1
HR Excellence in
Research:
Action Plan 2021-2023 (REPORT)
Action Plan 2024-2027 (PLAN)
2
Version 2024-06-21
Case number 2019CZ315708
Name of organization
under review
Central European Institute of Technology of Masaryk University
(CEITEC MU)
Contact details Main contact person for the HRS4R:
Eliška Handlířová, HRS4R Coordinator, Head of Director’s Office
eliska.handlirova@ceitec.muni.cz
+420 724 517 046
Web link to published
version of
organisation’s HR
Strategy and Action
Plan
https://www.ceitec.eu/hr-strategy-hrs4r/t10811
Note: CEITEC Masaryk University is a member of CEITEC consortium. All
members of CEITEC consortium present their HRS4R at the consortial
website. Please refer to Career section – HRS4R Award and then select
„CEITEC Masaryk University“ [https://www.ceitec.eu/ => Career => HRS4R
Award => CEITEC Masaryk University].
Editor E. Handlířová, Head of Director’s Office
Reviewed by P. Plevka, CEITEC MU Director
K. Říha, Deputy Director for Science
N. Kostlánová, Scientific Secretary
M. Pokorná, Deputy Director for Administration
Steering Committee
(in alphabetical order)
J. Fajkus, Head of Mendel Centre for Plant Genomics and Proteomics, Group
Leader
E. Handlířová, Head of Director’s Office
J. Nováček, Deputy Director for Research Infrastructure, Head of Core Facility
P. Plevka, Director, Group Leader
M. Pokorná, Deputy Director for Administration
Š. Pospíšilová, Head of Molecular Medicine Centre, Group Leader
I. Rektor, Head of Neuroscience Centre, Group Leader
I. Rektorová, Group Leader
K. Říha, Deputy Director for Science, Group Leader
O. Slabý, Group Leader
R. Štefl, Head of Centre for Structural Biology, Group Leader
R. Vácha, Group Leader
3
CONTENT
Content ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction Word ....................................................................................................................... 4
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 5
HR Excellence in Research Award at CEITEC Masaryk University: Action Plan 2021-2023
Implementation Report .......................................................................................................... 6
HR Excellence in Research Award at CEITEC Masaryk University: Action Plan 2024-202740
4
INTRODUCTION WORD
During 2018-2023, we formulated many new rules, procedures, and policies in the area of HR, starting
with the career system, followed by the recruitment policy, the onboarding system, the leadership policy,
the wage policy and others. Internal discussions about these policies and rules were demanding and
delicate but were worth the capacity invested. With a vision of reaching a broad consensus and having
our researchers on board, we invested a significant amount of time into internal discussions. During the
period of 2021-2023 (after interim assessment), we shifted our focus on the proper implementation of
policies and systems developed in the past years. For the upcoming period of 2024-2027, we want
to strengthen sustainability of actions developed and implemented during 2018-2023. It is
important to note that keeping newly launched actions in operation (sustainable) is as important as
launching them. Moreover, our experience shows that over time, new actions are becoming more
tailored made for researchers, more common/appreciated by recipients and more researchers are
asking for the HR support (e.g. in recruitment, in onboarding, in consultations). This phase is critical for
overall success and impact of our policies and procedures.
In the previous period, we learned that the involvement of researchers (R1-R4) in the HR Award
implementation is essential. The narrow view of management or administrative departments must be
widened by the view of researchers at all career stages. The Institute’s management defines standard
rules and procedures to be followed (e. g., recruitment rules, evaluation system, onboarding procedure)
and provides administrative support to the implementation. But the real experience of employees comes
primarily from the direct relationship and cooperation with her/his superior (group leader). That is why
we systematically strengthened cooperation with group leaders and heads of workplaces as key
players in the HR management during 2021-2023. For the upcoming three years, we plan to open a
systematic communication and cooperation with early-stage researchers (PhD candidates and
postdoctoral fellows).
Please refer to the 'Strengths and Weaknesses of Current Practice' chapter of the Internal Assessment
for contextual information and our motivation to implement the actions presented below.
5
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
HRS4R action plan for 2021-2023 contained 46 actions with 94 % successfully implemented. For 2024-
2027, we are planning to implement 20 actions (including three actions being extended from the previous
plan).
Status of implementation: HRS4R action plan 2021-2023 No. of actions %
Completed 46 94
Extended 3 6
Total 49 100 %
New HRS4R action plan 2024-2027 No. of actions New
17 Actions
from the previous plan 3 Total
20 Summary
of priority areas in the Action Plan for the HR Excellence in Research Award at CEITEC
Masaryk University (2024-2027):
1. Recruitment and onboarding practices
2. Career system and career development
3. PhD School development
4. Researchers’ evaluation system (incl. leadership assessment)
5. Working environment, communication and participatory management
6. Gender equality and diversity management (Gender Equality Plan)
HR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD AT CEITEC
MASARYK UNIVERSITY: ACTION PLAN 2021-2023
IMPLEMENTATION REPORT
(2024-04-12)
Note: All actions completed in 2018-2020 (and reported in the Interim Assessment Report) are not included in this document.
Note: New Gender Equality Plan 2021-2023 was added to the table (see actions 72-87). These actions were added after the interim assessment.
No.
1
Action Status
(new, in
progress,
completed,
extended)2
Remarks Deadline
(Q YEAR)
Responsible Unit Indicator(s) / Target(s)
6 ONBOARDING:
orientation of new
employees: Launch of
new orientation system
(process) for new
employees
Completed Onboarding (orientation/adaptation) system at CEITEC MU is defined
by the Director’s Measure 1/2021 “Onboarding of CEITEC MU
Employees” (effective as of 1st
February 2021). This measure defines
the rules for the onboarding of employees in the employment
relationship and provides recommendations for the implementation of
individual steps of onboarding taken by the direct supervisor of the
employee.
The onboarding system consists in acquainting the employee with the
work environment, internal culture, work style, technologies, specific
regulations, and general conditions in which s/he will perform the work,
including meeting the colleagues.
1Q 2023 HR department INDICATOR:
Director’s measure
regulating onboarding
procedure
number of new
employees that went
through the orientation
procedure;
TARGET: All employees
undergo the orientation
procedure
1 Unique number of the action in the Euraxess online form.
2 New = new action that was not included in the original HR Award Action Plan; in progress = deadline of the action is in the future;
completed = successfully finished/implemented action; extended = deadline was postponed.
The head of workplace (typically research group leader) is responsible
for providing information related to the given position and workplace.
HR department takes care of all documents needed to establish an
employment relationship and other administrative issues. Particularly in
case of international employees, there is a Welcome Office Manager in
the HR Department who provides services related to moving to Brno,
including stay permits, accommodation, etc.
As part of the onboarding process, HR manager offers an opportunity to
meet and discuss ongoing adaptation of new employee (typically during
the probation period). It is also recommended that during the probation
period, the head of the workplace and the employee meet for mutual
feedback on cooperation.
Following the Director’s Measure 1/2021 “Onboarding of CEITEC MU
Employees”, we have issued practical guidelines as well:
(1) Onboarding at CEITEC MU: This document describes the
onboarding process for newcomers taking job at CEITEC MU. It aims to
provide a methodological support to the employees who will be helping
the newcomer in his/her initial days (supervisor, delegated person, etc.)
in the given position. Among other things, the document includes
information on competencies and responsibilities of individuals who will
be in close contact with the newcomer, whether there are administrative
matters or activities related to the workplace where he/she comes. The
document also includes a description of procedures that precede the
first day on board. It also includes useful links and information on
services provided by administration departments, Welcome Office
services, and a link to “Your guide to CEITEC MU”, etc.
(2) Onboarding of Group Leaders and Core Facility Heads: This
document describes the onboarding process specifically when we
appoint a new group leader (GL) or core facility head (CFH).
(3) Template of the onboarding plan for heads of workplaces.
LINK to all documents related to onboarding of new employees:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/opatreni_reditele/opatreni_redi
tele_2021_01_-_adaptace_zamestnancu_ceitec_mu/
Besides other important documents and information, all new employees
receive the informational brochure called Your Guide to CEITEC MU,
available at https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/new_employees_guide/.
According to recent survey among CEITEC MU employees (2023)
focused on quality of administrative services, 83 % of group leaders is
highly satisfied or satisfied with the quality of onboarding support (the
service received grade of 1.5 grade with 1=excellent, 5=absolute
dissatisfaction).
From the practical experience, around 90 % of new employees use the
opportunity to meet with the HR manager at the end of their trial period
(third month) at CEITEC. The meeting is not obligation but an
opportunity for new employees and helps to build an individual
relationship between employee and HR manager as well as building a
mutual trust and also identify any potential issues to be addressed.
7 ONBOARDING:
orientation of new
employees:
Work@CEITEC_MU
webpage will be
developed as part of
recruitment and
orientation process
Completed We have prepared and implemented a whole new web section "Career"
at CEITEC website (https://www.ceitec.eu/career-homepage/t10698).
The section includes open vacancies, reasons to work at CEITEC,
information about living in Brno, Czech Republic, and a presentation of
Welcome Office for foreign employees. Additionally we revised the job
advertisement templates to include details about the recruitment
procedure and how is it organised, with a link to our recruitment policy
(https://www.ceitec.eu/jobs/ - please filter institution “CEITEC MU” to
view our adverts; we are a member of CEITEC consortium that has
several partner institutions advertising their positions at the same web
page). We focused on implementing and using gender-sensitive
language as well. Informal feedback gathered from the applicants and
hiring managers regarding the templates was positive.
2Q 2021 Director’s office Work@
CEITEC_MU website
launched
10 OPEN ACCESS:
ORION project will
cover all RRI activities
implemented in the
period of 2017–2021 at
CEITEC MU. Individual
activities and outcomes
are not stated here and
will be implemented in
line with the project
plan.
Completed CEITEC MU fulfilled Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)
activities under the ORION project in 2017-2021. In the scope of the
project, CEITEC MU prepared an analysis of knowledge and practice
related to Open Science and RRI and organised the National
Stakeholder Workshops on Open Science in the Czech Republic.
CEITEC MU also co-organised a public dialogue on Open Science in
the Czech Republic.
For the period after 2021, the coordination of the Open Science agenda
was transitioned to the university level, and an action plan for 2022-
2023 was formulated and implemented.
The CEITEC MU Open Science website (http://openscience.ceitec.cz/)
was created, and news about Open Science and RRI are regularly
3Q 2021 Research and
innovations
support
department
Regular report on Open
Science
Open Science web page
Internal newsletters
(Open Science section)
published in the CEITEC MU monthly internal newsletter in the specific
Open Science section.
The CEITEC MU representative is the coordinator for Open Access for
the science-technology-medicine fields at Masaryk University for the
university project on the topic of Open Access. This representative is a
member of the Open Science core team at Masaryk University and
works on the revision of existing documents, repository and data
storage, and provides direct support for research and administrative
staff at Masaryk University.
CEITEC MU is active in open access initiatives, and trains researchers
and administrative staff on the topic of Open Science (e-g. Open Science
Workshop 2023 – 14.6.2023; Open Science Week 2023 – 16.10.-20.10.
