Enable diverse and flourishing career paths at the university through increased access to and support for professional development

Develop guidelines to support enhanced succession planning to support long-term career development.

A succession planning framework was developed, and customized supports are available upon request.

HRHSE provided advisory support for succession planning in various areas, including the Registrar’s Office, School of Public Health, and Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management teams.

Develop and launch a formal mentorship program.

Completed a six-month pilot of the Mentorship Program in HRHSE in 2025, and a Faculty of Engineering cohort in spring 2026 with positive feedback from both cohorts. The Mentorship Program is available to faculties and departments upon request.

Facilitate support for communities of practice in specific function areas, to support functional skill development.

Three new communities of practice (COP) were launched in 2026 - two led out of the Office of Strategic Transformation and Delivery (OSTAD) (Project Management COP, Service Design COP), and a third Strategic Initiatives COP. An additional COP for Change Management is currently being planned and will launch in September 2026.

A Community of Practice for Professional Development Providers from across campus was established. With representatives from across campus including Access, Community and Belonging (ACB), Indigenous Initiatives (II), Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS), UofA International, Libraries, and more, in February 2026 the group undertook training together and developed a plan for regular meet-ups.

The Community of Learning portal was created and launched in June 2026 to allow alumni of Organizational Development and Talent Management (ODTM) programs to access and share resources on a variety of topics, and to reconnect and collaborate with fellow learners. 588 alumni from across the institution have joined so far.

Require supervisors to elevate the importance of advancing career development for their direct reports as part of the annual performance reporting process — including prioritizing resources for training in core job functions.

Launched the Management Resource Library, a new resource for supervisors with direct reports with content specifically related to career progression and career conversations. The library brings together supervisor-specific web content, content from leadership and management programs, and advice from human resource experts to better support supervisors who manage employees.

Empower people to succeed in their roles by improving supports, systems and processes

Implement targeted improvements to enhance quality of administrative services.

HRHSE and Shared Services saved employees time and effort by collaborating to simplify the Overage Dependent Annual Attestation process with a new streamlined system. Automated reminders and annual attestations are now managed through an easy-to-use online application.

The university modernized recruitment by launching the Oracle Recruiting Cloud (ORC). Through an integrated digital platform that centralized candidate information, eliminated manual Google folders and spreadsheets, and accelerated offer letter approvals, we reduced administrative effort and improved consistency, transparency, and the experience for hiring managers, recruitment teams, and applicants.

Shared Services strengthened understanding of administrative processes, created direct connections with subject matter experts, and supported learning across teams through 31 learning sessions delivered to more than 1,600 attendees on a range of operational topics.

Privacy and Security Training, Supervisor Safety Declaration, and annual Conflict of Interest Disclosure process were integrated into one online synchronous acknowledgements (SYNACK) platform. The platform synchronizes annual notifications and provides centralized access to these annual tasks.

Work with Chairs’ Council to develop an updated “roles and responsibilities” framework for chairs and staff supporting departments, in order to align with the new organizational structure and better support core academic functions.

Led by the Provost’s Office, the Framework for Academic Leadership Development (FALD) will take a university-wide approach to senior academic leadership development. In January 2026, the project team began building the foundation with the Department Chair role. Through identifying key accountabilities, competencies, and leadership themes, the project is developing a shared understanding of what effective academic leadership looks like and how leaders can be supported. Initial engagement with leadership groups across the institution has informed the work to date, with broader consultation planned for Fall 2026 to validate and refine findings and future recommendations.

Create a culture of care addressing all aspects of safety: physical, psychological and cultural

Continue implementation of A Culture of Care: Safety Action Plan.

Completed work on the first plan (2023-24 through 2025-26) and developed the next iteration of the plan to 2028-29. Work on A Culture of Care will continue, including supporting structures like a focus group that includes representatives from across the university. The new plan integrates the Safety Action Plan and Mental Health and Well-being Action Plans into one joint plan.

Rebuild trust in senior leadership

Emphasize the visibility, transparency and availability of senior leaders (deans, vice-provosts, vice-presidents and the president).

