In an era of destabilized funding and operating models, including demographic disruption, constrained budgets, and evolving service expectations, higher education institutions can no longer afford to treat staffing as an administrative afterthought. Our industry must move beyond incremental hiring and outdated position descriptions and instead embrace future-forward staffing practices that align with institutional agility.
It feels like a conversation that I have at least once a week with an institution. Leaders are facing massive changes, whether to modernize technology or react to the latest external threats that are causing downsizing. Their outdated staffing practices, however, have left people in the same job for decades, with outdated skills and no experience in upskilling or lateral job moves. Their position descriptions have only taken into account what it takes to do the job as it exists today, not the skills to transform the organization dynamically.
The traditional model—where staffing decisions are based on attrition patterns, historical budget lines, and static org charts—doesn’t reflect the realities of today’s academic enterprise. What follows are some practices that can unfreeze an organization through staffing and talent practices that break these decades-old patterns and build agility and resiliency.
Here are four core practices that forward-thinking institutions should consider:
Zero-based budgeting shouldn’t stop at budget line items. Apply the same logic to staffing: every position should be justified periodically based on its contribution to strategic goals, evolving service demands, and operational design, not just historical precedent. This practice takes new leadership and managerial skills but ensures alignment of people and process to critical needs, exposes poor management and organization, and builds adaptability and breadth of skill in staff.
Higher education often lags behind in adjusting salary structures to reflect market rates, especially for IT, data analytics, and finance roles. Institutions must invest in up-to-date labor market benchmarking and build compensation strategies that retain mission-critical talent without creating internal equity gaps. This may involve paying closer-to-market rates for fewer staff. Though often opposed based on existing structures and cross-skill equity, this practice builds stronger, more effective teams that often outperform larger, lower-paid (and skilled) teams.
The campus job market should anticipate, not react to, change. Position descriptions must be living documents that reflect emerging capabilities like AI literacy, data stewardship, cross-functional collaboration, and digital service delivery. Outdated roles lock institutions into legacy thinking. Adding skills to existing staff position descriptions helps reinforce ongoing learning and skill acquisition, providing staff with advancement potential and greater career control over time.
Most institutions underuse their HCM platforms’ talent modules. Leaders should fully leverage these tools for:
These practices establish pathways for staff growth, which can directly influence employee retention. Retention is no longer just about culture, it’s about visibility, investment, and mobility.
Institutions should shift towards a “build not buy” mentality for talent. Instead of defaulting to external hires, create targeted upskilling initiatives, especially in areas like data analytics and managing modern technology. The cost of reskilling is often far lower than that of new recruitment and onboarding.
Universities face long-term structural pressures such as flat or declining enrollment, rising expectations for digital services, and a retiring workforce. Smarter staffing is not just a technical fix – it’s a leadership imperative. Institutions that align staffing with strategy will be more agile, more resilient, and better prepared to meet the needs of tomorrow’s students.
Call to Action: At the Future Campus™ Summit, we’re examining how institutions are modernizing their administrative cores, including HR and staffing practices, to build a sustainable future. Join the conversation and learn how leaders are turning talent management into a lever for transformation.
Originally posted by Dave Kieffer on LinkedIn. Be sure to follow him there to catch all his great industry insights.
Share Article:
© Copyright 2025, The Tambellini Group. All Rights Reserved.
Get exclusive access to higher education analysts, rich research, premium publications, and advisory services.
Weekly email featuring higher education blog articles, infographics or podcasts.