2023; CC licenses webinar online – 6.11.2023; KRECon 2023
Knowledge Research Education Conference 2023, Prague – 9.-
10.11.2023; Springer Nature Open Access Publishing Summit –
8.2.2024; Introduction to Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) - 22.3.2024;
Introduction to Research Data Management - How not to get
overwhelmed by data – 27.3.2024).
Every year (since 2018), an analytical report is prepared on Open
Access at CEITEC MU and includes a summary of activities on the
topics of Open Science and RRI. The report is presented to the
management, and to the Director’s Board.
18 EVALUATION: annual
evaluation of group
leaders will be
designed, focusing on
managerial and
supervisor
performance. The
evaluation will be
closely linked to
training offered for
group leaders.
Completed In 2022, CEITEC MU adopted a complex Leadership Policy that is built
on three main pillars: (1) Leadership assignment (“statement of
expectation”), (2) Leadership development, and (3) Leadership
assessment.
The general policy of the CEITEC MU on leadership is to provide a
framework for developing and evaluating competencies and other
attributes needed for being a good team leader. The systematic
approach defines leadership assignment, sets up the minimal standard
for the leadership (binding rules), and provides recommendations and
further information that help develop a realistic and modern leadership
style of team leadership. It also establishes the evaluation system in the
form of regular interviews between representatives of the management
of the institute and the team leaders. This tool should help reveal the
possible irregularities and shortcomings at the beginning stage, prevent
2Q 2023 Scientific
Secretary
INDICATORS:
Guidelines for group
leaders' regular
evaluation;
number of evaluation
meetings per year (held
by director with group
leaders);
assessment report on the
pilot evaluation interviews
with group leaders;
TARGET:
failures in the team's direction, and encourage team leaders to be
active employees.
The leadership assessment is set up as a regular procedure that is
organised every year in case of junior group leaders, and every three
years in case of senior group leaders.
In 2023, a leadership assessment interviews were piloted. CEITEC
director held the interview with eight (out of 28) group leaders. Scientific
secretary together with the HR department is responsible for
preparation of background documents, including collection of
anonymous feedback by members of the research group and other
collaborators of the assessed group leader. There is a written report
from the leadership interview that is mutually agreed, including action
points.
In the meantime, group leaders are offered with a set of training
opportunities focused on managerial and leadership skills. See action
59 for more information.
Link to the Leadership Policy:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/politiky_a_koncepce/CEITEC_
Leadership_Policy_signed_2022-02-22.pdf
all junior group leaders
are evaluated as
managers/supervisors at
least every two years
22 RECRUITMENT: an
analysis of available
and efficient ways for
promotion of new
vacancies will be done
to provide researchers
with information on new
ways to advertise
positions and reach
more candidates with
increased quality
Completed The HR Department prepared a summary of platforms and their
specifics that are relevant to be used to advertise positions. Hiring
managers are offered a list of ways for promotion of new vacancies,
tailored to a particular position (e. g. for postdocs, for technicians).
2Q 2021 HR department List of available ways for
promotion of new
vacancies
23 RECRUITMENT: all
open vacancy
templates will be
updated, implementing
the new recruitment
policy and OTM-R
Completed Universal templates for advertising various positions (according to the
career system categories) were created in both Czech and English in
2021 (and amended in 2022). The head of the workplace only fills in the
part that informs the applicant about the scope of work and
requirements that the candidate should meet. The templates were
reviewed for compliance with gender-sensitive language
3Q 2022 HR department Updated templates for
research positions
(documents)
principles and
principles of genderneutral
(gendersensitive)
language
(https://www.ceitec.eu/jobs/ - please filter institution “CEITEC MU” to
view our adverts; we are a member of CEITEC consortium and you can
find adverts by other CEITEC partners at the web page as well).
However, it must be noted that particularly templates for open positions
are under a constant development not only due to requirements for
language used, but also from the perspective of marketing purposes.
26 CAREER: a debate
with the rector’s office
and faculties will be
initiated regarding
unification of standards
for CEITEC PhD
candidates
Completed CEITEC MU as a higher education university institute of Masaryk
university is not providing PhD education. PhD programmes are
accredited by the university faculties. Researchers of CEITEC MU
participate as supervisors of PhD candidates. Up to 2022, there was not
a unified standard of PhD programmes across Faculty of Sciences,
Faculty of Medicine and CEITEC MU. The discussion on the unification
of educational standards for “CEITEC PhD candidates” (meaning PhD
candidates with a supervisor from CEITEC MU) was initiated by the
vice-deans for research of the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of
Science, and the scientific secretary of CEITEC MU. The discussion
resulted in the approval of a memorandum on the cooperation on
doctoral studies in 2022, which declares the willingness of the faculties
to discuss common standards. In some respects, the standards have
already been unified (e. g., requirements on mobility). At the same time,
the MUNI Mendel Doctorandus programme was opened
(https://mmd.muni.cz/about), which sets qualitative rules for the
completion of doctoral studies for exceptional students across Life
Sciences doctoral programmes at MU. In the future, CETEC MU will
continue in further actions aiming to standardize experience of CEITEC
PhD candidates across faculties and study programmes.
4Q 2022 Scientific
secretary
Memorandum on the
cooperation on doctoral
studies signed
33 STABILITY/SECURITY:
an action plan aiming to
minimize perceived
instability by employees
will be formulated and
implemented. It should
cover activities such as:
b) regular HR data
monitoring, which will
also include information
on
permanent/temporary
contracts. Management
Completed HR monitoring report was amended with new tables on share of
employees with fixed/indefinite contracts (disaggregated by position
category and gender).
In 2023, 88 % of researchers had contract for definite period. When we
take a closer look at a seniority of position, we can identify a clear
pattern that with increased seniority, share of indefinite contracts is
increasing (0 % among PhD candidates and postdocs, versus 77 %
among group leaders and 100 % among heads of research centres).
Presented data reflect the nature of the positions, CEITEC MU career
system, national/international grant system, structure of CEITEC MU
budget (with app. 80 % of the budget constituted by grant sources).
1Q 2021 HR department % of employees with
temporary contracts
(disaggregated by
position, gender)
will evaluate share of
permanent/temporary
contracts.
37 WAGE POLICY: a new
internal wage policy will
be adopted that will be
in line with the career
system
Completed Wage analysis followed by the adoption of Wage Policy was a priority
action in the period after the interim assessment and the renewal
phase. The current system is based on independence of group leaders
in setting wages and distributing annual bonuses to their team
members. Up to 2023, there was no institutional wage policy. This
action was formulated based on a presumption that non-existing wage
system might cause discrepancies in the remuneration of employees
that needs to be addressed and corrected.
In the first phase, internal working group prepared a detailed analysis of
wage levels, including break down to individual research groups
(workplaces). The analysis covered all parts of the wages, including
bonuses.
In the second phase, working group together with the director and
deputy director for science discussed results of the wage analysis and
formulated institutional wage policy. The policy was presented to group
leaders, presented at the all-hands meeting with all employees and
adopted in 2023.
The policy was adopted in a form of Director’s Measure “Wage Policy,
Evaluation and Remuneration of CEITEC MU Employees” (effective as
of 1. 1. 2024). Newly, the regulation sets up a recommended minimum
wage for individual positions according to the career system,
recommends planning of wage increases in the projects, sets principals
for wage indexation (valorisation) and defines rule for annual bonuses
distribution.
Link:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/opatreni_reditele/opatreni_redi
tele_2023_08_-
_mzdova_politika_hodnoceni_a_odmenovani_zamestnancu_c/
4Q 2023 HR department Wage policy adopted
(document)
38 WAGE POLICY:
analysis of wage levels
will be prepared,
including gender pay
gap analysis
Completed See description of the action 37 for the general wage analysis.
See description of the action 84 for information about the gender pay
gap analysis.
3Q 2023 HR department Analysis of wage levels
(document)
39 WAGE POLICY:
particularly in the group
of group leaders and
core facility heads,
transformation to the
system of contractual
salaries will be
considered
Completed See description of the action 37. 4Q 2023 Director Wage policy adopted
(document)
40 GENDER EQUALITY:
CEITEC MU will
continue in
implementation of the
2016-2019 Gender
Equality Plan. For
2019–2023, new
Gender Equality Plan(s)
will be formulated
[*Gender Equality Plan]
Completed In 2021, CEITEC MU performed gender audit and formulated Gender
Equality Plan 2021-2023 based on its results. The GEP III builds upon
work implemented as a part of GEP I (2016-2019) and GEP II (2019-
2020). The GEP III reacts on challenges in the area of gender equality
as identified by the European Union and is designed to be fully in line
with the Strategic Plan of CEITEC MU for 2021-2028 and with the HR
Strategy of CEITEC MU (2018). In comparison to GEP I and GEP II, the
GEP III broadens its focus to GENDER+ approach (also referred as
„intersectional approach“) that involves also other potential grounds for
discrimination such as age, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation.
GEP III was formally approved by the director and is publicly available
at the CEITEC MU website: https://www.ceitec.eu/equal-opportunies-
and-diversity/t10876
As a part of the renewal of the HRS4R and preparation of the new
action plan, a preparation of GEP IV is included (see action no. 88).
IMPORTANT NOTE: All GEP action were incorporated as part of the
HR Award action plan. “GEP actions” are marked with the “GEP” label
so that the gender equality topic is not marginalised and “lost” in the
overall HR agenda.
4Q 2023 Director's office,
scientific
secretary, HR
department (GEP
team)
Regular reporting of the
GEP implementation;
monitoring of genderdisaggregated
data and
their assessment
42 CAREER: the career
system needs to
address the importance
of mobility experience.
Researcher mobility
requires an overall
analysis to define
various types of
mobility, gather
Completed The Career System of CEITEC MU that was adopted in 2020 (as a part
of the HRS4R action plan) includes an expectation of mobility
experience at various research positions (R1-R4).
Regarding outcoming mobility, based on government regulation No.
274/2016 Coll., completion of a stay or an internship abroad in the total
length of at least one month (i. e. 30 days; may consist of several
shorter stays) is a compulsory part of doctoral studies. This applies fully
to students enrolled in 2019/2020 and later, and adequately to students
enrolled prior this academic year (approval given on individual basis by
2Q 2022 Scientific
secretary
Mobility analysis
(document);
monitoring mobility;
number of researchers
(incoming
mobility/outgoing
mobility)
quantitative and
qualitative data on most
common barriers for
mobility and focus on
questions of possible
budget evidence
centralization, definition
of expectations, etc.
the doctoral committee). These internships are coordinated with the
mobility coordinators at each faculty on which the doctoral program is
accredited.
From the perspective of the incoming researchers (incoming mobility),
CEITEC MU focused on standardisation and optimisation of central
support for research groups that are hosting incoming researchers.
Research and Innovation Department is responsible for providing
information, administrative and logistical support in line with a newly
formulated methodological guideline. Information regarding the support
for incoming researchers is included in the Intranet (PORTAL). Thanks
to this, all the mobility is recorded and the proper agreements including
the work safety are ensured. In 2023, CEITEC hosted 44 researchers
as incoming interns.
