University of Oxford
People Strategy – April 2014
University of Oxford strategic plan 2013 - 2018
12 commitments, 3 are explicitly about people......

‘To recruit and retain high-calibre staff from across the world’.

‘To work towards an increasingly diverse staffing profile’.
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‘To develop all staff to enhance their effectiveness and
contribution to the University’s goals’.
Our People Strategy to underpin the University’s
Strategic Plan
1. Recruitment of the best people – ensuring that Oxford is able to attract the highest quality
people from the relevant employment market.
2. Retention of talent – retaining the best people in the face of increasing international
competition
3. Developing diversity - recruiting, retaining and promoting the very best people, whoever they
are and ensuring equality of opportunity.
4. People development – supporting people to improve their skills, knowledge and competencies
5. Governance – ensuring good decision making processes on people issues and that our
statutes, policies, procedures and resources relating to personnel issues are appropriate
6. Delivering effective support on people issues across the University – a high quality HR
function working across the University to support the people strategy
1. Recruitment of the best people – ensuring that Oxford is able to attract
the highest quality people from the relevant employment market.
Key themes:

attraction of the highest quality applicant pool for all roles;

highly objective selection process;

right reward package;

use of tier 1, 2 and 5 immigration visas;

clear career development opportunities for academics, researchers and
administrators;

relocation support for key new recruits;

launch of the internal temporary staffing service.
2. Retention of talent – retaining the best people in the face of increasing
international competition
Key themes:

right reward package – regular reviews of base pay, appropriate pension provision,
merit-based pay;

transparent contractual working requirements - variation of academic duties where
appropriate, joint University / colleges appointments system;

key academic and research staff retained - professorial distinction awards,
retention payments via Senior Appointments Panel;

professional development review (PDR) – build use across different groups of
employees;

promotion and progression – award of professorial title via recognition of
distinction, researcher career development, clearer career paths for administrators,
movement of academics into key management roles;

retirement - selective use of employer justified retirement age (EJRA) to extend
employment in key cases.
3. Developing diversity - recruiting, retaining and promoting the very best
people, whoever they are and ensuring equality of opportunity
Key themes:

increase the proportion of women in senior academic and leadership roles across the University;

increase the numbers of women in research roles – transition from DPhil to post doc and from post-doc
researcher to independent researcher status;

develop distributed leadership on diversity issues – Heads of Departments and ‘diversity champions’;

broad diversity approach – progress race and disability issues;

equal pay reviews to address pay inequality;

maximise impact from VC’s diversity fund;

Athena SWAN award process – secure institutional bronze award / all 26 STEM depts to achieve bronze AS
award by April 2014 / silver awards by April 2015;

Gender & Race Equality Charter Marks – pilot and then use across Humanities, Social Sciences and UAS;

variation of academic duties – to help in balancing work and personal life;

use of EJRA to develop diversity – develop the careers of the next generation;
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training – embedding equality and diversity in training / unconscious bias training;

harassment-free culture – policy development / training.
4. People development – supporting people to improve their skills,
knowledge and competencies.
Key themes:

induction training – prior to joining, induction events, on-line material;

use of PDR – application across different groups of employees;

identifying those most capable of career progression via PDR – improve clarity of
career paths & develop greater career mobility;

assessing training needs – bottom up (PDR) and top down process;

co-ordination of the delivery of training & development – HR, OLI, departments and
divisions;

process and policy training – e.g. recruitment;

teaching and pedagogy skills – particularly for newly appointed academics;

management and leadership skills – for those in administrative and academic
leadership roles;
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structured training programmes – e.g. apprenticeships;
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support for people to give of their best – e.g. mentoring.
5. Governance – ensuring good decision making processes on people
issues and that our statutes, policies, procedures and resources relating to
personnel issues are appropriate.
Key themes:

role of Council, Personnel Committee and its sub-committees in determining, progressing and
monitoring the people strategy;

keep University statutes, regulations and policies under review to provide an appropriate
framework to deliver the objectives of the University – possible reform of Statute XII;

appropriate communication and consultation across the collegiate University prior to decisions
being made and issues being progressed;

Personnel Committee appropriately supported by advisory groups and sub-committees;

delivering the people strategy within the cost-constraints of the University – monitor headcount,
pensions, salary review process;

the Human Resources function being effectively managed and accountable;

up to date risk register for people issues;
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compliance audit – level of compliance with HR policies across the University.
6. Delivering effective support on people issues across the University –
a high quality HR function working across the University to support the
people strategy.
Key themes:

high-quality advice and support for divisions, departments and faculties on
employment issues;

positive employee relations via engagement with trades unions;

HR information system – develop and use to best effect;

effective HR processes and systems;

care and support for our people – occupational health, health & safety, childcare;

robust casework advice and management;

HR teams working effectively with administrators, academics and HR staff within
divisions and departments.