Staff Survey Action Plans November 2016 - UCL

1 1 Staff Survey Action Plans November 2016 UCL Corporate Actions .. 3 Faculty of Arts and 6 The Bartlett, Faculty of the Built Environment .. 10 Faculty of Engineering Sciences .. 15 Institute of Education .. 20 Faculty of Life Sciences .. 26 Division of Biosciences .. 26 Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit .. 31 MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell 32 School of 39 Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Science .. 42 Faculty of Medical Sciences .. 45 Faculty of Population Health Sciences .. 48 Faculty of Social and Historical 52 Office of the Vice Provost (Development) .. 56 Office of the Vice-Provost (Education & Student Affairs).. 61 Office of the Vice Provost (Health) .. 64 Office of the Vice-Provost (International).. 67 Global Engagement Office.

2 70 UCL Qatar .. 722 Professional Services Divisions .. 77 UCL 81 Communications and 85 Finance and Business 88 Human 89 Library Services .. 95 PACE .. 1063 UCL Corporate ActionsProposed areas for UCL ActionIssueInitiative / TaskDesired OutcomeTimescaleResponsibilityUpdateDecr ease in satisfactionwith the appraisal appraisal schemes to ensurepersonal and career developmentneeds are discussed with all staffand to ensure appropriate workobjectives are always set out for theyear new onlineappraisal systemfor all 2017(Subject tofundingavailability.)UCL HR SMTOnly 22% of respondentsfelt that grading process isapplied improved gradingguidance and processes in 2016 andimproved academic promotionscriteria and processes from October2017 October 2017 UCL HR SMTOnly 29% of staffresponded positively to thespecific question abouthaving clear understandingof the 2034 strategy and itsimpact on their clear link between Facultyand Professional Services Plans and2034 and that decisions on fundingpriorities are effectively cascaded 2034communicationswith an increased2034 EngagementIndex in the nextstaff 2017 PlanningDirectorIn collaboration withFaculties and ProfessionalServices.

3 CAM and thePlanning team produced aUCL2034 Digital AnnualReview to celebrate theachievements right acrossUCL in working towards ourstrategic vision. Sincelaunch in October the reviewhas had over 6000 uniquepage views a goodindicator of engagement andawareness the planning round,the UCL 2034 themes andenablers have now beenembedded into therequirements of the StrategicOperating plan of each4 Faculty, Professional Serviceand VP Office, focussing onhow their articulated visionsupports the UCL 2034vision and how plannedaction aligns with the UCL2034 strategic themes Deputy Director ofPlanning has attended anumber ofdepartmental/divisionmeetings to talk about thestrategy, again to increaselevels of understanding anda sense of involvement fall in satisfaction inresponse to UCL acts in anenvironmentallysustainable way Better communicate environmentalsustainability initiatives across UCL.

4 Improvedconsistency andusage of recyclingbins and signageacross UCL andensure that thereare good qualityand secure cyclespaces across DirectorOnly 31% of staffresponded positively to thequestion whether UCLgives sufficient priority toinfrastructure and with the delivery of the 10year Billion estate CapitalInvestment ProgrammeSubstantialinvestment inimprovementsacross the coreBloomsbury yearsEstates DirectorContinued focus on improvingcompliance, safety and facilities andinfrastructure quality deliveredMaintained orincreased fundingfor the Director5through the estate StrategicMaintenance across Estates, SRS, VPEd & SA and Faculties to improvetimetabling, teaching space androoming of the teaching to seek sufficientinvestment funding. Ensure ITinfrastructure and other IT systemsare modern andperformant.

5 However the availabilityof investment funding depends uponUCL meeting its budget and surplustargetsModern andefficient ITinfrastructure andother IT ISDTo sustain recent improvements inthe quality and performance of the ITservice ISDTo decommission WTS and ensurethe new desktop@ucland the highquality andperformant serviceusers ISD6 Faculty of Arts and HumanitiesProgress Update: as at November 2016 Headline Data:The Faculty had a high level of engagement with the Staff Survey (78% compared with 72% at UCL overall). Staff felt most positive about their own job and their engagement with their department s objectives; with their ability to suggest ways to improve work in their units; and withtheir working relationships with senior management and leaders, which showed a clear improvement on the results of the 2013 Staff Survey , as did the percentage of Staff whofelt that UCL s promotions criteria were to work on and improve include working to improve our estate and infrastructure; managing heavy workloads and long working hours.

