Reshaping the HR Landscape: Mychal Coleman’s Empowering Journey

Meet Mychal Coleman, Associate Vice President of Grand Valley State University. With over two decades of experience in Human Resources, Change Management, and Organization Development, Mychal is a prominent leader and innovator in HR operations. As the Chief Human Resources Officer at Grand Valley State University (GVSU), he has skillfully developed talent and implemented transformative change across the institution. Mychal’s journey reflects his dedication and adaptability, as shown in his efforts toward making a difference at GVSU and beyond.

The Journey That Shaped His Purpose

Mychal describes himself as a dreamer; he has always been one. He often finds himself wondering, What if? Why not? Or how come? His inquisitive nature has enabled him to seize opportunities when they arise. His vision and readiness to embrace possibilities have helped him develop a strong track record for transforming HR departments into cutting-edge strategic business partners, trusted advisors, and effective change agents. Some notable achievements include positioning the Carlson School of Management for the Malcolm Baldridge distinction, implementing a comprehensive strategy at the University of Idaho to enhance its competitiveness within Pack 12 conference, delivering leadership development initiatives at the University of The Bahamas as it made its presence on the world stage, and being selected by CUPA-HR as having the most innovative HR department in the country while at Gand Valley State University.

The Inspiration: Joining  Grand Valley State University

Mychal’s grandmother used to say, “Life doesn’t take you where you want to go, it takes you where you need to be.” Grand Valley State University was the perfect match for his skill set and vision. It is a young university with a president who pushes boundaries and a workforce eager to challenge the future. This environment provides an ideal opportunity for Mychal to explore his HR theories. Mychal has developed several theories that propose a strong correlation between the sophistication of the HR department and an organization’s Fortune 500 rank and strategic position. In other words, no organization has ever achieved strategic superiority or world-class status without the support of a highly advanced group of HR professionals who serve as integrated business partners. These professionals are crucial for designing innovative change solutions and delivering targeted talent acquisitions.

Distinctive Strategies to Drive Change Management

Mychal views human resources from a systems perspective and believes that organizational change requires universal participation. GVSU’s goal was to transition from a regional university to one that competes nationally.

❝We needed to reimagine HR by shifting it from a compliance-based business model to a strategic business partner service delivery approach. We merged payroll, HR operations, wellness, benefits, and compensation into Total Rewards. This merger created synergies in which we launched talent management. Talent Management positioned us to take a system’s approach to transformation❞, explained Mychal.

Nurturing a Strong Organizational Culture

According to Mychal, to build a solid culture that supports both employee engagement and institutional goals, we first need to design, develop, and execute a Talent Management (TM) employee life cycle strategy.  An effective TM system can bring about transformative change and represents a significant shift in how an organization reimagines its internal operations to address its external challenges. Talent management involves strategically redeploying HR resources to help a university achieve its business goals by integrating its hiring practices, developing leaders, and retaining employees. Key components of this approach include workforce planning, employee engagement, performance management, onboarding, succession, and retention. Given the size, depth, and ambition of the Reach Higher 2025 strategic plan, TM was a natural solution to engage GVSU’s stakeholders.

Key Priorities in Talent Development at GVSU

Influenced by the concepts in ❝Good to Great❞ by Jim Collins, Mychal structured the programs around three principles: develop disciplined people, foster disciplined thought, and promote disciplined actions. The objectives aimed at achieving organizational and operational excellence are twofold: first, to build leadership capacity based on a set of eight core competencies. Mychal believed this would develop innovative leaders capable of integrating and applying new and transformative knowledge throughout the university.  His second objective (which is of equal importance) focused on designing, developing, and achieving process improvement initiatives.  By maximizing the human capital’s fullest potential, Mychal believes that the Talent Development Program will play a crucial role in fostering a culture of excellence.

Keeping Employees Aligned with GVSU’s Mission and Values

People often confuse employee engagement with employee satisfaction, morale from pulse survey results. However, employee engagement is much more comprehensive than these factors. Employees can have high morale but not be engaged in helping the organization achieve its goals. The crucial question that HR professionals must consider is: after developing their vision, how will they motivate the workforce to take up a sword and shield and embark on a journey toward fulfilling a higher purpose? Mychal emphasizes, ❝Our talent management programs consist of eight core competencies, which we refer to as our DNA. These competencies engage all employees at every level of the university.❞

Transforming the HR Department into a World-class Business Partner Model

When Mychal joined GVSU, the HR department’s business model was primarily based on compliance, focusing mainly on hiring, firing, and benefits. While this compliance-oriented model effectively minimizes legal risks, it does not support an organization’s strategic ambitions. To help GVSU evolve from a recognized regional leader to a competitor on the national stage, the HR department needed a complete transformation. Mychal and his team shifted from a compliance-focused approach to one emphasizing strategic business partnerships. They integrate payroll, operations, compensation, wellness, and benefits into Total Rewards. This integration created synergies and established a comprehensive talent management employee life cycle system.

Leveraging Data and Analytics  for Informed HR Decisions

A significant step taken by Mychal and his team during their HR transformation was the establishment of a state-of-the-art HRIS group. These professionals played a crucial role in managing the conversion to Workday ERP. Workday analytics and Peakon will be vital for creating strategic heat maps to help identify crucial areas that need attention.

The Biggest Challenges and Opportunities for HR in Higher Education

Many organizational leaders view HR as a necessary evil at best and a financial burden at worst. However, research shows there is a strong correlation between an organization’s Fortune 500 ranking and the sophistication of its HR department. In other words, no organization has achieved world-class status, strategic superiority, or disruptive innovation without HR professionals implementing cutting-edge change management solutions, effective human capital strategies, or innovative talent management initiatives. The biggest challenge remains convincing leaders to invest in their HR system.

Mentorship and Learning Opportunities at GVS

Michael’s role as an educator has shaped his role as a leader in human resources; he adopts a distinctive approach to integrating mentorship and learning opportunities for employees at GVS. Michael believes in leading by example and emphasizes teaching in a way that applies to practical situations.