People Strategy 2023-2027

People are intrinsic to our success as a University. Delivery of the University Strategy rests on the skills and commitment of its people. To achieve our ambitions, we need to be able to recruit and retain the best staff, support their ongoing development, and create a culture and environment in which they can thrive and perform at their best both individually and collectively.

We will attract and retain the best people and provide a high quality staff experience which enables all our staff to contribute, thrive, and perform at their best.

Our aim through the People Strategy is to enhance the staff experience through a series of targeted actions and initiatives to support development, performance, engagement, and wellbeing. This in turn will contribute to delivery of the University Strategy.

This refreshed People Strategy builds on the 2019-2023 People Strategy. It has been informed by the extensive consultation carried out for the last People Strategy, the Staff Survey 2021, and engagement around the refreshed University Strategy and associated action plans in 2022, as well as targeted engagement with key stakeholders.

It should be read alongside the Student Experience Strategy, the Diverse St Andrews Action Plan, and enabling strategies on the Estate and IT. Collectively these strategies underpin delivery of the University Strategy and its core themes of World-leading, Diverse, Digital, Entrepreneurial, and Sustainable.

The People Strategy is a live document that will require ongoing staff engagement, to ensure a continuing attentiveness to the needs of our people and the University, and effective delivery of its objectives.

Since publication of the last People Strategy, we have made a progress across a number of areas. Key achievements include:

Reviewing and refreshing our approach to induction with a revised format including opportunities to meet with different parts of the University
Reviewing the Academic Review Scheme to support wider discussions around roles and how they are undertaken
Launching the University’s Mediation Service to improve understanding and the frontline resolution of issues
Supporting development pathways with bitesize training sessions on demystifying promotions and grading review
Making workload allocation models more transparent to ensure greater equity across workloads
Developing searchable policies and FAQs, with an initial focus on family friendly policies, annual leave, and discipline, resulting in a reduction in queries
Introducing a range of training (for example, Active Bystander, Dignity and Respect at Work) and materials to enhance workplace cultures and introducing Report and Support as a mechanism to report any matters of concern
Developing and delivering bitesize training sessions for managers to support effective performance management
Reviewing the Head of School role to provide consistency and transparency around responsibilities, recruitment, and development alongside introduction of an enhanced reward package.

Context

The People Strategy has been developed in the context of our values, our commitment to social responsibility, and an evolving operating environment including a highly competitive labour market, different and evolving skills requirements, technological change, and changing employee expectations.

Against that backdrop, we have identified five key strategic priorities which are critical to delivery of the University Strategy:

For each priority, the Strategy outlines the context, a clear aim and the key actions required to deliver it.

Recruitment offers an opportunity to attract talent, enhance diversity, and broaden our skills base. While working at the University remains an attractive proposition to many, we know that, in a highly competitive and buoyant labour market, we need to enhance our ability to attract and retain staff.

We want to attract the best people from a broad range of backgrounds through a modern and inclusive approach to recruitment.

To that end, we will:

1. Develop a recruitment strategy within the context of the University Strategy, future workforce needs, changing employee preferences and expectations in relation to work, and recruitment challenges.

2. Modernise our approach to recruitment with enhanced recruitment materials and effective use of digital communication platforms, and by strengthening our profile and ‘brand’ as an employer of choice.

3. Strengthen our recruitment and selection processes to ensure they are fair, inclusive, and simple to navigate. This will include looking at where and how we advertise posts, the application and assessment process, the composition of interview panels, and guidance to staff.

4. Develop in-house capability in talent attraction working in partnership with specialist providers to support strategic and high profile appointments across the University.

5. Review and clearly articulate our offer to staff, taking account of changing employee preferences and expectations in relation to work, recruitment challenges, and the University’s ambitions (including around diversity and social responsibility).

6. Explore the use of tailored employment packages where necessary and appropriate to secure and retain talent.

7. Review our hybrid working and remote employment policy to ensure flexibility sits alongside support for community building, collegiality, and collaboration.

8. Further develop staff induction as a programme of activity to include consideration of the information new starts receive in advance and on entry to University and more opportunities for staff to get to know each other, as well as better support for international staff.
A strong culture of learning and development underpins a successful and high-achieving University. Professional development ensures that skills and knowledge remain up to date, enables individuals to develop and progress their careers, and supports effective performance.

We want to provide opportunities for all staff to develop their skills and careers and contribute to a high performing culture.

To that end, we will:

9. Develop a competency framework detailing the skills required at different levels in different roles that enable people to plan their professional development.

10. Create clearly defined career pathways with structures for development and progression from entry-level to senior leadership roles, with an initial and phased focus on professional services staff.

11. Undertake a review of academic progression and promotion criteria, processes, outcomes, and feedback mechanisms to ensure the journey to more senior and leadership roles is transparent and supports the emergence of a diverse cohort of future leaders.

12. Review, refresh and redesign our current learning offer to take account of feedback from Schools and Units and changing skills needs and priorities with particular attention to building IT and digital skills, enabling entrepreneurialism, and supporting sustainability.

13. Launch an online learning platform to support access to a wider range of learning resources and ensure that we fully support and resource our external commitments for staff development through, for example, concordats.