Link to the Career system:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/opatreni_reditele/opatreni_redi
tele_2018_09_-_karierni_system/
51 EVALUATION: a
procedure of annual
evaluation interviews
will be established. The
procedure will be in line
with the career system
and system of training
planning.
Completed In 2023, CEITEC MU adopted a major amendment of the internal
regulation in the agenda of employees’ evaluation. The Director’s
Measure 8/2023 Wage Policy, Evaluation and Remuneration of CEITEC
MU Employees constitutes the institute's wage policy and rules for the
evaluation and remuneration of CEITEC MU employees to create
transparent, fair and motivational conditions for all employees (and
replaces previous regulation from 2017).
According to the regulation, evaluation of employees takes place at
least once a year between the head of workplace (direct supervisor)
and employee (this was included in the previous rules as well). Newly, a
written record of the course of the evaluation process is made and
agreed by superior and employee.
In 2023, the HR department collaborated with five research group
leaders and core facility heads to create and test an innovative
employee evaluation process, including monitoring tool. This system is
now prepared to be used in 2024 for the first time. Each Group
Leader/CF Head is obliged to conduct an annual interview with their
employees. Questions for the interview are administered through the
Information System (IS) and comprise two forms. The first form covers
key areas such as motivation, job satisfaction, cooperation, feedback,
and professional growth, while the second focuses specifically on
individual development plan. Employees complete these forms before
1Q 2024 HR Department Director’s Measure (or
internal policy) on
employees’ annual
evaluation monitoring
system;
number of evaluations
the interview, facilitating a discussion with the supervisor. As part of the
interview, there is also two-way feedback, which the superior enters into
the application. The evaluation process concludes with a written
confirmation of the assessment's content accuracy by both the
employee and superior, emphasizing transparency and efficiency. At
the end of the evaluation period, the HR manager checks that
employees and Group Leaders/Core Facility Heads confirmed the
answers in the application, exports the records into the internal
information/economical system, and finalizes the whole evaluation.
To ensure a smooth process, Group leaders and Core Facility Heads
(CFH) underwent a training in April 2024, enabling them to lead
interviews and effectively utilize the evaluation application.
Thanks to this method, it will be possible to monitor the entire
evaluation process and what has been identified as essential by internal
(e.g., Postdoc satisfaction questionnaire) and external surveys (e.g.,
Gender Studies survey) - promoting direct communication between the
superior and the employee to set mutual expectations regarding their
cooperation.
Link:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/opatreni_reditele/opatreni_redi
tele_2023_08_-
_mzdova_politika_hodnoceni_a_odmenovani_zamestnancu_c/
52 REPORTING:
monitoring for the
system of annual
evaluation interviews
will be designed and
launched
Completed See description of the action 51 that includes a complex information
regarding the annual evaluation interviews, including the monitoring
system.
1Q 2024 HR department Annual evaluation
monitoring system;
Number of evaluations
54 REPORTING: HR
monitoring and
reporting system,
including key
performance indicators
(KPI) and their target
values, is to be revised
with a focus on the HR
Completed The main KPI in this context is defined by the Strategic Plan 2021-2028,
which states an optimal size of the institute of 30 research groups. The
jobs systemisation goes further and defines minimal/maximal size of the
research group in term of FTE. As for the other indicators, HR
departments prepares annual HR report. The HR report includes data
on the number and structure of employees (incl. disaggregation by
gender/age/nationality/type of contract), data on recruitment, etc.
4Q 2022 HR department Reporting plan and
structure of reports
approved;
reports to the
management
strategy and action
plan reporting
55 COOPERATION:
raising cooperation
between researchers
and administrative staff
and researchers’
involvement in
developing new
policies, norms, actions
through joint working
groups on specific
topics
Completed In the previous period, we learned that the involvement of researchers
in HR Award implementation is essential. The narrow view of
management or administrative departments must be widened by the
view of researchers of all career stages. During 2021-2024 period, we
focused on joint working groups involving researchers and
administrative staff. We organised eleven focus groups with 55
researchers in total, e.g. to discuss onboarding system, evaluation of
research employees, mentoring, work-life balance and gender equality,
etc. Based on the topic, we invited relevant categories of researchers
(R1-R4). Our experience with organising these discussions and focus
groups is very positive – both from the perspective of the management
and involved members. This participatory style prevents new policies,
rules and procedures to overlook needs of all involved parties.
4Q 2023 Deputy Director
for Administration
Number of working
groups; 11
number of researchers
involved in the working
groups - 55
56 RECRUITMENT:
update of the Director’s
Measure No. 5/2016
Rules of Tenders for
Employee Recruitment
Completed In 2020, the Institute successfully adopted the recruitment policy (OTMR
policy). As a next step, the internal binding norm (Director’s Measure
2/2023 Rules of Selection Procedure and Recruitment Process was
adopted to incorporate the policy, specifying responsibilities,
procedures, quality standards, etc.
As a part of the recruitment policy implementation, these areas/measures
were covered: (1) Advert templates using gender sensitive
communication (including methodology for their usage), (2) Guidelines
and training on gender sensitive communication and advert templates
preparation, (3) Training for selection committee members as an
obligatory precondition for nominating the committee members, (4)
Amendment of the monitoring/reporting system with genderdisaggregated
data of the recruitment agenda (composition of
committees, share of men/women in all stages of the procedure).
Please refer also to the OTM-R checklist to see that the Director’s
Measure 2/2023 is in line with the principles stipulated by the Charter
and Code.
Link:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/opatreni_reditele/opatreni_redi
tele_2023_02_-_pravidla_vyberovych_rizeni_a_naboroveho_procesu/
2Q 2023 HR department Director’s Measure on
recruitment
57 RECRUITMENT:
assessment of the
recruitment policy
implementation
Completed In 2020, the recruitment policy was issued. In 2021, implementation of
the policy has been launched, followed by adoption of the Director’s
Measure in 2023. By this action, we wanted to assess how the policy
and related Director’s Measure are being implemented and if there is a
need for its amendment.
Based on the assessment report, the rules and recommendations
stated in the Director’s Measure 2/2023 and Recruitment Policy are
being followed. In several cases, HR Department reported that HR
manager was not a member of a selection committee. This issue will be
addressed.
From the perspective of amending of the rules, the report identifies no
need for such amendment, and identifies rather practical actions that
we can launch or further improve, such as using active head-hunting at
social networks, such as using LinkedIn for recruitment of researchers,
improving recruitment (marketing) package, and using
psychodiagnostics tools in recruitment.
1Q 2024 HR department Report on recruitment
policy implementation
(internal document)
58 TRAINING: evidence of
employee training will
be established and
used for career
development
Extended During our work on the improvement of career development of our
employees, we identified a need to have evidence of employee training
records (including those from the previous employment/studies). This
would help all group leaders and heads of worksites to define and plan
future career development together with employees (mostly with earlystage
career researchers). The currently available system for
monitoring employees' training participation (Magion) is not optimal for
our use. The system enables the generation of a basic overview of
training history of each employee. However, the system is outdated and
not user-friendly, and occasionally, training data is incomplete or
missing (depending on the person responsible for recording the
participation).
In 2023, university-wide unit responsible for employees’ career
development and training (CERPEK MU) has initiated the development
of a new educational platform. The new platform seeks to offer a
comprehensive, long-term view of employee engagement in educational
activities. A representative from the CEITEC HR department is actively
participating in discussions within CERPEK's Learning & Development
coordinators group to facilitate the platform's setup. The primary
objective of this new platform is to enhance the planning, execution,
and evaluation of educational activities. All data will be centralized,
automatically updated, and the entire coordination process (including
1Q 2022 HR department Set and implement the
system of evidence of
training
training records) will become more transparent. As soon as pilot testing
of the application will be ready, we will be involved.
Given the above-described development at the university level, we are
extending the action to the next period.
59 TRAINING: Leaders
Training Academy
Completed With this activity, our goal was to further support the development of
group leaders, who serve as heads of worksites and hiring managers,
by offering them diverse training opportunities. Successful collaboration
with group leaders is crucial for implementing new HR policies and for
shaping the internal culture in the desired direction. The Leaders
Training Academy was established as a key component of the CEITEC
MU Leadership Policy (for more information about the policy itself, refer
to Action 18).
Link:
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/politiky_a_koncepce/CEITEC_
Leadership_Policy_signed_2022-02-22.pdf
During the reporting period, we provided managerial/leadership courses
and training to our group leaders and core facility heads. The offerings
were structured based on experience levels, starting with a Talent
Management program for potential future leaders, then Junior Managers
program for junior leaders, and Senior Managers program for
experienced leaders. In 2021-2023, a total of five group leaders, two
core facility heads, and thirty other employees participated in the
managerial or talent programs offered by the university and facilitated by
external experts. Recognizing the ongoing need for support, we plan to
continue these managerial courses in the upcoming years.
Providing employee feedback is undoubtedly a skill that belongs to a
leader's repertoire. Ten administrative staff in managerial positions and
four research leaders attended a workshop on employee evaluation
from 2021-2023.
In addition, we offered targeted training exclusively to CEITEC MU
employees. In 2022, we collaborated with Hfp Consulting, a wellrespected
educational institution specializing in researcher
development, to host a full-day leadership workshop. This event
provided an excellent opportunity for junior group leaders, core facility
heads, and senior researchers to evaluate their managerial needs,
acquire essential leadership skills, and engage in practical exercises
that fostered leadership thinking within a research group or core facility
1Q 2023 HR department Training plan for leaders;
number of leaders that
participated in the
academy
context. Nine participants attended the workshop. We also held a
webinar for leading scientific professionals in English, focusing on
working with cultural differences from a leadership position and
preventing potential conflicts arising from misunderstandings. This
webinar was attended by five research group leaders and four core
facility heads. Recognizing the crucial role of mentoring in supporting
the career growth of young researchers, we organized a workshop
focused on academic mentoring for mentors. Five researchers attended
the workshop.
In 2023, we took the initiative to enrol three core facility heads in a
comprehensive management and leadership course in Germany. Two
completed the workshop in September 2023, and the third in January
2024. Finally, our new group leader (hired in 2023) also participated in
the EMBO Laboratory Leadership course in 2024. Consistent with our
Leadership Policy, we aim to expand this training to encompass all new
group leaders and core facility heads.
60 CAREER: support of
networking
opportunities (incl. mini
teambuilding activities)
Completed We want to connect various groups of employees among each other to
support mutual understanding and collaboration.
During 2021-2024, we introduced and continued in these networking
events:
1) Leaders Lunches: new weekly event launched in 2023,
bringing together all CEITEC leaders – group leaders, core
facility heads and heads of administrative departments. The
event offers scientific chalk-talks, and also space for sharing
information, discussion and building personal connections that
smooth mutual cooperation and understanding.
2) Sip of Science: new bi-weekly event launched in 2024,
bringing together all CEITEC early-stage researchers (PhD
candidates, postdocs and junior staff scientists). The format is
similar to the Leaders Lunches.
