In February, three members of the senior leadership team Mark Spearing, Adam Wheeler, Steve White set out to get to know staff around the University through a series of ‘no-agenda ’ sessions. This was a direct response to the 2014 Staff Survey findings.
Over 6 months, 180 colleagues participated across 11 sessions, held at each of our UK campuses. They began with the premise of simply asking colleagues: “What’s on your mind?”
The top ten topics
To see the top 10 topics staff wanted to talk about with senior leaders, please click here. You will find the list on the right hand side on the page.
Get involved
The no-agenda meetings will continue in 2015/16. Colleagues from all areas, roles and grades are welcomed. Lunch or snacks are provided. The format is an informal, open Q&A with up to 30 fellow colleagues.
Click here for details of the dates for this semester which are, once again, across all UK campuses (the WSA date is tbc).
Periodically there will be a report-back to University Senior Management Team (USMT) about the concerns, comments and ideas put forward by staff.
Feedback from staff on the no-agenda meetings:
“May I thank you for this morning’s excellent event…The feedback from colleagues is very positive and they welcomed the opportunity to see senior management and share views.” – Stephen Mortimer, Deputy Head, Winchester School of Art.
“I thoroughly enjoyed that session. I thought Mark and Adam were very open and I also thought the breadth of experience and workplaces contributed towards a positive outcome… I will be recommending the sessions to my colleagues.” – Manager, Professional Services.
“Just wanted to write to say how very useful this session was. I really hope that these meetings will keep taking place as they provide a great opportunity for staff from all areas of Southampton and Senior Management to put our heads together – it really helps us all (to brainstorm/express ideas and keep us all up to date on important developments) and creates a sense of community.” – Beatrice Murphy, Faculty Administrative Officer.