. The impact of globalisation has led to a decline in quality qualified academic staff, in particular women. The University of Zululand has lost a number of qualified young academic staff who were attracted by better offers in the private sector. . The university needs to place emphasis on the retention of academic staff and to review both academic and non academic structures concurrently. Human Capital Management (HCM) must be strategic in transforming the university to access funding and achieve its mission. It also needs to focus on staff training and development, including research orientation. . Essentially, the university needs to reposition itself by incorporating good governance, capitalising on human capital and fostering collaborations with other institutions. . Current HCM projects: In 2007, the university committed itself to job evaluation and job description writing which was completed in 2009. Remuneration alignment and performance management are currently being implemented. A review of strategic and action plans is scheduled for May 2010.