3) All-hands Meetings: event initiated for the first time in 2022.
The all-hands meetings are organised for all employees with a
vision to share major updates with the CEITEC community and
offer a space for questions. In 2023, we focused on a topic of
quality and extent of administrative services. In 2022, we
focused on internal culture, working conditions and safety at
workspace.
4Q 2022 Communication
department
Number of activities;
number of events;
number of participants;
number of teambuilding
outcomes
4) Tea Time events: informal opportunity to meet colleagues.
During 2021-2023, Tea Times were organised on weekly
basis. In 2024, we plan to transform them to monthly events in
reaction to establishment of the Sip of Science.
5) Retreats: we organise retreats for group leaders, for postdocs
and for PhD candidates, as well as for administrative
employees on annual basis. Individual teams organise their
own teambuilding events and retreats as well.
6) Other: e.g. Christmas all-hands party, events for employees
and family members, sport events.
61 WORKING
ENVIRONMENT:
“ideas catcher” –
support of bottom-up
communication through
collection and
assessment of
employees’ ideas.
Extended CEITEC MU collects feedback typically via on-line surveys followed by
focus groups if required. Launch of an ongoing system of employees’
feedback and ideas was postponed (extended to the next period).
4Q 2024 Director’s office System in place;
Number of registered
ideas;
Number of implemented
ideas
62 CAREER: mentoring
system will be
specified, promoted
and supported
Completed This action follows the adoption of the career system (2020) that
defines mentoring as one of career development approaches/tools:
“The Institute also supports establishment of further relations between
the mentor and the mentee. In the case of PhD students, mentoring is
also provided by the supervisor, members of thesis advisory committee,
and the student ombudsman of the PhD School.”
In the mentoring system, we distinguish mentoring according to the
career stage:
(1) Group leaders: As a part of new group leader onboarding process, we
ensure a peer mentoring (buddy) is established with a colleague from the
group leader’s community. In this group of researchers, we support peer
mentoring and bottom-up approach. In March 2024, a peer-mentoring
channel in MS Teams was launched.
(2) Postdocs: Peer mentoring is supported also in the group of postdocs.
At CEITEC, the Postdoc Peer Committee (PPC) was established in 2018
as an informal group within the community. The group serves as a
platform for sharing, mutual learning, but also to formulate various
4Q 2022 Research and
innovations
support
department
Implementation/
action plan for mentoring;
number of
mentor/mentee
relationships established
(number of mentors,
number of mentees)
group’s interests to be communicated with the management. PPC
organizes annual postdoc retreats and participates in organisation of
informal Tea Time events for CEITEC community. In 2024, the PPC is
launching “Sip of Science” event that aims to bring all PhDs and postdocs
together to share their research projects (chalk talks) and discuss any
relevant topics for the group. In 2024, we plan to formalise the PPC as
an official advisory body to the management.
Link: https://postdocs.ceitec.cz/
In 2024, our female postdocs can participate the first run of the “EULIFE
Pathfinder: Mentoring Programme for Women Postdocs”. This
programme was designed by EU-LIFE WG Gender Equality, Diversity
and Inclusion of which CEITEC is a part as well. The program pairs
postdoctoral women with mentors who are established leaders in their
respective fields, holding positions such as principal investigators, core
facility heads, or directors of research institutes. These mentors have
navigated the complexities of academic life and are eager to provide
one-on-one guidance to support the professional development of our
mentees. The goal of the programme is for the mentor-mentee couples
to meet at least three times during the 12-month period, once to get to
know each other and discuss topics of guidance, frequency of meetings
and expectations, and at least two meetings with more in-depth
mentoring. The programme will initially run for 12 months, after which,
the programme will be evaluated.
Link: https://eu-life.eu/women-postdoc-mentoring
(3) PhD Candidates: As a part of CEITEC PhD School, we organise
“Thesis Advisory Committee” (TAC) for each PhD candidate. TAC
concept was implemented in September 2019 as a standard tool for
CEITEC PhD School to provide a comprehensive system of individual
quality assessment (IQA) of PhD students for the preparation of the
thesis defence. Every PhD student enrolled in a PhD Program under
the CEITEC PhD school (Life Sciences and Biomedical Sciences,
Molecular Medicine specialization) must be supervised and mentored
during their studies by the TAC. The TAC is responsible for monitoring
the student's progress and providing external advice and support to
both the student and supervisor. Setting up the TAC is the responsibility
of the student, but the selection of committee members is carried out in
cooperation between the student and the supervisor. TAC members
should be selected and appointed during the first semester of study.
The proposal of TAC members approved by the PhD student and the
supervisor must be delivered to the PhD Studies Manager by the end of
the first semester, and further approved by the Chair of the Doctoral
Board of the particular programs (Life Sciences/Molecular Medicine).
The TAC should convene at least three times during the PhD student's
career. All scheduled meetings are mandatory and must take place in
predefined periods. The PhD candidate's responsible for inviting the
TAC members, arranging TAC meetings, and submitting the fully
completed and signed TAC Assessment Reports in the "Homework
Vaults" section in the Study Materials of the course S5013 TAC
Meeting. The course S5013 TAC Meeting must be enrolled in the
semester in which the TAC meeting takes place, and the fully
completed and signed report must be submitted by the end of the exam
period of the given semester. Detail information at http://ls-
phd.ceitec.cz/text/detail/140.
Similarly to the formalisation of the PPC, we plan to formalise the PhD
Committee as an advisory body to the management as well.
63 CAREER: a pilot
collaborative PhD
scheme will be
designed and
implemented
Completed In 2021, we launched a pilot collaborative PhD scheme that brings
together CEITEC MU research and industry partners. That means that
our PhD candidates can find second supervisor in the company, next to
CEITEC MU supervisor. For this scheme, we have prepared all
necessary contracts and documents needed for finishing PhD.
Currently, 2 doctoral researchers have studied their PhD under the
collaborative agreements with company Biovendor.
4Q 2022 Research and
innovations
support
department
Industry PhD scheme
established;
number of PhD students
in industry PhD scheme
64 ETHICS: Open Science
approach will be further
strengthened and
unified
Completed The Institute is involved in several projects and initiatives that aim to
support open access principles (e. g. ORION project – see action no.
10, Masaryk University Working Group, etc.). At the university level an
Open Science strategy is being prepared and CEITEC MU is actively
participating in the preparation itself. In the following period, we will
implement the strategy. The experience from the ORION project (see
action no. 10) will be very useful. The effective support of Open Science
for researchers is established as well as training in Open Science for
increasing awareness on Open Science topics. We are focused
primarily on open access and open data. Following action no. 9, we
were able to describe the current situation and define researchers’ and
Institute’s needs in the area of repository for research data. We aim to
establish the systematic support of repository services for researchers
and an increase of green OA publications.
4Q 2022 Research and
innovations
support
department
Number of open science
focused events;
number/share of OA
publications; annual
report on open science;
number of publications in
the repository
Link: https://openscience.ceitec.cz/
65 CAREER: support for
mobility of early-stage
researchers: increase
of mobility of earlystage
researchers
through improvement of
administration support
and information service
Completed Following the outcomes of the action no. 42, we aim to improve the
mobility for incoming as well as outgoing early-stage researchers.
In the case of incoming internships, we prepared the guidelines with all
the possibilities of different types of internships for incoming
researchers. The Research and Innovation Support Department
administrator provides an administrative support to all research teams
in case of incoming researcher (intern). The system is standardized and
aims to minimize administrative burden both to incoming researcher
and hosting research group. In 2023, we hosted 44 researchers from
other institutions for internships.
In case of outgoing internships, the agenda is coordinated at the level of
faculties. The monitoring system is established, however managed by
the faculty coordinators.
3Q 2023 Research and
innovations
support
department
Guideline for researchers
about mobility options
(incoming/outgoing);
number of incoming and
outgoing researchers
66 GENDER EQUALITY:
communication:
gender-sensitive
communication policy
will be defined and
disseminated [*Gender
Equality Plan]
Completed In the previous period (2019), CEITEC MU performed an overall
analysis of website presentation and information brochures about the
Institute from the perspective of using gender-sensitive communication.
Results of the external analysis were used for the amendment of all
channels of external and internal communication. PR specialists
underwent training with an external expert as well.
In 2021, we issued an institutional gender-sensitive communication
policy (Czech version) that should serve not only a PR and
communication specialist, but all employees of the institute (e. g. grant
officers while writing grant applications, HR managers while
communicating with employees and with candidates for a position, etc.).
In 2022, we issued English mutation as well.
Link (Sensitive and Respectful Communication at CEITEC MU):
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/HR_Award/sensitivni_a_respektujici_komuni
kace/Sensitive_and_respectful_communication_at_CEITEC_MU__v202
1-10-07_.pdf
Distribution of the guidelines to employees was accompanied with an
offer of training. In 2021, we organised a training focused on gendersensitive
and respectful communication. The training was delivered by
National Contact Centre for Gender and Science - an expert
organisation in the field of gender equality. 15 employees mostly from
4Q 2021 Director’s office INDICATORS: gendersensitive
communication
policy (document);
workshop for employees
on gender sensitive
communication; number
of participants of the
workshop on gender
sensitive communication;
TARGET:
30 employees will
participate in the
workshop
the administrative departments participated the training. The recording
is available to all employees.
Our PR specialists are responsible for using gender-sensitive
communication in all our PR and communication channels (website,
social media, internal newsletter, etc.). Head of Director’s Office is
responsible for reviewing official institutional documents from the same
perspective.
During the implementation, we cancelled the goal to organise train-thetrainer
workshop to train internal expert. It proved to be expensive and
not needed due to available sources and external training.
67 WORKING
CONDITIONS: system
of feedback (from
employees leaving the
Institute) collection and
analysis will be
established (exit
interview/questionnaire)
Completed Feedback from employees leaving the Institute provides us with
valuable information, as these persons tend to be franker and more
open. In 2019, we launched a system of feedback collection and
analysis of received information. Leaving employee receives a link to an
online questionnaire whose results are sensitive and only HR
Department works with the primary data. In specific cases, employees
can have a meeting/interview with HR manager instead of filling out the
online questionnaire. From the launch of this system, 82 employees
filled in the online survey and app. 52 employees had an exit interview
with HR manager.
In 2024, HR Department prepared a first comprehensive report covering
period of 2022-2023 (discussed with the management in April 2024).
Due to sensitivity of information, we are not providing results in this
report. However, the HRS4R action plan for 2024-2027 was prepared in
accordance with results of the exit interviews analysis.
