IMPROVING STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT MECHANISMS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Keywords:
strategic human resource management, higher education institution, academic staff, competency model, professional development, performance management, workforce planning, HR digitalisation, organisational strategy, competitiveness.Abstract
This article examines the theoretical foundations and practical mechanisms of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in higher education institutions (HEIs). Universities increasingly operate in a competitive, knowledge-intensive environment in which the quality of academic and administrative staff directly determines institutional performance, research output, and graduate employability. Drawing on the resource-based view of the organisation and contemporary models of strategic HRM, the study identifies the specific features of academic labour that distinguish HEIs from commercial organisations, analyses the principal shortcomings of human resource practices in the higher education sector, and proposes a set of interrelated mechanisms for their improvement. These mechanisms cover strategic workforce planning, competency-based recruitment and selection, continuous professional development, performance management linked to institutional strategy, and the digitalisation of HR processes. The article concludes that the transformation of personnel administration into a strategic function is a precondition for the sustainable development and international competitiveness of modern universities.
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