University Human Resources

2024-26 Strategic Initiatives

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2024-26 Strategic Initiatives

Tracking our progress toward a transformed employee experience.

Our Vision

By fostering an HR solutions mindset, a culture of agility, and business process enhancement, we strive to become a best-in-class HR operation for Brown and within higher education.

Together, we will cultivate a collaborative and thriving community of exceptional talent. We will bring bold solutions, support each other in bold ways and challenge ourselves to be best in class.

Our Roadmap

The UHR Strategic Roadmap is a dynamic framework that evolves alongside the needs of our campus community. These initiatives are categorized into six key functional areas, ensuring that every facet of the employee life cycle, from recruitment and compensation to retirement and wellbeing, receives dedicated, measurable attention.

Explore Strategic Initiatives

Select a category below to view the specific initiatives, timelines and the current status of our strategic work.

Completed Initiatives

We are proud of the progress we have achieved since the launch of our 2024–26 Strategic Plan, making significant strides toward fostering excellence in Brown’s work environment, enhancing our organizational effectiveness and establishing a culture of continuous improvement. The achievements below are organized by the stages of the employee life cycle.

Employee Life Cycle Stage	Initiative	Description
Attraction	Enhanced Recruitment Outreach	Reimagined the UHR Careers website
Attraction	Flexible Work Arrangements	Updated the Alternative Work Assignments (AWA) policy Streamlines the Position Work Locations (PWL) and AWA processes
Attraction	Employee Appreciation	Extended Winter Break Added Employee Appreciation Days Published a two-year holiday calendar
Attraction	Promote Brown as a Top Employer	Promoted the visibility of Brown as a top employer and UHR as a best-in-class operation in higher education
Attraction	UHR Website Redesign	Enhanced website to provide a visually appealing, accessible and user-centric experience
Attraction	Moving Policy	Refined the Moving Policy based on a comprehensive working group evaluation, enabling us to continue supporting new hires while upholding our commitment to fiscal responsibility
Recruitment and Onboarding	Streamlined Recruitment Process	Analyzed time-to-fill data; identified and addressed bottlenecks Eliminated senior leadership approval steps for most job requisitions
Recruitment and Onboarding	Recruitment Support	Added a recruiter to assist in research recruitment Collaborated on student employment with the Center for Career Exploration
Recruitment and Onboarding	New Hire Orientation and Onboarding	Enhanced in-person orientation and onboarding experiences
Recruitment and Onboarding	Community Building	Introduced initiatives to build a strong sense of community among employees
Recruitment and Onboarding	Campus-Wide Compliance Training	Supported Campus Life in launching and following up on the April–May 2025 Understanding Brown’s Policies on Discrimination and Harassment training, meeting Office of Civil Rights requirements and achieving a 97.9% employee completion rate by June 2025
Compensation and Benefits	Salary Review	Conducted focused salary reviews for over 600 positions
Compensation and Benefits	Job Description Review	Executed a comprehensive review of job descriptions (now accessible to staff in Workday)
Compensation and Benefits	Compensation Cycles	Implemented four yearly compensation cycles for job audits and equity submissions
Compensation and Benefits	Compensation Training	Developed and delivered a regular cadence of compensation training for managers and HR Business Partners, strengthening understanding of compensation processes and resources while ensuring compliance with applicable laws, policies, and guidelines
Compensation and Benefits	Review Retention and Sign On Bonus Policies	Developed a formal policy and standard operating procedures outlining clear criteria for retention, sign-on and bonus offers
Compensation and Benefits	Reorganization and Position Elimination Materials	Enhanced and expanded reorganization and position elimination resources, including manager and staff toolkits, templates and communications, while streamlining the approval process for greater efficiency and consistency
Compensation and Benefits	Compensation Support	Added a compensation consultant to assist in recruitment and job classification
Compensation and Benefits	Staff Pay Equity Study	Executed a non-union staff pay equity study to identify and address pay disparities
Compensation and Benefits	Benefit Program Review	Completed a comprehensive review of benefit programs to assess market competitiveness
Compensation and Benefits	Employee Education Program	Began including non-degree courses offered by Brown's School of Professional Studies
Compensation and Benefits	Benefit Enhancements	Enhanced adoption and parental leave programs Added pet insurance as a voluntary benefit Eliminated waiting period for dental Added stepchildren to Tuition Aid Program (TAP)
