Job Description

You may want to first ask for a copy of your job description from Human Resources. Compare your job with what is written. If there is a big discrepancy, you need to talk with your supervisor to see if these are permanent changes in your responsibilities. If so, you would want to fill out a PDQ form (position description questionnaire), which can be downloaded through the University Human Resources (UHR) web page on OU Forms. This needs to be approved through the highest level of your planning unit before it is submitted to UHR.

Your position may be re-evaluated to be either a promotion or change of administrative pay grade. Salary increases are retroactive to when they were first submitted to UHR.

Call the University Human Resources if you have questions about this process. You can read more about this in the OU Policies and Procedures, Administrative and Professional Pay Plan (40.036).

No. Because of the unique, informal, problem-solving role of the Office of the Ombudsperson, speaking to the Ombudsperson about a concern does not constitute "notice" to the university that the problem exists, nor is speaking to the Office of the Ombudsperson a step in any applicable grievance process. Anyone wishing to "put the university on notice" may contact an administrator or invoke a formal grievance process. The Office of the Ombudsperson can provide referral information about who to contact for anyone seeking to use administrative or formal grievance processes.

Without knowing the specifics of each case, interpersonal relations are very hard to evaluate. The feelings you have about your situation are very real and hopefully, this will give you some ideas on how to make your situation better. There are many strategies for working out conflicts. One way to address the feeling of “not getting along” is to talk with your supervisee about specific situations when they arise. Try to use “I” statements and focus the conversation on the context of the person's behavior related to the job (i.e., “I felt frustrated when I thought that we had clearly gone over the assignment and it wasn’t done the way I had asked. Try to avoid things like “you never get it right”).

Everyone has different temperaments and work styles. Sometimes just understanding those differences makes it easier to work with other people.

If you feel you have tried to discuss problems which have occurred, you may be interested in trying mediation, available to all OU employees for workplace-related conflicts. As a supervisor, it may be helpful to have someone else organize and facilitate the discussion between you and your supervisee. The Office of the Ombudsperson can assist with arranging mediation, or you can contact the Athens Area Mediation Service at 594-6169. Its services are free to OU work units. For further information, please see Mediation for OU Employees.

If you feel as though the reason "you don't get along" is related to race or gender, your situation may need a different response. If you would like to discuss options for how to respond to different situations which have come up, contact the Office of the Ombudsperson, University Human Resources, the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office for Institutional Equity.