WHEN THE HR DEPART-ment at Western Michigan University wants to upgrade its software, the process is not as simple as placing an order with the IT department. Even if the cost is budgeted for, HR's request must be prioritized and weighed against those from other departments or administrators by a change control committee that meets monthly to review each and every IT change on campus.
Take a good look at your Human Resources department. What kind of grade does it deserve for helping your school achieve its key goals? At some schools, HR would barely pass, maybe even flunk.
With bigger budgets and higher profits, corporate America sometimes outshines higher education in areas such as compensation. But here's one area where they're on even turf: creatively rewarding and recognizing employees.
Universities and colleges go to great lengths to find secure systems to help protect their critical data or proprietary information. Yet, some of the most important information can walk through a campus' front gates without anyone batting an eye.
The most frequent out-sourced human resource functions at any college or university are usually payroll, employee assistance programs (EAP), and benefits administration. IHEs are certainly doing it, but at the end of the day, does outsourcing really save money?
