row_1
From helping campus leaders navigate complex HR challenges to supporting employees as they grow in their careers, UHR’s partnerships reach every corner of campus. This year, these collaborations have deepened through the work of the Campus HR Team, Talent Acquisition, TailorED (HR Development), Tiger Tech Leaders, and other cross‑campus initiatives. Together, these efforts reflect UHR’s commitment to building a stronger, more connected Auburn.
Campus HR Team
The Campus HR Team is one of UHR’s most important partnerships. This group includes Directors, Senior Managers, Managers, HR Business Partners, and Generalists who are embedded within colleges, schools, and administrative units. Their close connection to local needs—combined with their alignment to university‑wide HR priorities—allows them to provide responsive, informed support.
UHR works closely with this team to share updates, gather feedback, and ensure consistent practices across campus. When policies change, systems update, or new processes roll out, the Campus HR Team helps translate that information into practical guidance for their units. They also bring forward questions, challenges, and insights that help UHR refine its services. This two‑way communication strengthens the university and ensures employees receive accurate, timely support no matter where they work.
Auburn and AUM - Stronger Together
The partnership between Auburn University and Auburn University at Montgomery’s HR teams is built on regular collaboration and a shared commitment to doing things well and doing them consistently. By working closely across campuses, our teams can align practices, respond quickly to change, and better support employees at both institutions.
One key area of collaboration is compensation and classification. AU and AUM work together to stay aligned on FLSA designations, minimum hiring rates, and merit processes for similar roles. The teams also partner on systems and day‑to‑day operations to improve efficiency and consistency.
By using shared platforms such as UKG, iCIMS, TrueScreen, Equifax/E‑Verify, and Workforce QA, Auburn and AUM can streamline technology, make better use of purchasing power, and improve the employee experience. Ongoing collaboration around performance management, Banner data integrity, and system improvements are helping both institutions move forward together.
Just as important, the AU–AUM partnership supports clear and consistent communication. Whether responding to regulatory changes, policy updates, weather events, or public health concerns, the teams stay closely connected to ensure messages and actions are aligned. Joint training across Payroll and Benefits reinforces shared standards and best practices, helping both universities better support their employees.
Through continued collaboration, AU and AUM are building stronger, more consistent HR practices that benefit employees across both campuses.
Talent Acquisition Tour
In January 2025, UHR’s Talent Acquisition (TA) team launched an enhanced campus tour experience designed to strengthen candidate engagement and showcase Auburn’s culture, traditions, and campus assets.
With the addition of a newly branded golf cart, the TA team created a more immersive and personalized tour program. Highlights include a “Toomer’s moment” featuring the university’s iconic lemonade, visits to the Rane Culinary Science Center, Auburn Arena, and the renovated Plainsman Park. Tours are tailored to candidate interests whenever possible, allowing departments to highlight areas most relevant to each search.
Feedback from supervisors and candidates shows that the enhanced format significantly improved the recruitment experience. Supervisors viewed the tours as a valuable extension of the interview process, while candidates described the experience as welcoming, informative, and reflective of Auburn’s strong sense of community.
Candidate Screening Pilot
In July 2025, UHR started a five‑month TA screening pilot to test a new, centralized process for reviewing job applications. The pilot helped UHR prepare for system updates and align the process with common industry standards.
Under this pilot, the TA team became the first point of review for non‑faculty applications, checking whether applicants met minimum qualifications. The pilot helped the team evaluate screening volume, processing speed, and consistency before the full launch of iCIMS, Auburn’s new hiring platform.
Campus partners from Student Affairs, the Provost’s Office, Advancement, Business and Administration, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Human Sciences participated and provided valuable feedback. Insights from the pilot guided the development of standardized screening procedures—created with the Compensation team—to ensure minimum qualifications are applied consistently across units. The team also created an escalated review process for applications with unclear qualifications, improving accuracy and compliance while keeping the process efficient.
This pilot strengthened collaboration with campus partners, improved consistency, and prepared the university for a scalable screening model within iCIMS.
TailorED
TailorED reflects Auburn’s approach to growth: partnership, conversation, and a clear understanding of what each department needs to thrive.
The program, offered by HR Development, is built around customized training created with direct input from the units it serves. Whether a team wants to strengthen leadership, improve communication, refine processes, or build stronger connections, the work begins with listening and designing learning that fits real situations.
Because each session is built with input from the department, the training stays practical and relevant. Participants see real issues from their own work reflected in the content and leave with tools they can use immediately. That connection is a big reason interest keeps growing. Many Aspire Auburn graduates, for example, later request TailorED sessions for their own teams.
By tailoring content to each unit’s goals, TailorED helps employees build confidence, supervisors lead more effectively, and departments move forward with clarity. It is a model that reinforces Auburn’s commitment to excellence and innovation.
Tiger Tech Leaders
UHR’s partnership with TIGER Tech Leaders has become an important part of how Auburn supports the HR‑related technology employees rely on every day.
The group plays a key role in identifying issues, testing updates, and offering feedback that directly shapes system improvements. This shared effort creates a smoother experience for employees by reducing frustration, improving accuracy, and ensuring that technology supports—not complicates—their work.
This collaboration has also positioned Auburn as a leader in emerging technology. TIGER Tech Leaders was recently designated by Microsoft as an AI Adoption Center of Excellence, a recognition that highlights Auburn’s commitment to responsible and inclusive AI integration in higher education. This designation strengthens Auburn’s partnerships across industry and academia, elevates the university’s thought leadership, and reinforces its responsiveness to new trends. It also directly supports Strategic Plan Goal #4 by fostering innovation and building partnerships that benefit employees, students, and the broader community.
