UNIVERSITY of ALASKA –
Many Traditions One Alaska
UA Human Resources Redesign Update
May/June 2007
Case for Change
 Over time the University has evolved
 Organizational changes
 Procedural changes
 Labor agreement changes
 Segal Sibson Study
 Three distinct HR offices
 Different processes
 Process inefficiencies
 Decision to Proceed in November 2006
 Transition Manager Hired
 Initiated the Redesign Program
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The mission of UAHR
UAHR MISSION STATEMENT
It is the mission of the University of Alaska Human
Resources to support the University’s mission of teaching,
research and public service by creating and maintaining a
work climate that is characterized by fair treatment of all
employees, open communications, personal
accountability, trust and mutual respect.
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The UAHR Charter
What we stand for … and what we’ll stand on.
To deliver on our mission, UAHR will strive to attract and retain a high quality, diverse
workforce; develop and reward talent and innovation; and promote academic excellence,
student success and lifelong learning while adhering to the following principles for
working with our customers and each other:
Valued
Partnership
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HR will be a knowledgeable and trusted advisor
HR will be present, visible, and involved
HR will contribute value to the business by developing flexible solutions to address unique
customer needs
Trust and
Respect
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HR will hold confidentiality as a paramount concern
HR will have a reputation for problem-solving and consistency
HR will promote mutual expectations of competence and goodwill
Customer
Service
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HR services will be easily accessible
HR staff will be approachable, attentive, and responsive
HR staff will be empowered at the point of service
Subject Matter
Expertise
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HR staff will be fluent in the HR implications of important and disparate business issues
HR staff will have rapid access to accurate, reliable, valid answers and will serve as a repository for
information
HR staff will proactively work to understand and meet all regulatory requirements
All HR staff will be committed to continuous improvement and competency development
Strategic
Contribution
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HR will develop innovative approaches to attracting, selecting, retaining, and developing talent
HR will facilitate business decision-making with clear, valid data
HR will tailor its service delivery to meet the requirements of the university’s unique constituencies
Fiscal
Responsibility
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HR will maximize the value and impact of human capital investments
HR will ensure the wise investment of university resources
Investments in HR will take into consideration best practices in higher education and beyond
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UAHR Design Update
Reminder: We are working to…
 Integrate the statewide and Fairbanks
campus HR function
 Define a charter for UAHR that drives
our mission to help UA execute its
mission through its people
 Improve and streamline our HR
processes and delivery of our services
 Provide development opportunities for
our HR leaders and staff
 Identify how we will measure our
effectiveness going forward
An update on our progress…
 We’ve built our HR Charter
 We’ve identified our HR process
design priorities, and have mapped
our “as-is” priority processes
 We conducted a workload study with
Human Resources staff and key HR
processes supporters working within
the University
 We’re in the final stages of drafting our
UAHR guiding principles – with input
from UA leadership, HR staff and the
senior advisory group
 We continue to meet with our senior
advisory group, made up of key HR
customers
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A four-phased approach to redesign
1. Discovery
2. Redesign
3. Implementation
4. Measurement
Understanding the “as-is” state of HR service
delivery to customers in Fairbanks
Rethinking our HR organization structure and
improving our business processes to meet and
exceed customer requirements and expectations
Putting in place a new HR organization structure and
processes; communicating with and training HR staff
and customers
Gauging redesign effectiveness against key
performance metrics; adjusting course as necessary
Our “discovery” work is close to complete – we anticipate all
milestones reached by June 2007.
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What we completed through the “Discovery” phase
To understand the “as is” condition of Fairbanks-based Human
Resources functions and its processes we are:
Interviewing every Fairbanks-based HR employee – one on one
Interviewing key leadership, customers and
PPAs
Prioritizing HR business processes for
redesign
Establishing process design teams
Completing process mapping for
priority processes
Completing an HR workload study to
measure process labor
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Why focus on process design?
Focusing on process will:
Ensure HR understands and can support customer needs
and expectations
Identify where HR has inadequate resources
or can align resources more effectively
Build consistent delivery of HR practices
and services to the University
Identify opportunities for improved HR
and customer training and communication
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Our highest priority processes for redesign
HR staff and the HR redesign senior advisory group identified these
processes as having the most critical need for improvement:
Recruitment – faculty (including adjuncts and post-docs), staff, students,
foreign nationals and executives
“On-boarding” (i.e., bringing faculty and staff into the University after they
accept a job offer)
Job classification and reclassification
Exceptional compensation
Performance appraisals and performance
management
Termination and non-retention
Benefits orientation
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Process design mapping sessions
We facilitated intensive one-day sessions through which we
inventoried and mapped the current state of each priority process:
We discussed the culture and customer perspective
We established the flow of information and coordination of process inputs
We identified exceptions and differences across the process
We identified all parties responsible for a given process
We listed all the steps for a given process
We mapped all process steps based on work performed by responsible
parties
Our process mapping sessions uncovered significant differences and
inconsistencies in processes across Fairbanks-based HR functions.
Simplicity and standardization will be key to a successful redesign.
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HR Redesign Workload Study
The HR Redesign Workload Study is our final “discovery”
deliverable. The study will help us to:
Identify the main Human Resources
functions currently performed by staff
Identify the possible overlaps and gaps
in the work each function performs
Ensure we have the resources needed to
deliver HR service in the improved,
future state
Fairbanks-based HR staff, PPAs, and
other line staff supporting HR business
processes will be invited to complete the
workload study. Staff input is confidential
and will be reported in aggregate only.
Segal/Sibson will conduct the study
in May.
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What’s next?
We are transitioning into the Redesign Phase
We need to redesign inefficient processes
We need to redesign an effective organization
We need to identify and develop training needs
We need to implement other improvements to HR along the way
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For more information
Visit the HR Redesign web site for updates and reference and
background material.
www.alaska.edu/hr/redesign/
The site includes:
Announcements and links to HR redesign news
Information regarding redesign committee members and process teams
Redesign documents, reports and recommendations
Answers to frequently asked questions
We encourage you to submit your HR redesign questions and
feedback through the our web site.
Watch for updated FAQs every two weeks.
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