6 And awareness of UCL s / TaskDesired OutcomeTimescaleResponsibilityWorking long or excessive hours Share departmental bestpractice on academic workloadallocation Workshops on timemanagement Workshops on wellbeing atworkUPDATE: the SLASH SeniorAdministrators DevelopmentDay on 13thJuly focused onWellbeing at Work, and wasdelivered by the UCL WellbeingTeam in consultation with HR Clear communications ofexpectations from linemanagersStaff are more confident aboutmanaging their workloads withinacceptable hours; Staff feel lessstressed by their workloadsBy July 2017 DeanFaculty ManagerHR business partner7 Perception of poor physical workingconditions and inadequate estateand working facilities Share details of spend on ITinfrastructure per departmentat Faculty BoardsUPDATE: actioned Encourage departments tosubmit initiatives under Estates Small Projects UPDATE: actioned and the 7 departments in theFaculty, 6 have submittedinitiatives.

7 Some of which havealready been completed Share information more widelywith regard to long terminstitutional infrastructureplansUPDATE: actioned and New Student Building Teamupdate the Faculty CommsTeam regularly, resulting inarticles in the Joint Facultynewsletter Staff feel more ownership oftheir immediate workingenvironments Staff can see the benefits ofengaging with Estates andISD initiatives Staff are encouraged by theinstitutional progress onlarge long term projectsBy July 2017 DeanFaculty ManagerSLASH IT ManagerEstates CapitalProgrammes Managerfor SLASHLack of resources and equipment Encourage Heads ofDepartment to set aside smallbudgets for upgrade ofequipmentUPDATE: actioned and ongoing;budget submissions due inJanuary 2017 Staff feel that they have moreownership of their physical workingenvironment, and as much control aspossible over departmental resourcesDecember 2016 Faculty ManagerHeads of DepartmentDepartmentalManagers8 Communicate more effectivelywhen resources and equipmentare upgradedUPDATE: actioned and ongoingfrom the SLASH IT TeamNot able to strike the right balancebetween work and home life Meetings held in family friendlyhoursUPDATE: actioned.

8 Allmanagement meetings are heldbetween core hours of 10amand 4pm Email communication kept to aminimum at weekends Staff informed of flexibleworking policies; all requestsare considered carefullyUPDATE: actioned and is Faculty policyStaff feel that their work-life balanceis improvingJuly 2017 Heads of DepartmentDepartmentalManagersFaculty ManagerLack of understanding of 2034vision, and its impact ondepartments Dean holds sessions on 2034 atFaculty Boards 2034 is an item at the SeniorAdministrative DevelopmentDayUPDATE: actioned and ongoing:this will be an item at theupcoming Development Day on8 DecemberStaff have a better understanding of2034 objectives, and how they cancontributeJuly 2017 DeanFaculty ManagerHeads of Department9 2034 is a standing item atFaculty Management Teammeetings once per termUPDATE: actioned.

9 This is onthe Management TeamagendasConcern around UCL s greencredentials Dean holds sessions on UCL senvironmental policies atFaculty Board Colleagues from UCLS ustainability Team invited todepartmental meetingsUPDATE: actioned in somedepartmentsStaff have a better understanding ofUCL s green initiatives, and of howthey can contributeDecember 2016 DeanFaculty ManagerDepartmentalManagers10 The Bartlett, Faculty of the Built EnvironmentCreated: 29 April 2016 Updated 25 November 2016 IssueInitiative/TaskDesired OutcomeTimescaleResponsibilityUpdate November 2016 Many Staff feel that theyare having to workexcessive hours andunable to strike the rightbalance between workand home lifeDirectors of School and professionalservices managers will discuss withstaff what is behind the issue andwhat would help improve matters,exploring workload allocationmodels, protocols on presence andemails and staffing , clear information on flexibleworking and examples of casestudies will be produced for linemanagers and Staff , emailed to staffand added to a new Working at theBartlett section of the on work-life balance,reducing stress and optimizingflexible working, piloted already inBSEER.

10 Will be delivered to staffthroughout the Staff feel that they areable to complete their workwithout working excessivehours and with a betterwork/life 2016 toSeptember 2017 Directors of School andprofessional servicesmanagersVarious initiatives havebeen introduced so far, eg:Adoption of workload modelin one unit;Discussions at Away Daysand Staff meetings onworking hours, email useprotocols;Increased administrativestaff numbers wherepossible. to relieveacademic of external organizationto help improve culture andrelationships between working informationyet to be put yet to bereviewed and deliveredaround the third of Staff say thatthey do not understandUCL 2034 and how itimpacts on thedepartmentThe Dean and Faculty Manager willarrange workshops to helppromulgate the key tenets of the2034 strategy in the context of theinstitution as a whole and Staff feel familiar withthe vision and objectives of2034 and able to apply it totheir own work that of theiracademic strategiesare aligned with UCL 2016 toNovember 2016 Dean and FacultyManagerIn academic units, key itemsrelated to 2034 have beendiscussed (eg connectedcurriculum).