7.1 Human Resources
Tilburg University wants to be an inspiring community where our employees feel connected (sense of belonging). A community where you can work and learn in a safe environment with attention to well-being for our employees. Where you can develop your talents and strengthen your personal leadership. In 2022, to realize this, the strategic themes of Recognition & Rewards and Connected Leading were further concretized under the name Use (y)our Talents! Social safety, diversity, and inclusion and the implementation of the Dutch Occupational Disability (Employment Targets and Quotas) Act by creating participation jobs also have our attention, as well as community building and well-being. Encouraging sustainable employee behavior took shape in 2022 by preparing the new commuting scheme. To monitor our initiatives, our biennial employee monitor took place in (April/May) 2022.
Use (Y)our Talents!
The Recognition & Rewards and Connected Leading programs implement Tilburg University's broad vision on talent and leadership: Use (Y)our Talents! Our vision on leadership, called Connected Leading, supports the objectives of Recognition & Rewards.
Many employees and teams have been introduced to the Connected Leading philosophy in recent years and have started working from their strengths. In 2022, more than 300 employees participated in training or education based on Connected Leading. In a number of places within the university, working from strengths has been included in the annual Performance & Talent Development interviews between employees and managers. New initiatives are also being launched—as part of the 2022–2027 Strategy. In 2022, a start was made on developing a renewed leadership program based on the Connected Leading philosophy. This program focuses on values and also on the themes of social safety, well-being, and Recognition & Rewards. In addition, a project group worked on developing an appropriate methodology for Strategic Personnel Planning, and pilots were started.
For Recognition & Rewards, the priority in 2022 was the launch of the project differentiation and dynamization of academic careers. Schools will start working on the details in 2023. Tilburg University also signed the European Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and committed itself to the agreements regarding putting quality at the heart of research assessment. This agreement also paves the way internationally for the transition we want to achieve with Recognition & Rewards.
Socially safe working environment
Tilburg University strives for a socially safe and inclusive learning and working environment in which everyone, regardless of origin, gender, orientation, creed, education, sex, age, or position, feels recognized and valued. Social safety is a key focus within our Weaving Minds & Characters: Strategy Towards 2027. From a clear vision of social safety, concrete plans have been described for the coming years. The awareness and attention to social safety thus takes a central place within Tilburg University in the coming years.
Additional attention is needed for the clarity of roles and division of tasks between the various officials involved in social security cases. The coordination and alignment between, among others, confidential counsellors, managers, the ombuds officer, and the integrity coordinator needs attention and improvement. The tension between transparency and individual privacy can also cause dilemmas in practice. These aspects will receive additional attention in the coming years in order to improve our approach and our safety network.
Diversity and inclusion remain a major focus as they did in previous years. In 2022, several actions have been further rolled out, and we see a positive trend in the number of female full professors (28%), associate professors (31%), and assistant professors (48%). However, this number is still far too low, and we are far from reaching the desired level. 2022 also saw the first preparatory steps to further broaden our approach to diversity and inclusion, including more attention to our students. To give employees insight into how to respond appropriately if you witness unwanted transgressive behavior, the Active Bystander training took place again. A training course was also organized to make subconscious bias recognizable. The training courses were again positively evaluated by the participants.
Participation Jobs
As a university, we are committed to providing opportunities for employees with different work abilities. In 2022, the focus was on creating jobs for highly skilled candidates with work disabilities to support the academic staff also with the goal of reducing the academic staff's workload.
In addition, investments were made in further stimulating and enthusing Schools and divisions to create jobs for the target group, in knowledge sharing, increasing support and in guidance/job coaching. There are also two job coaches working for Tilburg University through the municipality of Tilburg four days a week to support the guidance of both the candidate and the university.
Through our efforts, some 60 participation jobs have now been created, realizing 79% of our mandatory job quota. We are proud that in 2022 we scored in the top three universities in terms of job quota realization for the sixth consecutive year. Our ambition is to grow further to 90 participation jobs by 2025, in line with the statutory job quota government employers.
