HR Community of Practice
Table of Contents
The HR Community of Practice (HR CoP) is a professional network of HR managers across the University of Washington’s three campuses. Launched in 2020, the HR CoP fosters alignment on key policies, fosters the exchange of best practices, and serves as a critical channel for the cascade of HR information throughout the institution.
Membership in the HR CoP is voluntary, and encouraged for those with HR oversight. Members benefit from the expertise of their peers, candid discussions and problem-solving, and shared experience.
As our community has grown, we’ve implemented membership guidelines to ensure the group continues to support meaningful engagement, strategic communication, and broad HR alignment across UW.
Who we are
The HR CoP is for professionals whose primary role involves HR strategy, policy implementation, HR program management, or departmental oversight of functions such as recruitment, employee relations, and workforce planning. Members are typically those best positioned to:
- Implement and interpret HR policy within their unit
- Manage the appropriate cascade of HR information locally
- Drive changes to HR processes within their organizations
- Identify and resolve challenges within their organizations
Membership guidelines
Examples of roles appropriate for membership include:
- HR managers
- HR directors & administrators
- Department administrators (with significant HR oversight)
Leaders should make requests for their staff to join the community based on these criteria. With the goal of efficiency and meaningful participation, leaders are encouraged to select those best positioned to represent their department.
To request membership, an eligible employee’s manager should email Gwyneth Parmar (gparmar@uw.edu) with the employee’s name and description of their HR role.
Subscription to the HRNews listserv
Although not all roles are eligible for HR CoP membership, employees in any related role can ensure they receive all key HR updates by subscribing to the HRNews listserv. These roles include:
- Program coordinators
- Payroll managers
- Assistants to the Chair / HR assistants
- Workday HCM roles
- Operations managers
Related communities and special cases
- Workday HCM practitioners: Staff with assigned Workday HCM security roles are automatically included in the HCM Community of Practice. For questions, contact Jill Hoven (jhoven@uw.edu).
- Special meeting invitations: UWHR may occasionally extend invites to others based on topic relevance or role-specific needs.
- Career-interest membership: Managers may request HR CoP membership for an employee actively exploring an HR career path. These individuals should include a letter of interest in participating in the HR CoP mentorship program.