People & Culture: What Human Resources Strategy for a University Promoting a Sustainable World?

Abstract

Universities are higher education institutions whose mission is to generate and transmit knowledge to the society through their research and teaching activities. An important question facing universities today is how they can evolve into institutions where excellence is not only focused on scientific results but also on the development of human capital and on the promotion of diversity, equality, inclusiveness. This requires a major change in the governance of universities, which, in terms of human resources (HR), must define their strategic directions and implement evidence-based management. The HR strategy is translated into policies that must be well identified and validated by community members. Action plans are based on three essential pillars: (i) a high-performing HR team that guarantees equal rules and best practices for each member of the University; (ii) an information system adapted to HR performance management with appropriate indicators; (iii) a strong managerial culture aimed at giving all managers, whether academic or administrative, the means to face cultural gap, to foster the development of everyone's skills and to identify talent. Sustainable implementation of these ambitions relies on iterative evaluations to progressively adjust these processes, for the benefit of the well-being of community members, the effectiveness of the various structures to which they belong, and the attractiveness of the University. The inclusion of women and representative members of minorities in the leadership of universities undoubtedly favors this transition, towards a working environment strongly imbued with the values of the University, enabling the shaping and dissemination of a similar corpus of good practices, based on the fundamental principles of work centered on respect, trust, a strong sense of public interest, collaboration and initiative.