People action plan

• Recruiting and welcoming our people

  1. Significantly improve web content to attract and welcome staff/build on acknowledged strengths

  1. Create ‘Working at St Andrews web area
  1. Promotional material relating to environment - videos of our unique town/beach, small community etc.
  2. Promotional material relating to staff e.g. staff satisfaction rates, as well as podcasts of staff talking about working here, living here and University values etc.
     1. 'Good reputation' includes academic excellence and the reputation of St Andrews as a 'good employer'
     2. 'Making a difference' motivation, collegiality, strategic priorities
     3. Lifestyle
  3. Significantly enhance vacancy web page which is currently uninspiring and not user-friendly
  4. Link to People Strategy pages with our displayed consultation material and progress outcomes
  5. Use as window into St Andrews World-leading, Diverse, Global, Entrepreneurial through people’s stories of working here and high-quality, impactful, innovative work. Promote world-leading brand with inclusion and social responsibility at heart, promote values
  6. Links to support groups etc. for all including Parents and Carers, LGBTIQ+, those with disabilities, BAME etc.
  7. Provide relevant statistics to give prospective employees a greater understanding of what to expect from the University e.g. number of overall employees, number of countries represented in the workforce etc.

  2. Ensure all University advertisements enhance our public presence positively and in keeping with strategic priorities

  1. Ensure how we target recruitment is optimal to attract the broadest range of talent
  1. Job design
  2. Advertising
  3. Timing of recruitment
  4. Word of mouth/networks

  3. Improve our understanding of what people’s experiences of applying and being recruited to St Andrews feels like (including from diverse perspectives)

  1. Ensure St Andrews offer resonates with global audiences e.g. ‘Reader’, ‘MLitt’

  4. Strengthen guidance in relation to the creation of appointment panels

  1. More consistency as to size, questions asked, information provided to the candidate, feedback etc.
  2. Conduct interviews appropriate to job grade - different grades of job should not necessarily involve the same application process across the board (e.g. professor to cleaner)
  3. Review cumbersome on-line shortlisting (most often done manually)
  4. Minimise travel requirements, where appropriate, through the use of accessible technological solutions

  5. More consistent, well-planned and well-supported approach to local induction to mitigate current ‘lottery’ approach (depending on School/Unit or individual line manager)

  1. Webpages on ‘Living Locally’ to include comprehensive diversity promotional material and answers to FAQs
  2. Focus on University-wide improvement in recruiting, welcoming and settling international staff
  3. Review re-location offer and scope

  6. Improve our understanding of students’ experience of applying and being accepted to St Andrews (including from diverse perspectives)

  7. Significantly augment web content to attract students

  1. Enhance visibility of access routes and support
  2. Ensuring that our outward face presents a highly inclusive culture for students and influencers to find easily
     1. Links to societies, clubs, support groups across the institution including Parents and Carers, LGBTIQ+, those with disabilities, BAME etc.

  8. Ensure student ‘welcome’ is aligned to priority of inclusivity

  1. Diversity and Inclusion to be flagged explicitly in induction
  2. Stress sponsio academica values, EDI, and University strategic priorities

  9. Systematic and proactive approach to students asked in final year if interested in further study at St Andrews (and elsewhere)

  1. A review to ensure relevant events are provided on further study opportunities – PGT workshop
  2. DoPGT to be link person
  3. PGT/PGR alumni to speak about opportunities and experience

  10. Ensure growth increases diversity of student cohort. Link to other enabling strategies and enable University Strategy to ensure e.g.

  1. ‘Affordable’ offer and experience
  2. St Andrews becomes a beacon of inclusivity

  11. Ensure entrepreneurial priority and opportunities are clearly communicated accessible to staff and students

  12. Ensuring planned student growth is well-supported

  1. Maintain staff complement in tandem

• Valuing and Developing our people

  13. Setting and reviewing objectives. RDS/ARD becomes more systematic and productive process

  1. Form reviewed and redesigned
     1. Ways of innovating/improving role asked of reviewee (enterprise culture)
     2. Ways role has changed asked of reviewee and record kept
  2. Review undertaken once a year and with a face-to-face meeting with line manager or senior nominee
  3. Documentation logged with HR
  4. Fulfilment of development requests/requirements monitored annually
     1. Interest in further development/promotion asked of reviewee and logged

  14. Setting and reviewing objectives. Supporting high performance

  1. Ensure development, re-grading and promotion routes are clear and signposted
     1. e.g. ‘Reader’, role of administration etc.
  2. Ensuring objectives are clear and underperformance recognised and discussed
  3. Ensuring objectives clear and exceeding expected performance recognised and discussed

  15. Defining clear development pathways for staff in different roles and career stages

  1. Clearly setting out what mandatory training is required of any member of staff to ensure statutory/policy compliance and to support effectiveness in job role
  2. Providing professional development opportunities to support career progression and to enable staff to achieve their potential

  16. Developing institutional approaches to talent management and succession planning to grow talent from within and ensure that staff progressing into new roles are properly prepared and supported

  17. Embed diversity and social responsibility into individual and team objectives for staff and students

  1. Improve understanding of the impact of inclusive environment on performance

  18. Reinstate Professional Services networking forum to ensure best practice, support and information shared across Schools/Units

  19. Ensure the strong ‘community’ of St Andrews is maintained, utilised and highlighted as a resource where appropriate

  20. Social engagement plans

  1. All Schools/Units to have a social engagement plan for all staff (e.g. coffee morning once a week)
     1. All Schools/Units to have in-work social welcome for new starts
  2. Community/Volunteering/Hobbies/Clubs and Societies section on website to be established and expanded to address staff and student lack of inclusion and loneliness
  3. Staff social fair held during winter months
  4. Staff and student social activities to be reviewed to ensure they are as inclusive as possible e.g
     1. In relation to alcohol
     2. In relation to caring responsibilities
     3. In relation to cost

  21. Front line resolution of staff issues should be logged with HR (anonymised as to individuals’ names) but identified by School/Unit for hot spots; legal issue/institutional guidance

  22. Develop a University Wellbeing Strategy to ensure our community of staff and students is more joined up in relation to wellbeing and work-life balance policies, practice and communication

  1. Support smart working patterns and initiatives
     1. Embrace flexible working model as a strength and opportunity and not an inconvenience or cost
     2. 'Professional Services access to the Flexible Working policy, and application of the Smart Working Guidelines
  2. Review the boundaries between presenteeism and absenteeism
     1. Norm established of academic staff presence for a minimum of 3 days in office during semester?
  3. Roll out Service holiday and illness absence tool to all staff
     1. Ensure Line Managers remind staff to take holidays regularly throughout the year at appropriate times (e.g. staff and manager catch-up meetings and via all-staff emails)
  4. Develop University-wide email norms and protocols for staff and students, embracing for example Work-Life Balance
  5. Ensure communication about work and study is linked/aligned to relevant strategies and policies e.g. Mental Health Strategy, Family Friendly policies, Work-Life Balance initiatives etc.
  6. Grow staff and student awareness of available support resources if they face challenges
     1. Utilise and highlight strong colleague network of support
  7. Senior staff to role model Work-life balance
  8. Ensure staff and student support for maintaining wellbeing (e.g. OH, SS etc.), mental and physical health, resourced in proportion to growth
  9. Return from parental/other leave managed more consistently across Schools/Units
     1. Provide more support, follow institutional best practice
     2. HR to send link to ‘Planning/Returning from Parental Leave’ information pack and checklist before individual takes leave and on their return. Copied to Line Manager
     3. Ensure “keeping in touch” days are well-managed and easily payment accessible

  23. Develop more recognition schemes for staff e.g. ‘St Andrews Innovator’, ‘Long Service’ for >10 years, ‘Best Teamwork’, ‘Making a Difference’, with dinner invitation or meal voucher or extra holiday day, and hard copy ‘thank you’ letter

  24. Ensure there is equal opportunity for students to excel

  1. Continue to progress Diverse St Andrews agenda to level the playing field for students with additional support needs/minority students e.g.
  1. Students with disabilities
  2. Students with financial difficulties

  25. Student officers to have work recognised more formally at end of tenure

  26. Ensuring mentoring programme for groups of staff and students e.g. ensure Professional Service staff mentoring is accessible and high-quality

  27. Improve succession planning

  1. Move towards more streamlined process for the replacement for existing posts
     1. Develop whole University approach to ensuring processes continue
        1. Possibility of sub-group of workers who could be seconded to support Professional Service areas with sudden departures
           1. Workers could be those that had indicated desire to develop role in the future?
  2. Ensure Professional Service staff to be offered opportunities to shadow other roles, to enhance development, experience and promotion opportunities

  28. Move to avoid single point of vulnerability in key posts through re-engineering roles, shadowing, deputising, improved agility, documenting key processes etc.

