Together We Thrive: Driving HR innovation at UW
UWHR supports the Together We Thrive financial program through process improvement efforts to enhance efficiency as well as strategic, innovative, and inclusive HR practices that not only attract and retain top talent but also contribute to the university’s financial resilience and operational excellence.
Resource management
UWHR’s process improvement efforts are focused on initiatives that streamline HR processes and optimize resource use, directly contributing to the University of Washington’s “Together We Thrive” campaign. Below are some of our key actions designed to improve service delivery without compromising quality.
Workday Recruiting: Scheduled for implementation in the summer, Workday Recruiting will enhance our recruitment efficiency and improve the overall applicant and hiring manager experience.
Workday business process improvements: Review of multiple approval workflows to streamline and create efficiencies, minimization of send backs, and improved instructions and guides that integrate policy with the transaction.
Process improvement in partnership with Academic Personnel and Faculty (APF): UWHR and APF are closely partnering on several processes that pass back and forth between the unit, APF and HCM Operations to streamline steps and ensure that decisions that receive dean level approval are not triple checked once shared with APF or UWHR.
Evolving to meet today’s needs
We recognize that our ability to effectively support the University of Washington community hinges on our agility and responsiveness to evolving needs. As part of our ongoing commitment to optimizing operations and enhancing service delivery, we have undertaken several significant transformations:
Integration of Service Center Responsibilities: We’ve rapidly transitioned frontline support responsibilities of our Integrated Service Center into UWHR, centralizing and streamlining the way we offer support to ensure quicker, more consistent responses to HR inquiries.
Consolidation of Academic and Faculty HR Functions: By consolidating similar work from the Office of Academic Personnel and Faculty Affairs into UWHR, we are unifying our approach to HR management across all employee types. This strategic alignment helps streamline processes and improve efficiency.
Inclusion of Academic HR Partners: We have welcomed academic HR partners into our HR Community of Practice. This inclusion fosters a unified HR voice and drives consistent practices across the university, ensuring that all employees receive the same high standard of HR service.
Formation of the Employee Experience Team: We have consolidated The Whole U, Combined Fund Drive (CFD), and WorkLife programs into the newly formed Employee Experience Team. This team is dedicated to enhancing the overall well-being and engagement of every university employee by providing integrated and holistic support services.
Contribute to HR Excellence
Your involvement and feedback are vital to our ongoing efforts to refine and elevate our HR services. Below are two opportunities for you to contribute to our ongoing efforts to deliver excellence across the university.
Help Us Innovate: If you have encountered processes or systems that feel cumbersome or could be improved, please share your thoughts. Your insights are invaluable in helping us refine and enhance our operations. Email your process improvement ideas to uwvphr@uw.edu and join us in shaping a more efficient and responsive HR department.
Join Our Unified HR Effort: As we strive to create a more integrated and efficient HR environment at UW, we welcome conversations with departments that handle decentralized HR functions such as recruitment, transactional Workday management, organizational development, training, and wellness initiatives. Bringing these services into our centralized framework allows for consistency, enhanced service delivery, and a stronger support network for all employees. If you’re part of a team managing these HR functions and are interested in exploring integration possibilities, let’s start the conversation. Email uwvphr@uw.edu.