staff survey. leeds college of art staff survey highlights december 2011

Staff Survey

Leeds College of ArtStaff Survey Highlights

December 2011

• Detailed results and reports not yet received by the College• Overview report has been received and these are the results

which I will be sharing today in the same format as SMT received them

Background

Results show overall staff are positive about the College• 81% say it is a good place to work • 93% are interested in the College; to them it’s not just a job• 99% feel the College delivers good quality education to

studentsHowever, staff do have concerns about issues such as

– Workload and bureaucracy– Communications – Managing change– Staff morale and feeling valued

• Results generally appear to follow the trend within other HEIs

Overview

Introduction

– Participation

– Areas for improvement

– Areas of strength

– Other key issues

• 185 responses to the survey which is a 64 % return [HEI Average 58%]

• 58% of returns from Academic Staff

• 42% of returns from Business Support

Response rates

Respondent profile by division/dept

No answer

Other Business Support ( eg Finance, HR, Cleaning, Maintenance)

Workshops

Faculty of Media & Design Communications

Faculty of Fine Art & Design

Faculty of FE

18%

26%

14%

8%

12%

21%

Key to scores for slides• Added agree and tend to agree scores or disagree

and tend to disagree scores• Other analysis takes account of strength of feeling –

i.e. whether they agree or tend to agree• [Benchmark median score] – based on other HEIs

Capita has worked with in 2010 and 2011

Presentation of results

Top Issues: Workload

• 69% feel they have had to put in a lot of extra time in the last 12 months to meet the demands of their workload [HEI median 72%]

• 61% say they often worry about work outside their working hours [63%]

• 47% say they find their current workload too much [36%]• 43% say they are not able to take regular breaks on most days [41%]• 42% do not feel the College provides good support to help them

balance their work and personal commitments [29%]• But - 65% say there are usually sufficient people in the team they

work in to handle their workload • 30% feel unduly stressed at work [HEI 28%]

• 58% feel that too many approvals are needed for routine decisions [HEI median 56%]

• 39% feel priorities are changed too frequently for them to work efficiently [38%]

• 41% say they are required to do unimportant tasks which prevent them from completing more important ones [46%]

• 51% say conflicting demands on their time affect their performance

Top Issues: Bureaucracy

Top Issues - Communication• 60% said, on the whole, the different parts of the College do not

communicate effectively with each other [61%] • 56% do not feel there are effective channels for staff to feed their views

upwards in the College• 71% do not feel communication between senior management and staff

is effective [48%] • 55% said, on the whole, communication in the University is not

effective (HEI 35%]• BUT 76% say the information they receive is straightforward and they

understand it [79%]; 61% receive information in a timely way [73%]– 35% say information is cascaded back to all staff from the College’s

Committee Structure– 49% say the Staff Newsletter is a useful source of information– 75% say the Principal’s briefing is informative

Top Issues - Communication• 60% said, on the whole, the different parts of the College do not

communicate effectively with each other [61%] • 56% do not feel there are effective channels for staff to feed their views

upwards in the College• 71% do not feel communication between senior management and staff

is effective [48%] • 55% said, on the whole, communication in the College is not effective

(HEI 35%]• BUT 76% say the information they receive is straightforward and they

understand it [79%]; 61% receive information in a timely way [73%]– 35% say information is cascaded back to all staff from the College’s

Committee Structure– 49% say the Staff Newsletter is a useful source of information– 75% say the Principal’s briefing is informative

• 74% say generally more could be done to help staff prepare for, and cope with, change [HEI median 74%]

• 66% do not feel recent changes have been explained well [48%]; and 64% do not think they have been planned well [47%]

• 63% do not feel change is managed well within the College [49%]

• 45% say the process of change causes them concern and worry [39%]

• BUT More staff feel change is managed well within their Department (71%) [HEI 63%]

• 73% have seen some positive changes in the last year [72%]• 55% think things will improve in the next 12 months [58%]

Top Issues: Managing Change

• 70% do not think staff morale in the College is good

• 43% do not feel their job security at the College is good [30%]

• 60% do not feel valued by the College [42%]

• BUT 94% feel valued by colleagues they work with [86%] and 94% feel valued by students or staff they provide a service to [87%]

Top Issues: Morale & Feeling Valued

• 78% do not think food and catering facilities for staff are good [41%]

• Nearly 50% do not have a comfortable work space (including temperature, lighting etc) [33%]

Top Issues: Physical Environment

Areas of strength

Staff Perceptions Clarity of roles & responsibility and expected standards

Quality of service – especially to students

Diversity and equality Working together

Satisfaction at work Culture and values

Immediate managers (softer issues)

Feeing valued by colleagues and students

Areas of Strength

Clarity of role & standards

Expected standards of behaviour

Expected standards of performance

What I am expected to achieve in my job

My role within the College

I have a clear understanding about:

67%

60%

50%

56%

30%

31%

39%

33%

3%

8%

10%

9%

1%

2%

1%

2%

Agree Tend to Agree Tend to Disagree Disagree

• Most respondents feel the College respects equally people of different sexual orientation (97%), ethnicity/nationality (97%), disability (96%), gender (96%), religion (96%) and age (93%)

• 94% feel the College acts fairly on recruitment [92%] and 85% on career progression/promotion [81%]

• 75% believe the College is committed to equality of opportunity for all staff

• 95% are satisfied with their level of awareness of diversity issues and how to react appropriately with colleagues [94%]

• 92% are aware of the College’s Equality Policies [91%]

Diversity & Equality

• 93% say they generally enjoy their work [HEI median 92%]

• 90% say their work is varied and interesting [89%]

• 86% say their work gives them a sense of achievement [83%]

