Since the results of the University’s Your Say staff survey were announced in October 2016, a lot of progress has been made in addressing the areas for improvement highlighted by your feedback.
Thirty two working groups were set up within the different portfolios; these groups have organised focus groups to seek additional opinions and ideas, and have undertaken a total of 39 projects to act on feedback.
We spoke to three members of different working groups about improvements made in their area based on survey results and additional feedback:
Faculty General Manager Dr Emma Bowen is part of the Faculty of Science and Engineering working group.
Dr Emma Bowen
“Departments in our faculty had widely varying numbers of administration staff even though their administration requirements were the same, and there was concern about managing work-life balance among some staff. From a straight numbers point of view, it was clear resourcing was inequitable, so our group focused on resolving this.
“As a result, five standard roles have been introduced in each department and new staff have been hired to achieve consistent staffing levels. The standardised roles create clearer career paths and staff can now back each other up and manage workloads better.
“Heads of department are saying they can see a real difference in the quality and accuracy of day-to-day administration work. And where some heads were having to do all their own admin previously, they’re now freed up to focus on their own work.”
Project Officer Terence Chu is part of the Corporate Engagement and Advancement (CEA) working group.
Terence Chu
“One of the survey questions we scored low on was clarity of responsibility and sharing information with new employees, so the group’s been working on including that information in a new induction process that’s standardised across CEA’s five areas. We’re also including aspects of wellbeing and safety, like ‘where’s the first aid kit in my office?’ and ‘who’s the fire warden in my team?’
“We’re including things common to all CEA areas, things new staff may not need immediately but will probably need in future: processes and procedures, which systems to use – for example Truth and the Pure Research Management System.
“Staff have said that when they’re settling in to a new workplace, having someone around to ask questions makes a big difference, so we’re looking at the idea of ‘induction buddies’ too.”
Library Learning and Development Manager Katie Mann is part of the Library working group.
Katie Mann
“How knowledge and information are shared among the University’s different areas was identified as an area for improvement, so we’ve been looking at ways to address this in the Library. For example, JoAnne Sparks [University Librarian] has been emailing weekly or fortnightly updates to all Library staff. In these, she cascades relevant information and strategic content from the wider University Executive updates, and also uses them to share Library and library sector news.
“A different aspect of knowledge and information sharing we’ve been working on within the Library is improving career mobility through a career management toolkit. This is being developed to equip Library staff in their diverse range of roles with key information about possible avenues for progression and career development pathways.
“We are looking at using it to engage staff in in-depth career discussions as part of their PDR process.”
For more information about working group actions taken to address survey results click here.
Share this: