PEOPLE STRATEGY 2016 2020
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 Introduction 5 Strategic themes 5 The challenge 6 Our people, leaders and managers 9 High performing, high potential 10 Changing, learning and adapting 13 Healthy and inclusive 14 Ambitious, confident and proactive 17 Working well together 18 Effective leadership and management De Montfort University s (DMU) Strategic Framework for 2015-20 sets out clearly what we want to achieve as an institution in the next five years and what we will do to achieve it. The framework will inform everything we do as a university. We have stated our intention to become the definition of a 21 st century global university. We need all our people to understand and share that ambition and to contribute to the achievement of our strategic goals through their multiple talents and their commitment to excellence. Our boldness in challenging convention and our confidence in our ability to adapt, learn and innovate, will enable us to engage positively with sector-wide changes and enhance our own approaches to delivering academic and operational excellence. The wider world of work is changing, driven by innovations in technology and differing expectations around the employment relationship. We aim to be both forward and outward looking, responding effectively to ensure we meet our people-related challenges now and in the future. Our People Strategy has been developed through consultation and engagement with key stakeholders across the university to set out how we can underpin and support the delivery of the DMU Strategic Framework through the people we employ. Stakeholders were asked to identify the primary people-related challenges we are likely to face in delivering the Strategic Framework and how we might address them. They were also asked to identify the distinctive capabilities and characteristics that will define the people and leaders who will ensure our sustainable success. 3
STRATEGIC THEMES (STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 2015-2020) Transform our students by delivering an individualised student experience. Create and apply knowledge that furthers global, societal and economic development. Promote and improve our city. Strengthen our global reach and influence. Enhance our effectiveness through our diverse and vibrant scholarly community. 4 THE CHALLENGE To thrive over the lifetime of the 2015-2020 Strategic Framework and beyond, we will need to develop our capacity to learn and adapt in the context of continual change. We need to: 5 Build and maintain a positive working culture, enhancing employee engagement and supporting an outstanding student experience. Develop our organisation in an effective and sustainable way for the benefit of our staff, students, partners, our city and local community. Focus on operational and academic excellence and promote an ethos of continuous improvement. Anticipate and respond effectively to changes in our operating environment and the wider world of work. Attract, develop and retain talented individuals from diverse backgrounds who are confident in their approach to change, ambitious for our students and the university s future, and who have the aspiration, ability and dedication to succeed. Develop inspirational and innovative leaders and managers throughout the university, who can meet the expectations set by our Leadership Charter, inspiring our staff to contribute to the development of a dynamic DMU community and the achievement of our strategic goals.
OUR PEOPLE, LEADERS AND MANAGERS Our people are truly our greatest asset and we value and celebrate the diversity of our scholarly community. Now more than ever we need our people to be distinctive - talented, ambitious, creative, confident in their approach to change, strong advocates for DMU, and with both local and global perspectives. Diverse in their talents, background and thinking style, but united by their engagement with DMU s aspirations and core values, they will have the skill and desire to develop game-changing approaches to our core activities. They will establish enduring and productive academic and professional relationships and partnerships all for the benefit of our students and other stakeholders. We will harness the knowledge and expertise of our staff to help the university meet its strategic aims. We will provide the appropriate balance of challenge and support to enable people to give of their best and deliver excellent performance. We will empower our talented people and encourage them to be powerful advocates in driving our success and delivering excellence, co-creating the culture and workplace that we want and need for the future. 6 We believe in authentic, values-led and inclusive leadership. We will support our leaders and managers to deliver sustainable excellence through our Leadership Charter: VISION Articulate an Inspiring Vision RESULTS Ensure Performance is Delivered CUSTOMER Develop a Customer-focused Organisation ROLE MODELS Lead by Example EMPOWERMENT Empower and Motivate CHANGE Initiate and Drive Change
HIGH PERFORMING, HIGH POTENTIAL We will ensure our academic staff have the time, skills and qualifications they need to achieve excellence in their field and in the wider performance of their role. We will have a supportive performance culture that enables individuals to understand how their contributions relate to the university s wider strategic aims. We will ensure our approach to appraisal, reward, recognition and promotion is fair, transparent and understood by all. We will ensure effective links between performance and reward, recognising and rewarding what we value. Proportion of time our academics spend on academic activities. Proportion/quality of appraisal completion. Define performance measures on the proportion of academic staff who are HEA accredited. DMU OSCARS nominations. Number of internal applications for promotion, progression and appointment to higher level roles. We will further develop our workload models introducing modernised and integrated systems and technologies to create capacity and help drive enhanced performance. 9 We will provide development opportunities for all staff that will directly support them to address their current challenges and prepare for future ones.
CHANGING, LEARNING AND ADAPTING 10 We will support individuals career aspirations by making available a range of methods for professional development, appraisal and mentoring to nurture and grow talent from within DMU. We will encourage and enable our staff to develop their professional networks, both at home and abroad. We will support the sharing of knowledge and ideas through multi-disciplinary, cross-functional and cross-cultural teams. We will ensure all our staff have access to training that enables them to meet the expected standards in their roles and to drive excellence in support of our aspirations as an institution. We will support and develop our academic staff to enhance teaching quality and sustain academic excellence aligned to their disciplines. We will support academic staff to engage in the full and innovative use of learning technologies to enable all students to participate on an equal footing and give them greater control over their learning experience. We will support our staff to engage in opportunities and activities that builds their international experience, cultural awareness and global perspective. We will be brave in our approaches, learning from both our successes and our mistakes to support an environment of continuous improvement. Proportion/quality of appraisal completion. Number of staff who have completed an induction. Staff participation in staff development activities, both mandatory and discretionary elements. Qualifications held or being undertaken by staff linked to their role/ profession eg HEA. Proportion of our staff who have had a #DMUglobal experience. Academic engagement in teaching and learning technologies eg Panopto.
HEALTHY AND INCLUSIVE We will foster a culture of shared and personal responsibility for staff wellbeing at work and promote healthy lifestyle choices to our students. We will support our staff to achieve work/life balance that takes account of individual circumstances and life choices. We will promote more efficient ways of working and reduce the negative effects of unmanageable workloads. We will provide a diverse and inclusive working environment for staff, where people feel that they can be themselves, are valued for their individual differences and are treated with dignity and respect. We will seek to achieve a workforce that is representative of students, and the local and scholarly communities with which we work. We will provide a welcoming environment for our international staff and support their full integration within the DMU community. We will strengthen our performance in relation to the Race Equality Charter Mark, Athena Swan, the Stonewall Index and other equality charters to enable self-assessment and continuous improvement in equality, diversity and inclusion. Workplace stress indicators measured via the Staff Survey, Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health referrals, via absence monitoring procedures or through stress audits. Indicators for staff work/life balance measured via the Staff Survey. Academic workloads data. Accident and injury reports. Disclosure rates from internal and external job applicants on personal information such as disability, transgender status, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief and sexual orientation. Diversity index comparing DMU to relevant local and national communities. Equality and diversity/bullying and harassment indicators measured via the Staff Survey. Staff grievances linked to allegations of discrimination, bullying and harassment. 13
AMBITIOUS, CONFIDENT AND PROACTIVE 14 We will be proactive in attracting and retaining both early-career and established high-performing individuals who contribute to our vibrant and diverse scholarly and professional community. We will develop new and innovative approaches to sourcing and attracting candidates from a global market, ensuring that we can recruit from the widest possible demographic. We will work closely with employers and partners to expand our network, in the UK and abroad, seeking to continuously enhance the employability of our students. We will ensure fair and competitive pay and reward practices that allow us to attract and retain the most talented individuals in the UK and abroad. We will invest in the research excellence potential of our staff providing them with the time and resources they need to undertake ambitious and rigorous research, recognising and rewarding innovation and enterprise. We will develop and strengthen career pathways for academic staff, recognising contributions in learning and teaching, research, enterprise, academic leadership and good citizenship at DMU. Number and quality of candidates attracted to posts advertised. Staff advocacy ie number of people who would recommend DMU as a good place to work ( employer of choice ) measured via the Staff Survey. Staff satisfaction levels/ happiness indicators measured via the Staff Survey. Retention of researchers/vc2020s/key talent groups. Number of staff with Individual Research Plans (IRPs) or Research Leave Awards. Number of early career academic staff.
WORKING WELL TOGETHER We will embed a culture of respect, cooperation and community between colleagues regardless of academic or professional discipline. We will support our staff to deliver the university s aims beyond their immediate work role and remit. We will create opportunities to build bonds between staff, students, graduates, the local community and with our partners in the UK and abroad. We will enable our staff to engage in activities that enhance the reputation, aspiration and wellbeing of our city and our local communities via #DMUlocal. Number of hours volunteered for #DMUlocal activities. Variety of staff from across faculties and directorates who volunteer for key university wide events eg open days, graduations and clearing. Proportion of our staff who have had a #DMUglobal experience. Staff who carry out additional roles within the university eg Green Impact, Staff Social Committee, Staff Common Room Committee, chair of involvement groups, Staff Survey engagement champions, cross-faculty/cross-directorate roles, first aiders/fire wardens etc. Staff Survey outcomes. 17
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT We will encourage an environment of mutual trust, transparent decision-making and espouse authentic, values-led leadership. We will seek and retain trusted, credible leaders who espouse the university s values, and identify potential future leaders, preparing them to step into critical roles. We will provide focused and engaging opportunities for our leaders and managers at all levels to develop their strategic understanding, agility in leadership and ability to inspire and motivate their teams. Staff satisfaction indicators in respect of the university s senior management measured via the Staff Survey. Number of credible internal candidates for senior/leadership and management roles. Staff engagement indicators measured via the Staff Survey. 18 We will support our leaders to develop themselves in line with the Leadership Charter and recognise those who demonstrate the attributes and behaviours we value. We will ensure effective communications and more direct engagement with our staff on significant matters that affect them. We will open up new and innovative ways of engaging with our staff to harness our collective ideas in deciding the future direction of the university. We will ensure clear governance structures that enable effective and responsive decision-making with clear lines of responsibility.
De Montfort University The Gateway Leicester LE1 9BH UK T: +44 (0)116 255 1551 W: dmu.ac.uk