University Supervisors' Meeting: July 17 Resources

Summary of Talent Acquisition Evolution: Key Meeting Insights

This University Supervisors Meeting focused on HR Modernization. Download the PowerPoint Presentation, watch the meeting recording or review the key highlights and takeaways below.

Overview

The University of Arizona's HR team presented its strategic evolution of talent acquisition services, outlining how the university is transitioning from transactional hiring processes to a strategic, unified approach to talent acquisition.

Current Hiring Scale

The university manages a significant hiring volume, with an average of 521 open postings, 9,538 monthly applications, 2,900 annual hires, and 17,000 total employees, highlighting the need for strategic hiring practices.

Key Challenges Identified

Labor Market Challenges:

  • An increasingly competitive market is making it harder to fill skilled positions
  • Globalization is expanding competition beyond local employers
  • Evolving employee expectations post-COVID, including work-life balance and remote work preferences
  • Projected 85.2 million global worker shortage by 2030
  • High turnover rates in specific sectors (healthcare, accounting, IT, hospitality)


Zoom Poll Question: 
What are some challenges you have experienced with hiring and attracting talent? (select all that apply) 

Results: (out of 209)--Evolving employee expectations  26%
--Inconsistencies in processes 38%
--Increased competition in the job market, 34%
--Insufficient time and resources to dedicate to the process, 41%
--Lack of skilled applicants, 45%
--Other, 16%

Institutional Challenges:

  • Operating as separate, independent hiring entities across campus
  • Insufficient time and resources dedicated to attracting top talent
  • Process redundancies and inconsistencies
  • Increased risk of unfair hiring practice claims

Strategic Solutions Through TA Evolution

The talent acquisition team aims to drive hiring success by:

  • Identifying hiring trends early and implementing proactive strategies
  • Monitoring quality of hires and gathering feedback for improvement
  • Reducing time-to-hire by streamlining processes
  • Monitoring candidate and hiring manager experience
  • Understanding and improving offer acceptance rates

Job Advertisement Strategy

Best practice involves creating compelling, intentional job advertisements as strategic investments. HR’s TA experts will support departments in aligning with labor market trends, establishing realistic job descriptions, targeting the right audience, and highlighting unique value propositions.

Implementation Roadmap

Immediate Steps:

  • Growing TA team headcount across multiple levels (TA 1-3 positions)
  • Implementing a new applicant tracking system to power Talent (expected Spring 2027)
  • Developing closer ties with hiring managers during the creation of new job postings
  • Developing closer ties with departmental leaders to understand and guide departmental hiring processes

Future Initiatives:

  • Involvement in staff planning conversations for proactive pipeline development
  • Expanding search committee resources and services

Key Takeaways

  • HR TA experts will serve as strategic partners
  • Initial focus on University Staff positions before expanding to faculty
  • Hiring managers remain key stakeholders with direct HR collaboration through intake meetings
  • The upcoming evolution of TA will support HR modernization goals of providing expert, strategic support for all areas of the university while maintaining compliance and improving efficiency

The presentation concluded with plans to return next year with updates on implementation progress and expanded service offerings.

Additional Topics Covered

EDGE Learning System Notification Updates

Presenter: Caitlin Baker, HR EDGE Learning Engagement Specialist

Key Changes:

  • Based on August 2024 supervisor feedback about notification volume being too high
  • New Policy: Supervisors will only be copied on overdue notifications from direct reports
  • Supervisors will no longer receive upcoming due date notifications
  • Changes are being implemented in phases throughout summer 2025
  • Significant reduction in email volume for supervisors while maintaining awareness of compliance issues