Purpose

The purpose of this statement is to outline biblically integrative principles that clarify and unify Trinity Western University's human resource policies, procedures, practices, and priorities. As these principles move beyond official endorsement and increasingly become embodied in practical ways in the lives of all TWU employees, they will find expression through all aspects of the university's stewardship of people.

Values Based Leadership

We will adhere to innovative and best practices that are based on TWU's values of servant leadership and commitment to Christian community, and to being a good corporate citizen. 

Jesus challenged believers to model God's love through respect, humility, perseverance, commitment, peacemaking, empathy, compassion, honesty, purity and holiness in their daily lives. We desire to have all working relationships and human resource policies, procedures and practices firmly anchored in these biblical values.

All employees share responsibility for maintaining a university educational, leadership environment that supports personal growth and excellence. This includes a strong commitment to developing godly people, as did Christ and promoting a positive transformational culture. Biblical values will direct all people-related initiatives (i.e. in compensation packages, new employee orientation, reinforcement of core values, training of leaders and conducting performance planning and evaluations).

Matthew 5: 1-12; Romans 12: 5-8; Hebrews 13: 7-17

Serving others

We will cultivate an environment in which all members of this educational community work daily to serve God, one another, and the mission of the University.

When Jesus gathered with His disciples in the Upper Room, he spoke clearly to the group about servant leadership. He knelt to wash their feet in an attitude of love and sacrifice. He served with commitment to the best interests of others, with compassion and humility.

Implicit in the word compassion is both passion and action - passion to understand others before being understood, and action to address the needs of the community with fairness and justice. From humility comes the desire to respect others, show mercy, bear with each other in love, and to follow or lead according to what is best for others and the institution. We seek equity and fairness in every aspect of human resource policy and practice, from attraction and retention, to performance management, to salary and benefits.

Serving others includes investing in people, valuing their achievements and promoting others before ourselves. Through serving one another, we impact not only our campus, but also the larger community, the nation and the world. We want this ideal of servanthood to infuse all we do at the University.

John 13: 3-17; 2Corinthians 1: 3-7; Colossians 3: 12-17

Teamwork - a Consultative Approach

We will build, encourage, support and enhance effective teamwork.

Christ's leadership approach included creating a team that, once commissioned by the Holy Spirit, would move directly into effective leadership roles and responsibilities. Christ's daily interaction with His disciples was marked by storytelling to communicate principles and asking questions to develop critical thinking and understanding. He built mutual respect with his followers through coaching and discipline, exercising grace, love and accountability whether there was harmony, conflict or discord.

We value an environment in which it is safe to raise questions and volunteer suggestions. Godly leaders see the need for and practice two-way communication. They also acknowledge that different roles are required at different times by different people in order to accomplish the right purposes. Thereby, every member of our community and their contributions are valued at Trinity Western University.

Furthermore, a true understanding of teamwork requires a commitment to pursue excellence in a spirit of humility and respect. It includes a fair and balanced approach to and consideration of all viewpoints, especially in times of conflict. Teamwork involves the wise use of University resources and instilling shared ownership of all projects and goals.

Matthew 10: 1-16; John 15:15-17; Romans 15: 5-7

Investing in Employees

We will invest in employees as a way of honoring our core values of disciple-making and promoting excellence on a personal and corporate level. This is not only our responsibility, but also our privilege!

Jesus was devoted to training his disciples. He first modeled how they were to live, and then sent them out to practice and learn. When they returned, he helped them assess the experience. He invested his time generously in order to create effective, multiplying leadership.

We promote and develop Human Resources structures and processes that encourage all employees to fulfill God's calling for their particular role, gifts and potential. This includes servant leadership skills as well as vocational and performance skills. The University offers tuition bursaries, professional development and performance reviews based on performance planning and coaching. In addition it offers both formal and informal training opportunities that are designed to encourage and inspire as well as teach.

We also embrace the challenges of continuous change through consistent messages regarding mission, culture, and change management. Our intent and desire is to empower others and to lovingly develop the whole person in order that they might become more Christ-like personally and in their work approach and implementation

Matthew 10:1-42; Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-20

Encouragement & Recognition

We will encourage one another to raise confidence and instill life, energy, courage and vigor into our workplace.
Jesus continually encouraged and individually recognized his followers/disciples, knowing what each one needed at various times in order to continue the journey of God's calling in their lives. In keeping with this, we place a high value on giving encouragement, recognition and feedback to employees, expecting personal accountability in return. Through formal acknowledgements, special notices, and spontaneous appreciation for work well done, we seek to build unity and promote a Christ-like community, creating an atmosphere marked by excitement, joy and creativity.

Our intention is to have all supervisors model the behavior of converting both successful and unsuccessful moments into teachable opportunities. We do this for performance enhancement, to value and respect the individual and to demonstrate through words and action that we truly care for employees and their accomplishments. The desire is that encouragement and rewards become intentional, planned, spontaneous and natural responses to the unique contributions of individuals and teams.

Philippians 2:1-4; 2 Cor.13:14; Col.3:12-17

Stewardship - Excellence with Accountability

We will practice wise stewardship of our resources.

In the parable of the talents, Jesus instructed his followers on the importance of wisely deploying whatever resources they had been given. God expects us to be effective stewards of our resources and He will hold us accountable for how we use them. At another time, through his feeding of the five thousand, Jesus demonstrated that God's work is not necessarily constrained by what we might perceive as limited resources. His miraculous provision can multiply the fruit of our faithful obedience.

Throughout Trinity Western's history we have tried to be good stewards and have continually experienced God's provision for our needs, often in the most remarkable ways. Whatever the situation, we have taken whatever we were provided in faith, added fervent prayer, and obediently used our resources to serve the Lord. We seek to continue this practice with wisdom, faith, and prayer, as well as in confident expectancy of the Lord's provision for our needs - to God be the glory.

Stewardship is not only about making best use of resources. It is a commitment for each person, as guided by the Holy Spirit, to work to his or her potential, engaging signature strengths and abilities and acting "as unto the Lord" in all aspects of life. Stewardship is also cultivating a desire for excellence and setting high standards for both work performance and relationships. It is holding each other accountable for assignments, responsibilities, effective use of time and the creative application of the talents and gifts we have received from God.

In all the University's Human Resources programs, including orientation, training, recognition, performance management, and total compensation administration, we seek to consistently exercise Christian stewardship. Salaries and benefits are allocated and managed to maintain the most competitive and equitable position possible in the post-secondary marketplace, given the resources available, in order to successfully attract and retain qualified and motivated employees.

Matthew 6: 33-34; 14: 13-21; 25: 14-30; Acts 4:32-35

Summary & Conclusions

Our desire as a Christian community is to have a work environment that reflects Christ's glory continuously, upholds our core values consistently and serves as a model for others. In support of this the Human Resources office has adopted the following departmental mission statement:

"Our mission, as providers of professional human resource services, is to support the people of the TWU community in fulfilling God's call in their lives."

We fulfill this mission by:

• offering supportive programs for employees and families;
• recognizing the value and contribution of each individual;
• equipping our people to serve with excellence;
• fostering a meaningful and productive work environment.

This mission statement was designed to reflect a common vision with the overall Trinity Western University mission. The Human Resources department exists to support and enhance the call and efforts of our community members to fulfill the mission of the institution to develop godly Christian leaders for the marketplaces of life.