Compensation and Benefits	Enhance ADA Process and Service Delivery	Developed an in-house strategy to manage ADA accommodations more efficiently and effectively, strengthening compliance, streamlining case management and reporting, and enhancing the overall experience for faculty and staff through improved service delivery
Compensation and Benefits	Employee Assistance Program	Transitioned services to Spring Health for enhancements
Compensation and Benefits	SECURE 2.0 Provision Adoption	Conducted a comprehensive review of SECURE 2.0 elective and mandatory provisions, implementing required and adopted changes across both Defined Contribution Plans
Compensation and Benefits	Benefits Technology	Implemented customer service technology for benefits programs to enhance operational efficiency and improve processes, including expanding employee self-service capabilities
Professional Development	Essentials Programs and CliftonStrengths for Managers and Staff	Launched comprehensive training programs for managers and individual contributors, establishing a foundational skill set to support the employee lifecycle and empower staff to contribute effectively to the University’s mission
Professional Development	Designated Coaching Program Pilot	Piloting executive coaching to develop senior leaders, support new executives during onboarding, foster a coaching culture university-wide and introduce career coaching for internal career growth
Professional Development	Skill-Building Program Support	Using ongoing feedback, supported the development of skill-building programs to meet staff development needs, including Communities of Practice and Discovery Through Dialogue
Professional Development	Labor Strategy Council	Established a strategic, forward-looking labor framework for campus collective bargaining (with Executive Vice President Sarah Latham)
Professional Development	Staff Development Day and BEAR Day	Reimagined events with record attendance
Professional Development	BEAR Jamboree	Held a new employee engagement and networking event (200+ staff attended)
Professional Development	Manager Journey Map	Created a map for managers that explains various training and development offerings
Professional Development	Next-Level E-Learning	Created 14 self-directed e-learning modules based on staff needs
Professional Development	Training for Union Managers	Collaborated with area VPs and HR Business Partners to provide manager training on updates and changes from recently ratified contracts
Employee Performance	Restructuring of Employee & Labor Relations	Restructured Brown’s Employee and Labor Relations functions to improve efficiency and service delivery
Employee Performance	Case Management Technology	Implemented an Employee and Labor Relations case management system to centralize case tracking and ensure consistent handling, while enabling real-time reporting, data insights and analytics
Employee Performance	Departmental Process Continuity	Reviewed and updated all Employee Relations documents, forms and processes to ensure accuracy, clarity and alignment with current practices
Offboarding	Staff Retention and Engagement	Expanded the use of retention and exit interviews to capture actionable data and trends, informing strategies to enhance staff recruitment, retention and engagement
Offboarding	Gathering Feedback	Made improvements and adjustments that enhance the overall employee experience

In Progress Initiatives

Office of VPHR

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
UHR Communications Framework	Develop a UHR Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Framework to provide clear and consistent communications. This framework will enable UHR to ensure quality and collaboration.	FY26	In-progress
Project Management Tool Implementation	Develop a robust project management approach to include the implementation of a project management tool and UHR Project Management Team. This project management tool will allow UHR to be more efficient, transparent and effective in delivering best-in-class HR solutions.	FY26	In-progress
UHR Team Building	Create a unified oneUHR model, with a focus on UHR team building, engagement and team cohesion.	FY26	In-progress
HR Service Delivery Model	Develop a more robust HR professionals community at Brown, including enhancing the HR Business Partner Model.	FY27	In-progress
HR Data Analytics & Reporting	Develop comprehensive HR data analytics and reporting to enable Brown to make more informed HR decisions regarding its workforce and associated trends.	FY26	In-progress
HR Policies & Procedures	Develop, review and/or update all UHR Policies, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and guidelines.	FY27	In-progress
UHR New Hire Onboarding and Integration	Create a seamless and engaging onboarding experience for UHR new hires by enhancing the process to ensure every employee feels welcomed, supported and fully prepared to contribute from day one.	FY26	In-progress
UHR Google Sites	Develop internal webpages to enhance collaboration, provide greater transparency, information access and engagement.	FY26	In-progress
SOP Development - Offer Letters	Develop a standard procedure for creating and reviewing offer letters.	FY26	In-progress

