Oxford hr strategy 2009

1. REWARDING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE AT OXFORD
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY
1.
1.1
Introduction
Oxford’s Human Resources (HR) Strategy relates, except where otherwise stated, to all
those employed by the University and is designed to support the University’s mission
to achieve and sustain excellence in every area of its teaching and research, to maintain
and develop its historical position as a world-class university, and to enrich the
international, national, and regional communities through the fruits of its research and
the skills of its graduates. It reflects Oxford’s key values of academic freedom,
subsidiarity, collegiality and the pursuit of excellence, as developed in the Corporate
Plan, 2005-6 to 2009-101 and as set out in the Strategic Plan for 2008-9 to 2012-132; it
is designed to deliver the Personnel Objective of the Strategic Plan, namely to attract,
develop, reward and retain academic staff of the highest international calibre, and to
make the University of Oxford and its colleges employers of choice for all staff in the
international, national, and local environments.
Our first strategy for the period 2001-4 focussed on the six priority areas identified by
HEFCE for the first phase of the Rewarding and Developing Staff (RDS) initiative3.
There were very substantial achievements during the initial phase and many of the
initiatives in that plan continue, funded by HEFCE’s baselined allocation. After 2001
HEFCE’s requirements broadened to reflect the challenges identified in the
Government’s 2003 White Paper4 and, in respect of the second phase of the RDS
initiative (2004-8), focused specifically on teaching career progression (including
specific recognition schemes), the use of flexible reward systems underpinned by
institution-wide job evaluation (in the light of the National Framework Agreement on
salary modernisation), annual performance review, the development of researchers and
the professionalisation of support staff; and there have been significant developments in
employment legislation (e.g. the Race Relations (Amendment) Act, the Fixed-Term
Employees Regulations, and the Employment (Equality) Age Regulations 2006). This
current strategy reflects the HR objectives and priorities of the collegiate University, as
well as all of those external requirements.
In developing the current HR strategy we have taken a broad perspective, involving
extensive consultation, strategic risk assessment5, and extensive self-assessment of
progress so far, in line with HEFCE’s requirements, to ensure that all aspects of HR
management which are essential to the achievement of the University’s Strategic Plan
1.2
1.3
Supplement *1 to the Oxford University Gazette, Vol. 136 (September 2005),
http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2005-
6/supps/corporate.pdf
2
See http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/pra/strategic_plan/.
3
The six areas were recruitment and retention, staff development and training, equal
opportunities, reviews of

2. staffing needs, annual performance review and reward, and tackling poor performance.
4
The Future of Higher Education, DfES, January 2003
5
The University’s strategic risk register identifies failure to take adequate action on
salaries, other benefits, and
balance of duties as a major risk to the University and to the fulfilment of its Strategic
Plan in terms of recruitment,
retention, reward, and motivation of academic and other senior staff. Relevant objectives
in the HR strategy are key
responses for managing this risk.
1
1
-2-
are covered. The HR Strategy is therefore a comprehensive strategy designed to cover
all key HR initiatives.
1.4
The objectives of the strategy are grouped under broad five themes, namely (A)
recruiting high-calibre staff; (B) managing and developing staff; (C) rewarding and
retaining high-calibre staff; (D) the new reward framework; and (E) monitoring and
evaluating the strategy.
Equality and diversity principles are not separately identified but integrated throughout
the new strategy in line with the University’s aim to embed equal opportunities
monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment in all aspects of policy development and
practice.
The remainder of this document sets out the institutional context for the HR strategy
and its links to the Strategic Plan and other strategies. It reviews the principal HR
issues which the University intends to address, and sets out specific objectives,
priorities, and actions.
Oxford University’s mission and corporate plan
The HR strategy supports the fundamental aim of the University’s mission, namely to
achieve and sustain excellence in all areas of its teaching and research, by focusing on
the need to recruit, retain, and reward staff of the highest calibre in all employment
groups, and to foster the motivation, morale, and continued development of such staff.
The strategy underpins key elements of the specific objectives which the University has
adopted in support of its mission1, which are, in brief, that the University will:
provide the facilities and support for its staff to pursue innovative research,
building upon Oxford’s outstanding research record;
promote challenging and rigorous teaching which benefits from a fruitful
interaction with the research environment;
maintain and make best use of the advantages of its independent colleges, where
members’ intellectual and personal development is fostered within a stimulating,
multidisciplinary academic community;
attract students of the highest calibre, from the UK and internationally, to its
undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education courses, widening access by

