People and organisational performance
In the quest for performance, what are the duties of an HR director alongside management? Does the role involve executing a roadmap, or guiding the organisation’s strategy?
Claire Audollent: The HR director must be involved in building the strategy to help align human resources with corporate objectives: by anticipating skills needs and succession plans, by ensuring that existing skills are developed in a fast-changing environment, and by supporting managers and team leaders in the transformations they are carrying out.”
How can we combine the quest for performance with ever higher aspirations in terms of work-life balance?
The quest for performance and work-life balance are not mutually exclusive, on the contrary, they are mutually reinforcing. The good mental and physical health of our employees fosters efficiency, creativity and innovation, and thus long-term performance. Creating working conditions that promote well-being is therefore essential to achieving ambitious objectives.
Talent acquisition
The job market is dominated by the “war for talent.” How does this play out in practice in your own recruitment processes? What difficulties are you facing?
The University of Luxembourg is constantly on the lookout for highly qualified academic and administrative profiles. This means looking for candidates on a European, or even global, scale in certain fields such as IT, by attracting excellent professors, researchers and high-level experts in highly specialised disciplines.
There are difficulties: as competition is international, candidates may receive several offers, not only from other universities, but also from the private sector, which may offer more competitive salaries. What’s more, the visa and international mobility processes can add logistical complexity, slowing down recruitment processes and therefore attractiveness.
What ‘weapons’ is your institution deploying to fight this battle? And what additional ‘weapons’ would you like to have at your disposal if you had the power to change regulations and laws?
The University of Luxembourg offers exceptional working conditions for lecturers and researchers: recent infrastructure, ultra-modern research laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment, a below-average student/researcher ratio, all in a stimulating international environment. As the only university in Luxembourg, we play a central role in the development of research and education not only within the country, but also in the Greater Region and Europe through cross-border partnerships and initiatives.
The definition of a specific status (labour, tax and social law, portability of pensions) at national and international level for researchers would be a real plus. Indeed, the very nature of research activities requires a great deal of travel outside Luxembourg to give talks or take part in conferences, consult works in various national libraries and take part in international evaluation or selection committees. A harmonised status would simplify these processes, make the profession of researcher more attractive and facilitate cross-border collaboration.
In addition, it should be possible to adapt the duration of fixed-term contracts for lecturer-researchers, as well as for research support staff, in line with the duration of research projects. Indeed, the recruitment of lecturers on fixed-term contracts is common practice in all research universities around the world, including the most prestigious establishments. This is part of their training, the nature of whose activities requires them to develop skills in different research establishments.
Employer branding
Applied to your organisation, what is your definition of ‘employer branding’?
To be an employer of choice in attracting, retaining and motivating academic and non-academic staff talent, while enhancing our attractiveness to future students. A strong institutional culture, academic reputation, world-class research excellence and international rankings all contribute to strengthening a university’s ‘employer brand.’ We are proud that the University of Luxembourg is ranked among the top 250 universities in the world by Times Higher Education 2024, and is ranked 20th among the youngest universities in the world.
In the light of this definition, how important is HR in promoting this ‘employer brand’?
From promoting diversity and well-being to creating opportunities for career development, HR takes the lead in creating an environment in which academic and non-academic staff feel supported, valued and motivated. These efforts are key to fostering long-term employee engagement and satisfaction.
Reskilling and upskilling
In terms of upskilling, what are the priority needs you have identified within your organisation?
Developing leadership skills to strengthen our managers’ ability to inspire, motivate and effectively lead multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural teams.
Promoting diversity and inclusion, particularly through training on unconscious bias, inclusive leadership and intercultural communication.
Supporting our teacher-researchers in implementing innovative teaching methods and preparing them for diversified career paths, whether in teaching and research or in industry.
Enabling our employees to adapt to digital transformations.
And what tools and systems have been put in place within your departments to support ongoing employee training?
The professional development and ongoing training of employees is one of the priorities of the University of Luxembourg, supported by a dedicated budget drawn up in co-decision with the social partners. This is reflected in a wide range of training courses: face-to-face, e-learning and self-service via multi-device online training platforms.
Development Dialogues, a special opportunity for managers and employees to discuss their wishes and agree on individual development and training opportunities.
Talent retention
Is the ‘war for talent’ also about talent retention? And if so, what is your conclusion? That today it is just as complex to attract talent as it is to retain it?
The war for talent at the University of Luxembourg is more about attraction than retention. The excellent working conditions for both lecturers and support staff, coupled with development opportunities, modern infrastructure, growth in activities and areas of research (the recent creation of two interdisciplinary centres in sustainability and European law) and studies (nursing sciences, medicine), mean that staff turnover is low (less than 5% of our permanent staff). For a number of research posts on fixed-term contracts, the aim is not to retain them all at the university, but rather at national level.
What have been the main changes, or what changes are underway, in the university’s ‘employee pathway’?
As the university is still a young organisation, it is continuing to structure its employee career path. Having set up a job classification and training pathways, the University of Luxembourg is now focusing on career development, by strengthening internal mobility, formalising development plans and carrying out a complete review of its onboarding and offboarding processes.
New ways of working
Flexibility, teleworking... Since the health crisis, the desire for new ways of working has become more pronounced than ever. How can we respond to this paradigm shift without hampering an organisation’s performance?
