HR Strategic Pillars

Championing University People and Culture

We champion sustainable people and culture strategies, in support of an inclusive, psychologically healthy & safe work culture and employee experience

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Key Objectives	Priority Activities	Key Success Measures
Align HR (People and Culture) initiatives with university strategy, arising internal priorities and critical external trends	Enhancing the McMaster brand and global reputation through progressive HR planning, people initiatives and new programming that drives organizational goals (focus on recruitment/retention, compensation/ benefits) Ensuring McMaster has an effective and aligned HR Operating Model and resource agility to address arising needs and ensure harmonized decentralization Facilitating and participating in opportunities to inspire creativity, innovation and excellence across our community regarding employee experience and workplace priorities Handling complex employment issues with a view to early and effective dispute resolution and a fundamental commitment to protecting human rights	Promote the design and development of a new university People strategy Implement Talent framework Develop Employment Brand and create new Employee Value Proposition resources Improved UniForum /Service Satisfaction Survey results HR/Talent dashboards HR Feedback Survey results Ability to pivot on priorities Infrastructure for cross-organizational planning in place (i.e. Future Visioning Committee, HR Innovators Councils, HR Network, Communities of Practice) Renew the University’s Collective Bargaining strategy Develop new Compensation, Benefits, Retirement Plans strategies Strategic grievance handling and metrics Early and effective alternative dispute resolution metrics
Champion an inclusive, psychologically healthy and safe work culture of belonging in alignment with leading global practice	Building new strategies and leadership capability to enable a positive workplace culture which promotes community and belonging Partnering in the development and delivery of Employment Equity and institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) priorities, Indigenous strategies and initiatives to promote inclusive excellence Ensuring ongoing feedback mechanisms are in place to assess and enhance the employee experience at McMaster Modelling McMaster Values, our new Finance and Operation Division Values and McMaster Leadership Capabilities	Develop and implement a Psychological Health & Safety strategy Advancement of Employment Equity and institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility (DEIA) and Indigenous strategic priorities Improved Employment Equity Census results; action planning outcomes Introduce new organizational level survey and pulse checks; action plans implemented Improved HR collaboration and experiences Revitalize the University’s Health & Safety Training program
Ensure people and culture sustainability through fiscal responsibility	Delivering value-added, competitive and progressive HR programs and services Building new compensation and benefits strategies Generating bargaining outcomes within established mandates Identifying new opportunities for revenue generation and cost savings Expansion of internal and external partnerships to enhance and complement services	Annual delivery within budget allocation achieved Savings realized through new strategies/automation/initiatives Bargaining mandates achieved Confirm potential fee for service offerings Expansion of external partnership rosters Contribute to reduction in legal fees

Collaborating with Our University and Community Partners

We ensure ongoing communication and consultation through inclusive and collaborative partnerships, forums, and community engagements to help inform HR initiatives and enhancements

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Key Objectives	Priority Activities	Key Success Measures
Maintain focus on understanding the diverse and arising HR needs across our community	Supporting ongoing review of strategic and operational plans of our various faculties and departments Facilitating regular discussions with university leaders and administrators to understand common and unique needs and to solicit feedback Leveraging insights from interactions, new embedded HR Strategic Partner roles/ HR teams to inform planning	Consultation at least 2 times per year with all university senior leaders; qualitative feedback HR presence at respective faculty/ department meetings HR partnership support available across the university Documented findings and trends
Promote alignment and awareness of HR policies, programs, processes, and initiatives	Facilitating HR Governance to ensure ongoing review of priorities, arising needs and required changes Delivering on a robust HR communications and community engagement strategy Enhancing community access and transparency to HR policies, processes, resources and information Identifying and actioning synergies with university partners to create efficiencies and enhance experiences	HR Governance meeting outcomes HR website enhancements Attendance at HR Forums, HR Network sessions, info sessions HR website enhancements and stats; new Teams/Sharepoint sites Tracking and progress updates
Build HR presence and reputation through trusted community partnerships	Continuing to expand and enhance internal partnerships to support new HR, DEIA, Indigenous and Talent strategies (i.e. mental health, student to staff, early career, internal mobility, agile/gig workforce, retiree returns) Ensuring regular connection with key university partners, employee group representatives and committees Offer community Town Halls/Forums to share ongoing updates and gain insights Expanding opportunities for community collaboration on HR Operations matters Evolving external partnerships to expand available program and service offerings	# of partnership engagements and new process/initiative results Regular engagement with key partner committees, i.e. TMG, BIRS, Indigenous Education Council, MURA, MUFA, SSC, EIO, etc.) Regular meetings with employee group and union representatives Expanded roster documented and available for use by our community facilitated through HR; cost synergies Labour Management Committee meeting frequency and outcomes Central and Joint Health and Safety Committees engagement

Advancing Service Delivery and Operational Excellence

We are committed to continuously reviewing and progressing our policies, programs, processes, and professional HR services as we strive for operational excellence and seamless delivery.

