How HR Preserves the Human Connection Amid Technological Advancements

In a world becoming more driven by artificial intelligence, maintaining a personal touch is crucial for fostering genuine connections and trust between employees and University Human Resources. While advances in AI continue to provide exciting opportunities that will positively transform the way we work, maintaining the human element in HR practices will ensure empathy, understanding and personalized support that is the hallmark of excellent HR services. In conjunction with technology, such as AI, building strong human connections and fostering employee engagement creates a supportive and customer-centric work environment, leading to higher employee satisfaction, productivity and retention. 

Over the past year, the HR Total Rewards Team in UHR has embarked on a strategic mission to enhance customer service excellence. I am excited to share with you some of the innovative strategies my team has implemented to elevate HR services and deliver an exceptional employee experience. 

Holistic One-On-One Benefit Consultations

Our Benefits, Employee Wellness and Work Life team now provides holistic one-on-one consultations that go beyond basic benefits education and training. The team helps employees understand how their benefit choices can contribute to overall well-being and tailors the consultations around individual employee goals. 

To complement the personalized consultations, we are developing a retirement brochure that will guide employees through each step of the retirement process. The brochure will be clear, engaging and comprehensive — helping to demystify a complex transition and give employees greater confidence as they plan for their future. We anticipate this resource will be available in fall 2025. 

HR Service Center Supports Employees in Many Ways

Class and Comp Provides Training, Resources for HR Community

The Classification and Compensation team has also been working to provide important resources for our university community. 

The Class and Comp team is developing customized training and resources for the university’s HR community, including how to create effective job descriptions. 

The team has been meeting with campus HR teams to discuss the classification change for former EHRA nonfaculty employees to Exempt Professional Staff (EPS). Class and Comp has provided key resources and training, including articles in HRNow. 

At an HR Exchange meeting this year, the team offered helpful hints and tips for when requesting salary and position changes. The team also connected with campus committees and provided an overview of the work Class and Comp does. 

New HR Service Provides Routine, Specialized HR Assistance

In addition to those strategies, HR Total Rewards has launched the HR Concierge Service, a unique and customized HR support service for our university partners. The concierge service provides routine and specialized human resources assistance to help college and division HR offices with their daily operations. We hope this service will give HR professionals in colleges and divisions more time to spend answering employee questions and working on strategic initiatives.  

We Will Maintain a Personal Connection With Employees

The HR Total Rewards team’s dedication to enhancing customer service excellence is transforming the employee experience at our university. By offering standard and customized service delivery options, we will maintain the personal connection that is the cornerstone of HR excellence. As we continue to implement innovative strategies, we are confident that our commitment to exceptional HR service and employee engagement will foster a more connected and empowered workforce. 

Thank you for being a part of this journey with us.

Margaret Erickson
Assistant Vice Chancellor, HR Total Rewards