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Consolidation
RSU LSPA
For RSU Employees

Half a year has already passed since 1 July 2024 when Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) and the Latvian Academy of Sport Education (LASE) started on their joint path of development, creating a unified health and sport science ecosystem that will ensure high-quality, internationally competitive, research-based higher education and good governance.

 

 

lspa_2020_janvaris-lead.jpgPhoto: Courtesy of LASE

Behind these words lies a lot of practical work in the form of time, effort and expertise put in the staff, so that RSU and LASE can work together as cohesively as possible.  We asked representatives from different departments to tell us about their achievements, and we will publish these stories on a weekly basis.

As the University’s HR Department has been specially involved in the changes, this week we delve deeper into how the Director of the HR Department Dace Jasmane, and Head of Employment Relations Unit Anita Veinberga have experienced the consolidation process.

How has the consolidation with LASE proceed from the perspective of the HR Department and what have you achieved? 

Dace Jasmane: The official date of the merger with LASE was 1 July 2024, but we started working on the consolidation much earlier. We met with staff from LASE in April and May last year and communicated with each staff member individually. We also met with individual departments. It was a very stressful time as we were preparing contracts and job descriptions alongside the negotiations. Anita and I met all the staff members - more than 100 people! 

Together with the agency Kantar, we organised a survey for the staff from LASE on how they feel about the changes and presented the results to them. We also collected questions on various uncertainties people had about the consolidation process and prepared answers to them together with the Communications Department. We are planning to carry out a similar, self-organised survey in the summer this year, so that we can see the most important issues.

We held several internal seminars for LASE colleagues – for heads of departments and staff – on what kind of support the HR Department can provide.

We have paused for a while now, but I think we will soon resume face-to-face consultations in the LASE building at 333 Brīvības gatve.  

What were the biggest challenges during the consolidation?

Dace Jasmane: Dace Jasmane: The biggest challenge was to meet all the employees, to explain and introduce them to processes and systems at RSU in a short space of time. We had to find an individual approach for each colleague. We had to listen to each concern and find the right words and reassurances for each person. We even met people who were not in Latvia! We spoke to an employee who was in Italy at the time. 

Anita Veinberga: We learned by doing - we had to change the way we were used to communicating, because we realised that we had to explain everything about our systems, procedures and processes from scratch. LASE did not have such systems in place and using them was not self-evident.

Is there more to be done in regards to the consolidation in the future? 

Anita Veinberga: We are currently working with RSU LASE as with all other units, so there is a certain routine. I am the main contact person, and I answer all the questions that RSU LASE staff members might have. They don’t differ much from those frequently asked by staff at RSU. It is mostly about holidays, pay rates, etc.

Currently, a topical issue that we are working on together with the Research Department and the Legal Department is the election of academic positions, as this process was different at LASE than it is now at RSU.


Project no. KPVIS 5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/005 RSU internal and RSU with LASE external consolidation. 

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