CAUBO Conference HR Pre-Conference Seminar June 14, 2008 Winnipeg, Manitoba

1. CAUBO ConferenceHR Pre-Conference SeminarJune 14, 2008Winnipeg, Manitoba Employee Engagement: The UBC People Plan

2. Overview of Presentation • Context: A Primer on UBC • What: Focus on People: Workplace Practices at UBC • Why: Our story, our time • Where: In the beginning… • How: Criteria and Measures of success

3. A Primer on UBC: • Large research-intensive public university • 2 campuses – Vancouver and Kelowna • Multiple sites around BC • Highly decentralized culture • Almost 50,000 students • 45,000 at UBC Vancouver • 4,900 at UBC Okanagan • Budget -- $1.7B • Research funding -- $400M • Venue for 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

4. Faculty and Staff: • About 20,000 • Staff – 9,000 • Faculty – 4,000 • Students (employed as staff) – 6,500 • Over 5,000 alumni work at UBC • 8 unions (including faculty) and one association (management and professional staff) – 4 CUPE locals • Collective agreements settled in 2006 until 2010

5. Focus on People: Workplace Practices at UBC • Approved by Board of Governors in February 2008 • Our organizational human resources strategy with a five-year timeline • Intended to ensure the connection between Trek 2010 (UBC’s vision/mission/strategies) with our workplace experience: Providing “…its students, faculty and staff with the best possible resources and conditions for learning and research, and creating a working environment dedicated to excellence, equity and mutual respect.”

6. Single most significant, ambitious and strategic human resource initiative undertaken in the last 2 decades, save and except for the significance of the establishment of UBC Okanagan. http://www.focusonpeople.ubc.ca/resources/index.html

7. Identifies our culture • Highly decentralized • Many subcultures • Research faculty centric • Defines what we want it to be: “…a culture of positive values and good relations, and establish a working environment marked by respect, trust, diversity and camaraderie.”

8. Shares our values “academic freedom, integrity, transparency, excellence, diversity and mutual respect” • Framework for action • Preserves our strengths • Offers pathways and solutions to our challenges • Addresses both faculty and staff

9. Divided into 4 parts: • Introduction – summary with key concepts • Discussion of our starting place – what’s good, what needs fixing, what it can be – our sense of “us” • Strategies and initiatives • Implementing at the Unit Level Fundamental principle: Shared Responsibility

10. 5 strategies: • Develop a sustainable, healthy workplace • Retain faculty and staff through positive opportunities and incentives • Cultivate sound core leadership and management practices • Attract outstanding faculty and staff • Identify and share institution-wide goals Each strategy has a number of initiatives: • Short-term deliverables (3-6 months) • Longer term (12 – 24 months) • Ongoing practices that we should attend to

11. Small Group Discussion: Question: What are the factors – environmental, cultural and other – that lead to this kind of plan, i.e. why would you do it?

12. For us: • Transform the student experience through engaged faculty and staff • Create intention • Define who we are in an accelerated marketplace • Share a continuity of experience in every corner • Anticipate and respond to needs of individuals

13. Fundamentally, 3 levels of responsibility: • The Institution • The Department/Unit • The Individual

14. The Institution • Endorse the imperative • Share expectation • Expect accountability • Share success stories • Provide resources • Use consistent inclusive language • Steward the processes

15. The Department/Unit • Prepare unit plans to implement the Framework • Be inclusive of faculty and staff • Engage faculty and staff in discussions about issues • Be responsive to family responsibilities • Learn from successes of others • Advocate for UBC as an employer • Celebrate achievements and simple things

16. The Individual • Understand actions contribute to culture • Share voice in processes • Take advantage of professional and personal development opportunities • Be ambassadors for UBC as an employer

17. Faculty and Staff: • Interdependent constituencies • Shared roles and responsibilities • Strategies apply equally – initiatives may be singular • Language – faculty and staff/ staff and faculty used as consistently as possible

18. Small Group Discussion: Further reflection on the Mayo Clinic session: How can I apply UBC’s experience to my own institution? Why do faculty and staff join? Why do faculty and staff stay?

19. Where we are: • UBC Executive and Board of Governors approval • Year 1 resources in place; year 2 identified • Beginning implementation • Established reporting and governance • Tackling initiatives • Communications plan – soft launch

20. Criteria and Measures of Success: • Turnover statistics including resignations with a particular emphasis on the critical 1/3/5 years (particularly for staff) • Replacement costs • Exit interviews/surveys – why people are leaving • Available positions (market shortages or other reasons) – number, type, unit/department/faculty • Percentage of time UBC is able to recruit its top candidate • Average time to fill a position from vacancy to start date of next incumbent

21. Compensation – costs of salaries, benefits, pension, leaves, perquisites, other working conditions • Entrance interviews/surveys – why are people joining us • Engagement survey every 2-3 years asking the people what the strategy is meant to serve • Health-related – short-term absenteeism, work related accidents, cost of WCB claims, total days lost due to in illness and injury (and conversely, total days worked), LTD claims, Employee and Family Assistance Plan usage, number of initiatives related to health and wellness and surveys of their effectiveness, extended health claims costs

22. Another important measure: Improving in UBC’s results in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

23. In conclusion: • Establish starting place • Set realistic deliverables • Communicate – importance of inclusive, clear language • Do what you say, and say what you do

24. Thank you