The results of this year’s Staff Engagement Survey, broken down by Faculties and Professional Services, are now available on the Strategy SharePoint site.
In the spirit of transparency and to demonstrate the importance placed on gathering the views of colleagues across the University, we are making all the reports available with a presentation explaining the results.
The headline results, released earlier this month, showed that 70 per cent of staff who filled in the questionnaire are engaged with their work at the University. This figure is a six percentage point increase on the 2014 survey. In addition, the response rate for this year’s survey also increased with 68 per cent of staff completing the survey, compared to 54 per cent in the last survey.
Summary of the results
Autonomy – colleagues feel trusted and largely have the authority they need to complete their work. The challenge is whether they have the support in place to work sustainably and in line with expectations.
Collegiality – broadly there is a culture of respect, though there are some working relationships across the University which could be strengthened.
Driving Quality – managers are providing encouragement when colleagues are doing well and there is now scope to ensure they build on this through constructive feedback.
Communications – there is an opportunity to have clearer and more open communication across the University.
Reputation and Sustainability – the visibility of changes and leadership is limiting the potential to which colleagues can appreciate, understand and participate in the broader direction of the University.
Results into action
Deans of Faculties and Directors of Professional Services will now be studying the results for their areas. The next step will be to set up Results Forums made up of Survey Champions, HR Business Partners and Faculty/PS colleagues who will analyse the results and prioritise areas which need development. The same Forums will then create plans for bringing about the positive change required. If you are interested in getting involved in the Forums please contact [email protected].
A huge thanks to all colleagues who took the time to write further feedback on how the University can improve the quality of their work experience. ORC International are helping us manage these comments confidentially and sensitively and will look at themes without identifying any individuals.
You can find a longer piece about the results with comments from the Vice-Chancellor and senior leaders, in the next edition of Southampton Connects Staff out in July.