• 78% feel inspired to do their best every day

• 73% feel part of the College [77%]

• 84% feel part of their department [77%]

• 86% feel they belong to a team

Satisfaction at work

Immediate Manager

• 87% say he or she is approachable [HEI median 89%]• 88% is supportive in a personal crisis [89%]• 87% respects and values them [86%]• 85% ensures they have the skills to be able to do their job well

[82%]• 83% has sufficient authority to make decisions [79%]• 81% gives them recognition for work done well [78%]• 78% keeps them informed about things they should know

about [74%] • 74% involves them in decisions made that affect them in their

own work area [74%]

However

• 29% say he/she does not deal with poor performance effectively [36%]

• 33% does not help to motivate them to give their best [34%]

• 27% does not provide them with feedback about their performance [29%]

Immediate Manager

• 92% are satisfied with the support they get from their colleagues [HEI median 87%]

• 83% are satisfied with the support they get from their manager [77%]

• 89% feel there is good co-operation between staff in their department [71%]

• 64% feel there is good co-operation between different departments [47%]

• 82% say people are willing to help each other even if means doing something outside their usual activities [77%]

• 76% say the division of responsibilities between staff in their work area works well [66%]

Working together

Quality, Culture and Values

• 99% feel the College delivers good quality education to students [86%] and 47% feel it delivers a good quality service to staff

• 95% feel their department delivers good quality service [90%]• 83% could explain to someone what the College is trying to

achieve [75%]• 84% feel proud to work for the College [89%]• 43% would recommend the College to a friend as a place to

work (40% don’t know)

Other key results

• 52% say SMT manage and lead the College well [ 72%]• 23% say SMT are visible to staff • 60% say SMT set out a clear vision of where the College is headed

[76%]• 59% say SMT support new ideas for improving services [73%]• 32% say SMT listen to and respond to the views of front line staff

[44%]• 81% say SMT are focused on meeting the needs of students [75%]• 75% say SMT build strong, positive relationships with the

educational community and national organisations [similar to other HEIs but slightly different wording]

Senior Management Team

• 66% respondents say if they want to put forward new ideas or suggestions for improvement, they know how to do so [86%]– Respondents are less confident they will get feedback

(46%) [61%] or these will be listened to (46%) [62%]• 60% said they are personally encouraged to look for ways to

improve they way they do things [70%] • 44% do not feel able to voice their opinions [19%]• 49% do not feel there are adequate opportunities to raise

points of concern [27%]

Staff Involvement

• 87% feel safe and secure in their working environment [94%]• 81% have the right equipment to do their job [87%]• 78% have a clean work space [84%]• 79% are satisfied their personal safety is treated seriously at

work • 61% feel the College is interested in their well-being [67%]• 76% respondents know how to report accidents and incidents

[69%]; 19% are not sure• 53% are not aware of the ICAS Xtra Employee Assistance

Programme services provided by the College

Work Environment/Health, Safety & Welfare

• 4% or 7 respondents said they are currently being harassed or bullied at work [HEI median 5%] – All said managers are the source – Most common forms are selective application of the rules

(71%), patronising language (71%), excessive criticism (43%), unwelcome looks or remarks (43%)

– One-third of staff had reported their experience of being harassed or bullied

– Most common reason for not reporting was nothing would happen , concerns about confidentiality or being labelled a trouble maker (mentioned by three-quarters of staff not reporting)

Harassment & Bullying

• 10% or 18 respondents felt discriminated against at work in the last 12 months [HEI 10%]

– 72% said the person responsible was more senior than them; 17% at the same level; 6% from outside the College (public/students)

– 33% because of their gender; 28% because of their age

Discrimination/Equality of Opportunity

• 52% respondents had an individual annual progress review in last 12 months [HEI 82%]– 74% said their review left them feeling their work is valued

[64%]– 81% said their review was useful to them [67%] – 93% had agreed clear objectives as part of their review

[86%] – 76% agreed a continuing PDP [67%]

• 57% respondents said their line manager had supported them in identifying training, leaning and development; 23% too early to say

Staff Review

• 63% feel they are given the same opportunities to develop as other staff [78%]

• 64% are satisfied with their current level of learning and development [72%]

• 71% say they have received sufficient training to enable them to do their job well [77%]

• 69% of staff have taken part in training, learning or development paid for, or provided by, the College the past 12 months [71%]

Learning and Development

• 25% feel fairly paid for the work they do [HEI 69%]• 60% feel fairly paid in relation to other staff at the

College doing the same job [71%]• 53% feel, overall, the College offers a good pay and

benefits/conditions package [85%]

Pay & conditions

• 53% say they often think about leaving the College [35%]

• 32% say they are actively considering leaving the employment of the College [16%]

• Main reasons for considering leaving their job is to develop their career at another similar institution (49%) or because they are unhappy with their current job (38%)

Considering Leaving

• Results from Faculty of Media & Design Communication generally more negative than other areas – we need to understand why and encourage feedback via SCC reps as to why this may be

• Results from the Faculty of FE and Business Support Staff generally more positive – what are we doing right there and how can it be shared cross College?

General Points

• I take responsibility for the negatives

• We shall be publishing all the results on the HR area of the Portal when we receive them

• We will be talking to the SCC about the results and involve them in seeking solutions

• We will look to identify areas of good practice and spread them

• Focus on key issues

• Action plan at different levels

Acting on the results

• We will link actions to staff survey results – You Said, We Did

• Provide regular updates on progress and lack of progress via college announcements and the staff newsletter – there may be some quick fixes but other things will take time

• Some things may not be fixable – if that is the case we will try to explain why

• Follow up the staff survey in future to measure changes

Acting on the results