Human Resources Strategic Plan
Villanova University Human Resources’ Strategic Plan is a shared vision for how HR can best support our evolving University within the context of the ever-changing higher education and employment landscapes.
Villanova is an academic leader and, as such, we seek to position Villanova as a leading employer—and a great place to work. We take seriously our responsibility to be excellent stewards of Villanova through our commitment to the University’s most precious asset—its people.
Over the past three years, Villanova’s HR department has focused on its team—growing and evolving our staff to better serve the University. Key positions were added to the HR team in order to expand upon our existing services as well as create new functional areas, specifically dedicated to talent acquisition and community partnership. We completed a staff compensation review, benchmarked our benefit programs and built out a talent development function.
The reorganization of the HR team was the first crucial step in allowing us to raise the bar on how we recognize, recruit and retain employees. HR’s current strategic plan—grounded in the University’s Strategic Plan and enduring mission and values—prioritizes creating the technology and program infrastructure necessary to meet our goals around employee recruitment, retention and advancing HR best practices.
HR Strategic Plan Goals
GOAL 1: ADVANCE STRATEGIC AND SOPHISTICATED RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
Support strategic workforce planning and sophisticated employee recruitment through internal systems and practices as well as external promotion of Villanova as an employer of choice.
GOAL 2: BOLSTER A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO EMPLOYEE RETENTION
Advance employee retention efforts through recognition programs and processes, improved professional development resources and systems, and enhancement of employee well-being.
- Performance management: After receiving feedback through a voluntary survey sent to all Performance Management users and focus group sessions (both conducted in partnership with OSPIE), we are making updates to our annual Performance Management program. Based on that feedback, a new rating scale was introduced for the 2025-2026 performance cycle with additional enhancements planned for the year ahead.
- Job architecture: We've partnered with Mercer Consulting on the creation of a job architecture to further enhance staff professional development. The architecture will help staff understand their position, how it relates to other positions at the University, and how you can use similar skills to advance your career at Villanova. More information regarding the architecture is anticipated to be announced by fall 2026.
- Training: We’re developing a set of digital trainings supportive of our competency model which is rooted in Villanova’s mission, values, and strategic vision. This model offers a framework that empowers every employee to contribute meaningfully to the University's overarching mission. We anticipate making these trainings available via Learn@NOVA in the months ahead.
GOAL 3: SUPPORT BEST PRACTICES FOR HR INFORMATION/COMPLIANCE
Develop and refine systems/processes to efficiently track and manage employee information and maintain and clearly communicate University policies.
- Electronic Personnel Action Form (EPAF): We continue to evaluate and offer additional EPAF options for managers to submit personnel actions for electronic approval. This eliminates paper and supports data accuracy through efficient processing of changes.
- Website committee: An HR website committee has been created to help improve the usability, accessibility, and overall user experience of the HR website. The working group will review the current layout, identify opportunities for improvement, and recommend enhancements that make it easier for users to find information and complete HR-related tasks.
- HR NOVAchat: We are working with UTS to host a chatbot for frequently asked HR questions. Our initial rollout will focus on employee benefits questions. We will then deploy questions covering other areas of HR.
- Policy updates: We are actively updating all HR policies to ensure they remain current, legally compliant, and responsive to the evolving needs of our workforce. This effort also helps to reinforce our commitment to set clear, transparent expectations across the community.
- Compliance initiatives: We are driving several key compliance initiatives to strengthen our operational integrity, ensure alignment with regulatory requirements, and support a consistent, accountable workplace culture.
- UKG Ready is Villanova University’s time and attendance platform. It is a cloud-based application that enables staff employees to record hours worked, request leave, and view time-off balances. The system also provides managers with tools to review and approve leave requests, track attendance, and support compliance with University leave policies. The full suite of UKG Ready time and attendance functionality, including time tracking and accruals management,
- Earlier this year, in partnership with the University Ethics & Compliance Office, we introduced the Code of Conduct.
The HR Strategic Plan is a living document and will evolve based on University funding priorities, University system replacements/enhancements, additional efficiencies identified in partnership with other areas of the University, updates to HR best practices and the current employment landscape.
Office of Human Resources
OUR MISSION
The Office of Human Resources, rooted in the University’s Augustinian Catholic mission, is a collaborative team committed to people-centered and high-value interactions with all faculty, staff and student employees of the University by:
Serving as a trusted strategic partner who supports attracting, developing, recognizing and retaining a diverse and talented workforce that advances the University’s mission and enhances the student experience.
Nurturing and reinforcing an inclusive, accountable, balanced and welcoming workplace culture where all feel respected, valued and supported as individuals thereby enabling all to do their best work.
Ensuring fair, equitable and compliant policies and practices across the University.
FUNCTIONAL AREAS
Talent Acquisition | Talent Development | Employee/Labor Relations | HR Compliance | Compensation | Benefits | Campus Partners | Human Resources Information Systems & Data