Leadership Transparency

Leaders used a variety of approaches to ensure transparency through frequent scheduled communications to share strategy, progress and performance across the organization.

• Senior leaders held dedicated retreats and forums specifically to engage senior and mid-level leaders in strategic roadmap planning and to facilitate shared learning among portfolio units, ensuring the strategic direction is understood and cascaded.
• Written and digital communications including monthly and quarterly newsletters (e.g. VP ER monthly all-staff newsletter), regular contributions to the Quad, and specialized vlogs (e.g. “Verna’s Vlog,” College Dean’s Corner) to deliver key information, share leadership perspectives, and highlight achievements from official annual reports.
• Scheduled regular two-way communications included portfolio all-staff meetings to provide broad institutional and portfolio updates, often including live Q&A sessions to address staff questions directly (e.g. “Todd Talks” in USOF).
• Engaged directly with faculty and staff through visits to faculties, colleges, units, laboratories and service areas.

Leadership Visibility

Senior leaders actively demonstrated their commitment to core institutional values, operations, and community members by consistently being present and championing major initiatives.

• Directly engaged with professors, researchers and students while visiting lab spaces, sports events and attending various all-staff meetings across portfolios with a commitment to understanding and recognizing the breadth of work being done throughout the university.
• Participated in planned safety inspections with Health, Safety and Environment, and the Culture of Care Safety Summit to demonstrate visible, active commitment to institutional health and safety standards.
• Regularly participated in external and internal events, including faculty and staff events such as leadership training like Leading with Influence, student recognition and donor appreciation, reinforcing the university's mission.
• Attended and engaged in a wide variety of student-led activities such as Week of Welcome, galas, Three-Minute Thesis presentations, and performances, and actively participated in enterprise activities representing the university community and advancing strategic priorities with external stakeholders (e.g. hosting the President’s Speakers Series, the Celebrate! Teaching. Learning. Research event or the University Cup Dinner).

Leadership Availability 

Senior leaders engaged in structured and informal opportunities to foster a relationship-rich and collaborative environment that celebrates the great work taking place across the university every day.

• Meetings with portfolio Senior Leadership Teams (SLT) and regular leadership retreats ensured consistent lines of communication and provided opportunities for portfolio teams to drive agenda items.
• Hosted regular social gatherings for the full portfolio or senior leaders. These events were specifically designed to forge contacts, celebrate work, and provide informal face-to-face time with senior leadership (e.g. the annual VPR social gathering).
• Dedicated opportunities like lunch-and-learns and mentoring sessions with new and up-and-coming academic leaders allowed leaders to be accessible resources for professional growth.
• Initiatives like a "Chief of Staff Roadshow" and ad-hoc "touchpoints" proactively connected leadership with frontline teams, opening clear, two-way channels for concerns and support.

Establish a clear accountability framework for Shape implementation, with cascading accountabilities at the college/faculty/unit levels. 

Renewal of the Shape three-year implementation plan in June 2026 identified the university’s transformational priorities and key performance indicators for 2026-2029 as a foundation for college/faculty mandate letters and portfolio functional plans.

Support formal leaders to clearly articulate priorities for their responsible areas, aligned with the university’s broader strategic direction.

Through the Shape implementation process, university strategic goals were cascaded to the unit level as part of annual goal-setting processes such as portfolio functional plans and mandate letters for deans. Strategic alignment of unit-level goals are being progressively incorporated into academic leader onboarding and development programming.

Create an outstanding shared leadership culture by developing leadership competencies at all levels of the organization

Continue investment in leadership development, including academic leadership, with emphasis on developing skills and competencies in mentorship and coaching.

Leadership training, included Leading with Influence (79 participants), Leading Others (21 participants), Management Intensive (31 participants), and UAcademy (22 participants).

The Management Resource Library was launched as a new resource for supervisors with direct reports. The library brings together supervisor-specific web content, content from leadership and management programs, and advice from human resource experts to better support supervisors who manage employees. Managers and supervisors can enrol here.

