Report 2016-130 Recommendation 27 Responses

Report 2016-130: The University of California Office of the President: It Failed to Disclose Tens of Millions in Surplus Funds, and Its Budget Practices Are Misleading (Release Date: April 2017)

Recommendation #27 To: University of California

To ensure that its staffing costs align with the needs of campuses and other stakeholders, by April 2019 the Office of the President should implement phase two of CalHR's best-practice workforce planning model by determining its current and future staffing and competency gaps. As part of this phase, the Office of the President should consider the input of stakeholders, including campuses and students, regarding which elements of its organization are of critical importance and which elements it could eliminate or downsize.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From April 2019

UCOP has completed Phase Two: Gather and Analyze Workforce Data of CalHR's best practice workforce planning model. After establishing the strategy framework in Phase 1, UCOP focused on collecting data through surveys and face-to-face interviews to determine current and future staffing and competency gaps. UCOP was able to leverage insights and findings from the recent UCOP restructuring efforts and the 10-campus study to support data gathered in Phase 2. The data affirmed UCOP is appropriately staffed and campuses value UCOP programs and services. UCOP will continue to incorporate findings from the optimization efforts where applicable in Phase 3.

The resulting whitepaper that combined Phase 1 and 2 was reviewed and discussed with key stakeholders, including the President, senior leadership, staff, the Executive Budget Committee, which includes campus representation, Academic Senate, Council of Chancellors, HR Leadership Council, the UC Regents and Student Regent. Phase 2 built upon the Phase 1 strategic framework and included the following analyses:

- organizational reviews such as the 10-campus Survey

- divisional strategic plans

- workforce supply and demand analysis

- competency assessment

- projection of future workforce trends

- gap analysis

- risk analysis

The outcomes of Phase 2 outlined the methodology and provided input to set the strategic direction for the organization and provided the foundation and input data needed to launch Phase 3, Develop the Workforce Strategies and Plans. ¬

The Phase 1 and 2 whitepaper presented at the March 2019 Regents Item: Update of University of California Office of the President Audit of Administrative Expenditures on Workforce Planning can be found here: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/mar19/g6.pdf

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

The Office of the President presented its five-year workforce plan to the Regents in March 2019. We reviewed the workforce plan and found that it was consistent with phase two of CalHR's best-practice workforce planning model. Specifically, the document discussed the Office of the President's staffing and competency gaps including positions that pose a risk because they are critically important or have high retirement or vacancy rates. We look forward to seeing the results of the next stage of the Office of the President's workforce planning efforts in April 2020.

1-Year Agency Response

The Office of the President has initiated efforts to implement this recommendation and will provide a status update on its progress at the next reporting milestone.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending the Office of the President's completion of CalHR's best-practice workforce planning model due April 2019.

6-Month Agency Response

Implementation of this recommendation will be dependent on actions taken in response to the April 2018 recommendations.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending the Office of the President's completion of CalHR's best-practice workforce planning model due April 2019.

60-Day Agency Response

Implementation of this recommendation is dependent on actions taken in response to the April 2018 recommendations.

From the beginning of implementation, UCOP is proactively seeking and considering the input of stakeholders. The work group for this recommendation includes staff members from compensation, talent acquisition, HR Generalists, the program management office, key units within OP and representatives from campuses/medical centers. Meetings are being scheduled bi-weekly. The analysis that is currently in progress will create the structure and process that OP will use moving forward.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

The status of this recommendation is pending the Office of the President's completion of CalHR's best-practice workforce planning model due April 2019.

All Recommendations in 2016-130

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.