Focus on People Updates

UBC recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2021

By Melissa Baluk on March 2, 2021

UBC is recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2021. This designation recognizes employers across Canada that are stepping up to the challenge to address systemic inequities that have long existed in Canadian workplaces.

Some of the reasons that UBC is selected as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers this year include:

UBC hosted its inaugural Black, Indigenous and Person of Colour (IBPOC) Connections lunch in fall 2019, a social gathering to build community and create a space of belonging for BIPOC faculty and staff — additionally, the university launched a Rule Out Racism campaign along with three community dialogues in collaboration with UBC’s alumni unit and other campus partners.
The Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre provides former students with access to the records of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada as well as facilitates understanding of the history and impact of residential schools for the UBC community, and provides context for contemporary relationships – at the time of the application, the university was finalizing a renewed Indigenous strategic plan which will further UBC’s commitments to enact meaningful and lasting reconciliation.
UBC maintains an Equity Enhancement Fund to support collaborative student, faculty and staff projects that advance equity and inclusion — the fund was recently used for several projects to enhance UBC’s curriculum through the inclusion of the Indigenous way of knowing, knowledge and perspectives.

Read more about Canada’s Best Diversity Employers awards at https://www.canadastop100.com/diversity/

Looking for resources or support to help you contribute to making UBC a respectful and inclusive place to work? The Equity & Inclusion Office offers resources and support to help us create a community in which human rights are respected, and equity and inclusion are embedded in all areas of life at UBC.

Learn more about how we’re making UBC an inspiring place to work through Focus on People 2025.

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UBC named one of BC’s Top Employers in 2021

By Melissa Baluk on February 16, 2021

UBC is recognized as one of BC’s Top Employers in 2021. This designation recognizes the British Columbian employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work and the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Some of the reasons UBC is selected as one of BC’s Top Employers this year:

UBC organizes an annual Thrive event, a week-long series of activities to help employees and the campus community explore mental health — and, as part of its health benefits plan, offers a generous mental health practitioner benefit of up to $2,500 annually.
UBC encourages physical activity through the “Move U Crew“, a group of specialists with experience in fitness, dance, stretching and other recreational activities who provide guided movement breaks in classes, conferences, and meetings, and hosting guided walks. (Learn more about Move UBC and events taking place this month!)
UBC offers a family-friendly work environment with maternity and parental leave top-up payments for new parents (varying by position), options to phase-in return to work, onsite child care, and a variety of flexible working arrangements.

Read more about BC’s Top Employers awards at https://www.canadastop100.com/bc

At UBC, faculty and staff are dedicated to shaping a better world through our research, teaching and work. Take a look in the video below to see why we work at UBC.

UBC named one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2021

By Melissa Baluk on January 19, 2021

UBC has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People in 2021, for the ninth consecutive year. This special designation recognizes the employers that offer the nation’s best workplaces and programs for young people starting their careers.

Here are some of the reasons why UBC was selected this year include:

UBC manages a community leadership program to help aspiring leaders explore leadership concepts through a series of interactive workshops and experiential learning — participants can practice their skills by leading a group of undergraduate students through a three-day community service learning project during UBC’s Reading Week break in February, either at school or at a non-profit organization.
UBC’s new Red Seal culinary apprenticeship program enables chefs to earn their certification while immersed in a full range of culinary experiences at the university.
UBC’s Postdoctoral Fellows Office is a resource centre that provides support, advocacy, and professional development for postdocs — the Office’s flagship initiative is the “Foundations of Career Planning” program, a three-part workshop series supplemented with sessions in personal and professional effectiveness, academic growth, career building and leadership.

As we strive to make UBC a great place to learn and work, there are a number of services and supports available to faculty and staff. Many programs are tailored for young employees and employees who are new to the workplace to help welcome them to the community and grow in their careers, such as university-wide orientation and in-house apprenticeship and skilled trades training programs.

Faculty and staff also have access to coaching and career navigation services, workplace learning opportunities as well as tuition waivers and professional development funding.

As part of the university community, faculty and staff are encouraged to take part in workplace wellbeing initiatives as well as mental health training and workshops. Employees also have access the athletics and recreation facilities at our Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, in addition to UBC’s many attractions.

Read more about Canada’s Top Employers awards at http://www.canadastop100.com/young_people/

An ambitious journey to transform the way we work

By Melissa Baluk on November 13, 2020

On November 2, the way we work together saw change with the launch of Workday for Finance and Human Resources.

Below is an excerpt from President and Vice-Chancellor Santa Ono’s message to the UBC community. Read the full Weekly Update October 23.

The road towards implementation of Workday has been a long one, with reviews of the university’s systems starting over a decade ago. When the Integrated Renewal Program kicked off in May 2018, we knew we’d started on an ambitious and important journey to transform how we work at UBC. The program team has been hard at work ensuring what is delivered meets UBC’s needs well into the future.

Significant change takes time and patience to be successful. As the system continues to improve with regular updates, so will the way we collaborate and make decisions in the workplace.

The switch to Workday will bring modern, intuitive systems and simpler processes that will support UBC, meeting the needs of our learning, research and working environment.

I’m excited for the possibilities and opportunities that Workday will bring. But we all know it takes time to figure out how to use and get the most out of a new system.

It’s taken a team effort to bring Workday to fruition and I’d like to thank everyone involved. Many individuals have gone above and beyond and worked tirelessly to ensure a successful transition.

Thank you everybody who has worked so hard to make Workday a success.

Investing in technology and designing processes that enable flexibility, agility, virtual teams and collaborative work is just one of the ways that we are shaping the future of research, teaching and work, as outlined in the Focus on People 2025 framework.

UBC community celebrates launch of new Indigenous Strategic Plan

By Melissa Baluk on October 30, 2020

UBC’s renewed Indigenous Strategic Plan is an important milestone in UBC’s commitment to truth and reconciliation.

“We want to ensure our campuses are places where Indigenous students, scholars and knowledge keepers truly feel welcome and are able to reach their fullest potential. We want our campuses to prominently reflect and celebrate cultures and traditions of the Indigenous peoples on whose territories they are located,” says Dr. Margaret Moss, plan co-lead and Director, First Nations House of Learning at UBC.

Reconciliation Pole, Hereditary Chief 7idansuu (James Hart), Haida. Photo credit: Hover Collective / UBC Brand & Marketing

Launched this fall, the plan represents a university-wide response to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Calls for Justice. It also represents the UBC Vancouver campus’ response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

UBC is the first university in North America to commit to implementing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to take a human rights-based approach to its Indigenous strategic framework.

“We’ve come a long way over the past decade in particular, but the engagement process highlighted the reality that there’s still a long road ahead in order for us to see our Indigenous students, faculty, staff and partners not just survive but thrive,” says Dr. Margaret Moss.

The plan, intended as a guiding framework for faculties, units and portfolios to develop their own plans, outlines eight goals and 43 actions the university will collectively take to advance its vision of UBC as a leading university globally in the implementation of Indigenous peoples’ human rights.

It was developed with the guidance of Indigenous Elders, leaders, and other experts, and through extensive dialogue and input from over 2,500 Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, faculty, staff, and other members of the UBC community.

The Focus on People 2025 framework elevates the work of the Indigenous Strategic Plan, particularly through Catalyst #1, which supports actions that create a diverse, inclusive, safe and vibrant environment for those who work at the university.

Visit the UBC Strategic Plan website to learn more about how UBC is supporting the objectives and actions of the renewed Indigenous Strategic Plan.

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