The University ran its first pulse staff survey earlier this year to seek honest views of what it’s like to work at Sussex and allow staff to share what they think could be done differently or better.

The 2021 results for the university show a wide range of improvements in comparison with the previous staff survey in 2018, but they also provide invaluable information about areas where improvements need to be made.  The staff survey will help us to celebrate the positives at the same time as looking at what actions we can take both locally and institutionally to continue to improve our experience of working at Sussex.

People Insights, who ran the confidential survey on behalf of the University, shared the headline findings with the University Leadership Team (ULT) last week.

Highlights from the survey include:

• Completion rates: Nearly half, 48% or 2162 of our entire staff community completed the confidential survey.  This is in line with completion rates at other universities, and just above the response rate from the last survey in 2018.
• Engagement: The overall Engagement score is up 6%, to 66%, though it remains 4% lower than the sector average. 74% of staff are proud to work for University and 59% would recommend it as a great place to work.
• Inclusion: 63% feel Sussex is an inclusive environment, up 10% from the last survey. 72% of staff feel they are treated with dignity and respect, just above the sector norm, and 71 % feel they fit in well at Sussex (up 7%).
• Strongest areas of improvement: 68% say they feel they are kept informed on matters affecting them, up by 21%. 72% say their line manager gives them regular and constructive feedback, up 16%, and 61% feel they are valued for what they do at Sussex, up 14% and now 5% higher than at other HEI institutions.
• Least strong / Areas to focus on:  Only 40% of staff feel action will be taken as a result of the survey, the same as the last survey. Perceptions of leadership have improved by 6% to 47%, but this is still 5% below the sector average.  Staff members’ belief that UEG offers effective leadership has increased to 35%, but this is also below the sector norm.
• Bullying and harassment: 13% of people agree or strongly agree with the statement I have felt bullied or harassed in the past year. This is down 4% from 2018, and 6% lower than 2016.  In previous years’ the question required a yes/no reply, whereas this year the options were expanded to allow for a greater understanding. Almost half say the bullying has now stopped. However, only a third of victims have reported it and 24% of people who witnessed bullying and harassment reported it.

You can read the headline findings from the survey.

Vice Chancellor Adam Tickell said: “It is extremely encouraging that we are making improvements across key metrics, such as pride in the organisation, feeling valued and staff feeling that they are treated with dignity and respect.

“Another area in which we have improved the most is staff feeling they are being kept informed – something we have striven to do with a transparent and open approach, particularly during the pandemic and the challenges it has presented to us all.

“We do continually need to address the high numbers of staff who have felt bullied or harassed – it shouldn’t be happening at all.  We’ll also look closely at the feedback about leadership, and along with all Schools and Professional Service divisions, we will be producing a UEG action plan too.

“I want to thank everyone who took time to complete the survey – without your feedback and insights we will not achieve our goal of making Sussex an excellent place to work.”  

Head of School for Psychology and academic lead for the staff survey, Professor Robin Banerjee, said: “Hearing from over 2000 members of our staff community gives us a strong basis for identifying strengths to build upon as well as areas needing improvement. Analysis of the results will now take place in every part of the university so that we can together enhance our experience of working at Sussex.”

Over the next few weeks, Heads of School and Divisional Directors will share their local results with teams for discussion and local action planning. Local teams will also be asked to suggest institutional level priorities.

In early May, University-level action plans will be shared with all staff and School and Divisions will also share their agreed local plans at that time.

Director of Human Resources Siobhan O’Reilly said: “Some of the issues raised are things we already know about. We can now translate the results into meaningful action plans – both at local and institutional level. We will be running the next Pulse survey in around 6 months’ time, when hopefully we will be able to hear feedback from a greater proportion of our staff and track improvements and emerging areas for attention.”

Progress of work with the staff survey will be monitored by the People, Culture, and Inclusion Committee and by the University’s Executive Group.