Monitoring the progress and results of the individual (external) job coaching programs needs to be improved. We do not yet have a sufficient idea of how many hours of job coaching an employee actually receives, what training/coaching goals the employee works on with the (campus) job coach, and whether the job coaching goes according to plan. Among other things, this hinders Tilburg University in being able to assess if the position is (or can be made) suitable for the employee, but also in understanding which skills and/or knowledge need additional attention or training (from the employee and/or employer side). This aspect will receive additional attention in the coming period in order to improve quality.
Community & employee well-being
Vital, healthy, and happy employees contribute to the realization of our shared organizational goals. Therefore, Tilburg University supports the well-being and sense of belonging of its employees. To measure work experience and satisfaction, we conducted an employee monitor in 2022. This revealed positive points. Among them were the way people work together, feeling appreciated, and confidence in the way the Department/unit is managed. Major negative points included workload, work stress, and work-life balance. Schools and Divisions began working with these results in late 2022. The causes of workload lie mainly in the demands placed on employees, especially unexpected additional tasks, the quantity of tasks, the combination of tasks, and peak workload. To address workload, the following strategic themes have been and are being addressed:
Improving student-staff ratio (increase capacity).
Use (Y)our Talents (connect university-wide projects, such as Connected Leading)
Employee well-being (improve work-life balance, use of training courses)
Untie and unburden (reduce administrative burden)
Recognition & Rewards (differentiation and dynamization of academic careers and realistic allocation of time and professional development in the various domains).
In addition, in 2022, various facilities were offered and designed again, such as the Golden Rules, vitality programs, the deployment of the PhD psychologist and company counselor, an extensive range of training courses and coaching. A new service agreement has been concluded with occupational health and safety service Zorg van de Zaak. In addition, we offer an extensive sports program, a Workwalk for walking meetings, and workplace advice. In 2022, employees hired during the coronavirus period were invited to a campus tour led by the university’s historian. Because of the great enthusiasm, these walks were also offered to employees already employed.
With regard to the health-related absenteeism rate, there is an upward trend compared to previous years (2022: 3.69%). The increase can be seen in both academic staff and support staff. However, the increase in absenteeism in 2021 is still lower than the national average, which was 4.9% (source: CBS), and below the level of the entire education sector in 2021, which was 4.8% (source: CBS). Absenteeism management at the various levels is sufficiently secured within the organization and done in cooperation with the occupational health and safety service since regular consultation takes place between management, HR, and the occupational health and safety service. Absenteeism and vitality will continue to be a topic for managers and HR in the coming year.
Sustainability
To keep our environment livable, we must sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent pollution of air, water, and soil. In our Strategy, we have agreed to take our responsibility in a courageous and caring manner. A tightened policy on foreign business travel was already in place. Our commitment has been greatly expanded by now fully committing to more sustainable travel behavior regarding our way of commuting. We can reduce the emissions and pollution caused by travel movements by shortening journey lengths (living closer to work), opting for sustainable forms of transport, and working in hybrid mode. However, we want to ensure a vital work community where we continue to meet each other sufficiently.
To support colleagues in more sustainable travel behavior, we looked at ways to extend schemes in 2022. For example, we examined how to make not only commuting by public transport but also cycling (travel, purchase, parking facilities) and walking more attractive. This includes moving to a residence close to the university. This has resulted in the sustainable commuting scheme that went into effect as of January 1, 2023. Employees have a choice of public transportation reimbursement through an NS Business Card/OV card or a bicycle and walking allowance. There is a transitional arrangement for employees or target groups who cannot or not yet immediately switch to a more sustainable mode of commuting.
Moreover, 2022 was the year of the return to campus after the coronavirus period, marking the real start of hybrid working. Hybrid working means working place and partly time independent while maintaining a sense of community. Reinforcing and securing the quality of work remains paramount. As a university, we provide the basic conditions for hybrid working, such as ergonomic (home office), flexible workstations, and (technical) meeting facilities. In the employee monitor (May 2022), 43% of employees (academic staff: 28% and support and management staff: 57%) indicated that they have made arrangements to work (partly) from home. On average, employees work 46% of their time from home (academic staff: 50% and support and management staff: 44%). Employees indicate that the possibility of hybrid working contributes (very) positively to their work-life balance. Hybrid working is not only in line with modern business practices but also contributes positively to the reduction of commuting and the CO2 footprint. However, it also creates a problem in connecting with each other and enabling spontaneous (and informal) meetings.
