We recognize and appreciate that people are our greatest strength. We also understand that the workforce is evolving, and people’s needs are changing. HRedefined’s goal is to transform human resources services and support across the system, elevate the well-being and experience of our employees, and prepare USC for the future by upgrading HR systems, processes, technology, and practices.
With the leadership of our steering committee and working group, the HRedefined teams will involve stakeholders and collaborate closely with our consulting partner to develop a modern and efficient HR model and function that supports USC’s unique needs.
Objectives and goals for this initiative will continue to be refined as the working group meets. HRedefined has already identified a few overarching goals to better serve the USC community:
- Make USC a place where current employees and job seekers want to work.
- Improve and find new ways to recruit and retain world-class faculty and staff.
- Improve the employee experience with more responsive, efficient, and personalized HR services.
- Improve and implement innovative practices and solutions.
- Align our goals and services across colleges and units to maximize academic excellence, innovation, and engagement.
The two committees are made up of 20 different faculty and staff members combined spanning 14 different academic and administrative units.
- Rohit Verma, Dean of the Darla Moore School of Business (co-chair)
- Caroline Agardy, Vice President for Human Resources (co-chair)
- Stacy Bradley, Senior Associate Vice President for Organizational Excellence and Effectiveness
- Dagmara Bruce, Director of HR and EEO Coordinator for USC Upstate
- Anna Edwards, Chief of Staff for Student Affairs and Academic Support and Associate Vice President for Student Life
- Kelly Epting, Associate Vice President for Finance and Budget
- Carla Harkness, Director of Employee Development and Special Projects, School of Medicine Columbia
- Jason Lambert, Associate Vice President of Facility Services
- Shannon Means, Vice Provost for Strategy and Innovation
- Belinda Ogorek, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources
- Connie Thompson, Director of Strategic Partnership and Policy Administration for Human Resources
- Dana Woodward, Associate Director of Academic Affairs Communications
- Donna Arnett, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (co-chair)
- Ed Walton, CFO and Executive Vice President for Administration
- Caroline Agardy, Vice President for Human Resources
- Brice Bible, CIO and Vice President for Information Technology
- Julius Fridriksson, Vice President for Research
- Bennie Harris, Chancellor of USC Upstate
- Joel Samuels, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
- Rex Tolliver, Vice President for Student Affairs and Academic Support
- Julian Williams, Vice President of the Office of Access and Opportunity
The model created by the Design team includes four components:
The Centers of Excellence within Central HR will provide strategic guidance to the USC system and provide centralized
resources related to operations and administration.
An HR Service Center within Central HR will collaborate with HR Business Partners and units to ensure compliance,
complete HR-related transactions, review and enhance processes, among other functions.
The HR Business Partner refers to both a lead HR professional and a function within the unit(s) that the
HRBP supports. HR Business Partners will provide strategic and consultative guidance
to the leader(s) of the unit(s) they support.
The Units will provide input, direction, and serve as partners to the HR Business Partner and
Centers of Excellence in order to advance people priorities within their areas.
The Centers of Excellence, HR Service Center, HR Business Partners, and the Units
will work collaboratively to address needs throughout the employee life cycle.
Key benefits of the HR Business Partner model include, but are not limited, the following:
Institution
- Reduces institutional risk through consistent quality of services
- Greater ability to timely address local demands
- Enables cross-functional skill development and highly specialized resources
- Supports shared vision, mission, and common goals
Leaders
- Provides high-level, strategic HR consultation to guide and support people priorities within the unit
- Provides dedicated HR resources that understand the unique needs of the units they support\
- Empowers HR Business Partners to make decisions quickly within University guidelines
HR Professionals
- Creates dedicated HR professionals
- Establishes a strong network of HR professionals across the University
- Provides professional development opportunities
- Creates clear HR career paths within the USC system
As next steps, USC will begin planning the implementation of the new model. The implementation planning effort will involve six teams that will be commissioned to develop detailed plans in the following areas:
- People Team - Outlines aspects of the HR model that involves people
- Process and Policy Team - Leverages currently documented workflows and outlines the detailed processes and policies necessary to implement the new model
- Technology Team - Outlines the technology hardware and software necessary to migrate business processes into the HR model and the technology and automation requirements to improve the efficiency and quality of delivery of various business services and processes
- Facilities Team - Outlines aspects of the physical space elements of the HR model, as necessary
- Financial Team - Outlines the one-time costs associated with implementing the HR model, along with the on-going operational budget of the HR function
- Strategy and Change Management Team - Outlines the information sharing, communication, training, and other activities necessary to build broad buy-in, support, and understanding of the goals, objectives, and purpose of the HR model and an understanding of the timelines, actions, accountabilities, and impacts of the HR model transition on internal resources and campus units
The six implementation planning teams are made up of various individuals spanning academic and administrative units.
