Broward College Receives CUPA-HR's National HR Excellence Award

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (August 31, 2022) – Broward College continues to receive recognition for its work to improve institutional culture and care for its employees. The College was the national winner of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) 2022 HR Excellence Award. This selection comes after initially being named CUPA-HR's Southern Regional Excellence Award. Institutions must submit applications for the regional awards, and the national winner is selected from all regional winners by a CUPA-HR panel. 

The national award honors transformative HR work in higher education that results in significant and ongoing organizational change within the institution. CUPA-HR is a college and university professional association representing more than 2,000 private and public higher education institutions across the U.S. Broward College was named the national winner for creating and implementing its three-year Culture Transformation Plan. The other regional winners were Fordham University (Eastern), Iowa State University (Midwest Region), and the University of Texas Rio Grande (Western). 

In 2018, under the leadership of its new President, Gregory Adam Haile, J.D., the College implemented a plan to improve its culture, with a focus on building  organizational capacity. The plan began with the hiring of an Executive Director (now Vice President) of Talent and Culture to improve institutional culture and better leverage the talents and aspirations of all employees. Among the changes, the Human Resources department was rebranded as Talent and Culture and restructured to create a Talent Management function and other structural changes required to transform and fortify faculty and staff.  The department would now report directly to the President, and was newly charged to be the backbone for driving organizational culture.

"Centered on the mantra "Together we serve,"  we acknowledge our collective agenda to serve our students, our community, and of course, each other,” said President Haile in his reflection on this latest recognition of the College's work in this area. "Our transformative efforts were born of the fundamental understanding that any greatness that Broward College can achieve will be wholly dependent on how we as colleagues treat each other, and how we achieve together.  Our mission is to transform the lives of our students; and there is no transforming the lives of our students without loving the lives of our colleagues.”

The Cultural Transformation Plan is designed to streamline the delivery of services, drive engagement and address issues raised during employee feedback sessions. As a part of the steps required to maximize the effectiveness and sustainability of the culture at Broward College, Vice President of Talent and Culture Sophia Galvin launched “Talk Chat,” a series that facilitates sessions with full-time and part-time faculty, administrators, and Professional Technical Staff (PTS). As a result, several policies, procedures, and practices have been comprehensively reviewed.

"We have made significant progress," said Galvin. "We have engaged our team members at various levels through honest and transparent dialog and taken their feedback to help us update policies, implement improvements and restructure our efforts to engage them. "

Key components of the Culture Transformation Plan include establishing baseline people metrics on leadership behaviors and effectiveness and articulating a talent development framework aligned with key areas identified for improvement. These initiatives have included:

• Creation of Talent Business Partners to assist the business units with the delivery of these initiatives. Talent Business Partners work closely with senior-level leaders and managers to promote effective HR solutions that align with the vision and strategic goals of Broward College. They serve as liaisons to the various functional units within Talent and Culture.
• Launch of 360 Leadership Development Feedback: in partnership with the Leadership Research Institute (LRI), Broward College leaders participated in this development process to understand how others experience their leadership.
• Establishment of Employee Resource Groups (ERGs): ERGs support employee interests and enhance their connection to the College by allowing them to contribute to the institution’s mission beyond their work-related duties.
• Development of a new employee onboarding and a leadership development program called BC LEAD that educates and empowers managers at all levels to rise to leadership excellence by focusing on the 5Cs framework (Competence, Character, Courage, Composure, and Care for People).

The College's hard work and dedication are highlighted through CUPA-HR's national award, and several other recent recognitions.

• GOLD Certification for the Mental Health America's Bell Seal for supporting Workplace Mental Health: This national certification program recognizes employers committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces. The Bell Seal's holistic evaluation of employer practices considers the entire employee experience. Broward College was awarded the Gold Certification based on the following categories: Supportive Workplace Culture, Caring Beyond Compliance, Holistic Wellness at Work, and Mental Health Benefits.
• Diverse Issues in Higher Education 2022 Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges (MPPWCC): The MPPWCC title recognizes community colleges focused on workplace diversity and exceptional commitments through best-in-class student and staff recruitment and retention practices, inclusive learning and working environments.
• 2021 "America's Best Employers by State" list published by Forbes: Broward College was ranked among the best employers in Florida in the publication. Partnering with market-research company Statista, Forbes surveyed 80,000 Americans who worked for businesses with at least 500 employees. The final ranking rated 1,328 of the highest recommended employers by state. Forbes listed only six higher education institutions within the top 100 employers for the state of Florida.

- B.C. -