Human Resources Service

124

Mission

The mission of the Human Resources Service (HRS) is to assist and advise the President and the Secretary General in organising and managing the EUI’s administrative operations and supporting the EUI’s academic branch in the field of human resources. This includes a broad Director of Service: set of duties in recruiting, administering, trainJette Helding Pedersen ing and advising EUI staff. HRS is involved in developing policies and procedures, supporting performance management, and maintaining productive staff relations. The focus areas of HRS in 2019 were twofold: as administration supporter linking directly to the seven strategic objectives of the Action Plan of the EUI services, and as Strategic Advisor using the HR expertise to address organisational challenges.

Realisation of Yearly Objectives

HRS had an ambitious action plan for 2019 combined with the usual importance of maintaining business continuity in administrating and monitoring all employment contracts and their linked salaries, allowances and rights. The HRS administered 590 staff members in eight staff categories each with their own rules and terms of employment. This includes 98 retired staff. HRS also issued 44 traineeship agreements in 2019.

HRS as administration supporter HRS took several initiatives to support the EUI administrative review by finalising the first sets of process maps, describing more than twenty HR processes using schemes, descriptions and actors. HRS also launched several working groups, one of which made recommendations for a roadmap to implement a reward system for the administrative staff at the EUI. Another group was set up to identify areas of improvement in the current legal framework for part-time professors. A third working group dealt with the appraisal and promotion exercises of administrative staff resulting in the

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE

implementation of six recommendations, while a fourth group looked into the careers and job descriptions of staff members. In 2019, HRS organised 20 competitions resulting in the recruitment of 20 new staff members. In an effort to increase the visibility of the EUI as an attractive employer, HRS represented the EUI at two job fairs and succeeded in increasing in only one year the EUI LinkedIn with 40% followers. 2019 further saw the launch of a new adjustment exercise looking to adjust the grades of internal staff members through internal competitions; the first such adjustment was successful and provided important lessons for future similar exercises. The service continued to develop online IT tools, especially the human resource management system (HRMS) with the important deliverable being an automated tool for the Salary Monthly Report. The HRMS reporting also improved for all stakeholders, such as the annual reports to the Accounting Unit. HRS also analysed and is developing an IT tool for the pensions calculations. HRS examined the current processes on the management of academic staff, which will result in a substantial simplification, also enhancing transparency and clarity on employment contracts. HRS enlarged the training programme to administrative staff considerably offering additional courses in soft skills and ethical guidelines. A new internal trainers programme resulted in 13 colleagues instructed as internal trainers who organised eight well-attended courses.

HRS as strategic advisor With the responsibility mapping finalised in 2018, HRS developed the second element on competencies needed for each job description. These were determined in a full participatory way in that the required competencies at an overall EUI level were selected through an EUI-wide survey. Thereafter, HRS organised 18 workshops, one with each Service and Department to establish the competencies needed for each unit. With the identification of each individual role being launched, HRS has the finalisation of the job descriptions as a key objective for 2020. Also in the academic field, the EUI is striving to increase its attractiveness as an employer; hence, the HRS prepared a new draft decision on the possibility of extending the professors’ contracts beyond the eight-year limit, which was

ACTIVITY REPORT 2019 125

126 ultimately approved by the High Council. The High Council also approved a new decision on education allowances. In conclusion, 2019 being only the fourth year of the existence of the EUI Human Resources Service, the team managed to launch several new initiatives while still providing the core service of a personnel administration. There is still a considerable way to go before HRS does become a fully-fledged HR Service, but important progress is being made each year towards this goal. 6

Table 3: EUI Administrative and Teaching Sta, 2019

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Permanent Sta Temporary Sta Temporary Sta-Language Assistance Contract Sta Contract Sta for Auxiliary Tasks Total Administrative Sta

TEACHING STAFF

President and Secretary General Professors: Full-time Programme Director Professors: Part-time Research Sta (including Marie Curie R.S.) Marie Curie Research Sta Total Teaching Sta

OTHER

Trainees TOTAL EUI STAFF (excluding pensions) 88 72 4 49 24 237

2 50 1 66 136 6 255

32 524

EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE