1. Uniforum Service Effectiveness Survey
Strategic Planning & Change
October 2017

2. Contents 1. What is the Uniforum Service Effectiveness Survey?
2. What are the key benefits of the survey?
3. When will the survey take place?
4. Which service areas will be covered?
5. What is the format of the survey?
6. Will my responses be visible to others?
7. Who will be able to participate?
8. How can you help make the survey a success?
9. Questions and further information

3. 1. What is the Uniforum Service Effectiveness Survey?
The College has commissioned a survey focussed on service effectiveness. Run in two stages, the first survey will take place in November
Known as Uniforum, the survey will be run across 26 institutions over October and November
The focus is on professional services and academic administration support, providing analysis of performance at a College and cross-institutional level
The survey is anonymous and should take an average of 15 minutes to complete
Strategic planning will manage the internal elements of the survey, but it will be hosted externally

4. 2. What are the key benefits of the survey?
The survey measures importance and satisfaction with performance of administrative and support services amongst participants
It captures multiple choice and free-text comments confidentially, encouraging frankness
You can share good practice and highlight improvement opportunities
Express and share your opinions
Your responses will provide insight into needs and requirements so that services can be tailored accordingly
Because the survey allows structured feedback on service experience, it will help to identify improvement opportunities in systems, processes & capabilities
You can inform continuous improvement activity through your feedback
Support continuous improvement
The outputs will provide an insight into trends in the sector
The College will learn new information about other institutions, including innovation and change which may or may not have improved service levels
Findings will help shape future value for money initiatives
The conclusions from the survey will help focus investment on areas where improvements are identified
Inform Strategic decision making

5. 3. When will the survey take place?
The survey will take place in two stages:
Stage 1: 6 November – 24 November
Stage 2: April/May 2018 – specific dates to be confirmed
Each survey will be open for about three weeks
Briefing materials will be distributed to HoPS and HoDs, followed by a launch to participants notifying them that the survey is open
While the survey is running, participating staff who have not yet completed the survey will receive a series of reminder s

6. 4. Which service areas will be covered?
Part 1 will focus on activities across a pre-defined set of service areas: HR
Pay & Pensions
Recruitment
Staff planning
Change and Performance
Finance
All functions IT
Network
Data backup & printing
IT Help desk
AV support
Printing & copying
Facilities management
Cleaning ID
Security passes
Maintenance
External engagement support
Marketing material
Web page development
Student recruitment
General admin
Purchase materials
Travel management
Credit card usage/
Reimbursement
Professional services
Research admin
Support for research grants
Integrity & ethics
Commercialising
Research facilities
Access to shared equipment to support research
Teaching support
New programme proposals & review of existing proposals
Enhancing teaching capabilities
Student support & services
PGT admissions
Managing exams & assessments
Monitoring PGT progress
Managing student grievances & discipline
Teaching admin support
Timetabling
Room allocation
Placements
Internships
Academic support services

7. 5. What is the format for the survey?
Questions are tailored according to the response at each stage. An example of the question structure is provided below.

8. 6. Will my responses be visible to others?
The process for free text submission ensures that anonymity is maintained and any inappropriate language or comments are removed.
As a participant, you will have the opportunity to provide free text comments for particular services as well as the College’s support services as a whole
Free text comments will be analysed externally to remove offensive or threatening language
Comments are assessed to ensure removal of references to specific individuals
Any comments or feedback that might jeopardise anonymity will also be edited to ensure strict confidentiality

9. 7. Who will be able to participate?
The survey is open to a sample group of permanent staff, working a minimum of 20 hours per week at a pre-determined grade and above. This is to allow accurate comparison and benchmarking across participating universities.
Staff who aren’t eligible to participate in the survey also have the opportunity to provide feedback on service effectiveness if they wish. To do so, they can

10. 8. How can you help make the survey a success?
Desired target response rate for the survey is 75%, so please complete the survey within the survey window.
We would also like to ask HoPS, HoDs and those with line management responsibilities to help achieve the response target by:
Championing the process within your area
Endorsing the survey when it is launched and encouraging participation
Supporting follow up with staff in areas with low response rates
Previous surveys run in other institutions have been most successful when key stakeholders have supported the process, so your help is appreciated.

11. 9. Questions and further information
For more information and frequently asked questions, please visit the survey intranet page
If you have any further questions, please