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Update on the Staff Survey 2023 Action Plan

Please find an update regarding progress on the Staff Survey 2023 Action Plan.

Published:

Collaboration and Communication

We planned to improve communication from Senior management and improve the sense of community in the Institute.

  1. Regular updates were provided during implementation of NWOW and other infrastructure works. The full results of the 2023 Staff Survey were circulated in an email from the Institute Director that summarised improved areas, areas that still needed work, and planned next steps. These were included in the weekly Blizard round ups for the following two weeks.
  2. Minutes from Blizard committees are now available on the Blizard Staff and student hub online.
  3. Students and postdocs representatives are now on Blizard Executive Board and Blizard Research Committee.
  4. Tailored working groups have been created in the Institute to listen to specific concerns and to understand and address specific needs:
    1. ‘Staff survey group’ with representatives from all career groups and grades – to analyse results of the surveys and draft the action plan
    2. ‘NWOW working group’ - has dictated modifications to the original plan in response to staff concerns and needs
    3. ‘Blizard Postdoc working group’ - to listen to and provide better support to staff at the early stage of their academic career
    4. ‘Open letter working group’ – to respond and act on points raised in the open letter on prevention of harassment and assault
  5. New social areas have been introduced with NWOW plans.
  6. A ‘Blizard Institute Wellbeing initiatives’ group has been created to promote social activities. 

Feedback and Recognition

We planned to increase support for career progression and general recognition of staff contribution.

  1. Staff were encouraged to apply for promotion, bonus scheme and professorial review. There has been a significant increase in the number of applications from 2022 to 2023.
  2. Staff were encouraged to contact recently promoted staff members for suggestions on how to improve applications.
  3. Staff were encouraged to nominate or self nominate for the FMD Staff Awards 2024.
  4. Awards will be given at the Blizard annual symposium to recognise contribution of staff in different areas.

Enablement

We planned to improve communication around NWOW.

Regular meetings of the NWOW working groups were organised. Regular updates of the progress of NWOW and other infrastructure issues were provided.

Behaviours

We have a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying, sexual assault and harassment. We planned to run training sessions on these topics and increase awareness of available support.

  1. Sexual misconduct and harassment awareness training is now mandatory for all staff and students in the Blizard Institute. Three sessions were run so far, with three more set for the coming months.
  2. Access to information on how to seek help has been improved with new flyers and QR codes. Flyers are visibly displayed in several areas within the Institute.

Participation

We planned to increase Blizard response rate for the Staff survey.

Blizard Institute response rate for the 2022 staff survey was 64% and this increased to 69% in 2023 (which was above the overall QMUL response rate of 66%).

The 2024 Staff Survey launches on Monday 22 April

Please complete the survey to help us defining the next steps to improve our working environment

 

 

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