Employee titles to be restored in directory

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

ne of the rituals of fall went askew last week as directory information cards for professional employees were printed using internal job title designations instead of the commonly used "business titles."

     After the change prompted some inquiries, Human Resources and Telecommunications are working to ensure that the employees' "business titles" are published in the phone book, according to Juan A. Jarrett, assistant vice chancellor for Human Resources.

     The HR system, he said, maintains three types of job titles for employees: job title, business title and state title.

     "Most employees associate themselves and the work they do with their business title," he said, while job titles and state titles, such as staff assistant or staff associate, are used internally.

     Jarrett said the use of job titles on the directory cards affected mainly unit and non-unit professional staff. Some employees contacted Human Resources about the title changes, particularly since the cards expressly prohibit any changes to the job title. The cards are due by Oct. 11.

     According to Jarrett, Human Resources personnel have been issued employee rosters listing the business titles of all professional staff. "Staff have been instructed to let professional employees who call voicing their concerns about their title that the business title in the system will be used and staff are confirming the business title in the system with the employee," he said.

     "We have discussed the issue with TelCom and we've agreed that we will use business title when we update the file that TelCom will use to print the staff and faculty telephone directory," Jarrett added. "Given [the Oct. 11] deadline, we felt that this was the most effective way to address employee concerns."