  29. All Schools and Units to provide designated space for staff (e.g. a staff room), separate to regular work areas to allow adequate opportunity for staff to have lunch break

  30. Job design and description should be standardised

  1. Document operational/procedural manuals to assist interim cover and new recruits
  2. To ensure those seeking development can access content for personal development purposes

  31. Job design for all roles should include elements that mirror what people find most motivating and rewarding/University priorities

  1. ’Making a difference’
  2. Autonomy
  3. Capacity to develop and progress
  4. Capacity to contribute to University strategic priorities: Diverse, Entrepreneurial, Global, Social Responsibility, Word-Leading

  32. All job descriptions should ensure opportunity for enterprise and responsibility in all roles

  1. Staff to have opportunity to show and grow talent
  2. Capacity to contribute to University strategic priorities: Diverse, Entrepreneurial, Global, Social Responsibility, Word-Leading
  3. Capacity to review and innovate aspects of job role – move towards continuous consideration of how processes can be improved

  33. All degree programmes should ensure opportunity for enterprise and responsibility

  1. Student to have the opportunity to show and grow talent
  2. Capacity to contribute to University strategic priorities: Diverse, Entrepreneurial, Global, Social Responsibility, Word-Leading

  34. Review framework for developing and promoting Professional Services staff

  1. Review internal application process “look and feel” to streamline process
  2. Larger project to review processes for more robust career development, include checking for ‘role drift’ against job descriptions; linked into RDS and refresh of job descriptions

• Empowering our people

  35. All staff-based policies searchable and accessible from keywords and FAQs

  1. Link to Governance Zone but also to clickable route maps to guide staff from key-word searches/FAQs e.g.
  1. “I want to work part-time”
  2. “I am planning to take maternity/paternity leave”

  36. All student-based policies searchable and accessible from keywords and FAQs

  1. Link to Governance Zone but also to clickable route maps to guide students from key-word searches/FAQs/key contact roles e.g.
  1. “I want to appeal a grade”
  2. “I want to make a complaint”

  37. Consistency across Schools/Units for implementation of policies for staff e.g.

  1. Return from parental leave, flexible working arrangements

  38. Consistency across Schools for implementation of policies for students e.g.

  1. Extensions, access to details of hardship funds, space offer for PGRs
  1. Lecture capture as ‘opt-out’ in all Schools

  39. Every School should have a transparent workload model that ensures work is allocated as equally as possible

  40. Develop ‘do we need this meeting?’ checklist; encourage ‘do we need this meeting?’ reflection

  41. Enhance employee voice opportunities

  1. Establish discussion forum for ground-level input into governance. Engage with 100 selected staff - structured sample to ensure area and grade coverage - for bi-annual feedback St Andrews Pulse. Meetings over lunch, cabaret style tabling with set agenda questions for discussion and plenary; one question from PO, one question from participants submitted and selected in advance
  2. Encourage mutually supportive and collaborative engagement between Trade Unions and Managers

  42. Exit interviews to become the norm for staff as well as students (NSS), those exiting offered range of possible interviewers and modes (e.g. online questionnaire/interview)

  43. Ensure teaching sessions are as inclusive as possible e.g.

  1. Lecture capture as opt-out adopted
  2. Innovative and diverse modes of learning/interaction in small group sessions supported and welcomed
  3. Inclusive practices embedded

  44. Actively promote and highlight the range of study abroad opportunities

  45. Develop clear principles for freedom of speech, respect and tolerance

  46. Share information on participation, retention, attainment and experience ‘gaps’ with University community

  1. Build broad awareness and engagement

  47. Complaints policy and process to be clearly signposted for staff and students

  48. Maintain values and aligned behaviours when dealing with complaints

  49. Support networks of University communities around specific issues, experiences and interests e.g.

  1. Parents and Carers, LGBTIQ+, those with disabilities, BAME etc.

  50. Review dispute processes to enhance informal engagement in the first instance

  1. Greater use of mediation in disputes in Schools/Units
  1. Move away from HR v Union support format for parties involved. Move away from conflictual format of process
  2. Deploy more mediation for student disputes

