Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R)/HR Award

News on HRS4R implementation at university and faculty level

Overview of activities implemented in the second half of 2023:

• 9/2023: Implementation of a workshop on selection procedures for FI committee members.
• 9/2023: Issuance of updated Organizational Regulations.
• 8/2023: Issuance of the FI MU Dean's measure 10/2023 FI MU staff recruitment and adaptation process

Workshop "How to approach the selection process through questions" for non-academic staff

On 18/9/2023, a workshop "How to go about the selection process by asking questions" was held with 11 non-academic FI staff members who are or could be involved in the selection process for filling positions. This workshop is a complement to the practical skills on the new selection procedure regulations.

Workshop topics:

• Who is a suitable candidate,
• why it is a dialogue: how to fight and how/what to present,
• preparation and logical sequence of the interview,
• what all matters - what to find out and verify about the candidate (erudition is not enough),
• how to ask appropriate questions (how/why to ask),
• specific tips for interview questions.

This is the third workshop on this topic provided by CERPEK MU and led by Mgr. Hana Ondráčková.

The process of recruitment and adaptation of FI employees

As of 1 August 2023, the Measure of the Dean of FI MU 10/2023 Process of Recruitment and Adaptation of Employees at the Faculty of Informatics of Masaryk University was issued.

This measure regulates the procedure for the on-boarding and adaptation of new employees assigned to the Faculty of Informatics of Masaryk University and serves as a support document for key persons in the adaptation process - namely the Head of the Department and the person in charge of the Department. The measure describes in more detail the individual steps important not only for ensuring the effective integration of the employee at the workplace, but also for successful orientation and integration into the workplace and the work team, usually during the first 3 months at a given workplace.

The measure and its annexes are available on the document server.

News on the implementation of HRS4R at university and faculty level

Overview of activities implemented in the first half of 2023:

• 5/2023: Achieving HRS4R embedded status.
• 5/2023: Seminar on Flexible Work Options at MU in relation to work-life balance
• 5/2023: Implementation of a workshop on selection procedures for FI committee members
• 5/2023: Development of a revised FI Action Plan
• 5/2023: FI Information Colloquium with Mgr. Mentioned in the FICI Mentoring session of the FICI Consultation on Information Technology.
• 4/2023: Start of psychological counseling for employees
• 4/2023: Establishment of MU ombudsman and effectiveness of the MU Rights Protection Directive
• 4/2023: Implementation of FI webinar on the growing role of diversity in IT
• 3/2023: FI IT Colloquium with Assoc. The IT Informatics Colloquium
• 3/2023: Introduction of occasional telecommuting at FI
• 2/2023: Implementation of an online FI survey in connection with the preparation of the self-assessment report
• 2/2023: Implementation of a workshop on selection procedures for FI committee members
• 1/2023: Implementation of the MU Selection Procedures Regulations and the FI Selection Procedures Rules

Workshop "Flexible work options at MU in relation to reconciling work and personal life"

On 22 May 2023, FI HR staff attended the seminar "Flexible work options at MU in relation to reconciling work and personal life". The aim of the seminar was to present flexible working options as a tool for reconciling work and family. The seminar also focused on the trend in the development of the home-office mode in the European labour markets in the pre- and post-covid era. The theoretical part was complemented by practical experiences with the introduction of flexible working arrangements in various companies, institutions and at MU.

Seminar topics:

• Introduction of flexible working arrangements, employer vs. employee needs,
• practical input from the Centre for Family and Social Care (introduction of the sandwich generation, their needs, how to work with this group from the employer's perspective),
• rules, practices and tools at MU (practical input),
• Motivation Labs will share practice with the introduction of flexible working arrangements from other companies and institutions (benefits for employers and employees).

Workshop "How to do the selection process by asking questions" for academics

On 19 May 2023, a workshop on "How to go about the selection process by asking questions" was held with 11 FI academic staff who are or could be involved in job selection processes. This workshop is to complement the practical skills on the new selection procedure regulations.

Workshop topics:

• Who is a suitable candidate,
• why it is a dialogue: how to fight and how/what to present,
• preparation and logical sequence of the interview,
• what all matters - what to find out and verify about the candidate (erudition is not enough),
• how to ask appropriate questions (how/why to ask),
• specific tips for interview questions.

This is the second workshop on this topic provided by CERPEK MU and led by Mgr. Hana Ondráčková. The first workshop for 12 academic staff took place on 3 February 2023.

HRS4R workshop with Mary Kate O'Regan from University College Cork

On 11 May 2023, FI HR staff participated in a workshop on Human Resources Strategy for Researchers led by Mary Kate O'Regan, who is HR Research Manager at University College Cork, Ireland.

The workshop focused on the following topics:

• Benefits of implementing HR Excellence in Research for researchers,
• the implementation of the HR strategy at University College Cork, Ireland,
• Recommendations and tips before preparing a self-assessment,
• Preparing for a site visit.

This unique workshop was organised by the Faculty of Science, MU, thank you very much.

Internal self-assessment, creating a revised FI Action Plan and obtaining HRS4R embedded status

In May 2023, the Faculty of Informatics submitted a self-assessment of the implementation of its HR strategy and a revised HRS4R Action Plan for the period 2023-2025. On 23 May 2023, the European Commission granted FI the "HRS4R embedded" status.

The development of the revised action plan was preceded by an online questionnaire survey conducted in February 2023, with a 77% return rate. This survey followed the questionnaire survey conducted in 2020 as a basis for the preparation of the HRS4R certification documentation.

The results of the questionnaire survey and the revised Action Plan can be found in the "Implementation of the 1/2021-5/2023 Action Plan" section above.