The challenge is to find the right balance, i.e., to promote flexibility (teleworking, flexible working hours) while guaranteeing productivity. The University of Luxembourg has put in place a clear policy with a maximum of four or eight days of teleworking per employee per month (depending on their place of residence), thus guaranteeing a large on-site presence.
While it is important for managers to ensure the commitment of their teams through regular meetings and constant communication, employees must also adapt to the needs of the organisation and show flexibility when their physical presence is required.
At the same time, how can we meet the challenge of employee commitment, which studies show is falling?
Offering an international, multilingual and multidisciplinary environment (which encourages teamwork) is a real asset when it comes to engaging staff in the university’s various missions. Not to mention the fact that the projects carried out here have a strong societal impact, giving meaning to the work and recognition of these same employees.
Employment law
How do you view the texts? As it stands, do you see the Luxembourg labour code as a partner for employers? Or, on the contrary, something of an adversary?
The labour code is a framework for regulating labour relations that seeks to reconcile the rights of workers and the needs of employers. In my opinion, it is an indispensable partner for employers, but certain chapters/sections need to be reviewed to bring them more into line with current working practices, particularly as regards new ways of organising workplaces and working hours.
If you had the power, what additional provision would you like to introduce into Luxembourg law to meet your needs more effectively?
Review the length of the working week, to give our employees greater organisational flexibility or to respond better to the company’s short-term needs.
Allowing fixed-term contracts to last longer than research assignments/projects.
Digitalisation
How are you turning digitalisation into an ally of the HR function?
Digitalisation not only makes it possible to improve operational efficiency but also to respond better to the needs of employees and managers. Having digitised the majority of our HR processes (leave, absences, payslips, teleworking declarations, flextime, recruitment, etc) we are now focusing our efforts on electronically signing all HR administrative documents (employment contracts, amendments, etc) and setting up electronic safes for the University's employees. The next step will be to use AI to answer our employees’ HR questions and help with candidate selection.
But what obstacles do you still face at this stage?
The difficulty sometimes comes from the incompatibility of certain HR systems that block their integration. There is also a form of resistance to change on the part of both users and HR service providers.
Benefits
How important is salary attractiveness today in recruiting and retaining talent?
Whilst salary remains a determining factor in attracting candidates and retaining employees, other criteria are now widely considered, including: flexibility of working time and place, well-being at work, inclusion, career opportunities, and the organisation's values and missions.
Mobility & fleet
A fleet of electric vehicles, incentives to use public transport... At the university, what measures have been, are being or will be taken to improve mobility?
The university encourages the use of public transport and provides employees with vehicles to travel between campuses. Part of the train/bus season tickets of residents of neighbouring countries are reimbursed to employees, and a car-sharing app (Klaxit, now BlablaCar Daily) has also been deployed. A small fleet of bicycles and scooters is also available for short journeys, and staff benefit from a subsidy for the hire and/or maintenance of their bicycles.
More generally, what are the points of vigilance that you are keeping in mind in terms of the green transition?
The university is active in the field of transitions and is teeming with initiatives: one of the points to watch is to prioritise our activities to avoid dispersion leading to low impact. It’s also a question of getting our staff and students on board by mobilising them and giving them the means to act: this requires time, resources and constructive dialogue to move the sustainable agenda forward within our institution.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
What are the biggest challenges for your organisation in terms of the new CSR obligations?
"As a public institution, the University is not subject to new regulations such as the CSRD [Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive]. However, we intend to use these new frameworks to better communicate our sustainability requirements to our suppliers and partners. Generally speaking, sustainability is becoming a strategic element in all our activities, and one that is increasingly valued by our stakeholders (students, staff, departments, partners, etc.).
How do these same obligations impact your internal upskilling and external recruitment processes?
The university is committed to a voluntary, yet strategic, approach to integrating sustainability into all its missions. There is a strong internal demand from lecturers, staff and students to contribute to these transformation efforts (teaching, research, societal dialogue, institutional operations). This is reflected in training courses, workshops and the emergence of internal networks linked to CSR.
Gen Z
They are said to be less committed, more demanding, and perhaps even difficult to grasp... Is Gen Z really turning the working environment upside down?
Every new generation has turned the previous one on its head. Gen Z is more demanding when it comes to working conditions, and will only get involved if they find meaning in the mission of the organisation they work for. They expect a better work-life balance, development opportunities and inclusive, flexible environments. They are pushing organisations to rethink their practices to better meet their expectations.
What advice would you give to newly recruited 25-30 year olds?
Be patient. A career is built over time through experience: ask for feedback, work in a team, learn from the most experienced, seize training/development opportunities and don't neglect networking.
Diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI)
As HR Director, how would you define your role and responsibilities in relation to DEI issues?
Our role is to promote an inclusive environment within a naturally diverse academic body. At the University of Luxembourg, this includes the ULearn platform offering training on LGBTQIA+ inclusion and unconscious bias, mentoring to develop talent, a gender equality policy, the use of common names for students and fair recruitment processes for researchers and beyond, guaranteeing equal opportunities. As a signatory to the Diversity Charter, we evaluate and adjust our actions to ensure a lasting impact.
Is an ‘exemplary’ company a utopian dream or a feasible goal?
An exemplary company demonstrates an ongoing commitment to sustainability, fairness and responsibility, setting high standards that inspire its sector. By setting ambitious targets, reducing gaps and offering equal opportunities, the organisation becomes exemplary. The University of Luxembourg strives for continuous improvement, listening to feedback and adjusting its practices.
This article was originally published in .