Recognition & Rewards

UM's organisational culture and identity

The ideas expressed in Room for Everyone’s Talent resonate with Maastricht University as a young, pioneering university in the heart of Europe. UM has always been ambitious in the areas of innovative small-scale education and interdisciplinary research with demonstrable societal impact. UM’s organisational culture is best described using several key concepts; the specific combination of which form the core of our identity.

• Academic citizenship, the UM community exemplifies the concept of academic citizenship.
• Educational approach, since its inception, UM has been shaped by its focus on innovative, student-centred education.
• Interdisciplinary research, research at UM is mission-driven, and its integration of multiple disciplines helps to contribute to solving regional and international challenges.
• Societal impact, from the founding of the university in 1976, UM has been a vehicle for the economic and intellectual development of the Limburg region and beyond.
• MUMC+ partnership, our strong partnership with the MUMC+ academic hospital is one of the pillars of our embedment in the local community.
• Diversity and inclusivity, UM strives to go well beyond quotas and compliance; we are determined to foster an environment in which everyone is and feels welcome.
• Leadership, well-developed leadership is a precondition to succeed, and therefore considered a key area in itself.

UM's core values

Deriving from Maastricht University’s ambitions with regards to both our own organisational culture and identity as well as our mission and vision on the Recognition & Rewards programme, four UM core values have been identified. Enacting the core values may look different in various UM functions or in various roles. Moreover, generally speaking, the further you progress your career, the more opportunities you have to display proficiency in these UM core values.

For academic staff, examples of evidence demonstrating a contribution to those values are included in the R&R academic profiles. For other university staff, applying the UM core values in one’s everyday work may sometimes resemble the examples provided for academic staff, but may slightly differ as well. Additionally, not all values may be applicable to all university positions. Examples of evidence and behaviours other university staff could display when contributing to the UM core values include:

• Academic citizenship: contribute to the wider civic mission of the university; demonstrate efforts in making the university an inclusive environment valuing diversity; set up programmes to involve the community in the university; participate in (internal or external) committees or taskforces; organise team events; etc.
• Personal/professional leadership: demonstrate self-reflection and personal development (feedback results); regularly request feedback from students, colleagues and others; effective communication (online and offline); identify the necessary tasks and prioritise them in order to develop an individual schedule and perform the work in an autonomous way, ensuring that the requirements are met; improvement of processes and procedures; take the lead among peers in a project; provide mentorship to others; provide constructive feedback to help others learn; organise feedback sessions; take part in leadership training and put skills learned to use, demonstrate efforts in making the university an inclusive environment valuing diversity; participate in (internal or external) committees, think-tanks, coaching activities or engaging in other forms of talent development; etc.
• Team performance: work confidently within a group with each doing their part in the service of the whole; co-creation with others; collaborate with others outside of the standard circle (outside of your team, department, or faculty/service centre); etc.
• Impact & Open Science: make your work relevant to society; produce, store and (re)use scientific data based on FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles, making data as open as possible, and as closed as necessary; use open source software; use Open Access resources; set up and participate in Open Science events; educate about the application of FAIR principles; educate about the importance of Open Science; etc.

Ambitions and objectives

UM wants to ensure everyone has a fulfilling career in which their capabilities are used, seen and recognised by others – by students, peers and supervisors. By allowing diverse sets of talents to thrive, we will increase our ability to achieve excellence in the following key areas: research, education, impact, leadership and patient care. We strive to be an open, inclusive and diverse community of academic citizens who flourish through recognition of their talents and efforts, and are rewarded on the basis of their own merits. We believe this will foster a challenging work environment and increase job satisfaction.

The new approach towards Recognition & Rewards requires a culture change, a change in mindset and leadership that transcends human resource management, organisational structures and quality assurance. Such a change needs national and international efforts to ensure alignment throughout academia. We believe the new way of thinking about academic careers must be built upon:

• Diversified career paths
  We can enable greater diversity in career paths and profiles by recognising and rewarding more diversity in competences and talents. Within a team, department or faculty, the different profiles and backgrounds should be coherently integrated. The diversification and vitalisation of careers allows us to make better use of the natural talents and intrinsic motivation of academics.
• Personal growth
  In this new approach, personal growth is not necessarily defined as reaching a higher academic position. It is also about learning new skills, having the opportunity to excel in the things one is good at and being appreciated for one’s contributions. This type of personal growth not only increases job satisfaction but contributes to feelings of involvement and commitment.
• Individual and organisational needs
  It is important to emphasise that having more diversified career paths does not mean anything goes. In order to ensure a healthy organisation, there must be a balance between the needs of the organisation and the ambitions of the individuals in the community. Therefore, academics should be aware that pursuing a career at UM will have its limitations, just as it does within any organisation. 

Stakeholder engagement

At Maastricht University, the institutional Recognition & Rewards committee consists of the president, the rector, the faculty deans (and/or portfolio holders R&R), the HR director and the R&R programme manager who together lead the programme’s development. The institutional committee facilitates the discussion with the academic community and ensures coherence between the internal discussions and the subsequent proposals. Realising and safeguarding alignment with national developments is also the committee’s responsibility.

Besides the UM-wide commission, also other organisations within UM are actively involved in the process of Recognition & Rewards. The Maastricht Young Academy and Female Empowerment UM (FEM) delegate members, and employees from the University Library are involved. Moreover, occasionally members of the Local Consultative Body, the University Council, the Central PhD Candidates Platform (CPCP), and the PhD Platform contribute.

The involvement of the entire Maastricht University community in the development of the Recognition & Rewards programme is key to creating a sustainable culture change. Therefore, the R&R commission always remains open to input.