Staff Survey University Response

Senate

Subject: Actions proposed following LU Staff Survey 2008

Origin: Professor Steve Rothberg, Dean of Engineering

Executive Summary: This paper is intended to update Senate on further actions proposed in relation to the Staff Survey 2008, including the establishment of seven working groups to take forward issues highlighted by the data and elucidated through the feedback sessions.

Strategic/Operational Objectives met: To deliver the strategic plan requires a fair, supportive and cohesive environment that promotes equality of opportunity for staff. The staff survey project exemplifies the Plan’s commitment to value and listen to staff.

Senate Action required: To note, and comment on any issues considered to be of particular importance.

Loughborough University’s first campus-wide staff survey opened on 27th May 2008 and closed on 4th July 2008. At 65%, overall response rate was one of the highest recorded in an HEI by our survey consultants, Capita. In the period from July to September, we received a number of reports from Capita analysing the survey data. As promised, we made the Summary Report publicly available from the survey website (http://www.lboro.ac.uk/staffsurvey/) and distributed a more concise summary to all staff as a special newsletter.

The feedback phase began on 29th September when the Capita consultant presented findings to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). This was followed by Capita presentations to union representatives and to the Heads of Departments and Support Services (HoDs / HoSSs) on 31st October, following which feedback sessions with individual departments and support services began. This programme of sessions is now almost complete, having involved the relevant Heads, Personnel Advisers, Deans, Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Human Resources. A further session has also been held with Union representatives based on analysis of survey data by Job Family. (A list of LU Job Families is given in Appendix 1). At the time of writing, 50 sessions have been held involving more than 1300 members of staff. The simple act of bringing so many staff together to discuss matters of mutual importance together with the face-to-face exchange with a member of the ELT have been well received and positive outcomes of this programme. Following each session, that department’s / support service’s report is made available to all staff.

Conduct of this feedback phase has been the responsibility of an ELT Steering Group comprising Steve Rothberg, Will Spinks, Rob Allan and Sandra Jasper whose tasks have included preparation of a report for HRC, setting out the key issues to take forward in the period up to the next survey which is provisionally planned for Autumn 2010. HRC has considered and endorsed this proposal.

In an update given to HRC in November 2008, the overwhelmingly positive outcome from the survey was reported. Selecting three highlights:

§ Staff across all Job Families are in close agreement that the University is a good place to work. LU exceeds the benchmark scores (95% to 89%) and records the highest score of any HEI.

§ Under ‘equality and diversity’, LU has the highest or equal highest score in five of the six equality sub-categories (gender, nationality/ethnicity, disability, age and religion/belief) and scores just 1% lower in the sixth (sexual orientation) than the all-HEI maximum score of 98%.

§ Of the 300 organisations to have undertaken staff surveys with Capita, LU falls into the top 10 when scores for Employee Engagement are compared.

At the same time, five areas of concern emerging at the institutional level were reported to HRC and these have been considered in the feedback sessions:

§ Supporting staff through change

§ Managing workload and reducing bureaucracy.

§ Career development and progression.

§ Improving communication and cooperation across the University.

§ Health and safety processes and practice.

The feedback sessions have also explored additional local issues emerging from the individual department / support service reports and a staff survey response is now included in annual development plans. The feedback sessions were intended to enable 2-way communication between staff and ELT in order to uncover the drivers behind the concerns expressed and they have proved hugely successful in this respect. As a consequence, a set of working groups, each led by a member of the ELT and with an inclusive membership, are now proposed to take forward issues that have been highlighted by the data and elucidated through the feedback sessions:

§ Support – formulating recommendations from the non-technical perspective to support staff through future major system implementations based on reviews of recent IT system implementations. Led by Prof Morag Bell, PVC(T).

§ Review – based on evidence of the demand for regular review of performance and development needs, considering existing performance and development review schemes with the intention of establishing an institutional framework. Led by Caroline Walker, Director of Finance.

§ Research Assistance – combining concerns related to integration within departments and career development support, implementing improved processes (within existing schemes) for induction, probation monitoring and appraisal of Research Job Family staff, running alongside the existing Concordat Working Group. Led by Prof Peter Golding, PVC(R).

§ Cross Campus –exploring mechanisms to encourage staff to access career progression opportunities wherever they might occur on campus. Led by Will Spinks, Chief Operating Officer.

§ Simplicity – using examples including staffing replacements and Agresso processes, exploring workload issues related to the interface between departments and support services. This group will run alongside the Agresso User Group currently being established. Led by Prof Terry Kavanagh, Dean of SSH.

§ Exchange – improving communication between the Executive Leadership Team and all staff. Led by Prof Shirley Pearce, Vice Chancellor.

§ Rapport – improving internal communication mechanisms within all departments and support services. Led by Prof Ken Parsons, Dean of Science.

Working Groups will present an interim report to HRC in June and will conclude their activities by the end of September. A final report will be presented to HRC in October / November 2009. Further interventions, outside of the working groups, include:

§ Consideration of the effectiveness of workload models, especially their suitability for TS staff, will be incorporated into HoD / HoSS training.

§ Rewarding excellent performance and dealing with under performance will be reinforced within training for HoDs / HoSSs and line managers across the Job Families.

§ For TS Job Family staff, the absence of promotion opportunity in a role which is perceived to share significant similarity with RT Job Family roles will be considered by Human Resources Working Group.

§ Raising awareness of the reporting of health and safety accidents and incidents will continue with the campaign led by Cathy Moore, HS&E Manager.

§ Deans and Chief Operating Officer will ensure local issues are taken forward with respective departments and support services.

A full report setting out the rationale behind this choice of activities, including the particular staff groups on which the Working Groups will focus attention ahead of wider roll-out, was presented to HRC. (Copies of the full report are available on request from the Assistant Secretary to Senate). The whole programme will be overseen by Prof Steve Rothberg, Dean of Engineering, as Chair of the ELT Staff Survey Steering Group.