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Attract and retain talent by modernizing higher education technology

Photographic portrait of Ram Venkatraman
Ram Venkatraman

Managing Director, GPS People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP

1 minute read 25 Oct 2023
Related topics
Government and Public Sector

How to build a better people experience through technology modernization, as inspired by interviews with university leaders.

Emerging from a worldwide pandemic, and in the midst of a “Great Resignation,” universities are facing a faster-than-anticipated change in the needs of their workforce, creating urgent demand for human-centric technology platforms that enable new ways of working, more manageable operations and more enticing talent acquisition. In a hybrid world, the choice of technology will shape employee experience more than ever and in turn will impact student success.

How EY can help

Whether to enable more regular employee check-ins or to make it easier to complete required tasks at critical moments in the employee journey, more personalized, intuitive technology can positively transform the experience of faculty and staff located anywhere. And in a world where significant power has shifted from employers to employees, higher education technology that is engaging, enabling and aligned to meaningful “moments that matter” along the employee journey could very well make all the difference in attracting, engaging and retaining top talent — the lifeblood of any institution.

 

The EY People Advisory Services (PAS) practice recently sat down with 11 HR and IT executives from 10 leading higher education institutions*. The eye-opening insights we gleaned during these interviews reveal key successes and challenges relative to digital transformation, with implications for those serving in higher education.

Read the full report from this set of interviews, including technology successes and gaps:

Download the report
*10 of the executive interviewees provide leadership at well-known US universities, while one is a leader at a prominent European university

Summary 

When the human-centered, technology-enabled mindset is fully embedded within the university, old barriers that may have once seemed insurmountable will no longer be in your way. Many institutions that have significantly modernized their higher education technology are already looking into how tools like automation and AI can provide the next big leap for them.

Modernized higher education technology is no longer a nice-to-have; it is an essential component for meeting expectations relative to recruitment, engagement and retention in an increasingly constrained, competitive environment.

About this article

Photographic portrait of Ram Venkatraman
Ram Venkatraman
Managing Director, GPS People Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP
Digital transformation leader. Embracing the technology- and human-centric change. Empathetic, mindful and transformative.
Related topics
Government and Public Sector

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