1Q 2022 HR department Design of exit interview
and exit questionnaire;
number of exit interviews
completed; number of
exit questionnaires filled
in; methodology on exit
interviews/questionnaires
; analysis of exit
interviews/questionnaires
(annual basis)
68 GENDER EQUALITY:
addressing a sexual
harassment and
bullying in research
environment [*Gender
Equality Plan]
Completed See action no. 85. 1Q 2022 Director’s Office Guidelines on how to
address bullying and
sexual harassment;
update of
Work@CEITEC_MU
(sexual harassment and
bullying section); update
of information brochure
for new employees
(sexual harassment and
bullying topic); analysis
and action plan (sexual
harassment and bullying
topic); training for
employees on preventing
sexual harassment and
bullying designed;
number of employees
trained in the area of
sexual harassment and
bullying
69 ALUMNI: alumni
network
ambassador/coordinato
r appointment and
formulation of long-term
strategy and action
plan for the alumni
network
Completed The alumni network is a complex agenda that relates to scientific
collaboration/network, HR management, scientific events, mentoring
system, etc. In 2021, Scientific Secretary was appointed an alumni
network ambassador/coordinator. Her first assignment was to moderate
discussion and reach consensus on the first actions to be taken.
The first actions completed were:
1) Establishment of the LinkedIn CEITEC Alumni group. This group
serves in two main ways: as database of Alumni members, and as a
communication channel. The LI Alumni group has currently 62
members from all CEITEC members:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8955863/
2) HR Department distributes invitation to the LinkedIn CEITEC Alumni
group to employees leaving the institute.
3) We invite our alumni members to give presentations to our current
employees. The most typical case is inviting Alumni members with an
interesting career path to our seminar series for early-stage researchers
called “Life After PhD” (e.g. https://www.ceitec.eu/life-after-phd-with-
cosimo-lobello/a4734).
4) We communicate stories of our alumni members via interviews to
show that CEITEC MU is a great place where to start a career.
Examples:
https://www.ceitec.eu/ceitec-masaryk-university-as-a-stepping-stone-
for-an-era-chair-position-in-malta/t11091
https://www.ceitec.eu/from-ceitec-masaryk-university-to-yale/t10983
4Q 2023 Scientific
secretary
Alumni network
coordinator appointed;
number of alumni
members; alumni
network
strategy/conception;
annual action plan/annual
report on alumni network
70 COMMUNICATION:
HR Award
communication strategy
and plan will be
prepared and
implemented in the
period of 2021–2023
Completed In the previous period, we learned that effective communication with
researchers as a HR Award target group is essential, but sometimes
underestimated. In our communication strategy aligned to HRS4R, we
aimed to explain WHAT will be done and WHY, HOW and WHEN it will
be done as part of the HR Award procedure. For this purpose, we use a
series of events (depending on the target groups) such as all-hands
meeting (all employees, major topics, high priority), leaders lunches
(group leaders, heads of core facilities), specific meetings e.g. with
representatives of postdocs (Postdoc Peer Committee) or PhD
candidates (PhD Committee).
Among the actions, we implemented to raise awareness about the
certification itself, we would like to highlight: (1) We add the HR Award
logo to all documents that are associated to the HR Award action plan
implementation (presentations, policies, reports), (2) We keep
mentioning about the HR Award at various forums while discussion HR
topics (e.g. Director’s Board, management meetings, all-hands
meetings, Leaders Lunches, working groups, university level), (3) HR
Award has a specific chapter in the annual managerial report to the
university management. This report is distributed also to our Scientific
Board and our group leaders. (4) We include HR Award logo to our job
adverts. (5) Mostly members of the HR Award working group include
information about the HR Award into their email signatures. (6)
Information about CEITEC MU as HR Award holder is promoted online
(e.g. web banner at main page), and on-site via installed TV screens in
our buildings.
4Q 2023 Director’s office
(communications
lead)
HR Award
communication plan for
2021–2023 formulated
and implemented
71 COMMUNICATION:
gathering employees’
feedback on four areas
of the Charter and
Code
Completed Over the period of 2021-2024, we organized a set of surveys and focus
groups among various groups of our employees to gather their
experiences and feedback. Below, we describe the most significant
ones:
In 2021, we have organised the first all employees’ satisfaction survey
focused on perception of management and leadership quality, career
development, research culture, science communication, inclusive
working environment, safety at workplace, etc. We decided to use a
well-established questionnaire designed by the Welcome Trust. The
return rate of the questionnaire was 20%. Overall, the sample of
respondents roughly corresponds to the actual distribution of CEITEC
staff. Results of the survey were analysed in cooperation with external
sociologists. In 2022, we presented results of the staff survey to all
2Q 2023 Director’s office Staff survey designed
and implemented;
analysis of staff survey
employees during all-hands meet up. In general, there was positive
feedback by participants of the meeting, that management presented
both positive outcomes of the survey, and negative issues identified
(e.g. issue of bullying and sexual harassment).
In 2023, we launched the first ever questionnaire regarding perceived
quality and extent of administrative services. An interesting side-result
of the survey was an evaluation of leadership competences of
supervisors. All employees had an opportunity to give feedback not only
on quality, but also extent of services such as grant preparation
support, HR support, etc. The results were presented to the whole
community the same year together with an action plan reacting on the
results (e.g. improving the information service for employees). The
response rate reached 55 %.
In 2023, we have organised all-employees’ survey focused on work-life
balance, diversity, flexible working conditions, management of
maternity/parental leaves, sexual harassment, etc. We reached a
response rate of 43 %. This survey was used for preparation of new
gender equality plan that is being a part of new HRS4R action plan
2024-2027.
In 2023, Postdoc Peer Committee organised a questionnaire among the
group of early-stage researchers regarding their satisfaction, working
conditions and needs and gathered feedback from 22 respondents
(app. 20 % response rate). Results were discussed with the
management on the joint meeting with the authors of the survey,
including acceptance of few concrete actions to be implemented to
react to those results that can be affected from the central level.
Among less comprehensive and extensive surveys, we might mention
e.g. questionnaire about training needs of PhD candidates organised by
the CEITEC PhD School coordinator.
After reviewing all sources available and receiving feedback by
researchers that they are overwhelmed with too many questionnaires
over past two years, we decided not to organise another online survey
before the on-site visit and preferred in person meetings with PhD
candidates, postdocs, and group leaders – focusing on semi-structured
discussions regarding their perceptions, feedback and future needs in
the areas covered by the Charter and Code. These meetings were held
during February-May 2024.
72 CEITEC MU will
continue in actions
aiming to increase the
representation of
women in decisionmaking
and advisory
bodies and will always
consider the diversity of
such bodies
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-1]
Completed Since 2018, CEITEC MU is monitoring and reporting composition of
decision-making and advisory bodies, including share of women/men in
these bodies. Starting from 2021, we amended the report with data on
share of international members of advisory bodies. There are two
advisory boards and one advisory committee at CEITEC MU (Strategy
Committee and Space Allocation Committee were not renewed in 2023).
Gender balance of the management is optimal in long-run. Share of
women in Director's Board is even higher than share of women at group
leader positions at CEITEC MU, reaching solid 33 %. New Scientific
Board was appointed in November 2023, with a similar value of share of
women (23 %) compared to 2022 (26 %) - this change is given by
increase of total number of members (the number of women remained
the same). The representation of women (group leaders) in IT Committee
remains very low. Representation of international members is monitored
for the third year. In 2023, only Scientific Board has international
members (either foreigners, or researchers working abroad). This action
can never be concluded as completed – it’s our long-term mission to
monitor gender balance of decision-making and advisory bodies and
make a systematic effort to increase the share of minority gender to at
least 40 %.
Annually Head of Director’s
Office
INDICATORS:
1) share of men and
women in the
management,
Director’s Board,
Scientific Board, and
all advisory
committees;
2) share of international
employees in the
Director’s Board,
Scientific Board and
all advisory
committees;
3) share of junior and
senior group leaders
in decision-making
and advisory bodies.
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
Minority gender is
represented at least by 25
% of members in
individual bodies.
Share of international
employees in advisory
bodies is at least 25 %.
73 The Institute will further
extend amount of
gender-disaggregated
data that are reported to
the management and
assessed from the
perspective of gender
equality.
Completed We further extended data that are reported and assessed from the
perspective of gender equality. At CEITEC, all administrative
departments annually submit quantitative data relevant to their agenda.
Where relevant, data are gender disaggregated.
Selected data we monitor, report and assess as gender-disaggregated:
employees’ population (per position, per nationality, per gender),
employee’s status (define and indefinite period contracts), recruitment
3Q 2022 Head of Director’s
Office
In close
cooperation and
inputs from all
admin
departments.
INDICATORS:
1) leaky pipeline data;
2) data from
recruitment
procedures;
Data will be used for
detailed analysis and
formulation of future
actions and measures.
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-2]
procedures (individual stages, selection committees), grant data
(applicants/awarded grants), awards, PR data, gender pay gap.
The departments delivering the data are responsible for identification of
any discrepancies in data from the perspective of gender inequalities.
3) pre-award and postaward
grants-related
data;
4) awards;
5) training data;
6) other HR data;
7) research
performance data;
8) PR data.
74 Gender sensitive
communication will be
used across the institute
to improve working
environment and
internal culture
#PR
#recruitment
#culture
(HR Award, no. 66)
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-3]
Completed See action no. 66 for details about the implementation. 4Q 2021 Director’s Office
In close
cooperation with
the
Communication
Department
INDICATORS:
1) gender-sensitive
communication
policy (document);
2) training for
employees on
gender sensitive
communication;
3) number of
participants of the
workshop on gender
sensitive
communication;
4) train-the-trainer
workshop on gender
sensitive
communication; at
least two persons
trained;
5) regular analytical
report of web and
social media
presentation/commu
nication (every 1-2
years).
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
30 employees will
participate in the training
2 internal experts on
gender sensitive
communication
75 The Institute will
promote positive role
models in science in
the context of equal
opportunities, making
minority groups in
academia more
visible
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-4]
Completed Presentation of positive “role models” and “family cases” from the
perspective of equal opportunities, making minority groups in academia
more visible was an ongoing assignment for our PR specialists. We
aimed to offer not purely scientific content to our target groups, but also
topics such as work-life balance, career in research/academia, and
mental health issues. Such topics were included both while presenting
women and men of CEITEC.
PR data report was amended to include gender-disaggregated data (e.g.
number of articles presenting men/women of CEITEC). According to data
reporting, CEITEC MU issued 45 articles/press releases in 2023. 51 %
of them presented mixed teams (men/women) or was gender-neutral, 33
% presented men and 16 % presented women. When we compare these
figures to data from 2020, there was 40 % of articles/press releases with
both genders or gender-neutral, 43 % presenting men and 18 %
presenting women role models. From this perspective, we can say we
are more communicating mixed teams, slightly less publishing “onlymen”
focused articles and keeping app. the same share of “only-women”
focused articles.
CEITEC celebrates the International Day of Women and Girls in Science
as well as the International Day of Women to raise awareness about
gender equality in research, female role models in research, etc.
In 2021, CEITEC issued language policy and guidelines focused on
respectful communication (Czech version, followed by English version in
2022). This document includes principles of gender sensitive
communication in the intersectional approach (dealing with making
minority groups in academia more visible).
Link (Sensitive and Respectful Communication at CEITEC MU):
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/HR_Award/sensitivni_a_respektujici_komuni
Annually Communications
Lead
INDICATORS:
1) Articles, interviews
and other campaigns
promoting positive
role models;
2) PR data segregated
by gender – number
of press releases,
media appearance.