  51. Develop collaborative skills and encourage international collaboration

  52. Empower staff and students to challenge behaviours that do not align to community values

  53. Develop a positive culture of feedback for staff

  1. Learning from feedback
  2. Embrace challenge and failure as opportunities
  3. Ensure feedback is coherent and can be utilised to move forward
  4. Avoid blame
  5. Adopt a ‘What have we learned?’ approach
  6. Develop a culture of positive feedback and recognition
  1. ‘Take time to Thank’ initiative

  54. Develop a positive culture of feedback for students

  1. Learning from feedback
  2. Embrace challenge and failure as opportunities, build resilience
  3. Ensure feedback is coherent and can be utilised to move forward
  4. Student feedback to be explicitly built into programme/module reflection and development

  55. Creating space and opportunity for all staff and students to express ideas on how we can improve St Andrews

  56. Ensure there are opportunities to engage with the environment of St Andrews and its future as a sustainable organisation for staff and students, including

  1. Competitions for energy saving ideas and practices
  2. Engagement on new builds and refurbishment to ensure sustainability is at the heart of considerations
  3. Wellbeing initiatives linking further to the natural environment

  57. Staff and students empowered to develop start-ups and entrepreneurial projects

  58. Significant development of industry partnerships with staff and students

• Leading our people

  59. Management/Leadership role selection process to be more transparent

  1. Proactively encourage leadership opportunities
  2. Actively promote equality of opportunity and representation throughout University structures

  60. Ensure succession planning for Leadership positions supports the emergence of a more diverse cohort of future leaders

  1. Consider wider adoption of Co-Heads to enhance diversity

  61. Line manager role support, training and review enhanced

  1. Strike appropriate balance between variation in local School/Unit culture whilst addressing wide variation in experience of being managed
  2. Formal Deputy Heads should be appointed as a norm?
  3. Incentivise Head of School role consistently
  1. High-quality training and support
  2. Consistency in incentives e.g. post-replacement (researcher?), subsequent research leave etc.

  62. Basic level of management training becomes the norm for anyone who “manages/supervises” staff (i.e. PIs, small group supervision)

  1. Support Leadership development for specific contexts e.g. international team leadership, enterprise leadership

  63. Embed equality and diversity values in all training

  1. Provide development activities that help to mitigate and go beyond unconscious bias e.g. mentoring, sponsorship

  64. All staff (including Post-doctoral Fellows) be clear about who has line management responsibilities for them

  65. Move to significant change in organisational misperception of HR, move towards HR as Staff Services model

  1. To address reluctance to engage through fear of escalation of problem and loss of control
  2. To address reluctance to engage through lack of awareness of offer and activity
  3. Move to far more activity represented online in easily accessible format
  1. Audit HR processes to determine efficiencies to support users and free up HR staff for proactivity: review, reflect, innovate

  66. Values, behaviours and communication to be guided by key principles the University community prioritises and University Strategy commits to

  1. Behaviours to align with values and to be communicated, modelled and checked as a priority
  2. Role-model policies and best practices in leadership positions

  67. Promote civic responsibility and volunteering activity for staff and students in local, national and international communities

  68. Unified University voice in communication for students e.g.

  1. Address the issue of multiple messages from the University in uneven tone

  69. Ensure there are clear and appropriate opportunities to develop and demonstrate graduate skills, including leadership skills, per semester for all levels of students: Undergraduate, Post-graduate Taught, Post-graduate Research

  1. Ensure a diversity of leadership skills are explored

  70. Ensure there are relevant opportunities for all staff to develop and demonstrate leadership capability

  71. Develop/support entrepreneurial leads in School/Units

  72. Develop and encourage capability to lead international teams

  73. Move away from ‘deficit’ thinking e.g.

  1. Recognise we are a very ‘sticky’ institution and some feel ‘stuck’
  2. Avoid ‘if you’re not happy, you can always leave’ approach