Shaping Imperial, together
The changemaking power of the Imperial staff survey
Imperial has made a range of changes to improve the working environment for staff, since the last staff survey in 2022.
The Imperial Staff Survey provides an opportunity for staff to share their thoughts on working at the university and what can be done to make things better.
The survey is a valuable tool for staff to be heard and for changes to be made. This year’s staff survey will launch on Tuesday 16 April and close on Tuesday 7 May. It is an opportunity for Imperial staff in all roles to contribute their views.
“Following the 2022 survey, all parts of the university developed action plans to highlight where they wanted to drive through changes and there are some great examples of good work happening across the university.
Suzanne Christopher, Head of Employee Engagement, leads the staff survey. She said:
“The staff survey is an important vehicle for staff to share their experience of working at Imperial. The feedback helps us to prioritise and focus on what will make a difference to staff. This builds on our on-going work to make Imperial a great place to work, study and flourish as part of a vibrant and diverse community – key pillars of our institutional strategy.
“Following the 2022 survey, all parts of the university developed action plans to highlight where they wanted to drive through changes and there are some great examples of good work happening across the university.
“We want to remind staff of the changes the survey results enabled. We hope for lots more feedback from staff this year so we can again use it to continue to drive up staff satisfaction with working here.
Suzanne Christopher leads the staff survey
Suzanne Christopher leads the staff survey
“The themes coming out of the survey really do influence what gets done at all levels. This year’s staff survey is another huge opportunity for our community to make themselves heard. I know it’s hard to fit in everything that we need to do, but I strongly encourage everyone to book 15 to 20 minutes in their Outlook calendar as soon as the survey comes out and fill it in.”
Ahead of the launch, Maxine Myers caught up with staff members who work across a range of faculties, departments and roles to hear how they have used the feedback from 2022 staff survey to drive improvements. They will explain how they have made changes in areas such as wellbeing, staff development, Equality Diversity and Inclusion and the College values to make Imperial an even better place to work and thrive. These examples will be profiled through a series of articles over the next few weeks.
Click below to read case studies from the 2022 staff survey
Check back in over the coming weeks as we publish more case studies!
Managing workload – Faculty of Engineering
"The staff survey gave us really good insights into how staff felt about workload and other issues and I would encourage more academic staff in particular to engage with the staff survey so we can learn about areas of concerns and make further improvements."
Constructive conversations – HR
The staff survey results have contributed to the Annual Review Conversation work and have highlighted the critical role line managers can play in creating a supportive working environment
Championing change – Business School
We are focusing on areas where we need to make improvements and implement even more changes. The staff survey has served as an important awareness tool.
The staff survey allows us to dig deeper and explore more about why staff feel a particular way when issues come up and where to prioritise efforts.
Career development – Library Services
Sometimes a sideways move can give you lots of experience and help you go on a different journey.
Mental health at work – HR, Natural Sciences
The scores in the Staff Survey showed an improvement from the previous survey, but there still seemed to be a bit of work to be done. I think, going forward, it's about really reinforcing the message, and reminding people that there is a wealth of resources available.
Increasing engagement – Research Office
Whether it’s training to become a mental health first aider or undertaking leadership training that demands fix time commitment over six months, we are encouraged to explore these different opportunities with our line manager.
Bringing the Values to life – Finance Division
Every six months we focus on a different Value. We look at actively living that value and if we’re not living it, we explore what is stopping us and what we need to do.
Prioritising our Values
The staff survey is an incredibly useful tool that allows us to better understand and respond to our working environment, whilst capturing how well our Values are being experienced.”
Improving equality, diversity and inclusion – Academic Services
The staff survey was crucial in highlighting EDI as a common area for improvement across Academic Services and has led to a tangible change in the form of an EDI steering group.
Improving the working environment – Information and Communication Technologies
The plan is to improve the new space further by adding a few more things such as bean bags and games so we can create a workspace that supports the range of needs of its workforce.
Making your voice heard
“I would say to people about the 2024 Staff Survey, that if you don’t ask, you definitely don’t get. This is a good opportunity to have your voice heard by people who have the power to change things – so speak up.
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