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
At least three interviews
covering also a topic of
women in science, worklife
balance, equal
opportunities, etc. per
year.
kace/Sensitive_and_respectful_communication_at_CEITEC_MU__v202
1-10-07_.pdf
Examples of articles promoting women in science:
https://www.ceitec.eu/happy-international-day-of-women-and-girls-in-
science/t11092
https://www.ceitec.eu/maternal-mental-health-during-pregnancy-how-it-
translates-to-brain-development-and-child-s-behaviour/t11233
https://www.ceitec.eu/revolutionizing-genomic-research-introducing-
geronimo-the-user-friendly-ncrna-discovery-tool/t11225
76 Increasing the
number of female
applicants for group
leader position and
the offer acceptance
rate
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-5]
Extended Increasing the number of female applicants for group leader position
and the offer acceptance rate proved to be one of the most challenging
goals of the Gender Equality Plan. When positions open for group
leader, we always apply an open international selection process and
use gender-sensitive advertisements. We always draw attention to the
possibilities of reconciling family and professional life (kindergartens,
etc.). Also, if there are women with a relevant scientific profile in the
portfolio of applicants for the position (taking into account their specific
career path), we try to communicate their needs individually so that they
can accept the position if they are successful in the selection process.
The action we implemented to reach this goal during 2021-2023 were:
(1) Gender sensitive communication was used in the whole process of
recruiting new employees. A training was organised, and training
guidelines were distributed. (2) Specifically, HR managers will participate
training on gender sensitive communication. (3) Unconscious bias
training for recruitment committee members (and other employees) was
be repeated. (4) Employees’ benefits at the university level were added
with a contribution to the kindergarten costs.
During 2021-2023, CEITEC MU opened two group leader’s positions.
Share of women among applicants was 27 % (2021) / 30 % (2023), 29
% (2021) / 17 % (2023) were shortlisted, 29 % were interviewed (2021) /
0 % (2023), but 0 % was hired.
Ongoing
activity
(group
leader
position is
opened
app. once
per 2
years)
Director’s Office,
Scientific
Secretary, HR
Department
INDICATORS:
1) Share of
women/men in
individual stages of
the recruitment
procedure (for
positions according
to the career
system).
2) Number of HR
managers
participating training
on gender sensitive
communication.
3) Number of
unconscious bias
training participants.
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
At least two candidates
representing minority
gender will be invited to
interview for group leader
position.
77 Promote transparency
of recruitment
practices – website
on Career at CEITEC
MU will be available,
including information
on our recruitment
procedure and rules
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-6]
Completed See action no. 7: We have prepared and implemented a whole new
web section "Career" at CEITEC website (https://www.ceitec.eu/careerhomepage/t10698).
The section includes open vacancies, reasons why
to work at CEITEC, information about living in Brno, Czech Republic,
presentation of Welcome Office for foreign employees. We also revised
templates of job advertisements to include information about how the
recruitment procedure is organised, with a link to our recruitment policy.
We focused on implementation and usage of gender sensitive language
as well. Informal feedback gathered from the applicants and hiring
managers regarding the templates was positive.
3Q 2021 Director’s Office DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
CEITEC MU Career
section on the web
launched, including
recruitment policy and
related documents.
78 Open, transparent and
merit-based
recruitment policy
(OTM-R policy) will be
implemented,
including being
formalised as a
Director’s Measure
with relevant
guidelines
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-7]
Completed See action no. 56. 4Q 2021 HR Department
in close
cooperation with
Director’s Office
and Scientific
Secretary
INDICATORS:
1) Director’s measure
on Recruitment
adopted.
2) Share of women and
men in the
recruitment
committees,
3) Share of women and
men in all stages of
the recruitment
procedure.
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
1) At least 30 % of
recruitment
committee members
will be
representatives of
minority gender.
2) At least two
representatives of
minority gender
should be invited to
first round of the
recruitment
procedure.
All HR managers are
trained in the area of
gender sensitive
communication.
79 Information services
for applicants for a
position at CEITEC
MU will be
professional,
covering also
information about
work-life balance,
childcare facilities,
social benefits, etc.
Providing these
information is not a
part of interview and
assessment of the
candidate.
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-8]
Completed HR department prepared an information brochure about work-life
balance aspects of the work, childcare facilities, social benefits that is
handed to candidates during interviews. HR manager provides additional
information if required by the candidate. Our experience is that
candidates are actively asking about benefits and work-life balance
issues – both during the interview and as follow-up via email or phone
consultation with the HR manager.
3Q 2023 HR Department INDICATORS:
Information brochure
issued.
80 Employees will be
offered with a
complex and
professional
information resources
and consultation
services in the area of
working conditions,
work-life balance,
maternity/parental
leave and return to
work, etc.
Completed HR department aims to provide employees with an information service,
covering areas of working conditions, work-life balance,
maternity/parental leave and return to work. Such service contains a
basic set of regularly updated information brochures and individual
consultations for specific cases not covered by the brochures.
Information brochures for employees are updated on regular basis and
cover these thematic focuses: (1) Brochure for new employees (Your
Guide at CEITEC MU) – this brochure is very comprehensive and
accessible also to the current employees, (2) Maternity and parental
leave (see action no. 81 for more information). Brochures are distributed
to the target group by the HR department.
3Q 2023 HR Department INDICATORS:
1) Number of
information
brochures,
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
All employees leaving for
the maternity/parental
leave receive a
standardized set of
information.
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-9]
Employees can find overview of information regarding their labour
contract and working conditions in the university information system
(INET).
81 We will support our
employees before and
after leave periods
(maternity leave,
parental leave, care
for close relative
leave) to ensure
smooth transition
between work and
leave period
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-10]
Completed The HR department established a regular procedure for providing
support to employees and heads of workplaces when an employee is
preparing for maternity/parental leave and returning from it. This support
includes mostly information service about health restrictions for pregnant
and lactating women, length of maternity/parental leave, calculation of
maternity allowance and amount of parental allowance, related
procedures with public authorities, options on how to keep part-time job
during maternity/parental leave, etc. In 2023, HR department updated
and distributes the brochure about maternity/parental leave, including a
section about leaving and returning back to work. The brochure is
available both in Czech and English.
Setting concrete “return plan” is a responsibility of head of workplace in
cooperation with leaving employee. Heads of workplaces are offered with
a consultation if required how to approach this situation. HR Department
provides individual help to employees returning to work after
maternity/parental leave.
Annually, the HR Department supports around 15 employees leaving the
team because of the maternity/parental leave break.
CEITEC as a part of the university also takes a full advantage of the
university MUNI Career Restart grant support scheme (GAMU) that
provides financial support for integration of researchers after a career
break. During 2021-2024, six women of CEITEC were supported via this
internal grant scheme.
Link: https://gamu.muni.cz/en/pro-vedce/career-restart
3Q 2022 HR Department INDICATORS:
Heads of workplaces and
employees leaving for
maternity/parental leave
will receive a template of
check-list with
recommended steps
before leave, before
return to work and after
return to work after
maternity/parental leave.
(Number of cases)
82 The Institute will
continue in promotion
and implementation
of the institutional
WLB policy and raise
awareness
importance of worklife
balance, including
mental health issues
Completed HR Department reviewed the WLB Policy that was formulated as an
outcome of the H2020-GERI project “LIBRA” in 2018. After a
consideration, CEITEC decided that the policy does not need the
amendment but rather needs a formal approval and publication to receive
a status of institutional official policy. We moved the document from
“project webpage” to (1) internal document server, (2) CEITEC website
(HRS4R section) - https://www.ceitec.eu/hr-strategy-hrs4r/t10811.
Heads of workplace are supported to take a full advantage of using
measures such as flexible working hours, home-office for their team
4Q 2022 HR Department INDICATORS:
1) Updated WLB
Policy.
2) Data on part-time
contracts.
3) Data on home-office.
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-11]
members. According to HR data, app. 45 % of core employees have a
part-time job arrangement (49 % of researchers, 28 % of administrative
staff). From the perspective of using work from home, 94 % of all
employees have signed an agreement about working from home. This
agreement is signed by an employee and his/her supervisor. Currently,
we do not have data about real usage of this benefit (meaning that an
employee might have the contract about “home-office” signed, but not
using this option).
We regularly inform our employees about the university kindergarten
“Elánek” that is available close to the campus with a discount from the
commercial price to university employees.
We are dedicated to supporting the mental health of our employees and
providing them with the necessary tools to manage stress and navigate
difficult situations effectively. To this end, we have informed our
employees about the accessibility of psychological services at the
Counselling Centre at Masaryk University since 2023 and relevant
developmental opportunities organized by MU.
In 2022, twelve of our employees completed a Mental Health and Stress
Management workshop, while eight others participated in a CERPEK
workshop focused on mental balance and stress management for
Masaryk University employees.
In collaboration with CERPEK, we organized a workshop on maintaining
mental health and preventing burnout, which was offered in both Czech
and English. Twelve scientific and administrative employees attended the
Czech workshop, while six participated in the English version. To ensure
the effectiveness of the training, we conducted a follow-up session after
2.5 months where participants could reflect on how they have applied the
techniques and insights from the work-life balance field to their daily lives.
Link (to the folder):
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/politiky_a_koncepce/
Link (directly to the policy):
https://is.muni.cz/do/ceitec/uredni_deska/politiky_a_koncepce/CEITEC_
MU_WLB_Policy_2018_LIBRA.pdf
83 Building (family)
friendly working
Completed We continued in organisation of events for employees and their family
members, such as Children’s Day, St. Nicolas Day, Christmas Party, On
Bike to Work campaign, etc. We are not monitoring participation of these
events via participation lists. However, we monitor increasing interest in
3Q 2023 Events
Department
INDICATORS/OUTPUTS
:
environment and
community
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-12]
visiting these informal events, and collect positive feedback on their
concept and quality.
We installed several new features to make the employees’ experience at
CEITEC more pleasant, with an option to relax during rest periods (e.g.
table football, bean bags).
We have the WLB Policy in place (reflecting the goal of building (family)
friendly working environment and community that has been revised in
2023 and officially issued. (See action no. 82.)
We cooperate with family/expat networks, including support for
international families to feel at home in Brno (e.g., Brno Expat
Centre).The special attention was paid to international staff so that they
can feel welcomed and as at home in Brno and in CEITEC community.
This is a part of our well-established Welcome Service for international
staff. Annually, our Welcome Office manager supports around 30-35 new
foreign employees. The feedback we receive is very positive. According
to recent survey focused on quality of administrative services (2023) that
was done among all employees, Welcome Office for international
employees was one of the best rated services of the HR Department and
in overall with a grade of 1.4 (where 1=excellent, 5=worst).
