1. Executive Report to Council
HR Director
13 June 2008

2. Aim
To update Council as to the progress made in the HR Strategic Projects outlined in June 2007, as well as identifying a number of other Strategic issues we are also addressing.

3. Internal & External Communications
HR Strategic Projects
Resourcing
&
Recruitment
People
Development
Leadership
&
Management
Development
Rewards
& Recognition
Employer of
Choice
Employee Engagement
Employee Relations
HR Effectiveness
Structure
Process
Capabilities
Leadership
Metrics
Internal & External Communications

4. 1. Leadership and Management Development
Consultation on requirements
Appointment of an internal Leadership & Development Advisor
Design and development of a leadership programme at two levels for both Academic and Support staff
Partnership with “The Work Foundation”
Start of the Leadership & Management Development programmes on 15 May Three programmes now running through to early 2009; total of 48 managers
Establishment of an online Leadership and Management Development Resource Centre

5. 2. People Development
New framework for staff development with revised Policy and guidelines incorporating change in focus
Training Needs Analysis for staff completed in areas of statutory and legal obligations
Reorganisation of posts within Professional and Organisational Development (POD) and recruitment of identified posts underway
Review of staff development support for Academics
New induction training

6. 3. Employer of Choice
Review of current HR policies to ensure ‘fit for purpose’
New policies consulted/introduced:
Retirement, Flexible Working, Career Break, Grievance, Discipline and Appeals
New HR website now covers overall benefits, terms and conditions

7. 4. Recruitment and Resourcing
Electronic submission of CVs/Applications introduced in advance of web-enabled recruitment
Revised Authority to Recruit Process
New guidance on a number of recruitment areas eg travel expenses, starting salaries
Redesigned Recruitment and Selection Training Course
A Resourcing Plan incorporated into the Better Management Pilot for departmental business plans
Supplier identified for introduction of web-enabled recruitment

8. 5. Employee Engagement
Staff Opinion Survey carried out between 31 March and 9 May Just over 60% of staff (1,922) completed the survey – a response rate significantly higher than the sector
Process for feeding back results and the development of appropriate action plans agreed with a Steering Group

9. Overall University Survey Results
The University is a good place to work
93%
My motivation at work is generally high
85%
I feel part of a team
79%
I would recommend the University to a friend:
as a place to work
as a place to study
80%
78%
Departmental Senior Management Team is doing a good job in:
providing leadership
working together as a team
allocating resources effectively
communicating with staff
40%
35%
29%
34%

10. Overall University Survey Results
I do not have time to carry out all my work
49%
I feel unduly stressed at work
Two main causes of which were:
- work demands
- my workload
23%
80%
75%
Staff who at the time of survey were being harassed or bullied 5%
I believe the University is committed to equality of opportunity for
all its staff
81%
The University acts fairly with regard to recruitment
93%
On the whole communication in University is effective
63%
Different parts of University communicate effectively with each other
35%

11. 6. Employee Relations
Joint group of Management and Trade Union colleagues set up to develop a new structure and machinery for local negotiations/consultations
Format of structure now agreed by the group with TUs balloting their membership with a recommendation to approve and a submission to Council on 18 July 2008
The new arrangements will provide for single table discussions on areas common to all staff groups

12. 7. Rewards & Recognition Equal Pay Review – initial analysis completed
Work on evaluation and grading of those groups of staff not covered by Framework in 06/07 eg Atypical Research and Teaching roles
Detailed analysis of workforce data (eg paybill split by groups, increases over last three years etc) produced and presented to SMG in ‘Approach to Reward’ series of seminars
Preparation for introduction of Salary Sacrifice for a range of benefits including pensions, which will result in significant National Insurance savings for both the University and the employees
Role Reviews (re-grading requests still a large part of workload due to lack of generic job profiles – 51 new roles evaluated and 33 role reviews completed in year to date)

13. 8. HR Effectiveness
New Shared Services structure for HR integrating previously separate administration areas with an Enquiries Tracking System
Job applications via
Better reporting by data cleansing and disaggregation of posts exercise
Web-enabled recruitment provider selected
New HR website to enable staff to navigate and access information in a simpler way
Preparation for a self service facility to automate training bookings and sickness absence reporting
Redesign of a number of posts when turnover allowed