What ‘Employer of Choice’ Should Be

We have been hearing the phrase “Employer of Choice.” It refers to one of the pillars of the chancellor’s vision for the University of Arkansas. He has mentioned it in almost every speech. Yet we still have people asking, what is an employer of choice?

Illustration of a gold seal with crest

President’s Message

By Hershel R. Hartford

Over the past year we have heard the phrase “Employer of Choice” on campus. It refers to one of the pillars of Chancellor Charles F. Robinson’s vision for the University of Arkansas. He has mentioned it in almost every speech he has given and every visit he has made with various groups on campus. Yet we still have people asking, what is an employer of choice?

I have heard what the chancellor has said and agree with many of his ideas. I am hoping, waiting and watching to see if this effort will bring about a change that may hearken back to another day and time, some 22 years ago, when quality prospective job candidates seeking employment were told, “Go to the University of Arkansas. It is the place to work!” That is a phrase not heard in a very long time. Perhaps we need this help-wanted ad for an Employer of Choice:

Wanted: An EMPLOYER OF CHOICE, which provides a workplace that respects every employee regardless of their occupation and treats them with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Required conditions include:

Fair, equitable and livable wages for all employees that provide:

  • All workers with the ability to have quality housing in the community where they work
  • Wages that will not require them to make use of food banks to make it through the month
  • Engagement by Upper Administration with supervisors to end a culture that denies or attempts to quell any raising of ideas or concerns that are contrary to “the way things have always been,” or demands work from international graduate students holding visa status over their heads
  • A restructuring of compensation for instructors, adjuncts and graduate assistants that reflects the workload they shoulder
  • Healthcare benefits that meet the needs of employees (including graduate assistants) without breaking their budgets with unreasonable policy exclusions or sky-high premiums
  • A commitment to support — by example and by codification in personnel document and university policy — a work/life balance that requires supervisors and departments to respect and guard employees’ time away from work, be that hours before and after a workday, vacation, sick time or university holidays
  • A true sense of Community that comes from a culture that promotes Respect, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • The opportunity to retain representation that can be present in all grievance/ disciplinary processes
  • Safe working conditions, always including compliance with OSHA safety standards
  • Continued upgrades to facilities to be more accessible to all persons with ADA accommodation needs
  • Parking, which does not draw wages back to the University that the worker has earned
  • The clear communication that while we live in a right to fire state, employee organizing is not prohibited nor is it a reason for firing

Preferred conditions include:

  • Transparent communication at all levels of administration
  • Increased hiring of support staff to match the growth rate the institution has achieved over the past number of years on a trajectory similar to the increases in upper administration areas. Growth would include office workers, custodial, labor shop and maintenance workers
  • Greater compensatory recognition for employees instead of speeches wishing you could do more, and telling staff how we could not do this without you
  • A return of reduced rates for opportunities to engage in the university cultural, sporting and other events.

This President’s Message first appeared in the November 2023 newsletter of UA-Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965. Hershel Hartford, a UA administrative support supervisor, is president of Local 965.