1. Recruitment and Selection
Attract and hire global research talent to strengthen the VITO workforce
VITO aims to attract the best talent from all over the world by offering them a high-quality working environment where people can further develop their skills and experience interesting career opportunities. To achieve the ambitious goals in our renewed strategy, it is necessary to strengthen our workforce with international talent. The Code of Conduct for Recruitment of Researchers is a reference in the HR process and the personnel policies and practices.
The Applied Research Lifecycle with a dominant focus towards internationalization, commercialization, and excellence in research has a significant impact on the hire needs, job and competence profiles and selection criteria. Together with the hiring managers, we want to maximize the impact of VITO’s talent acquisition process because new hires can really leverage a new strategy.
A clear visible employer brand is required to communicate the change and the new possibilities towards applicants from all over the world. We have to expose our job offers, facilities, (career) guidance programs and interesting opportunities to grow (personal and professional).
With an onboarding and mentoring program we want to facilitate the socialization and integration of newcomers into the organization. In these programs, special attention goes to international candidates and intercultural actions.
2. FIT @ VITO
Optimal performance of people and organisation due to a “fit” on several aspects
Because we care for the well-being of our staff we wanted to gain insight in their well-being perception. As a first step in the process, a questionnaire on that theme was rolled out in the organization. After analysing and discussing the results, a “FIT @ VITO” framework was created in 2015 to ensure that actions are set up in the organization. The “fit” refers to a fit on a mental and physical level, on the context of the person itself, the job context, the relation with the management and the fit with and within the organization. We strongly believe that all aspects are necessary for an optimal job experience and performance.
The FIT @ VITO framework covers all types of actions; “Analytics”, “FIT4All” (diversity & inclusion,…), “Mental FIT and Health” (stress management,…), “Employability”, “Work environment” (Activity Based Work), “Fun @ Work” & “Empowerment”.
Communication and information are important too in this context. When the information need fits the information offer, availability and accessibility (the right info at the right time), it will contribute to better performance. This is important in every career stage; when entering the organization (e.g. in introduction programs) or further in the career path.
3. Talent Mobility
Increase flexibility, agility and talent mobility
At VITO we put a lot of emphasis on flexibility and talent mobility given its importance in open innovation and co-creation in research. Mobility creates the opportunity for the VITO researchers to learn about the way of working in other companies, to exchange ideas and collaborate with internationally recognised researchers from different cultural backgrounds and to open their views and expand their skill set. By attracting international researchers and welcoming visiting researchers from all over the world VITO strives to expand a diverse international talent pool. Therefore VITO experiments with all kinds of mobility pilot projects related to the exchange of knowledge; within the organization, exchange with industrial partners, exchange in an international context with other RTO’s,…. It’s also important that we keep the contact with the network in an Alumni community. Inbound and outbound (employment) flows will be supported by a central support office. In this way, we want to further promote and facilitate exchange and mobility in an international context.
4. Sustainable employability
Goal: Talent and career development
The Applied Research Lifecycle enlightens new competence needs for managers and researchers. Not only new hires will fill these needs, supplementary we need to develop the skill set of current employees and co-workers. A renewed talent development offer will focus on leadership development, commercial development and the development of the researcher portfolio.
Job descriptions, competence profiles and career paths will be adjusted in line with the new strategic needs. The change in the organization requires flexibility. A succession planning strategy and process for key positions will ensure the longer term stability and continuity in the changing context.
A virtual VITO Talent Center will align the offer and demand of personnel needs VITO wide. This internal flexibility and mobility will contribute to the agility of the organization and the sustainable employability of the employees.
VITO continuously stimulates its employees to actively steer their career and to make conscious choices. VITO supports this with complete and balanced training, development and guidance programmes in order to increase the employee's resilience and employability in a broader labour market beyond the VITO organisation.
The original action plan 4X4 (Four by four) action plan based on the HR priorities was designed to ensure impact.
Beginning 2018, the progress of the action plan was evaluated positively. It was decided to keep working within the 4X4 action framework for the following 3 years. Timelines were adjusted and focus for the future period was defined as follows:
- In the framework of selection & recruitment a structured evaluation was made of the VITO recruitment policies and practices compared with the Open, Transparent and Merit based Recruitment guidelines of the EC (OTM-R guidelines). Extra actions were defined to meet all these criteria in the near future. Publishing of a detailed VITO OTM-R policy is planned at the latest end 2019. The jobsite will be updated in line with this OTM-R policy.
- In the context of FIT@VITO the focus will lie on the implementation of GDPR, the establishment of a cell responsible research & innovation and the appointment of a diversity officer.
- The actions concerning talent mobility are pursued.
- In the key area ‘Sustainable employability’ the efforts to align the PhD and postdoc processes with the employee processes are enforced. This effort is aligned with the strive for OTM-R in all positions.
More information about the action framework can be found further. For more detail, you can consult the original action plan 2014-2018 and the adjusted and extended plan until 2020.