3. actively seeking applications from students from diverse backgrounds.
1.5
1.6
2.
2.1
2.2
The University’s Corporate Plan was agreed in 2005 after wide discussion and
consultation and identified a number of critical HR issues. The Corporate Plan was then
developed into a Strategic Plan for the period to 2013, and the personnel elements of
that plan drew on, and are fully reflected in, the HR strategy.
The following actions are being taken forward by a Task Force on Academic
Employment, the work of which is of the highest importance to the future of the
collegiate University and its HR strategies, policies, and practices:
The University’s mission statement is at http://www.ox.ac.uk/aboutoxford/annualreview/
mission.shtml
2.3
1
-3-
a review of the principles relating to all academic appointments made by the University
alone or jointly with colleges, and the effect of current and possible alternative
arrangements on both workload and the achievement of academic objectives;
career structure and career development, including the implications for titles,
remuneration, duties, and the role of developmental appraisal;
a review of academic salary structures, including the number and structure of pay
grades, promotion, arrangements for recruitment and retention payments, for merit pay
and market pay, and for allowances and other additional payments and benefits;
the implications of inequalities in remuneration between the colleges;
the promotion of the principles of equality and diversity; and
a review of arrangements for tenure.
The deliberations of the task force have major relevance across all of the themes of the
HR
Strategy. Its work represents in itself a substantial theme of the strategy, a key objective
of
which is to take its discussions forward towards recommendations for the future.
Hereafter in
this paper and in the general objectives that follow, other particular issues which will be
affected by the task force’s proposals are marked (TF).

4. 2.4
Other key HR activities emphasised in the Corporate Plan and the Strategic Plan
comprise:
dealing with excessive workloads and rebalancing workloads, ensuring that academics
devote sufficient time to their core activities, reducing bureaucratic burdens (TF);
recruiting and retaining scholars of the highest distinction and potential, and providing
extra administrative support and staff development opportunities, in order to contribute
to the delivery of the strategy on research;
increasing flexibility in the assignment of teaching duties, preparing contract
research
staff (CRS) and graduate students for academic practice, and rewarding successful
teaching, in order to contribute to the delivery of the strategy on teaching and learning
(TF);
finding ways to integrate CRS more fully into the collegiate University, as part of a
general initiative to improve CRS management and career development (TF);
creating improved systems for developmental appraisal and staff development
which
are consistent with Oxford’s values and institutional structures; and
devising a coherent and effective system of management and administration across
the
collegiate University.
None of these objectives is fully achievable without a significant improvement in the
finances of the collegiate University. Given the range and importance of the HR issues
set out above, it is crucial that significant funds continue to be applied to HR purposes.
Beyond that, the Strategic Plan indicates that improved reward systems for staff will be
2.5
-4-
a first priority call on the additional income Oxford hopes to generate under its strategy
on finance.
3.
3.1
Development of the HR strategy
In addition to a careful assessment of strategic direction, the University’s HR strategy
derives from analysis of quantitative trends over a considerable period. Staffing,
recruitment, and turnover statistics have been monitored in detail for many years, with
findings reviewed regularly. Data on recruitment and retention problems have played a
key role in the University’s development of discretionary salary systems which are
more extensive than in many other universities. Further detailed analyses of recruitment
and retention issues affecting academic staff, as well as updating market pay data, are
planned in order to refine the targeting of HR initiatives.

5. The University’s concern for equality of opportunity has led to the development of
monitoring arrangements to evaluate the impact of HR initiatives (including
recruitment monitoring and regular equal pay audits), which have in turn informed
specific positive action initiatives.
This HR strategy has been developed by the University’s Personnel Committee and
follows extensive internal consultation with academic divisions, inter-collegiate bodies,
departmental managers and joint committees with trade union and staff representatives
over the period of the evolution of personnel strategy since 2000 and in the context of
the development of the Corporate and Strategic Plans. Achieving the aims of the HR
strategy will require close dialogue between the Personnel Committee, Council and its
main committees (especially the Planning and Resource Allocation Committee), the
academic divisions, the Department for Continuing Education, and those responsible
for providing academic and other services. It will also involve close co-operation with
the colleges, as well as detailed discussion and negotiation with staff representatives
and departmental managers. Formal mechanisms to review the progress and
effectiveness of the strategy, and to refine it as appropriate, are embedded in the
strategy itself under theme E.
3.2
3.3
Factors underpinning the strategy
3.4
The strategy has been developed in recognition of the following key factors:
the values set out in the Corporate Plan and the Strategic Plan, and in the
consultative papers issued by the task force, relating to academic freedom,
subsidiarity, collegiality, and the pursuit of excellence;
the high degree of personal responsibility inherent in world-class research,
teaching, and supporting activities;
the collegiate structure of the University and of its undergraduate teaching;
the important role played by all staff in enabling the institution to achieve its
mission and the need to tailor approaches to becoming an employer of choice
appropriately in respect of each staff group;
the particular importance of maintaining and enhancing the quality of our academic
staff in general, as well as recruiting and retaining key individual academics;
-5-
the structure of the University’s governance, which combines central planning and
oversight with substantial devolution of decision-making on detailed matters to
bodies best equipped to take the decisions;1
the need to streamline regulatory and bureaucratic burdens and ensure that the HR
Strategy and other initiatives do not themselves add to these burdens;
the importance of complying with employment legislation, developing a new

6. reward framework, and contributing to conceptions of best practice in the sector;
the importance of diversity and equality and of appropriate impact assessments to
monitor the effect of policy and practice on all staff groups in accordance with
relevant legislation;
the importance of monitoring the effect of HR policies and practices on the
evolving needs and aspirations of the University’s departments; and
the limited resources available to the University, within which expenditure on
staffing issues must be properly prioritised, and the impact on those resources of
increasing costs in areas such as pension contributions and employer’s national
insurance, as well as pay.
3.5
Working within the tensions characterised above, the strategy has been designed to
avoid a proliferation of small centrally-driven initiatives, and to create flexibility within
a general framework so that detailed decisions can be taken at divisional or department
level, with appropriate support from the centre, to respond to specific local needs. This
is particularly reflected in the devolution of the recurrent RDS funding en bloc to
spending sectors, on condition that they devote these sums to the objectives of the HR
Strategy but with the freedom to determine the precise use of those funds as between
those objectives, in the light of local priorities.
Structure of the HR Strategy
The strategy is presented under five broad themes, the first three of which reflect the
main stages of employment: recruiting high-calibre staff (theme A), managing and
developing them effectively (theme B), and rewarding and retaining them (theme C).
Underpinning these three main areas is a commitment to providing professional support
from the centre to assist departments to match staffing profiles to academic plans.
Theme D reflects the requirement to establish and develop a modernised salary
structure and to harmonise conditions between different staff groups. Theme E pulls
together a set of second-level objectives concerned with monitoring and evaluation of
the strategy, and contains actions to further strengthen HR management information
systems.
The 2001-4 HR strategy had a separate heading for ‘equality of opportunity’ objectives,
as required by the HEFCE template. All of our policies are informed by our well-
developed equal opportunities strategy, which is promulgated via an annual rolling
4.
4.1
4.2
Throughout this document and the strategy itself, references to organisational units
such as divisions and
departments may reflect a wider variety of spending body, in the light of the University’s
particular governance
arrangements.

