2019 President’s Awards

Five outstanding UT employees were honored with President’s Awards at a luncheon on March 14 in Nashville. President’s Awards are the highest honor a UT employee can receive from the University and are intended to spotlight success and inspire excellence. This program recognizes the extraordinary contributions of staff and faculty in the University’s three-fold mission … Continued

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Compensation Update

by Julie Hunt, executive director of compensation Improvement of processes, classifications and pay structures continue as part of a system-wide compensation project. Phase 2, finalizing the “job families,” and phase 3, “benchmarking,” are among top human resources priorities for 2019. Job families are groupings of jobs that involve work in the same functional occupation and … Continued

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Leadership

What makes a leader? What are qualities and skills a person needs to have in order to be a successful leader? What does a strong leader look like? If there is one person who can answer those questions, it’s Bob Smith. Smith is special adviser to UT President Joe DiPietro for talent and leadership development. … Continued

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Want to Talk About It?

by Alyssa Janssen Significant life changes can cause major stress in a person’s life and make a person feel as though they are stuck, which is when Leticia Flores says is the best time to reach out for some help. Changes can come in many forms such as divorce, the death of a loved one, … Continued

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System HR Update

As employees of the University of Tennessee, we all know that working within a higher education setting comes with a number of important and very tangible benefits—insurance coverage, leave options, health and wellness resources, tuition discounts and retirement options, just to name a few. While the fall issue of For Your Benefit is filled with … Continued

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Try, Try Again

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” This phrase is applicable to many different situations. When someone is turned down for a job: try, try again. When a relationship doesn’t work out: try, try again. And Dr. Karen Johnson gives the same advice to those who have tried, and failed, to quit smoking: … Continued

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Responsible Reporting of Suspected Policy Violations and University Response

Maintaining and developing an ethical work environment that protects and supports UT employees depends on communicating policy violation concerns to the proper University officials so that corrective actions can be taken. The UT Code of Conduct is intended to assist employees and their departments in creating a responsible and ethical workplace. It outlines the basic … Continued

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Job Families: Aligning Jobs That Fit Together

Several factors contribute to offering fair and competitive pay, and work continues to improve processes, classifications and pay structures. Among top HR priorities for 2018 are reviewing and revising “job families”—phase 2 of a compensation project that began last year.  Job families are groupings of levels within roles that have similar job duties/responsibilities and require … Continued

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Uncle Sam Wants You: To Understand Tax Reform

Following passage of federal tax reform legislation in December 2017, all employees are encouraged to review their tax withholding amounts to avoid having too much or too little taken from their paychecks based on the new rates and tax brackets. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) encourages all employees to check their withholding amounts, especially the … Continued

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