UHR leadership identified three key purpose areas and four impact areas to align with the university’s vision statement. The accompanying commitment statements will serve as the focus of UHR’s work and resources over the next five years.

Purpose: Build Business Value

Impact: HR Policy, Practice, and Systems 

• Commitment: In the next five years, we will enhance consistency and operational efficiency for our institutional partners by...

  • Continuously renewing the job classification framework and compensation approaches.

  • Advancing strategic approaches to labor relations and augment education for leaders.

  • Evaluating existing and/or develop new human resource policies to align with modern workplace needs, practices and employee well-being.

  • Providing expert consultation to units in the areas of policy interpretation and application, and employee relations.

  • Creating further consistency in the faculty and staff experience by advancing HR records and information systems that support critical decision making and reliable processes.

Purpose: Support Our People

Impact: Leadership, Learning and Culture 

• Commitment: In the next five years, we will revitalize the U-M employee experience by...

  • Enhancing and transforming hiring team and candidate experiences, bring consistency and equity to a skills-based hiring process, and elevate unit-level resources and practices in an effort to bring talent into our workforce.

  • Developing plans that support our faculty and staff through the employment cycle

    • by enhancing professional and career development offerings focused on skill development and practical application;

    • by supporting a comprehensive leadership development framework for U-M leaders at all levels; and

    • by continually evolving and modernizing employee advocacy channels such as Voices of the Staff.

  • Creating further consistency in the faculty and staff experience by formalizing sustainable strategic partnerships to unify central learning strategies and processes, connect employees to learning, coordinate resources, and advance shared investments in employee development.

Impact: Health and Well-being 

• Commitment: In the next five years, we will serve the health and well-being needs of our community by...
  • Enhancing the health support and prevention infrastructure

    • by strengthening the alignment of mental and emotional health offerings with faculty and staff well-being needs and collaborating on organizational strategies to support mental well-being; and

    • by strengthening the alignment of evidence-based health and well-being programs, resources, and strategies with the well-being needs of those we serve.

  • Developing plans that support our faculty and staff through the employment cycle

    • by enhancing access to resources supporting staff and faculty in meeting child and family care needs; and

    • through the delivery of modern benefit offerings that prioritize employee choice with regulatory compliance and fiscal responsibility.​​​

Purpose: Shape Our Future

Impact: Innovation, insights and infrastructure

• Commitment: In the next five years, we will reduce administrative burden through innovation, technology and streamlined processes by...
  • Expanding the development and deployment of artificial intelligence and data science 

    • through the enhancement of unit HR metrics to assist the campus community in finding actionable insights from HR data; and

    • through the expansion of the HR AI framework, use of data visualizations, and generation of key insights for enhanced HR data and business process literacy.

  • Creating further consistency in the faculty and staff experience 

    • by implementing and expanding a B&F-wide communications strategy to serve as a blueprint for core strategies and collaboration in key communications domains;

    • by engaging in the necessary preparation for a cloud-based human resource management system (HRMS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) system; 

    • through the provision of easily accessible workspace and technological support for UHR staff;

    • through precise and well-communicated stewardship of the UHR budget and related financial operations; and

    • by applying a UHR strategic framework informed by ongoing stakeholder feedback and outcomes reporting, potentially identifying opportunities to standardize select HR practices.

  • Developing plans that support our faculty and staff through the employee cycle by implementing innovative leadership, career and professional development resources for UHR staff.