University of Washington Human Resources

Vision, values, and priorities

Vision: UW Human Resources supports the University of Washington’s reputation as a world-class university by cultivating a workplace where all employees are welcome, supported and able to achieve their full potential.

Mission: UW Human Resources recruits, develops, and retains staff whose work supports the University’s strategic priorities, mission and public impact. UWHR also designs and leads policies, programs, and services that shape a respectful, inclusive and high-performing workplace culture—serving all employee populations including faculty, academic personnel, staff, and student employees.

Values

Diversity: We value, support and celebrate individual differences and believe that they are integral to institutional excellence.

Equity: We seek to understand employee experiences and advance equitable policies that create pathways for historically underrepresented populations to have equal access to thrive and advance through employment at the University of Washington.

Inclusion: We strive to create a workplace with HR programs and opportunities that instill a sense of belonging and are intentionally inclusive, welcoming and supportive.

Respect: We accept the responsibility of active listening and clear communications and challenge all of those in our community to act ethically by modeling integrity, honesty and accountability.

Excellence: We strive to provide innovative and creative solutions, support a culture of compliance and foster programs that recognize and support the unique needs of the UW community.

Innovation: We collaborate with our clients and partners in developing solutions that streamline processes and produce more efficient and effective outcomes.

Areas of strategic focus for 2024 – 2026

These strategic priorities reflect the collective work of UWHR across all campuses and UW Medicine. Through institution-wide collaboration, we aim to address systemic risks, enhance workforce experiences, and align human resources efforts with UW’s public mission and strategic goals.

1. Enhancing recruitment and retention efforts through data-driven decision making and forward-thinking workforce management practices.

• Strengthen enterprise-wide accountability structures and employment practices by partnering with Compliance & Risk Services, Academic Personnel and Faculty and UW Medicine leadership to address systemic risks, improve complaint resolution processes and support a culture of employee wellbeing.
   
• Advance equity and inclusion by embedding consistent, compliant, and values-driven practices across recruitment, retention and workplace culture efforts.
   
• Equip leaders across campus and UW Medicine with actionable insights and tailored guidance to support meaningful, measurable progress in creating inclusive, respectful work environments.
   
• Advance policy, process and program improvements through data-driven decision-making leveraging institution-wide resources—including UW Medicine’s HR Data Mart and campus workforce dashboards—to deliver actionable insights that support leadership, guide workforce strategy, and assess progress toward institutional goals.
   
• Develop and implement an employee-focused customer service model to support employees and clients navigating HR policy, process and systems—grounded in input from tri-campus and UW Medicine partners.
   
• Anticipate the impacts of increasing numbers of employees becoming unionized and overtime exempt across academic and healthcare settings.
   
• Advocate for responsible use of survey tools so that employees find the experience valuable and results can be acted upon.
   

2. Investing in the structural tools and supports that bolster UWHR team effectiveness and ability to innovate.

• Serve as the institutional business owner for Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), focusing on continuous optimization of HCM processes to improve efficiency, usability and alignment with UW’s evolving workforce needs.
   
• Collaborate to enhance the University’s investment in the Workday platform by championing the implementations of Workday Recruiting and Workday Learning provide institutional suppot for Workday HR reporting and other capabilities that improve user experience, advance process efficiency and support compliance.
   
• Enhance records management capabilities and streamline responsibilities through implementation of DocFinity in conjunction with centralized and modern records management processes.
   
• Leverage AI-enabled tools that allow for greater automation and efficiency of routine tasks.
   
• Prioritize the organizational health of UWHR by listening attentively for and addressing themes in employee concerns, with a focus on retention and career development.
   
• Continue the intentional evolution of DEI within UWHR so that the work of inclusion becomes a fully shared and integrated responsibility amongst all staff.
   
• Work to identify and simplify internal complexities due to organizational structure or work processes that create barriers to fostering an inclusive and accessible workplace culture.
   

3. By sustaining long-term strategies while being agile enough to address the immediate needs of the University, UWHR nurtures enduring partnerships, develops policies and programs that are both inclusive and equitable, and prepares for both short-term and long-term fluctuations in workload that affect the UWHR team.

• Actively contribute HR perspective to conversations that impact UW’s employees and workplace culture, including supporting UW Medicine’s financial turnaround initiatives through strategic HR interventions, contributing to the Campus Climate Assessment and supporting the enterprise through financial uncertainty related to the state budget and the federal policy changes.
   
• Enhance leadership development and manager expertise through focused training efforts and ongoing outreach and communications.
   
• Strengthen workplace culture by bolstering connections, wellbeing and community.
   
• Champion collaborative solutions that align with the University’s holistic needs, by fostering mutual understanding and advancing forward-thinking strategies in key partnership discussions that involve shared goals, resources, systems and employee populations.
   
• Cultivate strong relationships with UW leaders, HR administrators, union partners, Washington State and Big 10 higher ed peers and state agencies to effectively advocate and advance solutions and processes that promote a healthy work environment and engaged workforce.