Link (feedback to the Welcome Office): https://www.ceitec.eu/feedback-
to-welcome-office-services/t9814
Link: https://www.ceitec.eu/welcome-
office/t9938?_gl=1*1tdyt91*_ga*ODY3NDkwNzQzLjE2MTU4OTUyNjI.*
_ga_L74QG6CYBE*MTcwNzI5NjU2OC4xNjcuMS4xNzA3Mjk2NTc2LjA
uMC4w
We have implemented various initiatives to foster a sense of community
and facilitate international networking within our organization. These
initiatives encompass social, family, and sports events that provide
opportunities for employees to connect globally. These events not only
serve as a platform for international networking but also offer insights
into different countries and cultures. (See action no. 60.)
(organisation of
events)
HR Department
(WLB Policy in
general)
1) Number of events for
employees and their
family members.
2) Data on Welcome
Service (feedback,
number of cases).
84 Analysis of wage
system from the
perspective of gender
equality
Completed In 2023, an external expert team in cooperation with CEITEC HR
Department performed the Gender Pay Gap Analysis (GPG). Team of
experts used the LOGIB methodology that is standardized and used on
Europe-wide level. The results of the analysis were presented to the
management of the institute. Director decided to repeat the GPG
analysis every year. In 2023, CEITEC adopted wage policy (see action
3Q 2023 HR Department INDICATORS/OUTPUTS
:
1) Gender pay gap
analysis.
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-13]
37) that will be affective in 2024 and 2025. In 2025, we will assess if
there is any correlation between the policy and GPG data.
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
There is no statistically
significant difference in
wages of employees
caused by gender.
85 Sexism, sexual
harassment and
bullying will be
addressed to promote
safe and healthy
working environment
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-14]
Completed In 2021, CEITEC organised an anonymous survey to all employees
focusing on the internal culture – including a topic of safety and
prevalence/experience with sexual harassment and bullying. The
outcomes of the survey were presented at the all-hands meeting in 2022
and created a basis for design of subsequent steps.
In 2022, Masaryk University (of which CEITEC is a part) prepared and
launched a new system focused on prevention and dealing with cases of
sexual harassment and bullying consisting of: (1) university “Guidelines
for resolving sexual harassment incidents at Masaryk University” were
prepared in cooperation with an expert non-governmental organisation
Konsent, (2) appointment of “contact persons” from the group of
university employees that are available for consultation and guidance
(these persons were properly trained by experts in the field), (3) launch
of training for employees and students by external providers offered both
in Czech and English on voluntary basis, (3) launch of web page with all
information, sources and contacts, (4) appointment of the university
ombudsperson in 2023.
CEITEC closely cooperates with the university management in the area
of sexual harassment and bullying and builds upon the university system:
(1) We added section about sexual harassment and bullying into our
brochure for new employees (we refer to the university web page with the
complex information); (2) In 2023, CEITEC nominated two employees to
become contact persons according to the point (2) above. These two
persons were selected according to their competences to deal with such
a sensitive topic, and will be trained by external trainers; (3) We added a
section “Sexual harassment and bullying to our HR Strategy web section;
(4) We informed about the issue of university guidelines and system in
the internal newsletter; (5) As a part of our information system about
available training opportunities, we invited our employees to all training
workshops organised by the university.
Besides the university level, we took an advantage of being a member of
the EU-LIFE consortium. In 2021, we co-organised online "Active by
4Q 2023
.
Head of Director’s
Office
HR Department
As a part of the
EU-LIFE working
group on Gender
Equality.
INDICATORS/OUTPUTS
:
1) Guidelines on how
to address bullying
and sexual
harassment (code of
conduct);
2) update of
Work@CEITEC_MU
(sexual harassment
and bullying
section);
3) update of
information brochure
for new employees
(sexual harassment
and bullying topic);
4) analysis and action
plan (sexual
harassment and
bullying topic);
5) anonymous staff
survey focused on
sexual harassment
and bullying;
6) training for
employees on
sexual harassment
stander" training for group leaders. Six group leaders and core facility
heads participated in the training. The feedback was very positive and
participants supported an idea to offer active bystander training to PhD
students and postdocs as well. All group leaders from all EU-LIFE
consortium partners were invited. In 2022, we used the same concept of
the "Active Bystander " training for our junior researchers (8 participants).
In 2022, we implemented the same concept of "Active Bystander" training
for our junior researchers. The training was attended by eight junior
scientists and postdocs, and it was aimed at helping them to recognize
and respond to inappropriate behavior in the workplace. In the same
year, fourteen employees attended a practically oriented training
program called "Respect All the Way I," which was organized by the
university's rectorate. The training aimed to provide participants with the
tools necessary to prevent sexual harassment, bullying, and violence in
the academic environment. We offered the workshop again in 2023, and
three employees participated. Additionally, two employees completed the
pilot follow-up workshop, "Respect All the Way II." The participants
included senior administrative staff, senior scientific staff, PhD students,
and HR professionals. We will continue to offer workshops on this issue
in the upcoming years.
Link: https://www.muni.cz/en/students/sexual-harassment
Link: https://www.ceitec.eu/hr-strategy-hrs4r/t10811
and bullying
designed;
7) number of
employees trained in
the area of sexual
harassment and
bullying.
86 Implementation of
sex/gender dimension
in research in
research content and
education
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-15]
Completed A mix of actions and events was organized to ensure sex/gender
dimension in research implementation. We took advantage of outcomes
of the LIBRA project (H2020-GERI), mainly an online web learning
module. CEITEC MU has taken an active role in the implementation of
good SGDR practice, despite the fact that the impact of SG aspects in
the majority of projects is assessed as irrelevant.
The relevance assessment is not only the responsibility of the project
investigators, but each research project is also evaluated by the Ethics
Committee for Research at Masaryk university. The Committee
considers the SG aspects of the project and evaluates their correct
implementation in all phases of research, taking into account possible
future applications.
To help researchers consider all potential implications of SG in their
research and treat them properly, we offer the Sex and Gender
Dimension in Biomedical Research course to either in the form of a
4Q 2022 Scientific
Secretary and
Science and
Innovations
Support Dept.
INDICATORS:
Number of seminars for
postdocs on SGD (and
number of participants)
Number of PhD courses
on SGD (and number of
trained PhD students)
Number of group leaders
and staff scientists
participating event on
SGD
lifelong learning course for staff and or study course students (awarded
by 2 ECTS credits). The course is offered as a soft-skills course since
2022. The course is open to students of any field. In Spring 2022, we
monitor 6 students finishing the course (5F, 1M). In spring 2023, 20
students successfully finished the course. In autumn 2023, 12 students
successfully finished the course. In this semester (spring 2024), 24
students have enrolled this course.
Link: https://is.muni.cz/predmet/sci/jaro2022/S5016
87 Age management will
be explored and
established at CEITEC
MU
[*Gender Equality Plan,
action no. GEP-16]
Completed CEITEC MU performed the initial age management analysis. The
analysis was provided by external expert organisation. We concluded
that the research organisations such as CEITEC MU deal with very
different challenges in age management than the employers from the
production sectors.
Actions formulated based on the analysis were: 1) Change of the
reporting system to include data structured by age (where relevant) completed;
2) Amendment of the regular report to the management
about group leaders to achieve retirement age in the next two years completed;
3) Agreement was achieved to formulate and adopt a
retirement policy (as a part of the overall career system of CEITEC
MU).
4Q 2022 Deputy Director
for Administrative
Matters
OUTPUTS:
Analysis and Action Plan
HR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD AT CEITEC MASARYK
UNIVERSITY: ACTION PLAN 2024-2027
(2024-04-12)
Note: Extended actions from the previous period are included here.
No. Action Status Remarks Deadline Responsibility Indicators
58 Training: evidence of
employee training will be
established and used for
career development
Extended During our work on the improvement of career development of
our employees, we identified a need to have evidence of
employee training records (including those from the previous
employment/studies). This would help all group leaders and
heads of worksites to define and plan future career development
together with employees (mostly with early-stage career
researchers). The currently available system of monitoring
employees’ training participation (Magion) is not optimal for our
use. The system enables the generation of a basic overview of
training history of each employee. However, the system is
outdated and not user-friendly, and occasionally, training data is
incomplete or missing (depending on the person responsible for
recording the participation).
In 2023, university-wide unit responsible for employees’ career
development and training (CERPEK MU) has initiated the
development of a new educational platform. The new platform
seeks to offer a comprehensive, long-term view of employee
engagement in educational activities. A representative from the
CEITEC HR department is actively participating in discussions
within CERPEK's Learning & Development coordinators group to
facilitate the platform's setup. The primary objective of this new
platform is to enhance the planning, execution, and evaluation of
educational activities. All data will be centralized, automatically
updated, and the entire coordination process (including training
records) will become more transparent. As soon as pilot testing
of the application will be ready, we will get involved.
4Q 2025 HR department Set and implement the
system of evidence of
training
Due to above-described development at the university level, we
are extending the action to the next period.
61 WORKING
ENVIRONMENT: “ideas
catcher” – support of
bottom-up communication
through collection and
assessment of employees’
ideas.
Extended CEITEC MU collects feedback typically via on-line surveys
followed by focus groups if required. Launch of an ongoing
system of employees’ feedback and ideas was extended from
the past period.
4Q 2025 Director’s office Feedback collection
form (PORTAL)
Guidelines for collection
of feedback and ideas
(roles, procedures,
deadlines)
Number of registered
ideas
Number of implemented
ideas
76 Gender Equality: Increasing
the number of female
applicants for group leader
position and the offer
acceptance rate
Extended Increasing the number of female applicants for group leader
position and the offer acceptance rate proved to be one of the
most challenging goals of the Gender Equality Plan. When
positions open for group leader, we always apply an open
international selection process and use gender-sensitive
advertisements. We always draw attention to the possibilities of
reconciling family and professional life (kindergartens, etc.). Also,
if there are women with a relevant scientific profile in the portfolio
of applicants for the position (taking into account their specific
career path), we try to communicate their needs individually so
that they can accept the position if they are successful in the
selection process.
The action we implemented to reach this goal during 2021-2023
were: (1) Gender sensitive communication was used in the whole
process of recruiting new employees. A training was organised,
and training guidelines distributed. (2) Specifically, HR managers
will participate training on gender sensitive communication. (3)
Unconscious bias training for recruitment committee members
(and other employees) was repeated. (4) Employees’ benefits at
the university level were added with a contribution to the
kindergarten costs.
During 2021-2023, CEITEC MU opened two group leader’s
positions. Share of women among applicants was 27 % (2021) /
4Q 2027 Director’s Office,
Scientific Secretary,
HR Department
Share of women/men in
individual stages of the
recruitment procedure
(for positions according
to the career system).
DESIRED TARGET
VALUES:
At least two candidates
representing minority
gender will be invited to
interview for group
leader position.
30 % (2023), 29 % (2021) / 17 % (2023) were shortlisted, 29 %
were interviewed (2021) / 0 % (2023), but 0 % was hired.
88 Gender equality plan 2024-
2027
New CEITEC will formulate Gender Equality Plan for 2025-2027.
We will focus on keeping new actions and agendas from the last
GEP in life, and to add new topics/actions.
