PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2023

 

Grand Valley State University Receives CUPA-HR’s National HR Excellence Award

The human resources team at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) has received the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) 2023 HR Excellence Award for the creation and implementation of their total HR transformation that began in February 2022.

This national award honors transformative HR work in higher education that results in significant and ongoing organizational change within the recipient’s institution. CUPA-HR is pleased to offer a $4,000 contribution to their institution.

Understanding how the pandemic changed the way institutions recruit and retain employees and manage day-to-day operations, GVSU’s HR team decided to move away from a 60+-year-old HR compliance model to a hybrid of the Universal (HR Generalist) and Strategic Business Partner models in order to provide a “one-stop-shop” engagement strategy for campus employees.

The move from the compliance-based model was a major step in becoming a proactive, instead of reactive, HR department. The compliance-based model resulted in siloed and disconnected departments. The newly implemented hybrid approach is structured around HR business partners, total rewards and talent management that allows cross-functional support of programs and initiatives across campus — the most notable of which being talent management. The new HR structure gives the ability to invest in and commit to employee talent development initiatives that span the entire employment lifecycle.

The university’s HR team shares, “We are now sending a clear message to employees that we are investing in a robust infrastructure to support their growth, development and future advancement, along with our sincere hope that they will come on this journey with us and help co-create meaningful programs that support their career journey at GVSU.”

“The team’s efforts will make a real impact on all our employees and will contribute to the legacy of excellence that we strive for as a university,” says Gregory Sanial, Grand Valley State University’s vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer, in his nomination for the team. CUPA-HR is pleased to award the institution the National HR Excellence Award.

About CUPA-HR

CUPA-HR is higher ed HR. We serve higher education by providing the knowledge, resources, advocacy and connections to achieve organizational and workforce excellence. Our membership includes more than 34,000 HR professionals and other campus leaders at nearly 2,000 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad. The association offers learning and professional development programs, higher education workforce data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.

 

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