7. 1
-6-
action plan. Staffing and recruitment are monitored by ethnicity, gender, and
disability,
and the results are reviewed annually. Any data suggesting under-representation or
disparate impact are further investigated, resulting in the development of appropriate
positive action initiatives. In the past this has included an Athena-funded research
project investigating the reasons for the relatively small number of applications from
women for academic posts in science, engineering, and technology: as a result of this a
highly successful Career Development Fellowship scheme was established under the
first phase of the HR strategy, and continued in the second phase, as one means of
widening the pool of suitably qualified applicants for such posts, including women and
ethnic minority applicants. Such considerations will continue to feature in the key
priorities for the current HR Strategy. The strategy covers part-time and full-time staff
equally: and contains specific objectives in relation to fixed-term contract research
staff.
4.3
In line with the University’s policy to integrate equality and diversity issues into all its
activities, and the requirements of the recent equality legislation, such objectives have
therefore been included within each of the main themes, although there is also a
specific and separately identified objective to monitor the University’s progress
towards equality of opportunity within theme E, and diversity issues figure prominently
in our key priorities and actions for the next period. The University’s Head of Equality
and Diversity has been a member of the HR Strategy Steering Group.
In the first two phases of HECFE’s RDS initiative, the recurrent and non-recurrent
funding was internally earmarked by the University for use by specific spending sectors
for particular HR purposes. From 2007-8 onwards, the recurrent (first-phase) funding
was in principle allocated internally under the University’s Resource Allocation
Method, subject to the provision of sufficient funding to the services to enable them to
continue to undertake the objectives which the HR Strategy requires them to pursue.
This proviso covered two elements: (i) the services, like academic departments,
continued to receive sufficient funding to enable them to carry out activities which all
departments are required by the strategy to undertake; and (ii) the particular services
which directly undertake specific HR Strategy objectives continued to receive
resources to enable them to continue to do so. From 2008-9 all the relevant funding for
Oxford under RDS became recurrent, and was allocated internally in that way on the
understanding that relevant spending sectors will continue to devote appropriate
resources to the objectives of this HR Strategy for which they remain responsible.
The strategy is kept under review by the HR Strategy Steering Group (a forum which
draws together all human resources services and includes representatives of Personnel
and Administrative Services, the Oxford Learning Institute, the Diversity and Equality
Unit, Occupational Health, and Health and Safety) and by the University’s Personnel
Committee and Council, in particular in the light of ongoing implementation of the
University’s Strategic Plan and the work of the Task Force on Academic Employment,
outcomes from which will be key to the further implementation of the HR Strategy.
4.4

8. 4.5
-7-
5.
Overview of the HR Strategy themes
Theme A: recruiting high-calibre staff
5.1
This theme is critical to the University’s position as an international centre of academic
excellence. In particular, the ability to attract the very best academics worldwide is very
likely to require individual arrangements, while we will also need to equip ourselves to
continue to recruit high-calibre staff in an international market to all of our senior posts.
A commitment to equality and diversity is integral to our recruitment objectives. Thus,
more broadly, widening the recruitment pool for academic posts and becoming an
‘employer of choice’ in all staff groups will help improve our ability to compete and
attract the best and most diverse fields of candidates. The continued use of targeted
discretionary payment schemes, that have been shown to be effective in recruiting staff
and that are consistent with equal pay requirements, will enable the University to
recruit high-calibre staff while complying with employment legislation. Provision for
market supplements will further increase the University’s ability to respond to
exceptional recruitment pressures in areas of critical skill shortage.
Theme B: managing and developing staff; achieving departmental staffing objectives
5.2
Under this theme we will continue to improve the quality of leadership and
management at all levels; and work towards mechanisms for enabling academic staff
and senior administrators to focus on key priorities, and systems for appropriate career
and professional development for all staff. Underpinning the latter is the development
of more effective appraisal for all staff to support institutional needs and facilitate staff
development. Specific staff development initiatives for the professionalisation of key
groups of support staff are also included. Managers at all levels need timely and
effective support from HR services if they are to deliver plans within the requirements
of employment and other legislation, and lead the management of change at a time of
considerable major developments within the University (not least in terms of IT and
other systems). Particular importance is attached to reviewing staffing needs in the light
of institutional plans and facilitating transition to new staffing profiles where required;
and to dealing fairly and effectively with restructuring, redeployment, redundancy and
capability issues. All of these may require, within financial constraints, more ‘hands-
on’ support for departments from Personnel Services and the Oxford Learning Institute.
Within this broad objective, special emphasis is also placed on equipping
administrative staff to provide excellent support for the University’s mission; and on
the development of research staff in order to ensure that the University retains and
enhances its leading position as a centre of research excellence. Building on the
achievements under the Research Careers Initiative and the pilot activity undertaken
locally during the first phase of the RDS initiative, a significant enhancement of
support and development for fixed-term contract research staff is underway. This being
a very diverse staff group, equality principles will be particularly important in the
design and impact evaluation of staff development activities.
5.3