2024 Director’s Office Gender Equality Plan
(document)
Annual report on GEP
implementation for the
management and
HRS4R Steering
Committee (2025, 2026,
2027)
89 Recruitment practice:
bringing the policy and rules
into real life, and improving
hiring managers‘ and
candidates‘ practical
experience
New We’ve reached a point in which a comprehensive work has been
done on formulating policy, internal rules and all sort of written
documents in the area of recruitment. Now the priority shifts to
real life and real experience and HR services.
HR Department will implement a series of support actions to
bring OTM-R policy into reality such as:
1) Raising awareness among hiring managers (info sessions,
appealing executive summaries of the most important
information, training)
2) Building individual relations and trust between HR specialists
and hiring managers
3) Improving an experience of candidates (clarification of
mutual expectations, clear communication)
4) Extending offered services to support hiring managers in
their selection of the final candidate (e.g. psychodiagnostics
tools)
5) Facelift of used info sources (template of job adverts, web
presentation)
2027*3
HR Department Info session with hiring
managers (updates
from recruitment) every
two years
Executive summary of
the Recruitment policy
together with a list of
services by HR for
hiring managers
(“Recruitment Pocket
Kit”)
Job offer for new
employees to be agreed
before the labour
contract is signed
(template)
Upgraded web
presentation (job
adverts, recruitment
section)
Analysis and design of
using LinkedIn for
* Detailed time-schedule will be prepared by the responsible unit by December 2024.
6) Increasing quantity and quality of candidates via efficient
usage of social media advertisement, including participation
of hiring managers
recruitment of
researchers
Annual recruitment data
report presented to the
management
90 Onboarding as a plug-in to
the system: improving
employee’s and supervisor’s
experience
New Following actions implemented and launched in the previous
period, we would like to improve employee’s and supervisor’s
experience with the onboarding phase.
1) At the beginning, HR Department will evaluate first two years
of the onboarding system (launched in 2023) and use
feedback by new employees on their onboarding and hiring
managers on the onboarding support for potential
amendments of the system. (2025)
2) HR Department will prepare new section in the internal
intranet (PORTAL) dedicated to new employees in
cooperation with the Director’s Office. (2025)
3) We will launch „Welcome to newbies“ events for new
employees to welcome them on board, as well as to provide
them with essential information and contacts. (2026)
4) HR Department will promote usage of the onboarding plan
by research group leaders. (2027)
2027* HR Department Evaluation of the
onboarding system
(report)
Onboarding section in
the PORTAL (intranet)
“Welcome to newbies”
organised on regular
basis
Info session with group
leaders (updates from
onboarding agenda)
every two years
91 Ensuring high-quality
information service for
employees via upgrade of
the internal intranet
(PORTAL)
New We will upgrade content and structure of our internal intranet to
include a complex information for employees. This action reacts
to the results of all employees survey that revealed a structural
problem with an information provided and communicated. The
PORTAL aims to serve as a central point of information for
various groups of employees (e.g. for group leaders, for
supervisors, for international employees) and various situations
(e.g. onboarding new employees, applying for grants, information
about wage system).
2027* Director’s office in
cooperation with
relevant
departments
Upgraded content and
revised structure of the
PORTAL
PORTAL promotion
campaign among
employees
92 Training offer to our
employees
New Training opportunities and their focus go across the whole
spectrum of topics. In the following period, we would like to
implement these actions:
1) Leaders Academy: Moving from pilot operation to welldesigned
and organised agenda (specification of how the
2027* HR Department Leaders Academy
curriculum guide
Curriculum guide and
offer for postdocs
academy is organised and financed, identification of
concrete high-quality trainings, etc.) (2025)
2) Formulation and offer of training specifically for postdocs
(based on their needs), e.g. How to become PI, Critical
Reading, How to prepare for an interview, etc. (2026)
3) Promotion of online training sources among employees.
(2026)
4) We will develop a specific training concept for the group of
technicians and lab managers. (2027)
Number of employees
using SEDUO online
platform
Number of hours of
SEDUO online courses
attended by CEITEC
employees
Analysis of training
needs of technicians
and lab managers
Training plan for
technicians and lab
managers
Allocation 100 th CZK
annually
93 Leadership assessment:
transformation of the pilot
system to the standard
system and finishing the first
round of interviews
New In the previous period, we launched pilot leadership interviews as
a part of the Leadership Policy implementation. In the next
period, we would like to set up a calendar for all group leaders
and finish the first wave of interviews (all group leaders to
undergo the leadership assessment).
We will improve the system of follow-up (how the agreed actions
are implemented) to ensure impact of the leadership interviews.
4Q 2026 HR Department in
cooperation with
Scientific Secretary
Leadership assessment
calendar (2024)
Follow-up system in
place (2025)
All group leaders to
have a leadership
interview (2026)
94 Mentoring and coaching
system improvement
New 1) We want to launch coaching support for group leaders, CF
heads and administrative heads. (2024)
2) We will participate in the mentoring scheme for female
postdocs (as a member of the EU-LIFE consortium) and
evaluate its impact. (2024)
4Q 2024 HR Department in
cooperation with
Scientific Secretary
and Research and
innovation support
department
Coaching support
available for heads of
worksites
2 mentees supported
financially within the
EU-LIFE Mentoring
Pathfinder program
95 Career system amendment New We plan to amend our career system to include incorporate: (1)
ISAB recommendations regarding evaluation of junior research
group leaders, (2) retirement of group leaders / retirement policy,
(3) statement on combination of functions.
4Q 2025 Scientific Secretary Amendment to the
Career System
(Director’s Measure)
96 Standardization and
improvement of employee’
evaluation system
New Even though CEITEC has an internal rule stating the obligation of
organising annual evaluation of employees by heads of
worksites, there has not been a system and standardization in
place. To standardize and improve our system of employee’
evaluation, we plan to implement these actions:
1) HR Department will design and launch a system based in
the university information system. The system will include
basic structure, defined procedures and roles, time schedule
and monitoring/reporting of the evaluation interviews that will
be designed as mutual employee-superior interview. (2024)
2) To support both superiors and employees in this area, HR
Department will offer training on evaluation of employees,
including practical training on using the information system.
(2024)
3) HR Department will evaluate the evaluation system with
suggestions to potential adjustments. (2027)
4Q 2027 HR Department Evaluation system in the
Information System
(including monitoring
tool)
Report on evaluation
interviews for the
director
Target: all scientific
employees are
evaluated on annual
basis
97 Wage policy advancement New In 2024, we adopted first wage policy of the institute that was
developed based on complex wage analysis and gender pay gap
analysis performed in 2023.
1) In the following period, we want to assess the impact of new
wage regulation. We will repeat the wage analysis, including
gender pay gap. (2025, 2027)
2) Based on the results of the analysis, management will
decide on amendment to the wage policy. (2027)
4Q 2027 HR Department Gender pay gap
analysis (bi-annually)
Wage analysis
Amendment to the wage
policy (if relevant)
98 Supporting mental health
and wellbeing of our
employees and building safe
working environment
New CEITEC will offer training to employees focused on mental
health, unconscious bias, active bystander, resilience, support of
well-being, prevention of sexual harassment and bullying,
intercultural differences, diversity management, etc.
4Q 2027 HR Department Regular training
1x training annually as
minimum
99 Improving postdocs
experience and working
conditions
New CEITEC management held a discussion with representatives of
the Postdoc Peer Committee and want to pay a systematic
attention and react to the needs of this specific group of
employees.
1) Particularly, we want to analyse options on how to improve
these areas as identified by the postdoc community via
questionnaire in 2023: Mental health and wellbeing;
Improving job security; Work-life balance; Quality of
supervision; Training options. (2025, action plan 2025-2027)
2) We will formally establish Postdoc Peer Committee as an
advisory body to the management to ensure systematic
communication and productive cooperation. (2024)
4Q 2027 Director’s Office Formal establishment of
Postdoc Peer
Committee as advisory
body to the
management
Analysis of postdocs
needs
Action plan aiming at
improving postdocs
working conditions
100 Strengthening participatory
principle in CEITEC
management: Formal
establishment of PhD
Committee and Postdoc
Peer Committee as advisory
bodies to the management
New Formal establishment of PhD Committee and Postdoc Peer
Committee as advisory bodies to the management.
4Q 2025 Director’s Office Amendment of the
organisational structure
to establish PhD
Committee and PPC as
advisory bodies to the
management
101 PhD School: Appointment of
PhD coordinator as a first
and trustworthy contact
point for PhD candidates –
linking all stakeholders and
information together
New Currently, the position of PhD School manager is more related to
administrative and organizational duties. The agenda is
fragmented according to the needs of individual PhD study
programmes and there is no common standard for a supervisor
at CEITEC MU. The current setup of the position does not allow
the effective development of the CEITEC PhD School but rather
operational support.
4Q 2025 Scientific Secretary
in cooperation with
the Research and
innovation support
department
CEITEC PhD School
Coordinator description
of position, and
appointment
102 PhD School: Amendment of
the Thesis Advisory
Committees to improve its
effectiveness and offer a
safe space to deal with a
quality of supervisor issues
New We aim to improve how TAC are organised and structured.
Based on good practices learnt from our partners, we want to
design standardized set of questions (that can be extended) to
make sure that TAC discussion is well directed and targeted.
Furthermore, we are planning to modify the TAC forms so that
the section where the student or supervisor is not present is not
publicly available and is part of the signed form. The goal is to
provide a safe space to deal with a quality of
supervisor/supervision practice.
4Q 2025 Scientific Secretary
in cooperation with
Research and
Innovation Support
Department
TAC templates for
meetings (standardized
questions)
TAC design revised
We also plan to modify the form to include follow-up questions on
student satisfaction with the supervisor and vice versa.
103 PhD School: Declaration of
the general standard of
supervisor leading to
increased quality of
supervision at CEITEC
New We aim to clearly define expectations for the role of supervisor.
At CEITEC MU, teachers and supervisors of PhD students are
involved in various study programmes guaranteed by the
faculties. Duties and standards in the individual programmes
differ in part, creating a non-transparent environment for
learners. The aim is to unify a common standard (scope and
quality) of activities that all supervisors at CEITEC MU provide to
their students. The quality of supervision will be required and
evaluated as part of the assessment of leadership skills.
4Q 2026 Scientific Secretary
in cooperation with
Research and
innovation support
department
Standard of supervisor
(document)
Presentation to
supervisors (internal
event)
Leadership assessment
interviews design
upgrade reflecting
standard of supervisor
Annual report to the
management about PhD
School (adding data on
average length of PhD
studies, success rate)
104 PhD School: Unification of
PhD candidates’ experience
across doctoral study
programmes
New Currently, the common standard for PhD studies is defined by
the CEITEC MU PhD School concept. This means it does not
apply to doctoral study programmes not belonging under the
umbrella of the CEITEC MU PhD School. The standard of PhD
studies should include guaranteed income, thesis advisory
committee, soft skills courses offer, form of defence, involvement
into PhD conferences, retreats, training and workshops.
4Q 2027 Scientific Secretary
in cooperation with
Research and
innovation support
department
Common standard of
support for all PhD
candidates adopted and
implemented