Volunteers from across Imperial are helping increase the change-making impact of the Staff Survey.

More than 30 members of staff have signed up to be engagement champions as part of this year’s survey. Working across a range of faculties and departments the Staff Survey engagement champions will take an active role in promoting the survey and encourage other staff to participate.

Staff Survey champions are volunteers who act as a point of contact for staff in their own areas of the university, addressing any questions they may have and relaying any concerns to the staff survey team.

Supporting engagement

“I am really pleased to see colleagues from across the university offer their time to support us in our efforts to engage people in this year’s survey." Suzanne Christopher Head of Employee Engagement

Suzanne Christopher, Head of Employee Engagement, leads the Staff Survey. She said:

“I want to welcome and thank colleagues for volunteering to be Staff Survey engagement champions.

“I am really pleased to see colleagues from across the university offer their time to support us in our efforts to engage people in this year’s survey.

“The survey is a really important tool for staff to use to make themselves heard and help us build on the work to make Imperial an even better environment to thrive in.

“The engagement champions will play a vital role in reaching out to colleagues and being ambassadors of the survey.

“Our people are key to the university’s success, and I hope we see many colleagues completing the survey before the deadline on Tuesday 7 May.’

Maxine Myers caught up with some of this year’s Staff Survey engagement champions to hear why they decided to volunteer, the work they’ll be doing, and why they think it is important for staff to participate.

Adrian Mannall, Digital Workplace Team Lead (M365 and Collaboration) and Co-Chair of Able@Imperial

“I work in the ICT department but I am also a Co-Chair in the Able@Imperial staff network and that was probably a big reason why I wanted to be a Staff Survey engagement champion.

“I want to encourage many of our network members and others I speak with to fill out the survey. The feedback is anonymised so people can feel free to be completely honest. If enough people feel the same way there’s a chance to influence some change.

Staff Survey role

“As Staff Survey engagement champion, I am concentrating on allaying any fears and concerns that Able@Imperial members have about how anonymous the survey is. We recently had an Able@Imperial coffee morning where we had a presentation from Suzanne Christopher who was able to talk about the survey and answer questions.

“Another thing we’re doing is to try and give people some time during our coffee mornings to fill in the survey. We will also be sending reminders to the group to complete the survey.

Voice for disabled staff

“I want to encourage many of our network members and others I speak with to fill out the survey." Adrian Mannall Digital Workplace Team Lead (M365 and Collaboration) and Co-Chair of Able@Imperial

“I would really like to see more engagement with the disabled staff community from the university’s leadership team. Some of our disabled staff have neurodiversity challenges and because their disability is hidden it can be much harder to get the message across that they do have challenges and needs. I feel they are often overlooked.

“I hope that by people filling out the Staff Survey we can present their views to university leadership and get them to think about how they tackle the challenges neurodiverse staff face and provide a better workplace for them.

“We also hear a lot of cases about people struggling to get workplace adjustments or having to work much harder than their able-bodied colleagues and they shouldn’t have to do that. We want people to be honest in the Staff Survey so that the university’s leadership team can hear it, and more is done to cater to disabled staff.

“I have seen some positive changes because of previous Staff Surveys. I feel that we have better mechanisms for reporting, supporting staff and dealing with bullying and harassment.

It shows that by speaking up we can really make some change.”

Ingrid Kedissa, Executive Assistant to the Head of the Department of Chemistry

“The reason why I wanted to be a Staff Survey engagement champion is that I am passionate about people having a voice. 

“Until recently, I was an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Director in the Department of Chemistry and part of that work was trying to engage as many people as possible in the initiatives we developed to make working in the department as inclusive as possible.

“The Department of Chemistry has historically had quite low engagement in previous staff surveys and by being a champion I can help the effort to encourage more people to fill out the survey and have their voice heard.

“I recently sent out information on the survey to staff in the department. We will also promote it in our monthly newsletter and Professor Oscar Ces, Head of the Department of Chemistry, plans to send an email to all staff about the survey.

Positive change

“I want to use my skillset to support the survey because, ultimately, we want to create an even better place for all of us to work.” Ingrid Kedissa Executive Assistant to the Head of the Department of Chemistry

“I think it’s important for staff to complete the survey as we have done some good things that I believe are best practice such as our EDI work, but in some other areas we’ve not always got things right. The survey is a chance for people to express their feelings or concerns. This will allow us to hone in on those areas and make improvements to further enhance our already inclusive culture.

“Previous staff surveys have led to changes in our working environment. I think the university’s leadership is listening more but still have some way to go and we are here to support them. I also think the ‘you said we did’ campaign highlights the many areas improvements were made and this is welcomed.

“I am proud to be a Staff Survey engagement champion and work at Imperial. I want to use my skillset to support the survey because, ultimately, we want to create an even better place for all of us to work.”