Led by the Provost’s Office, the Framework for Academic Leadership Development (FALD) will take a university-wide approach to senior academic leadership development. In January 2026, the project team began building the foundation with the Department Chair role. Through identifying key accountabilities, competencies, and leadership themes, the project is developing a shared understanding of what effective academic leadership looks like and how leaders can be supported. Initial engagement with leadership groups across the institution has informed the work to date, with broader consultation planned for Fall 2026 to validate and refine findings and future recommendations.

Articulate clear values for the University of Alberta

Develop and disseminate a clear set of values for the U of A that support people in making a personal connection to the university, and to establish a common basis for all work and decisions across the university.

The community went through a process to develop the institution’s shared values from January to September 2025. The values were approved by the Board of Governors in December 2025 and officially launched in February 2026.

• Verna’s Vlog with the People Strategy Steering Committee

Stories shared by university community members highlighted how people are living these values.

• Dr. Chris Andersen - Treating our new university values as working tools can change our decision-making
• Amanda Danis - The power of an invite

Create a sense of belonging and appreciation through enhanced recognition

Establish a program for innovative and informal recognition of staff and colleagues, and tools to support supervisors in making recognition a regular practice within teams.

An informal “everyday” recognition program launched in August 2026, including a refreshed Everyday Recognition page, leader and peer recognition resources with specific linkages to the university’s values, and a planned refresh of the university’s e-card platform adding new e-cards that promote the university’s values.

Create community connectedness at the individual, team and university-wide level

Review administrative service processes to identify opportunities to create more points of contact and personal connection along our end-to-end integrated support service delivery.

Improved overall employee experience by addressing human resources process pain points identified by university employees and leaders through the Collaboration Committee, which brought together Human Resources, Health, Safety and Environment (HRHSE) and Shared Services staff to collaboratively address the issues.

More than 80 HR forms were reviewed, simplified, standardized, and redesigned to be more intuitive and easier to complete.

To help employees with integrated services, over 200 solution articles were developed to improve access to clear, consistent information.

University Service Portal amendments included revisions to notification language, ensuring agent signatures are clear, and the implementation of a customer satisfaction survey to gather and act on just-in-time feedback.

A student service directory was launched in May 2026 and will be expanded to include research and staff services in the fall of 2026.

Organizational Development and Talent Management (ODTM) established a cadence of Insight & Impact sessions led by alumni of ODTM programs for other program alumni (by alumni for alumni). Hosts shared their expertise, and attendees learned something new from their peers, all with the goal of building capacity and networks across campus. Three sessions were held in 2025-26 with more planned for 2026-27.

Approximately 200 people attended the annual leadership gathering which brought together alumni of Organizational Development and Talent Management programs for a day of learning and connection.

Create opportunities for connection both within individual teams and to the broader U of A community.

A Community of Learning was established to provide ongoing support for employees and to facilitate the translation of learning into the workplace. HRHSE organized 16 events that involved alumni of university learning and development programs, as well as professional development and campus partners. In total, 440 people attended.

Campus and Community Recreation organized the October 2025 Turkey Trot Fun Run in support of the Campus Food Bank. 380 participants raised $5,000.

From May 13 to June 7, more than 150 faculty and staff represented the U of A at the 2026 Edmonton Corporate Challenge, helping the university earn a bronze-place finish in the large organization division.

Establish a culture of inclusion and respect

Ensure the implementation of Changing the Story: An Integrated Action Plan for transforming our vibrant and interconnected university community¹.

The university launched Changing the Story, the Access, Community and Belonging Action Plan in 2025 and published the first Report to the Community in April 2026, shaped by over 250 stories across the U of A community.

Expand awareness of resources for disclosing and resolving workplace concerns.

A collaborative team updated the Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures and supported the socialization of these policies and procedures with students through implementation of the Inclusive Community Champions program in Student Success and Experience (SSE).

HRHSE implemented the workplace response coordinator function, designed to support individuals and teams through challenging workplace situations.