Bringing the Values to life
Apurvi Northam and Jane Thompson Ambrose, Finance Division
Apurvi Northam, Finance Training Manager, and Jane Thompson Ambrose, Executive Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer are assisting with the work within the Finance division to bring the university’s Values to the fore.
Living the Values
Apurvi Northam, Finance Training Manager
Apurvi Northam, Finance Training Manager
Apurvi:
“A big piece of work for us following the Staff Survey has been around how we live the universities Values and Behaviours. This has been advocated by Tony Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer and his Senior Leadership Team.
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.”
“For example, we are currently looking at Collaboration. As part of this, Tony has asked his Senior Leadership Team for examples of collaboration in their teams. This gives staff the opportunity to give feedback to managers about their views on collaboration and if there is anything that can be done to encourage it.
“A lot of our work to further embed the values in the Finance team is driven by Tony and that’s been very important; it shows how seriously we are taking Imperial's Values and Behaviours.
Enhancing transparency and accessibility
Jane Thompson Ambrose
Jane Thompson Ambrose
Jane:
“Since the last staff survey, we have actively invested in our internal communications and learning & development. Town hall meetings are now monthly, we have a regular newsletter, and a Finance Network Teams site which encourages engagement and collaboration.
Managers are holding regular team meetings and 121s are the norm.
Apurvi:
“Learning and development is important to us, and we understand the importance of making learning more accessible to all staff. Training courses are advertised regularly and participation is encouraged. To support this all our staff are given five development days a year.”
The survey is a safe space for feedback
Jane:
“Open communication is important to our senior leadership team, but they are also aware that not all our staff feel confident about expressing their views and thoughts directly with them.
“It is therefore hoped that being able to do so anonymously through the Staff Survey, gives those staff the opportunity to express their views in a way that that they feel ‘safe’. Additionally, the survey provides the ‘bigger picture’ view of how our staff are feeling and this can be addressed via our action plans or independently.”