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Key Objectives	Priority Activities	Key Success Measures
Explore and leverage technology to advance HR services and efficiency	Driving effective and efficient HR operations, systems, and processes that demonstrate stewardship of HR resources Leveraging technology, machine learning and innovation to streamline HR processes and improve the employee experience Scaling up services to meet growing employee and department/faculty needs Refining and measuring service delivery performance and effectiveness	Substantially reduce waiting time in resolving HR inquiries by utilizing conversational AI solutions Optimizing service delivery by implementing automated and digitalized processes Provide an effective, positive and uniform employee service experience
Use evidence-based data approaches to inform HR planning and design	Building new data functionalities and move away from traditional reporting. Working with UTS to design innovative workforce data architecture, storage and access Advancing People Analytics strategy and maturity through robust data governance, and developing new tools to widen data access and support self-service data sourcing Achieving operational excellence through a clear, effective and sustainable people analytics strategy, define the guiding vision for HR data transformation journey	Provide more useful and meaningful data-based insights to leaders to make more informed decisions. Developing new tools to widen data access and support self-service data sourcing. Advancing data governance strategy in HR and ensuring HR data integrity, providing users with powerful, reliable and secure data.
Enable innovation and continuous improvement	Identifying and developing synergies with other functional streams Conducting ongoing external research and best practice reviews Ensuring proactive internal process reviews, audits, and compliance Providing mechanisms for community feed-back and engagement in needs identification, solution development and implementation Facilitating agile project teams to work on identified gaps, solutions, and enhancements	Synergies identified and implemented Participation in external reviews Industry/sector benchmarking Compliance and accuracy rates Audit findings/resolution # community suggestions/I ideas/ requests # Continuous Improvement/agile solutions implemented
Communicate the HR Operating model, define service levels and update as required	Evolving specializations and role scope within the HR Operating model in alignment with arising priorities and available resourcing Continuing to build self-service capability, knowledge bank and resources for our community to support people related activities	Clearly defined and articulated service levels UniForum results HR satisfaction survey results # self-service solutions/ utilization rates

Promoting Learning, Development and a Growth Mindset

We promote a community of continuous learning and belonging where our employees contribute their strengths and expertise, can be their authentic selves, have the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, and be celebrated for their accomplishments.

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Key Objectives	Priority Activities	Key Success Measures
Provide innovative and inclusive employee development opportunities for each phase of their career journey	Continuing enhancements to existing programming to ensure inclusive, hybrid offerings Enhancing orientation and onboarding processes, resources, and training to create positive and inclusive experiences for new employees to the university Continuing to automate and integrate Health & Safety and other mandatory training Designing new and promoting available development opportunities Modernizing learning and development related policies and programs	Enhancements to New Employee Orientation, Essentials programs, online learning, etc. New onboarding module; links to learning and development New Health & Safety training in place; automation and links to onboarding Utilization rates Satisfaction and learning retention rates Potential cost/time savings
Advance leadership capability and capacity	Refreshing McMaster leadership capabilities for use by all academic and administrative leaders Managing external vendor solutions and partnerships to enable development programming (i.e., multi-rater, assessments, mentoring, coaching) Implement new opportunities for shared learning and to showcase successes Building infrastructure to support leader mobility and career paths Updating tools, resources and training to support leaders in managing employee development	Enhancements to New Manager Orientation, Personal/ Knowledge/ Strategic Leader programs; website updates and promotions; # participants/ ratings Introduce new programs: Inclusive Excellence, Organizational Leader, Working Mind New leadership development framework and pathways Leader retention/movement rates Multi-rater average rates Website/resource enhancements
Promote a culture of belonging and recognition	Facilitating and participating in Communities of Practice, affinity groups, focus groups to build networks and promote belonging Continuing to enhance recognition related programming in alignment with new organizational values and leadership capabilities Creating opportunities for connection and discussion on key topics for our community Enhancing annual review and merit processes	Focus group feedback Engagement/pulse survey results Employment Equity survey results and outcomes Stay and exit survey results
Continue to grow HR team expertise and engagement	Continuing to advance “One HR” team culture and alignment of activities across teams Formalizing a talent strategy and ongoing reviews Enabling targeted team and individual development opportunities Continuing to review team engagement activities	Team retention/movement Robust succession plans in place Development opportunities/ learning transfer outcomes HR engagement and action planning results

Human Resources Services

Strategic Pillar #1

Championing University People and Culture

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Strategic Pillar #2

Collaborating with Our University and Community Partners

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Strategic Pillar #3

Advancing Service Delivery and Operational Excellence

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures

Strategic Pillar #4

Promoting Learning, Development and a Growth Mindset

Key Objectives, Priority Activities & Key Success Measures