Our School works best when everybody is heard, and nobody is left behind. We are always eager to find out how to improve our community, with regular official feedback opportunities. In the last two years the School Culture survey, Athena Swan focus groups, and the University’s Staff Engagement survey have been implemented. These have revealed some common issues that we should improve; and although some we can only raise to College or University, there is a great deal that we as a School can act upon.
Findings to date may indicate that we need to listen and respond further to the needs of our staff. We’re keen to hear voices from across the whole School, especially including those who may not have contributed their views yet.
Therefore, the School is contracting an external body, Advance HE, to do three things:
- Analyse all available data to understand what workplace issues are happening;
- Facilitate an independent consultation of our School community to understand why these issues are challenging;
- Develop independent recommendations about improving staff and student experiences.
Practically, over the next couple of months, Advance HE will be conducting 8 focus groups – 2 for professional services staff, 2 for academic staff, 2 for research staff, and 2 for research students – as well as in-depth interviews with key senior staff members. All work is completely independent from the School leadership, with robust and proper privacy and ethics considerations in place.
Our School has kindly invested in this work to improve our culture. When you are invited to join a focus group, please grab the chance, even if – especially if – you typically don’t respond to surveys. It is a great opportunity to improve our effectiveness to work together as a productive and happy community. Let’s seize it!
