What is the People Plan?
Talent for Tomorrow is UCalgary’s first institution-wide People Plan. It connects the strategic ambitions in Ahead of Tomorrow to the everyday experiences of all employees, including faculty, staff, student employees, graduate assistants and postdoctoral associates. The plan provides a clear framework for how UCalgary supports, develops and engages our people.
Why a People Plan?
The world of work is changing: talent markets are competitive, employee expectations are evolving, and technology – including AI – is reshaping roles and workflows. Talent for Tomorrow addresses these shifts by prioritizing clear and supportive processes, focusing on what matters most, and creating an environment where people can thrive and do their best work, now and in the future.
Talent for Tomorrow
The People Plan is for everyone. It helps shape everyday experience such as how people work together, support one another and hold shared responsibility for growth and improvement.
Our Objectives
Build a high-performing People and Culture function
to provide effective support for faculty, staff and leaders.
Foster an empowered work environment
to strengthen our employee proposition in an evolving and competitive landscape.
Enable university transformation and growth
by ensuring we have the people and culture to fulfil our collective ambitions.
Our Priorities
Objective 1 — Build a high-performing People and Culture function
1. Clarify our service model
Define roles, service levels and workflows to improve consistency and accountability.
2. Reinforce and align our HR partner capacity
Reduce transactional demands and provide better data, training and coordination so partners can support leaders proactively.
3. Formalize surge capacity
Build scalable “agile pods” to support reorganization, growth and major initiatives across the university.
Objective 2 — Foster an empowered work environment
4. Streamline and simplify core HR processes
Redesign and document core processes to reduce friction and improve clarity.
5. Align total rewards
Renew the MaPS salary framework and review and revise financial and non-financial benefits to stay competitive.
6. Invest in people leader capability
Strengthen mandatory leader onboarding and core people management competencies.
Objective 3 — Enable university transformation and growth
7. Strengthen recruitment support
Improve speed, coordination and strategic advice to compete for talent and support growth.
8. Bolster professional development
Expand programming and focus on future ready skills such as AI and change management.
9. Enhance performance enablement
Renew orientation, career pathing and succession planning to support growth and long, successful careers at UCalgary.
FAQ
UCalgary is launching a People Plan to clearly outline shared priorities and guide how the university supports, develops, and enables its people. It provides a common framework to help align people decisions and actions over time.
The plan aims to strengthen support, improve HR services, and enhance tools and processes that affect your work experience. It doesn’t change your job duties directly but focuses on making your work environment better and more supportive.
Changes guided by the People Plan may include improved HR processes, clearer support services, better leadership development, and enhancements in recruitment, professional development, learning, and career support.
The People Plan focuses on making sure pay, benefits, and recognition are competitive so the university can attract and keep great people. A key priority in the first year is updating the MaPS salary framework, along with reviewing other financial and non-financial benefits that make the university a strong place to work.
The People Plan does not specifically address hybrid or flexible work arrangements. However, it emphasizes creating an empowered work environment that enhances the employee experience and increases institutional effectiveness. Any future approaches to how work is done will be guided by those principles.
Streamlining and simplifying HR processes and systems is a priority, so expect updates as changes are rolled out.
The People Plan aims to strengthen professional development by building on existing programs, encouraging greater participation, and focusing on skills that support resilience and readiness for the future of work.
The People Plan’s focus on performance enablement and career pathing means it will support clearer career pathways and internal movement over time.
While mental health isn’t spelled out as a separate initiative, the overall focus on culture, support, and employee experience prioritizes well-being as part of creating a healthy work environment.
The People Plan aligns with the university’s foundational commitments, including to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. It’s meant to support existing policies but doesn’t replace or rewrite them.
Examples include:
- Simplifying HR processes
- Strengthening HR Partner support
- Reviewing compensation frameworks
- Enhancing leadership and professional development
- Developing clear, internal career pathways
- Enhancing succession planning
- Supporting recruitment
People and Culture will track and report progress annually and share updates as initiatives are rolled out.
Please connect with UService by calling 403.210.9300 or sending an email to hr@ucalgary.ca.