PEOPLE FOCUS - CIPD

PEOPLE FOCUS
COLLEGES: GRADUATION
HR in UCD
The HR Strategy and Development Directorate, which Rory
Corry heads up, leads on and contributes to university -wide
change initiatives. The introduction of a tailored
performance management and development system for all
staff is an example of this. A feature of this bespoke
system is to provide an opportunity for relevant
organisational level messages to be communicated to staff.
This is particularly relevant given the challenging times that
the university operates in. The HR Strategy & Development
Directorate also has responsibility for the following:
• Developing and implementing the HR strategy in
conjunction with other key groups across the university
and within HR;
• Leading and contributing to organisational
development initiatives on a university-wide basis;
• Implementing and sustaining leadership and
management development programmes, co-ordinating
and delivering appropriate training and development
programmes for staff and driving HR planning
activities across the university.
The HR Partner model has been in place in UCD for the
past 18 months and has been a first for the university
sector in Ireland. It is proving to be extremely beneficial in
ensuring more effective implementation of university -wide
policies and programmes relating to staff. Neil Young is a
HR Partner working in the HR Relationship Directorate. The
primary objective for this role is to provide strong, local HR
support to managers and staff, as follows:
• Providing guidance and advice to those with people/
HR management responsibilities to ensure they can
operate in keeping with policies and best practice;
• Assisting College Principals, Heads of School and units
to ensure effective implementation of operational and
strategic HR/local initiatives;
• Ensuring that services provided by the central HR
function are operating effectively for end users;
• Introducing services from the specialist HR functions
when appropriate to support local College Initiatives.
Elaine Hassett is Head of Recruitment and a key member of
the HR Services Directorate. The HR Services Directorate is
responsible for Recruitment, Compensation and Benefits,
Pensions and HRIS. One of their key focus areas for the past
12 months has been to review and redesign the processes,
procedures and systems in place to ensure the cost effective
provision of HR services which meet the expectations and
needs of the University. Some examples of this include:
• The introduction of an e -recruitment system across the
campus in November 2008. This on - line job application
system brings a number of benefits to the University
including an improved application process and
enhanced access for Hiring Managers leading to greater
efficiency and effectiveness and a reduced time to hire;
• The Document Management System will begin later
this year with HR taking a lead to pilot this system on
behalf of the University. This project will transform
our paper based offices and help to streamline how HR
manage both physical and electronic documents.
UCD HR also provides an employee relations service that is
available to all staff and which comes under the broad
banner of the Employee Relations and Equality
Directorate. The service ranges from the provision of
employee relations, equality and diversity advice on
policies and procedures in the University to representation
at third party hearings.
Three New Chartered Fellows at U.C.D.
As part of the Institutes’ membership upgrading initiative three more members of the Human Resource team at
University College Dublin have achieved Chartered Fellowship.
The new chartered fellows are photographed at a reception in the CIPD Ireland office with Mike McDonnell and Barry Hill (Lto R): Neil Young;
Rory Carey; and Elaine Hassett
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