WATCH: Taking action from Staff Survey feedback
09 Mar 2017
Improving senior leadership and two-way communications
Improving the way our senior leaders communicate with and listen to staff is one way your views from the last Staff Survey in 2015 have been acted upon.
Feedback from the survey told us that you didn’t feel that senior leaders listened to your views and that there weren’t many channels for giving feedback.
In response, an audit of staff communications channels was completed across the University to identify gaps or improvements that could be made. A range of activity aimed at improving two way communications with senior leaders has since been put in place.
In addition, a project team including colleagues from Internal Communications and HR has drafted a paper which looks at the key issues surrounding senior leader communications and makes recommendations on further activity to address these. These are due to be agreed by SLT in the coming weeks.
Rachael McGraw, Head of Communications, shares how the University acts on Staff Survey feedback
Line manager communication
The HeadStart and Step into Leadership training and development programmes have been reviewed to include relevant sessions to help encourage better communications between managers and their teams.
Online discussion platform
‘The Hive’ – an online platform which gives staff the opportunity to make suggestions and share ideas on a range of topics – has been piloted in a number of areas. It is currently being reviewed and a decision will be taken as to whether The Hive is the right tool to facilitate feedback and suggestions.
Faculty communications
Professional Support Services (PSS)
- A video element has been added to CoreMunicate – PSS Team Brief – to increase the visibility of senior leaders in the PSS as well as introducing discussion points for managers to use with their teams. Will Spinks, Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer has visited a number of PSS teams as part of their team brief to listen to the views of staff.
- As part of this, over 200 line managers in PSS have received training on how to deliver the team briefing in a way that encourages feedback and listening.
Humanities (HUM)
- The establishment of visits by the Dean to disciplines and the informal receptions following the Dean’s regular visits to Schools.
- Championed use of ‘The Hive’ online discussion forum for PSS staff and managers to discuss and share ideas.
- Taken measures to ensure that monthly PSS CoreMunicate discussion points and feedback opportunities are given full attention at all levels as part of the process.
Science and Engineering (FSE)
- Coffee mornings to allow colleagues to meet with each other and interact as well as meeting Faculty leaders.
- School visits to allow face to face, two-way sessions with the Dean where staff can hear the latest updates directly from him and ask questions.
- Videoing the Team Brief and using different members of the leadership team to talk on specific themes.
Biology, Medicine and Health (BMH)
- As part of the Faculty restructure programme a regular series of open consultation meetings was instigated for academic and PSS staff; and ‘meet and greet’ sessions where colleagues were able to feedback face-to-face at the open sessions or electronically via a dedicated online feedback box that informed the FAQ documents.
- Within the new Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, new communications channels have been established – a targeted announcements system, a fortnightly Faculty newsletter; monthly School newsletters and a bi-monthly research bulletin.