9. Theme C: rewarding and retaining high-calibre staff
5.4
This theme builds on recent developments to extend the range of ways of rewarding
and retaining world-class academics and other high-calibre staff. Reward is not
narrowly defined as simply pay, but includes other factors that have been shown to
influence individuals’ career decisions, such as work-life balance. Special attention will
-8-
be given to new initiatives focused on career progression and specific recognition and
reward in respect of teaching excellence. Equality and diversity principles are
integrated through the monitoring and evaluation of general and specific initiatives, and
through targeted staff development which promotes career progression amongst under-
represented groups.
Theme D: new reward framework
5.5
A modern flexible framework for reward, and greater harmonisation of terms and
conditions of employment, provides the overall structure within which themes A to C
can be implemented. The aim has been to create a single, rational, transparent, and fair
structure underpinned by analytical job evaluation to replace the previous plethora of
pay scales and grading arrangements. The new framework is intended to support a
flexible reward system in an objective and transparent way, consistent with equal pay
legislation and the requirements of HEFCE and the JNCHES national framework
agreement (for example in relation to market pay, and the annual departmental merit
award scheme to reward exceptional performance). The new structure removes
confusing and unhelpful demarcation between staff groups, and will enhance career
development, and reduce administrative overheads through more streamlined
processes. This theme has major financial, organisational, and employee relations
implications.
The University will continue, as under the first phases of the RDS initiative, to devote a
considerable proportion of the HR strategy funding direct to differential pay to address
recruitment, retention, and reward of merit according the needs of the different staff
groups across the University.
5.6
Theme E: monitoring and evaluating the strategy and the requirements of departments;
strengthening HR management information systems
5.7
Monitoring and evaluating the HR Strategy is integral to the University’s internal
planning and budgetary procedures. The processes outlined in Theme E will enable the
University to facilitate delivery of academic plans, assist the appropriate allocation of
resources, and ensure compliance with employment legislation. The processes include
more effective consultation arrangements, greater integration of an HR dimension into
planning processes at all levels, and fostering the interaction between the University
and colleges on the development of HR policy and practice. Provision of key HR
information to those who need it, and replacing our current payroll/personnel system,
OPENdoor, with an enhanced HR information system are also covered. In particular,
the impact of policies on all groups, especially in the light of recent equality legislation,
will be monitored to avoid disproportionate effects on certain staff groups.

