June 24, 2019
Top 10 best practices for
successful HR administrators
Each year, the ACSA Member
Assistance & Legal Support Team, under
the direction of Member Services Senior
Director Margarita Cuizon-Armelino,
works nearly 800 individual members with
issues and questions related to administra-
tor rights and other concerns. Additionally,
the team has assisted more than 16,000
members since the year 2000. The seven
advocates on this team ( John Almond,
Sharon Dezutti, Janet Morey, Joe Jones,
Gary Rutherford, Bill Tschida and Lloyd
Wamhof ) also make presentations at all of
the ACSA Personnel Academies and have
had an opportunity to interact with many
outstanding California Human Resource
Administrators.
In this article the team, in collaboration
with ACSA’s Human Resources Council,
is sharing 10 HR Best Practices they have
identified over their many years of service.
While every administrator has his/her own
style of leadership, there are many attri-
butes, characteristics, and practices that
great Human Resources administrators
have in common.
1. Know the culture.
Become familiar with the district’s
culture before making major decisions in
the area of personnel. Building trust and
establishing positive relationships is cru-
cial to ensuring your success. In particular,
building positive relationships must include
union leaders.
2. Be compassionate.
Whenever possible, deal with sensitive
issues by meeting face to face with the per-
sonnel that will be impacted. In conducting
such meetings, always remember to treat
others as you would want to be treated.
A lack of compassion and sensitivity will
eventually damage your effectiveness and
your reputation. When applicable, in prob-
lem solving matters, try to reach consensus.
It’s very important that stakeholders help
define the problem and help determine the
solution.
3. Listen.
Be an “active listener” by paying close
attention to the emotions being expressed
by the employee to whom you are deliver-
ing a perceived negative message. Provide
“active listening” feedback that you have
actually heard the employee. Regardless of
the situation, make every effort to preserve
the dignity of the individual(s) involved.
4. Don’t hit send.
Never attempt to solve a serious or
complex issue with an email. Emails are
not confidential and can even be subject to
a subpoena and/or the Public Information
Act. In addition, what you put in print will
be shared with others and can be interpret-
ed far differently than you intended.
5. Practice teambuilding.
Build a team within your department,
and don’t forget to share the credit for
accomplishments. Collaboration works.
6. Keep others in the loop.
Keep other administrators in the district
abreast of personnel decisions, especially
principals. These administrators can be
very helpful in terms of determining goals,
solving problems, and especially controlling
the rumor mill.
7. Have an open mind.
Don’t paint yourself into a corner by
being overly rigid in your thinking. Being
open minded and flexible in your thinking
can often lead to compromise and consen-
sus building and can often help to resolve
serious personnel issues.
8. Remember staff on paid
administrative leave.
Be patient and transparent with staff
who are under investigation and placed
on paid administrative leave. Reach out
to them on an ongoing basis to let them
know the status of their situation. They are
most often feeling very isolated and fearful
that their career may be coming to a halt.
august
16-17
16-17
23-24
23-24
23-24
30-31
Special Education Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . El Monte
Special Education Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Redwood City
C & I Leaders Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monrovia
C & I Leaders Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rancho Cordova
Special Education Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bakersfield
Special Education Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sacramento
september
6-7
6-7
6-7
13-14
13-14
13-14
13-14
13-14
13-14
13-14
13-14
3-14
20-21
20-21
20-21
C & I Leaders Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salinas
English Learner Academy (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Covina
Superintendents Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sacramento
C & I Leaders Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Costa Mesa
Equity Administrators Academy (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fairfield
Personnel Administrators Academy (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . Burlingame
Personnel Administrators Academy (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Irvine
Principals Academy (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bakersfield
School Business Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sacramento
School Business Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . San Bernardino
Special Education Academy (Start Date) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Riverside
Superintendents (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cerritos
Equity Administrators (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rancho Cucamonga
Personnel Administrators (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Azusa
Personnel Administrators (Start Date). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Porterville
Never attempt to solve a
serious or complex issue
with an email. ... what
you put in print will
be shared with others
and can be interpreted
far differently than you
intended.
Always remember, placing an employee
on paid administrative leave is designed to
protect affected individuals from interfer-
ing with an investigation. It is not a disci-
plinary action.
9. Develop legal resources.
“Shooting from the hip” is OK for pol-
iticians, but not for HR administrators. To
help avoid such situations, build a profes-
sional resource network and take advantage
of attorneys that are well versed in the
legal issues surrounding Human Resources.
Develop a file of the most often referenced
Education Codes and case law. As an HR
administrator, you are the guardian of the
rules, policies, codes, state and federal laws,
and district contracts pertaining to employ-
ment. Work diligently to continue to grow
your knowledge in these areas, and be con-
sistent in your treatment of everyone.
10. Remember the “human” side of
Human Resources.
It’s not good enough to just follow edu-
cation codes, board policies and procedures.
The most successful Human Resources
administrators take into consideration the
human side of their job. Whatever the
situation, remember the Golden Rule: “Do
unto others as you would have them do
unto you.” As an HR administrator, estab-
lish the norm that all employees are to be
treated with dignity and respect.
EDCAL 5
Tobacco
grants
available
to schools
The California Healthcare, Research
and Prevention Tobacco Tax Act of
2016 (Proposition 56) provides local
public agencies with funding to pro-
mote a healthier California by reducing
illegal sales and marketing of cigarettes
and tobacco products to minors. The
Office of the Attorney General makes
these annual funds available through
the California Department of Justice
Tobacco Grant Program. There will be a
total $26 million in funds available this
year to help enforce state and local laws
related to the illegal sale and marketing
of tobacco products to minors.
Public school districts, public college
districts, and law enforcement agencies
under contract with school districts are
eligible to apply for funding to hire,
train, and support additional School
Resource Officers to focus on tobacco
issues; to operate public education cam-
paigns; and to create media awareness
campaigns that are designed and imple-
mented by youth. Note: Public school
districts that propose to develop part-
nerships with law enforcement agen-
cies or hire full-time law enforcement
personnel must include a letter of intent
from the partnering law enforcement
agency in the application.
Eligible agencies must submit a
completed application to the California
Department of Justice by July 12, 2019
at 5 p.m. To learn more about the
Tobacco Grant Program, or to obtain
a copy of the Request for Proposals
and view related informational docu-
ments, please visit: https://oag.ca.gov/
tobaccogrants. Questions regarding the
application process may be directed to
the California Department of Justice at
[email protected].