- Alicia Bervine, Executive Director for Student Affairs and Academic Support
- Ashley Maciaszek, Chief Financial and Operations Officer
- Belinda Ogorek, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources
- Carla Harkness, Director of Employee Development and Special Projects, School of Medicine Columbia
- Carla Hayes, Director of Human Resources/EOO/Deputy Title IX Coordinator
- Cathy Donnelly, Assistant Director of Organizational Development
- Ciji Tolbert, Director of Classification and Compensation
- Teresa Limpalair, Human Resources Service Teams Director
- Belinda Ogorek, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources
- Carla Harkness, Director of Employee Development and Special Projects, School of Medicine Columbia
- Connie Thompson, Director of Strategic Partnership and Policy Administration
- Myra Segars-Szustak, Human Resources Director
- Philis Best, Facilities Human Resources Contact
- Stephanie Marrs, College of Arts and Sciences' Associate Director of Human Resources
- Teresa Limpalair, Human Resources Service Teams Director
- Tom Terez, Senior Associate for the Office of Organizational Excellence
- Bob Dyer, Director of Information Technology at Palmetto College
- Chris Poore, Senior Information System/Business Analyst
- Connie Thompson, Director of Strategic Partnership and Policy Administration
- Jeff Hostilo, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning Technologies
- John Waters, Human Resources Systems Consultant
- Stacy Lee, Systems, Information, and Reporting Manager
- Stan Laraque, Information Technology Manager for the School of Medicine (Columbia)
- Belinda Ogorek, Assistant Vice President of Human Resources
- Ben Galloway, Associate Vice President for Financial Services
- Jason Lambert, Associate Vice President of Facility Services
- Justin Shinta, Director of Special Projects and Initiatives
- Steve Vedral, Director of Facilities Renovations and Infrastructure Construction
- Tena Crews, Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
Professor
- Brad West, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Operations and Budget
- Cam Reagan, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
- Caroline Agardy, Vice President for Human Resources
- Kelly Epting, Associate Vice President for Finance and Budget
- Lindsey Cox, Director of Compliance and Tax
- Liz Niehaus, Vice Dean for Finance & Business Operations
- Caroline Agardy, Vice President for Human Resources
- Cathy Donnelly, Assistant Director of Organizational Development
- Connie Thompson, Director of Strategic Partnership and Policy Administration
- Dagmara Bruce, Director of HR and EEO Coordinator for USC Upstate
- Dana Woodward, Associate Director of Academic Affairs Communications
- Jasmine Hunter, Director of Communications for Human Resources
- Rohit Verma, Dean of the Darla Moore School of Business
- Stacey Bradley, Senior Associate Vice President for Organizational Excellence and Effectiveness
- Teresa Limpalair, Human Resources Service Teams Director
Phase I (completed): The Design Team working group met every three weeks throughout Fall 2024 and designed a new HR model that will elevate HR across the USC system by creating consistency, enhancing strategic HR services, and creating clearer career paths for HR professionals at the system.
Phase II (in progress): The implementation planning teams are meeting every two weeks during Spring 2025 to create a comprehensive plan that allows for the successful implementation of the newly designed HRedefined model in the University of South Carolina System.
Stay tuned!
The USC HRedefined project is a collaborative system initiative aimed at transforming human resources, enhancing the experience of our people, and positioning USC for future success by upgrading HR systems, processes, technology, and practices. A steering committee and working group of leaders, faculty, and staff will engage stakeholders and work with our consulting partner to:
- Make USC a place where current employees and job seekers want to work.
- Improve and find new ways to recruit and retain world-class faculty and staff.
- Improve the employee experience with more responsive, efficient, and personalized HR services.
- Improve and implement innovative practices and solutions.
- Align our goals and services across colleges and units to maximize academic excellence, innovation, and engagement.
Like many other large public research higher education institutions, USC is facing significant pressures in recruiting and retaining faculty and staff. The changing demographics, needs, and demands of the workforce have created intense competition in the labor market.
We also learned a great deal about how human resources at USC supports our workforce during an assessment that was conducted in February 2024. The results of the assessment and the understanding by our leadership of HR’s importance, has led us to undertake a transformation to elevate and enhance HR services at USC or risk losing talented faculty and staff to other universities or colleges.
The USC HRedefined project will be completed over the course of roughly 12-18 months spanning 2024-2025 and will include three primary steps:
- Step 1: Develop a new or re-imagined HR organizational and operational model that aligns to best practices and supports HRedefined’s goals.
- Step 2: Launch a formal culture and climate initiative within HR, as well as map and re-engineer core HR processes.
- Step 3: Undertake a rebranding of our HR organization and implement the new HR model.
Ed Walton, CFO and Executive Vice president for Administration, and Donna Arnett, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, are the executive sponsors of this project. In collaboration with Caroline Agardy, Vice President for Human Resources, they have commissioned a steering committee and working group to lead this effort.
Committee members and working group members have committed to doing the hard work to re-imagine how HR services are delivered at USC. The working group meets every three weeks with regular updates provided to the steering committee every few months.
The new model will create more consistency and evenness in HR service, strategy, and consultative support throughout the USC system. Building on the success of the Service Teams, the HR BP model will allow units to have dedicated HR support and expertise with a strong understanding of unit-specific needs and goals.
The new model will allow for increased HR alignment and connection throughout the USC system. HR professionals will also have increased visibility and access to growth opportunities within the institution, allowing for more growth and development opportunities.
This will be discussed further during the implementation planning process.
This will be discussed further during the implementation planning process. The HRBP function within each unit will vary depending upon size, needs, and other factors.
This will be discussed further during the implementation planning process. This will be considered by the Technology Team, with input from other implementation planning teams and subject matter experts.
Individuals were nominated based on their roles, experience, and expertise. While not everyone could be a core member of an implementation planning team, we will call on others to join meetings to provide their expertise and insights.
HRedefined will play a critical role in supporting USC in becoming an employer of choice, attracting exceptional faculty and staff, and engaging and retaining them throughout their employment journey.