10. -9-
REWARDING AND DEVELOPING PEOPLE AT OXFORD
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY
Major themes; general objectives; and specific key priorities and actions
Theme A: recruiting high calibre staff
This theme is critical to the University’s position as an international centre of academic
excellence. In
particular, the ability to attract the very best academics worldwide is very likely to
require individual
arrangements, while we will also need to equip ourselves to continue to recruit high-
calibre staff in an
international market to all of our senior posts. A commitment to equality and diversity is
integral to our
recruitment objectives. Thus, more broadly, widening the recruitment pool for academic
posts and
becoming an ‘employer of choice’ in all staff groups will help improve our ability to
compete and
attract the best and most diverse fields of candidates, and also enable us to meet our
commitments
under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and other equality legislation. The continued
use of
targeted discretionary payment schemes, that have been shown to be effective in
recruiting staff and
that are consistent with equal pay requirements, will enable the University to recruit high-
calibre staff
while complying with employment legislation. Provision for market supplements will
further increase
the University’s ability to respond to exceptional recruitment pressures in areas of critical
skill
shortage.
Objectives
A.1.
A.2.
A.3.
A.4.
A.5.
To continue to recruit world-class staff at the most senior levels (TF)
To continue to attract outstanding lecturers (both nationally and internationally) by
developing a
more effective and focussed approach to recruitment to academic posts (TF)
To recruit key academic-related and university support staff through the targeted use of
cost-
effective, fair, and transparent discretionary payment schemes
To become an ‘employer of choice’ in the local and national labour markets for support
and
academic-related staff, widening the recruitment pool in specific respects

11. To review the operation of the electoral board processes for the appointment of statutory
professors and readers
Theme B: managing and developing staff; achieving departmental staffing objectives
In this theme we attempt to work towards highly effective leadership and management at
all levels,
mechanisms for enabling academic staff and senior administrators to focus on key
priorities, and
systems for appropriate career and professional development for all staff. Underpinning
the latter is
the development of more effective appraisal for all staff to support institutional needs and
facilitate
staff development. Specific staff development initiatives for the professionalisation of
key groups of
support staff are also included.
Effective high-level leadership facilitates the delivery of academic plans at all
levels, and
inspires and motivates university staff by giving clear direction and support. Similarly,
middle- and
first-line managers are crucial to the motivation and performance of staff across the
University, and to
the delivery of the University’s policies (including this strategy). Managers in all these
positions need
timely and effective support from HR services if they are to deliver plans within the
requirements of
employment and other legislation, and lead the management of change at a time of
considerable
major developments within the University (not least in terms of IT and other systems).
Particular
importance is attached to reviewing staffing needs in the light of institutional plans and
facilitating
transition to new staffing profiles where required; and on dealing fairly and effectively
with
restructuring, redeployment, redundancy and capability issues. All of these may require,
within
financial constraints, more ‘hands-on’ support for departments from Personnel Services
and the
Oxford Learning Institute.
Within this broad objective, special emphasis is also placed on equipping
administrative staff to
provide excellent support for the University’s mission; and on the development of
research staff in
order to ensure that the University retains and enhances its leading position as a centre of
research
excellence. Building on the achievements under the Research Careers Initiative and the
pilot activity
- 10 -

12. undertaken locally during the first phase of the RDS initiative, a significant enhancement
of support
and development and for research staff is underway.
Equality and diversity principles are integral to all aspects of staff management and
development, including the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of initiatives.
Objectives
B.1.
B.2.
To further enhance the effectiveness of those who lead the University at the highest levels
To seek to reduce and/or vary the range of demands on academic staff, reducing and/or
rebalancing workloads, so that they can focus on their core role in research and teaching
activities key to the institution’s academic mission (TF): this includes, but is not limited
to
increasing flexibility in the assignment of teaching duties, and preparing contract research
staff and graduate students for academic practice
To manage and develop research staff more effectively (TF), including finding ways to
integrate CRS more fully into the collegiate University
To develop more effective appraisal for all staff which supports institutional needs and
facilitates staff development, through improved systems which are consistent with
Oxford’s
values and institutional structures
To assist departments to identify and achieve their staffing needs
To strengthen administrative provision at the local level in order to manage strategic
change
To develop operational HR expertise and ensure effective policy implementation
To improve the quality of leadership at middle and first-line management levels
To provide staff development and other infrastructural provision to support equality
initiatives
To establish an institutional framework ensuring equal access to training and
development
tailored to the needs of each different group of staff
To review grievance and disciplinary procedures in light of legislative change and other
relevant developments
To develop more effective mechanisms for staff communication and consultation
B.3.
B.4.
B.5.
B.6.
B.7.
B.8.
B.9.
B.10.
B.11.
B.12.
Theme C: rewarding and retaining high-calibre staff
This theme builds on recent developments to extend the range of ways of rewarding and

