September 3, 2025 Assess HR Functions, Services, and Strategies Update
Objectives
- Collaborative Redesign: We have the opportunity to reimagine and redesign our people services, strategies, and processes.
- Foster Workforce Success: Our focus is to position the department to foster workforce success and promote a culture of care, belonging, and opportunity for all at ECU.
- Community and Care: We want to emphasize excellent customer service, streamline processes, and care for each other within POSO. Our community and collective contribution is important to our shared vision.
Key Activities
In October 2024, ECU’s Department for People Operations, Success, and Opportunity (POSO) began working with Huron Consulting Group to reimagine and redesign our people services and strategies. Our partnership with Huron is organized into three phases:
- Phase 1: Assess (Oct. 2024 – March 202)
Assess current state services and operations and generate a prioritized roadmap of recommendations for our future state transformation - Phase 2: Imagine (March – Aug. 2025)
Reimagine POSO services, operations, and structure - Phase 3: Implement (Aug. 2025 – Jan. 2026)
Transition toa new organizational structure and service model
Phase 1: Assessment Focus
Evaluate the current state of the Department for People Operations, Success, and Opportunity (POSO) at ECU and identify areas for improvement to enhance service delivery, employee experience, and operational efficiency.
Assessment Phase Engagement Activities
- 1,120 Employees responded to a constituent survey (18%)
- 388 Data files were shared to support current state understanding
- 80+ POSO team members engaged in meetings, focus groups,and interviews
- 62 Partners and customers of POSO engaged in focus groups and interviews
- 3 Announcements made about this project to the ECU community
Key Themes Included
- Desire for more streamlined and consistent processes with an understanding of unit needs
- Need for more leadership and supervisory training and development
- Challenges arising from reliance on disparate systems
- Desire for clearer and more consistent communication
- Dissatisfaction around posting, position, recruiting, and hiring processes
Recommendations
- Define a Guiding Strategy for POSO
- Establish KPI Capabilities and Mechanisms to Measure and Report
- Establish a Business Process Improvement Capability
- Establish a Service Delivery Strategy
- Reimagine the Organizational Structure
Phase 2: Reimagining Focus
Reimagine our POSO services and operations based on the insights gathered and recommendations made in Phase 1.
Outcomes From Phase 2
- An improved service delivery model that promotes POSO’s commitment to a culture of care, identifies tools to manage our services, and establishes governance for ongoing improvement
- A reimagined operating model that brings clarity to POSO’s roles and responsibilities, streamlined processes, and enabling technology
- An improved end-to-end hiring process and case management approach
Phase 3: Implementation Focus
- Transition to a new organizational structure and service model
- Create a strategic plan
- Build capacity around continuous improvement
Upcoming Improvements
POSO will implement several improvements, building capability for continuous improvement, improving service delivery, and achieving a culture of care and improved employee experience.
| # | Effort |
|---|---|
| 1 | Establish KPI capabilities and reporting mechanisms, including baseline metrics and tracking methods |
| 2 | Review and improve business processes, starting with hiring and case management |
| 3 | Define an improved service delivery strategy, including a customer relationship management (CRM) strategy |
| 4 | Implement a new organizational structure for POSO |
| 5 | Design and communicate the POSO strategic plan, including mission, vision, goals, and objectives |
| 6 | Establish a future-focused roadmap for continuous improvements, including a change management strategy and service partnership agreements |
Our Commitment to a Culture of Care
- Strategy-Led: It starts by defining a clear strategy and defined outcomes.
- People Driven: People have to own and drive the change, transformation is a culture shift that spans roles, responsibilities, beliefs and behaviors.
- Technology-Enabled: Technology is a key component. When properly leveraged, it provides measurable improvements in efficiency and services.
- Purpose-Built: The end result is a purpose-built culture of care.
More Details … Coming Soon!
We’re excited about transitioning to a new, innovative approach to provide services that foster workforce success and a better experience for the ECU community.
Early fall semester 2025: More details about our new organizational structure will be shared.
Questions: contact LaKesha Alston Forbes, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief People Officer, poso_cpo@ecu.edu