Human Resources (HR) was recognized at the Excellence Canada Summit last week for achieving Silver certification in Excellence Canada's Excellence, Innovation and Wellness (EIW) program.
HR's senior leadership team accepts the Department's Silver award at the Excellence Canada Summit. Photo: Gary Roork
HR began its Excellence Canada journey in December 2015 with the launch of the EIW survey, working with Excellence Canada Coach, Catherine Neville. Employee engagement throughout the initiative was key to its success and HR achieved 100% department involvement, with employees taking part in every step of the process and many taking on leadership roles for the first time ever through this project. The “Going for Silver” experience provided HR with an opportunity to assess its strengths and areas of opportunity, develop baselines, analyze results, close identified gaps, and ensure a solid foundation to build upon in the future.
Moving forward, the university-wide integration of the EIW Standard will be supported by HR, and will see positive changes within the department, solidifying HR’s commitment to continual improvement.
About HR
Human Resources (HR) plays a key role in supporting the University’s strategic plan and Waterloo’s overarching goal of being recognized as one of the most innovative universities in the world. HR directly enables one of the strategic plan’s eight themes, the Robust Employer-Employee Relationship, which articulates two objectives: 1) to be an employer of choice for superior individuals seeking employment, and 2) to enable employees to fulfill their potential in a career at Waterloo.
HR is led by the Executive Director of Human Resources, Kenton Needham, and is supported by three HR Directors, Michelle Hollis, Lee Hornberger, and Kimberley Snage, and one Associate Director, Alfrieda Swainston. These senior leaders are engaged with the campus community and provide leadership within HR for the functional areas of talent acquisition, partner services, job evaluation, compensation and benefits, pension services, HR projects & technology, and payroll and HR administration. They encourage a continuous improvement culture within HR that is rooted in a commitment to excellence, innovation, and employee wellness.
HR develops an annual business plan that centres upon providing exceptional service to clients and defines specific service objectives and measures. It connects to and supports the objectives under the Robust Employer-Employee Relationship theme. It articulates HR’s vision, mission, strategy, and goals at the operational level and lists the department’s priority projects for the year. Integrating the EIW Standard was a key objective for 2016-17.