14. Develop mechanisms to engender a culture of learning that encourages and empowers staff to take responsibility for their own professional development and provides them with the time and tools to do so.

15. Embed a culture of effective people management across the University, including ongoing feedback and regular conversations to address poor performance and support learning and high performance.

16. Develop a talent development and management strategy to identify and nurture talent and grow our capabilities to address strategic priorities and key gaps.
The success of the University relies on not just the skills of its people but on their engagement and commitment. Enabling people to be involved in the decisions that affect them, listening to their views, and recognising and rewarding their achievements and contributions is key to maintaining motivation and morale and supporting retention. It also ensures that the University benefits from a rich diversity of ideas and voices.

We want to build a stronger culture of engagement in which staff have the opportunity to be involved in decisions that affect them and feel that their achievements and wider contributions are recognised and valued.

To that end, we will:

17. Develop an engagement strategy to support information sharing, dialogue, and feedback on University policies and plans, taking account of the diversity of the University community.

18. Establish mechanisms to support ongoing engagement and feedback on new initiatives and plans including a standing panel of staff and regular town hall meetings and drop-ins with members of the University’s senior leadership team.

19. Refresh the staff survey and develop a clear strategy for informing and engaging staff around the results to share good practice and address areas of concern, alongside reporting back on actions taken.

20. Publish a biannual update on University staff-related policies due for review or planned, and build consultation with those impacted into the policy development and review process.

21. Review use of fixed term and flexible contracts and associated terms and conditions to reduce disparities between different groups of staff.

22. Develop a reward strategy to reward people fairly within transparent and appropriate remuneration frameworks.

23. Review current incentive mechanisms and rewards and develop new recognition schemes as required to acknowledge and incentivise exceptional performance and institutional contributions and to support retention of talent.

24. Develop innovative mechanisms for sharing and celebrating achievements and success.

25. Collect and maintain up-to-date benchmarking data to inform remuneration decisions and ensure pay is competitive for both new and existing staff.
A healthy and contented workforce is consistent with our values as a caring employer, and fundamental to the University’s resilience and success. Providing a safe, supportive and positive working environment which pays attention to people’s health and wellbeing, recognises the wider context of their lives and, responds to changing employee preferences and ways of working, is key to attracting and retaining our people and enabling them to perform at their best.

We want to embed a supportive culture, where health and wellbeing are actively promoted and supported, and people are enabled to balance work with other responsibilities and passions.

To that end we will:

26. Develop a calendar of wellbeing events to identify and communicate activity and events across the University.

27. Produce a coherent, user-friendly set of web pages on wellbeing service providers and provide clear signposting to available resources to enhance awareness of the support available and how to access it.

28. Review support for staff wellbeing to identify where provision might be extended or strengthened.

29. Develop a set of behavioural expectations to support an inclusive culture and embed these within key policies and processes, including recruitment, induction, and performance management.

30. Promote good practice guidance around the use of email and meetings and role modelling by senior staff, to support and encourage positive working practices.

31. Review implementation of the academic workload allocation model to assess how it is working in practice and undertake a programme of engagement with all staff on workloads.

32. Develop and pilot a pulse survey to take the temperature of staff twice a year on a small number of key issues (for example, wellbeing, workloads, engagement).
Universities are multifaceted, complex organisations delivering a wide range of functions and requiring a diverse set of skills. A strategic approach to the development and deployment of our workforce, supported by good leadership across the University at all levels, is essential to ensure we make best use of people’s skills and time and are well-placed to respond to future changes and challenges.

We want to ensure a strategic approach to workforce planning, underpinned by effective and inclusive leadership, which ensures everyone’s contribution counts and supports current and future resilience.

To that end we will:

33. Commission a strategic review of workforce planning to consider future workforce needs (roles, skills, etc) and how they might be fulfilled.

34. Further develop and support a culture of strategic business planning within Schools and Units, to stimulate thinking around the capacity and capability required for delivery and succession planning.

35. Develop a programme of leadership development and coaching to enhance leadership capability across the University.

36. Use progression processes and other mechanisms to foster a culture of inclusive leadership in which managers and leaders include, support, and empower people to perform at their best.

37. Pilot a continuous improvement approach in a number of volunteer Schools and Units to support best use of time and expertise, manageable workloads, and efficient working practices.

38. Explore ways to build an on the job family approach to make best use of specialist skills across the University and support staff development and progression.

39. Support staff to make the best use of technology through training, guidance, and a streamlining of core systems.
Delivery of the People Strategy will be led by human resources (HR), working closely with key stakeholders and with ongoing engagement and consultation with staff.

It is underpinned by the HR-OSDS enhancement programme, a multi-faceted, multi-year change project, which aims to deliver an enhanced service facilitated by a new HR system enabling easier access to, and analysis of, core management information, streamlined and standardised HR processes automated where appropriate, and enhanced access to specialist HR advice and support.

Delivery of the People Strategy will be overseen by the Vice-Principal (People and Diversity) reporting into the Principal’s Office, and the People and Diversity Assurance Group, a committee of the University Court.

People Strategy 2023-2027

We will attract and retain the best people and provide a high quality staff experience which enables all our staff to contribute, thrive, and perform at their best.

Context

Attracting our people

Developing our people

Valuing our people

Supporting our people

Leading and planning for our people

Our HR Service