HR Blueprint Archive: Horizon 1 Information, Resources, & FAQs
HR Blueprint FAQs
The HR Blueprint Project intends to design the future of the employee experience at CU Boulder to ensure our staff and faculty have the tools, systems, and resources they need to grow and thrive on our campus, regardless of role or affiliation.
Today, the way we attract, hire, develop, and serve our faculty and staff varies across Campus which can result in an inefficient, unreliable, and inequitable employee experience. Our goal is to ensure all our employees know where to go for support, have what they need to do their jobs, feel valued for their contributions, and see a future for themselves here with us.
The HR Blueprint Project is part of six improvement initiatives being jointly sponsored by the offices of the Provost and COO. The HR Blueprint Project sits under the Operational Excellence initiative.
The HR Blueprint Project Leadership Team includes representation from both Operations and Academics - Danielle Brunner, Kenny Nelson, Robyn Fergus, Colisse Franklin, Jennifer McDuffie, Mark Kavanaugh, Russell Moore, Michele Moses, Patrick O’Rourke, and Ann Schmiesing.
The HR Blueprint Project will ensure the institution’s DEI priorities are reflected in our HR functions by applying a DEI lens to decision making and actions..
The HR Blueprint Project is only looking at the CU Boulder employee-related processes, systems, and structure and does not include the other campuses. For the initial assessment phase, intersections/interdependencies with the System Office will be included in the scope. The HR function within the System Office will not be in scope.
Once the assessment phase has concluded, we will provide opportunities to share feedback.
Please reach out to Robyn Fergus or Ann Schmiesing with any questions or for additional information.
The HR Blueprint Project will begin with an assessment of the processes, systems, and structures in place today to support HR-related activities across campus, such as hiring, employee development, and separation. Following this assessment, we will identify any opportunities to make improvements and communicate any decisions and next steps in May.
We will conduct documentation meetings to capture current processes, systems, and roles connected to HR-related accountabilities across all units at CU Boulder, including in our schools, colleges, institutes, and administrative support units.
During the assessment phase, the only impact to your unit will be time requested with key team members to document the current state processes, systems, and structure.
The HR Blueprint Project assessment phase will conclude in April.
In May, we will provide a summary of the current state findings and an overview of the key decisions. We will also outline the next steps and how you and your department will be engaged.
HR Blueprint FAQs, Horizon 1
At a high level, we learned CU Boulder HR falls at a level 1.5 out of 5 on the HR Capability Maturity Model, which means it is operating more in a transactional than strategic capacity. Teams only have time and bandwidth to focus on short-term, routine tasks that are primarily administrative in scope. The HR Blueprint Project will advance the maturity of CU Boulder HR to allow us to operate as a strategic partner helping support the objectives of the organization.
To collect information, we held a series of documentation meetings with more than 90 constituents across CU Boulder, including representation from Central HR, the schools, colleges, and institutes; and the administrative support units within or reporting to Strategic Resources & Support, Academic Affairs, and the Chancellor’s Office.
- There is a high degree of alignment around the need for HR to evolve the way we work today.
- There is a strong culture of collaboration between Central HR and Unit HR teams.
- We have HR teams who have established best practices in various HR areas that can be leveraged across campus.
- Many of our HR leadership across campus have a long tenure and deep knowledge and experience that we can rely on as we navigate the best way to implement changes.
- HR practitioners agree the existing processes and systems aren’t working as well as we need them to.
- There are staffing capacity limitations that we need to address.
- HR would benefit from a unified strategy to help make decisions, allocate resources, and prioritize work.
- Strengthening our governance mechanisms would help ensure we align with institutional goals, reduce risk, and know where accountability sits.
- Where possible, we need to automate transactional processes and services.
- All of HR would benefit from a technology roadmap to help improve the usage of our current tools and the selection of future tools.
- A cohesive HR culture underpinned by a commitment to employee equity and reducing process exceptions would strengthen the HR function.
To meet our primary HR Blueprint objectives and to open the door for change, we must first establish an intentional HR operating model for CU Boulder. An HR operating model is how an HR function is organized to deliver value to its internal customers and the organization. An HR operating model encompasses six key areas: people, service delivery, technology, measurement, governance, and process. A strong HR function has clarity and cohesion across all six areas.
Based on the inputs from the Feasibility Phase, the Project Leadership Team selected the Partner Model as the target operating model for CU Boulder HR. This model was chosen as the option that will best allow us to achieve our objectives of becoming a strategic function, improving the employee experience and making it more equitable, and streamlining our ways of working to achieve Operational Excellence.
HR Partners will be embedded within the unit for HR consulting and strategic support and will be a key link between Central HR and the unit. This gives the units a direct line into the Central HR centers of excellence. It also gives us the structure to bring HR policies and standards, transactional support, and technology into the Central HR team, while relying on the units to define procedures, make decisions around talent, and align the subject matter perspective to HR-related activities.
An HR Partner will:
- Help units best leverage the resources and expertise available in Central HR.
- Act as a consultant, providing guidance and deep subject matter expertise on HR matters.
- Be proficient in the needs and nuances of the units they partner with.
- Help on all HR-related matters, from unit effectiveness, staffing, recruiting, and talent assessment, to performance management, employee relations, and training and development.
- Work alongside Unit HR practitioners to support unit needs.
We will be communicating the full outline of HR Partner responsibilities in FY2026.
We have broken the work for the complete HR Blueprint Project down into three Horizons, each lasting approximately 12 months. Each Horizon will contain initiatives about our identified areas of opportunity. Horizon 1 will focus on the following five key initiatives and begin in June of 2024:
- Strategy: Defining the CU Boulder HR strategy
- Culture: Defining the HR value proposition and creating a refreshed CU Boulder HR identity
- Processes & Standards: Defining and implementing standards for the hire, maintain, and separate processes
- Technology: Documenting the current HR systems and creating a technology roadmap
- Structure & Governance: Defining the structure, roles, and accountabilities that will be needed in the new Partner Model
In the interim (today through 2025) work will not transition to Central HR unless requested by the Unit or Leadership. Hiring can proceed as usual; however, Central HR must be engaged in the position description and interview process to ensure new hire capabilities align with future-state requirements. All promotions and re-classifications will also be reviewed by Central HR leadership.
You can give your input on the work of Horizon 1 by engaging in:
- Working groups
- Open Forums
- Surveys
- Comment Boxes
There are three ways to get information:
- Visit the HR Blueprint Project website. This is where you can find FAQs, materials, and a copy of the full Feasibility Report.
- Attend an Ask Me Anything session. We will be holding these open sessions periodically throughout the project.
- Email us at hrblueprint@colorado.edu with any questions, feedback, or to get involved. We will respond to emails within 24 hours.
Each of the five initiatives making up Horizon 1 will begin in June 2024.
Transitioning to the Partner Model will not happen overnight. This will be a multi-year effort that will require careful planning and an inclusive approach. We currently have the entire Blueprint Project mapped across three Horizons of work:
- Horizon 1: End of FY2025
- Horizon 2: End of FY2026
- Horizon 3: End of FY2027
https://www.colorado.edu/hr/hr-blueprint-faq-archive
Working Groups
How will we deliver the HR Partner Operating Model? Click each working group title below to learn more.
- Culture Working Group
- Structure & Governance Working Group
- Technology Working Group
- Strategy Working Group
- Process & Standards Working Group
How do the HR Blueprint Project working groups intersect with each other?