News Archives - Facilities Directorate

Residential Services Annual Sustainability Report (2023-24)

16th January 2025/by Lucy McDonald

Residential Services manages the residential accommodation portfolio for The University of Leeds, with circa 9,000 bed-spaces in both University and private partner sites. Residential Services also operates in support of the University’s sustainability commitments across four themes:

Embedding sustainability through collaboration
Building knowledge and capacity
Being a positive partner in society
Making the most of resources

Residential Services has now completed six years of its Blueprint Action Plan, which commenced in 2018/19. This annual sustainability report covers the progress made during September 2023 to August 2024. In addition, actions are also highlighted where they address United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Embedding sustainability through collaboration

Actions that have had a significant or positive impact include:

Blueprint: Residential Services was awarded with the top Blueprint Visionary Award back in 2022 and has continued to deliver on its Blueprint and Blueprint Plus actions thereafter, in collaboration with students, staff, key partners, supply chain providers, Estates Services, and Sustainability Services.
Yorkshire in Bloom 2023: The combined impact of the collaborative work between Estates Services, Residential Services, Sustainability Services, and all of our students and external partners resulted in the University of Leeds being awarded a Gold Award at the Yorkshire in Bloom Awards in Tadcaster in 2023, and also Category Winner for HE and FE institutions in the Yorkshire Region for the second year in a row.

Green Tourism at Cloth Hall Court: The University’s membership of the Green Tourism scheme was further enhanced in 2024 when conference venue Cloth Hall Court was awarded a Green Meetings Gold Award. The Conference Office team was supported by Residential Services and Cloth Hall Court is the 11th University venue to receive this level of recognition from Green Tourism, in how sustainability is managed in catering, conferencing and residential venues at the University of Leeds.
Green Gown Awards 2023: Residential Services was shortlisted as a Finalist at the Green Gown Awards 2023, in the Student Engagement category. The submission included evidence of our collaborative work with our student volunteers; student sustainability architects; and the inclusive and welcoming outdoor environments that we help to create. Our submission received the following feedback from the judging panel:

“A wonderful suite of projects that create green spaces for students and involving many stakeholders. Lots of examples of best practice shared in local and national forums and media.”

Building knowledge and capacity

Actions that have had a significant or positive impact include:

The Sustainable Living Guide: The Sustainable Living Guide was updated for 2023/24, and outlined how students could get involved with their local community through volunteering, and by supporting local independent businesses, events, and elections. It also encouraged staff to become a Positive Impact Partner, by getting involved with local charities and other volunteer activities in their area. The Sustainable Living Guide can be accessed here.
Communications with students: The Residences Life Team continued to send out communications to students resident in University and private partner accommodation throughout the year, via email, the Residence Life website and their Instagram account (@uol_res_life). This included hosting both online events, and others that took place around the residential sites.
Student Sustainability Architects: Residential Services appointed two Student Sustainability Architects during 2023/24.
- Emily Barker focussed on circular resource use and worked with the British Heart Foundation, Mitie Waste and Environmental Services, and the Residential Services Marketing and Communications Team on delivering communications to our students living in University and Private partner residences.
- Madeleine Norris worked on producing habitat maps for both Charles Morris Hall and Lupton Residences; and delivered a biodiversity action plan for Charles Morris Hall on what could be found on site, plus recommendations for subsequent improvements.

Being a positive partner in society

Actions that have had a significant or positive impact include:

British Heart Foundation (BHF): Students and staff in University Residences donated a total of 4,522 bags of items for resale and re-use, diverting the equivalent of 36.2 tonnes of waste away from landfill; and generating £ 67,830 of revenue from BHF shop sales in Leeds, to fellow students and local residents. The subsequent revenue supports coronary heart and circulatory disease research, some of which takes place in Leeds. In total, the Pack for Good campaign in Leeds received 14,497 bags during 2023/24 from universities, private partner sites, and collections from student areas equivalent to 116 tonnes. This generated an amazing £217,455 towards heart disease research in the UK.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust: Six Wild Work Days were undertaken by student and staff volunteers during the year, generating a total of 94 volunteer days of work with YWT (564 hours). The work took place on sites in or close to the River Aire catchment, at Kirkstall Valley, Brockadale, the Wild Ingleborough Project, Sherburn Willows, Rothwell Pastures, and Water Haigh Woodland Park. Students took part from eleven countries; Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Malaysia, Morocco, Peru, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Vietnam. The work on the Wild Ingleborough Project resulted in the planting of 2,536 mixed native tree whips at the rear of the University’s Outdoor Centre at Selside on a cold day in December, so hopefully the legacy should benefit both wildlife and visitors to that site in years to come.

North Hill Well Wood Project: Activities continued at the Well Wood Project at the rear of North Hill Court with Unite Students and Groundwork Yorkshire, with student and staff volunteers working under the supervision of staff from Groundwork Yorkshire. Activities included the clearance of the previous summer’s growth; collection of the autumnal leaf cover from pathways and steps; the planting of extra trees and hedging whips to supplement the existing; and the introduction of two sandstone water features on site for use by birds and mammals. Evidence of the completed work was sent to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. We subsequently received a Wildlife Gardening Award and now sponsor the award, with a case study appearing on Yorkshire Wildlife Trust website.

