Senior Management at CBS have decided to show moderation in recruitment of technical-administrative staff (TAP) from the month of May and the rest of the year. According to Kirsten Winther Jørgensen, the University Director of CBS, it is not a freeze on appointments.

“A freeze on appointments implies that a company stops hiring new staff. In a situation of moderation, some positions can still be filled,” she says.

With moderation in recruitment, Kirsten Winther Jørgensen does not believe that it would be necessary to fire any current employed staff members.

“This year we need to make a smaller adjustment to the budget, so I can’t imagine that retrenchment will be necessary. With regard to long-term TAP dimensioning, Senior Management have, from the very beginning, stressed that as far as possible, we want a gradual adjustment of the administrative units, based on normal employee turnover, supported by internal mobility,” she says.

The decision to moderate the recruitment of TAP means that any re-employment or new position within the TAP area will have to be approved by Senior Management to avoid exceeding the limit for payroll costs, which is DKK 362 million. Since 2012, payroll costs for TAP have increased significantly and relatively more than the performance-based output (STÅ) and payroll costs for academic staff, according to Kirsten Winther Jørgensen.

Employee representatives for TAP are, as yet, uncertain about the consequences of the decision, as they are waiting to be presented with more information at a meeting with the General Consultation Committee on May 25.

“It is unclear to me what the consequences will be, and to what extent. Senior Management write that they want to issue a TAP-payroll analysis, which is the basis for their decision, and when I have read that, I will be able to give a better response to the decision,” says Maria Svaneborg, employee representative for all academic personnel (AC).

Why now?

“Due to CBS’ restricted funding situation, we need to prioritize clearly. At the same time, we are worried about the research base of CBS’ study programs. This is why Senior Management, right now, are discussing the long-term dimensioning of the central administrative units, and see a need to show moderation in hiring administrative staff in order to ensure that we keep the TAP salary budget,” says Kirsten Winther Jørgensen.

Tine Silfvander, the employee representative for Trade and Office personnel at CBS, are also waiting for more information.

“It is a reasonable initiative, which we will be following, and we look forward to receiving an explanation as to why the decision comes now,” says Tine Silfvander.

Senior Management aims to be able to present a plan for a gradual adjustment of the central administrative units as well as supplementary initiatives next month.

“We will have a dialogue with local managers about which positions it makes sense not to refill, and in the implementation process, of course, the local managers will be attentive to prioritizing and, where necessary, redistributing tasks,” says Kirsten Winther Jørgensen.

According to a statement posted on the CBS intranet, Share, the decision will not cover “the externally funded technical-administrative positions or positions funded through a reduction in CBS’ external consultancy costs.”