HR Excellence in Research

hr excellence in research logo
Hanken was awarded the “HR Excellence in Research” logo by the European Commission in spring 2015. An internal review for renewal assessment was carried out in the view of our strategy in 2021 and submitted in January 2022.

The European Commission recognizes with the 'HR Excellence in Research Award' the institutions which make progress in aligning their human resources policies to the principles of the Charter & Code. The logo "HR Excellence in Research" identifies institutions and organisations as providers and supporters of a stimulating and favourable working environment.

 

Hanken has submitted a revised HRS4R Strategy and Action Plan for renewal to the European Commission in May 2023.

A big thank you to all of you who participated in the process and for your valuable comments and input! 

HR Excellence in Research

Hanken is a fair and responsible employer that highly values equal opportunity and the overall well-being of its academic and administrative staff. In our human resources management and development, we adhere to the Nordic values of equality, openness, and integrity. We support the competence development of all personnel, and excellent performance in research and teaching is rewarded. We continuously develop our recruitment processes to be competitive in the market for high-quality human capital. 

This current profile as stated in Hankens sub-strategy for human resources, reflects Hanken’s ambition to promote a healthy, inspiring, and fair working environment with the goals to strengthen academic excellence and internationalisation. As a strong advocate of responsibility and sustainability Hanken recognises that, as a part of this objective, we need to contribute to creating and maintaining an open and transparent labour market.

As a step in the process to promote open, transparent, and merit-based recruitment and provide favourable working conditions for all staff members and young researchers, Hanken has declared a commitment to the Principles of the European Commission´s Recommendation the European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researcher (the Charter & Code). By committing to the Charter & Code Hanken strives to develop strategy and objectives that are in line with those of the European Commission's policy aiming at making the researcher´s career more attractive and at enhancing the quality of research.

The HRS4R Process at Hanken

Hanken was awarded the HR Excellence in Research logo by the European Commission in spring 2015 when also the implementation of the HRS4R Action Plan begun. The action plan is the result of a GAP analysis that was carried out based on the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers (the Charter & Code).

Hanken has since made great efforts to improve the professional aspects and recruitment of our academic staff. A new tenure track system was implemented in 2017 and the recruitment processes are constantly being developed. The majority of all academic recruitment is international, and we have invested in extensive relocation support to incoming international staff.

Two models for rewarding academic staff have been put in place: a model for rewarding high quality research publications and one model rewarding high quality applications for research funding. A new model for rewarding excellence in teaching has been implemented in 2020. More resources have been allocated to the research support in order to facilitate the application process for research funding. 

We offer favourable and competitive working conditions and strive to promote the well-being at work of all staff categories by supporting both personal health and fitness and by creating an inclusive work community with a high degree of internationalisation in spirit, content, and actions.

The next step in the HRS4R process requires an internal review of the HR strategy to be assessed by the Commission’s international experts and followed by a site visit in 2023.

For more information about the HRS4R Process and the Action Plan, please contact humanresources@hanken.fi.

The five steps of HRS4R

2022

The internal review for renewal assessment was submitted to the European Commission in January 2022. Due to the site visit being postponed to spring-summer 2023, a new revised version will be submitted in spring 2023.

2021

The internal review for renewal assessment was postponed until fall 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,

2020

The new long-term strategy, Hanken 2030, and it's three sub strategies were published in February 2020.

2018

In March 2018 Hanken received a response to the self-assessment and updated action plan, including recommendations on ‘corrective actions’ that could benefit the university.

2017

A self-assessment of the progress made was carried out in the view of our new strategy during the autumn semester 2017 and an updated HRS4R Action Plan was submitted to the European Commission for assessment in November 2017 (step 4).

2015

A Learning Café, where the participants discussed the outcome of the gap analysis and the action plan, was organised in March 2015. Based on this feedback, the action plan was finalized and published. The final application for acknowledgement by the Commission (step 3) was made in March 2015.

2014

The compilation and publication (step 2) of the Action plan was conducted in April-May 2014. After the publication of the Action plan on the university website, all research staff was invited to comment on the action plan and results of the gap analysis.

2013

The HRS4R Process consists of five steps: The internal gap analysis process (step 1) started in October 2013. A working group was established to carry out the analysis. The working group consist of the HR Director, the Associate Dean for Research and Internationalisation, three representatives of the unions for teaching and researching staff, and the HR Planning Officer (secretary). Based on the results of the gap analysis HANKEN has developed an action plan aiming at enhancing the quality of research and at attracting the best possible candidates by making researchers' careers more attractive. The action plan, including the summary results from the gap analysis, was sent out to institutional stakeholders for comments and feedback: the Management Group, the Consultation Committee and the Heads of Department.

2012

HANKEN was accepted and joined the 4th cohort in October 2012.The next phase of the HRS4R process began with a Kick-off meeting of the 4th cohort of the "Institutional HR Strategy Group" in Brussels, October 2012 and continued in April 2013 with the cohort's 1st Mutual Learning Seminar in Warsaw.

In September 2012, the Declaration of Commitment to the Principles of the European Commission´s Recommendation The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researcher was issued by HANKEN. In the letter, signed by Rector Eva Liljeblom, it is stated that HANKEN's strategy and objectives are fully in line with those of the European Commission's policy aiming at making the researcher´s career more attractive and at enhancing the quality of research.

The Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) is a tool to support institutions in the implementation of the European Charter for Researchers and Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers in their human resource policies and practices. These two documents, addressed to researchers and employers, provide the key elements in creating an open and transparent labour market. The institutions implementing the Charter and Code will become more attractive to researchers looking for a new employer or for a host for their research project.While the European Charter for Researchers addresses the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers and their employers and funding organisations, the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers aims to improve recruitment and make selection procedures fairer and more transparent.

The European Commission recognizes with the 'HR Excellence in Research Award' the institutions which make progress in aligning their human resources policies to the principles of the Charter & Code, based on a customized action plan/HR strategy. The logo "HR Excellence in Research" identifies institutions and organisations as providers and supporters of a stimulating and favourable working environment.

Since the adoption of the Commission Recommendation on the Charter & Code in 2005, over 1200 institutions from 35 countries have expressed their explicit support for the Charter & Code and

more than 500 have obtained the Commission's "HR Excellence in Research" badge.