor and student manager of the specific department, unless input is requested from crew heads and assistants. Furthermore, the policy of each work place can change if a new supervisor is hired or adjustments need to be made.
What works in one department might absolutely not work in another department.
Blackburn lacks a general attendance policy that covers all work departments, but the punishment policy for not adhering to the rules is systematic through campus. Punishment progresses in severity depending on the amount of write-ups a student receives.
Associate Dean of Work Rob Weis explained the policy change system further. “Supervisors in direct consultation with the manager have the right to say, ‘This is how I like certain processes and procedures to operate in the work program,’” he said. “As long as it doesn’t impact and affect the overarching processes and procedures we have outlined in the ‘B-Book,’ it meets the expectations of what a supervisor can do. It’s entirely up to each department to decide what their policies are going to be.”
In regards to C.S.’s policy specifically, Weis was under the impression that the new guideline was addressed in the department’s orientation this semester. Therefore, all workers would have been aware of the change.
According to Weis, managers of the 12 work departments implement new guidelines and refine their current policies, so their specific workplaces can thrive. He added, “What works in one department might absolutely not work in another department.” Weis additionally clarified that if it was a work policy that applied to the entire campus, then the entire work committee would have had to approve it.
Campus Services manager Phillip Johnson chose not to comment on the department’s policy.