13. retaining
world-class academics and other high-calibre staff. Reward is not narrowly defined as
pay, but
includes other factors that have been shown to influence individuals’ career decisions,
such as work-
life balance. Special attention is given to new initiatives focused on career progression
and specific
recognition and reward schemes in respect of teaching excellence. Equality and diversity
principles
are integrated through the monitoring and evaluation of general and specific initiatives,
and through
targeted staff development which promotes career progression amongst under-
represented groups.
Objectives
C.1.
C.2.
To ensure the long-term retention of excellent academic staff (TF)
To retain scholars of the highest distinction, and other key staff, in acute cases through
the
use, where necessary and objectively justifiable, of discretionary payment schemes which
are
cost effective and consistent with equal pay for work of equal value (TF)
To hold regular, well-funded gathered field exercises for distinction awards for professors
and
readers in post (TF)
To define, measure, and consider appropriate rewards for ‘teaching excellence’ in the
Oxford
context, in consultation with the colleges (TF)
To reward exceptional performance amongst university support staff and academic-
related
staff
To provide terms and conditions of employment which encourage existing staff to view
the
University as their employer of choice (TF)
C.3.
C.4.
C.5.
C.6.
- 11 -
Theme D: new reward framework
A modern flexible framework for reward, and greater harmonisation of terms and
conditions of
employment, provides the overall structure within which themes A to C can be
implemented. The aim
has been to create a single, rational, transparent, and fair structure underpinned by
analytical job

14. evaluation to replace the previous plethora of pay scales and grading arrangements. The
new
framework is intended to support a flexible reward system in an objective and transparent
way
consistent with equal pay legislation and the requirements of HEFCE and the JNCHES
national
framework agreement (for example in relation to discretionary and market pay). The new
structure
removes confusing and unhelpful demarcation between staff groups, and will enhance
career
development, and reduce administrative overheads through more streamlined processes.
This theme
has major financial, organisational, and employee relations implications.
Objectives
D.1.
D.2.
D.3.
To reform salary structures (TF)
To ensure that various categories of staff receive salaries commensurate with the range of
duties that they perform (TF)
To continue to harmonise terms and conditions of employment in the context of a
developing
reward framework
Theme E: monitoring and evaluating the strategy and the requirements of departments;
strengthening
HR management information systems
Monitoring and evaluating the HR Strategy is integral to the University’s internal
planning and
budgetary procedures. The processes outlined below, which include consultation
arrangements and
greater integration of an HR dimension into planning processes at all levels, will enable
the University
to facilitate the delivery of academic plans, assist the appropriate allocation of resources,
and ensure
compliance with employment legislation. Providing key HR information to those who
need it, and
replacing our current payroll/personnel system with an enhanced HR information system
are also
covered. In particular, the impact of policies on all groups, especially in the light of
recent equality
legislation, will be monitored to avoid disproportionate effects on certain staff groups.
Objectives
E.1.
E.2.
To provide accurate and timely HR information in support of policy and practice
To consult divisions, departments and colleges on the University’s HR strategy, policies

