IBEC is one of ten CERCA institutes to have received the award; in the Spanish arena, only 21 institutions have been recognized. In the letter announcing the award, Euraxess, which bestows the stamp on behalf of the EC, said that IBEC is particularly strong in its commitment to achieve fair and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures.
The award is the result of IBEC’s development, since June 2014, of its new Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R) and associated Action Plan, which compared IBEC’s current HR practices against the Charter and Code principles and contains specific measures in order to make distinct differences in the future.
“IBEC has adhered to the Charter and Code since 2012, but two years later, many new initiatives aligned to the overall strategy of IBEC have been developed,” says Head of HR Carol Marí. “Obtaining this award not only recognises our efforts in the last few months, but also encourages continual improvement in Human Resources issues for the benefit of current and future staff at IBEC.”
One of the first measures of the HRS4R’s Action Plan was to set up a Gender and Diversity Committee, committed to analyzing equal opportunities and diversity topics, which produced the first IBEC Equal Opportunities and Diversity Management Plan of actions. Among them was an Internal Procedures Guide covering a number of measures related to balancing work and family life in order to achieve better compatibility between work responsibilities and personal lives for all IBEC staff.
“The HRS4R is an important step for IBEC, and a mark of the institute’s commitment towards excellence,” says Josep Samitier, director of IBEC. “It forms a key element of our Strategic Plan 2014-2017, and was developed with the input and involvement of the entire IBEC community.”
With the awarding of the ‘HR Excellence in Research’ Logo, IBEC now begins a period of implementing the actions, which cover areas such as recruitment and selection, training, working conditions and ethical issues. A Monitoring Committee made up of researchers at all career stages has been created to evaluate the implementation and results, and IBEC is also committed to carrying out a self-assessment every second year, as well as an external peer review every fourth year, in cooperation with the European Commission.
For more information about IBEC’s HRS4R and Action Plan, please visit https://ibecbarcelona.eu/humanresourcesstrategy.
Download the HRS4R and Action Plan here.