Benefits & Wellness

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
Employee Wellness	Enhance Brown's wellness strategy and incentive structure to increase employee engagement and employee wellness outcomes.	FY27	In-progress
Determine future of ACA reporting, possible outsourcing	Conduct an RFP for ACA reporting vendors.	FY26	On Hold

Compensation & Organizational Services

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
Compensation and Career Pathways Initiative	Embark on a comprehensive Staff Compensation Architecture and Career Pathways initiative. This transformative project will reimagine our job leveling/classification framework and salary structures to ensure staff are compensated fairly and competitively to attract and retain a diverse and talented workforce at Brown. This initiative will also identify career pathways to help staff develop and grow.	FY27	In-progress
Enhanced Staff Job Audits	Enhance the staff job audit process to provide greater transparency for staff, managers and faculty in developing, reviewing and maintaining accurate job descriptions.	FY25	On Hold

Employee & Labor Relations

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
Re-imagine the Annual Performance Management Process	Re-imagine the staff annual performance management process to develop our staff in terms of performance, coaching and career progression.	FY27	In-progress

Learning, Development & Engagement

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
Enhance Self-directed Learning Phase 2	Continue to create next-level courses based on needs; Enhance self-directed learning through Workday Learning and LinkedIn Learning.	FY26	In-progress
Employee Engagement, Recognition, and Appreciation includes No cost recognition	Increase employee engagement through a variety of programming via feedback and measurements of current programming.	FY27	In-progress
New! FY 26: Repository of Employee Engagement videos	Archive all Staff Development Day and BEAR Day-related videos on the UHR/LDE website.	FY26	In-progress
Design, develop and deploy CCPI training	Partner with Compensation and other HR colleagues to design, develop and deploy CCPI related training for the Brown staff community	FY26	In-progress
Research How Peer Universities are Transitioning from a Traditional Compensation System to Career Pathways.	Map required skills for career path/advancement to skill building objects.	FY26	In-progress
Pilot New LCP (Tiers 1 & 2)	The reimagined LCP will be designed to empower Brown University managers to lead effectively, adaptively and with resilience, fostering high-performing and engaged teams in any organizational context.	FY26	In-progress

Talent Acquisition & Employment Services

Initiative	Description	Timeline / Status
Enhance Staff Recruitment	Enhance the Staff Recruitment strategies as an employer of choice in attracting and retaining a talented diverse workforce that includes the Employee Value Proposition, community engagement and outreach initiatives, pre-boarding and onboarding activities as well as additional hiring training and resources. Streamline the recruitment process and time to fill positions at Brown, and provide regular recruitment training for managers and HR Business Partners.	FY26	In-progress
HR Service Center Enhancements	Increase supportive/consultative resources while leveraging technology to automate transactional work when available to gain greater efficiency and effectiveness for the campus community.	FY26	In-progress
Student Employee Engagement	Student Employment engagement with campus partners (DOC - Career Exploration) to further enhance the student employment work experience on campus. The collaboration with campus student partnerships to develop greater transparency, and standardization when applicable, improve efficiency and provide valuable additional training resources.	FY26	In-progress
Student Pay Equity Study	Conduct regular staff and undergraduate student pay equity studies. This will ensure Brown proactively increases transparency and understanding of Brown's commitment to fair and equitable pay, and address any pay equity concerns.	FY26	In-Progress
GSIM Process Enhancements	Graduate Student Information Management process improvement and automation opportunities in consultation with the Graduate School and OIT to optimize and improve the graduate student experience for appointments and payment processing.	FY27	In-progress
Temporary Employment	Exploring opportunities to review temporary employment at the University through nextSource as a cost saving measure.	FY26	In-progress