15. and
practices; with a particular emphasis on discussions with colleges to ensure that both the
University and the colleges are employers of choice for all staff in the international,
national
and local environments
To replace OPENdoor, the University’s payroll/personnel system
To assess the impact of the University’s policies and practices to ensure that all staff are
afforded equal opportunities at entry into employment and within employment (TF)
To monitor staff patterns at key intervention points to ensure that the University’s
policies to
promote equality of opportunity are having the intended effect (TF)
To conduct evaluations of staff development and leadership programmes, including
assessments of their impact.
E.3.
E.4.
E.5.
E.6.
- 12 -
SPECIFIC KEY MEDIUM-TERM PRIORITIES AND ACTIONS
Divisions, departments, faculties, and relevant administrative services will continue to
pursue
the general objectives on pp. 9-11.
In addition, following a self-assessment exercise, and wide consultation, the Personnel
Committee and Council have approved the following specific key medium-term priorities
and
actions.
Recruiting, retaining, and rewarding high-calibre staff
Priorities
to take the work of the Task Force on Academic Employment decisively forward,
particularly in relation to the optimal use of increased income to improve the terms
and conditions of academic staff, career progression for lecturers, revised contractual
conditions for lecturers to permit greater variation in the pattern of duties, and the
grade structure below lecturer, taking account of equality issues in general, and in
particular the goals set for academic women’s career development in the Gender
Equality Scheme;
to continue to focus on the most pressing recruitment, retention, and reward issues in
relation to academic, academic-related, and university support staff, particularly at
senior levels.
Managing and developing staff
Priorities
to establish and implement systems for developmental appraisal and personal and
career development which are consistent with Oxford’s values and institutional
structures (and with the principles set out in the integrated Equal Opportunities
Policy), with an initial focus on university support staff, and to strengthen
management training in this area;

16. to sharpen the focus of work on contract research staff and expedite outcomes, in
particular in terms of integrating those contract research staff on an academic career
trajectory more fully into the research, teaching, and administrative work of the
collegiate University, taking account of the particular barriers faced by women and
black and ethnic minority staff;
to develop a single profile of staff development needs and a strategy for staff and
career development (not least for support staff);
to improve managers’ understanding of tools for staff development;
to ensure that equality principles inform the provision of staff development, and that
staff development supports the University’s strategy for equality and diversity;
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to improve training and support for those acquiring management responsibilities;
to continuously improve operational arrangements for personnel services, including
revised arrangements to link the centre, the divisions, the departments, and the
faculties on a ‘business partner’ model, implementing Internal Audit
recommendations on risk management, and fostering a more responsive and less
risk-averse approach;
to streamline procedures to produce a transparent, fair, proportionate and effective
set of arrangements in relation to grievance, disciplinary, and capability procedures,
and to strengthen management training in these areas;
to further develop a coherent and responsive approach to workplace stress
management;
to consider the introduction of a policy for recording and managing sickness
absence.
Monitoring and further development of the HR Strategy, management information, and
the requirements of employing departments
Priorities
to implement a new HR Information System, in consultation with all stakeholders, in
order, in particular, to foster efficiencies in personnel administration, to integrate
more fully the planning of staff numbers with other planning issues, to monitor
recruitment and retention issues, and to ensure efficient arrangements for the
administration of staff development, to inform equality impact assessments, and to
inform discussions on the size and composition of the workforce (so that these can
be seen alongside considerations of the size of the student body, research activity,
capital developments, and estates provision);
to improve liaison between the University and the colleges on personnel issues,

17. including all elements of these specific key priorities which affect joint academic
appointments;
to improve liaison between the various human resources functions within the
University;
to ensure that good practice on diversity and equal opportunities informs the range of
our HR policies and practice, that monitoring arrangements are complete and
systematic, and that the conclusions drawn from this monitoring and other impact
assessments are consistently followed through (e.g. in terms of the recruitment of
women academics and of disabled people);
to conduct and analyse the results of an equal pay audit;
to review arrangements for staff consultation, especially in relation to support staff
and to the requirements for consultation and meaningful involvement under the Race
Relations (Amendment) Act, the Disability Discrimination Act, and the Equality
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Act, and including staff opinion surveys, and to maintain good employee relations;
to survey the perception of HR functions such as central support on occupational
health and staff welfare, and to review training and education programmes in this
area;
to contribute to the development of a more cohesive and streamlined system of
administration in the collegiate University.
G:HR Strategy2009current strategy.doc