Making the most of resources

Actions that have had a significant or positive impact include:

Circular Economy and Waste Management: Mitie Waste and Environmental Services Ltd have continued to work in partnership with the University of Leeds for the waste & recycling contract on campus as a waste management broker with services provided by their supply chain partners. The contract covers all University residences located on campus; Central Village; Shared Housing; plus the recovery of electrical goods (WEEE), used lamps, and food waste from Devonshire Hall. AWM have subsequently been replaced by BIFFA on the contract during the year, providing collections of glass and dry mixed recycling, general waste, and the delivery of trade skips. In addition, Residential Services has also put the following initiatives in place:
- Re-use: Bishops Beds continued to replace old beds and mattresses with new, in a planned replacement programme, changing 954 mattresses (c 22.5 tonnes) during the year. In addition, Over2hills also provided a reactive recovery service for old mattresses, and furniture, to offer to third sector charities for either Re-use, Restoration, or Recycling of component materials.
- Repair: BinMasters provide an annual repair service for any damaged external waste & recycling bins used on residential sites. This work is carried out in the weeks before Intake Weekend, so that facilities are ready for use, once students arrive in September. The repair work extends the life cycle of the existing bins and reduces the need to purchase new bins as replacements.
- Leasing Equipment: Forbes Professional continued to supply a number of leased washing machines at Storm Jameson Court, St Marks Residences, and Shared Housing properties. Leasing equipment maintains continuity of service, whilst repairs or replacement can be arranged more efficiently.
- Single-Use Plastics Pledge: Gilchrist & Soames refillable Spa Therapy toiletries were used for conference activity in Charles Morris Hall over the summer for the first time during 2023/24 last year, thereby reducing the use of single use plastics on site. Gilchrist & Soames was accredited with a Silver by the global EcoVadis accreditation scheme in 2023, and also has additional ethical benefits of Leaping Bunny certification in recognition that it does not test it’s products on animals, plus that it only uses Responsible Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in its product range.

Biodiversity and ecology: We have been working with Outco as our grounds maintenance contractor in how we manage our residential sites to support nature and encourage a broader diversity of species on our sites. Some of the examples of this work include:
- The collection of fallen leaves and their placement on shrub beds at Lupton Residences, to help increase the number of invertebrates on site and so support the local European Hedgehog population in the Headingley Hill area.
- The establishment of no-mow areas at Charles Morris Hall during the months of April – August, to help protect bee and pyramidal orchids on site, plus the planting of crab apple trees to support the activities of local ground burrowing tawny mining bees.

Carbon Management Plan: Geothermal borehole trials were conducted at both Charles Morris Hall and Henry Price Residences during the year. In addition, a further 2,829 new LED lights were installed across the residential portfolio in 2023/24, effectively more than doubling those previously installed before the previous year, an increase from 9,570 to 19,585 LEDS installed in the two years prior to 2022.

Clean Air Pledge: The fleet of Residential Services vehicles was reduced to five in the year, comprising four electric vehicles and one diesel Luton tail-lift, which is used for the movement of bulky furniture and electrical items around the residential portfolio. Electric vehicle mileage has steadily been increasing from 53% in 2018/19 to 81% of mileage covered during the year.

Health and Wellbeing: Residence Life Team events continued for both online activities, and face-to-face events, as part of the social events calendar taking place in Residences. During the year, we held a Health and Wellbeing event in North Hill Well Wood for our staff in 2023.

Further events included improving wildflower meadows for insects and birds; pond habitat for dragonflies; fen land habitat which we also have in Yorkshire, plus two sessions working alongside local volunteers on the Wyke Beck Project in East Leeds, clearing rushes in Halton, plus brambles and scrub at Fearnville Fields.

Save the date for Campus Reimagined Live!

3rd December 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Campus Reimagined is inviting staff and students to think differently about the future of our campus during a three-day festival in February.

Hosted on the precinct and in the Refectory, Campus Reimagined Live! will feature guest talks, activities and workshops aimed at uncovering more about our community’s ideas and expectations for campus.

Building on student survey success

Hosted on the precinct and in the Refectory, Campus Reimagined Live! will feature guest talks, activities and workshops aimed at uncovering more about our community’s ideas and expectations for campus.

The festival is taking place from 10-12 February and forms an integral part of the Campus Reimagined project.

Building on student survey success

It follows the Campus Reimagined Student Survey, which provided the University’s student population the opportunity to have their say on the future of our campus.

Two and a half thousand students completed the survey in October and November, providing on-the-ground feedback into their daily experiences of using campus as a place to meet, work and study.

The results of the survey will be used to inform the wider Campus Reimagined project, which aims to put the needs of those who use campus at the forefront of future campus developments.

A people-centric approach

Campus Reimagined is taking a people-centric design approach which means we will look at the campus as an experience and not just a set of buildings.

It will be structured around the production of a Masterplan Framework, guided by evidence and engagement with our staff and student community through events like Campus Reimagined Live!

Keep up with the latest on Campus Reimagined Live by visiting the website and signing up to the newsletter.

FD Bulletin – December 2024

27th November 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Thursday 28 November.

As we move towards the end of the year, I am particularly pleased about the shifts I am starting to see in our culture.

When we created the Business Plan in February 2023, we said in its first aim that we would “develop our culture so that our staff can thrive and succeed”.

I also said, in my introduction, that “I strongly believe that we need to work together as one directorate, not a collection of services, and that we have a huge amount to learn from each other and the incredible array of skill and talent across the institution.”

Fast forward to the end of 2024 and we have in place a Staff Voice group, a People & Culture Strategy with work started across its eight workstreams, and an operational excellence team seeking out ideas to improve our services.

All of these groups, I hope, feel empowered to create change and to keep challenging. The culture of an organisation takes a while to embed but I’m very grateful for the progress made.

Staff Voice Open Meeting

Joining Staff Voice is a great way to get involved in positive change. The group are hoping to recruit more Staff Voice champions – you can find out more at an Open Meeting on 15 January, 10am-12pm LT. G23, 28 University Road, which is in the space above the Cleaning Services building. Please email the Staff Voice team with any questions.

Other news from Staff Voice:

The group are providing in-person updates at team meetings and away days. Get in touch with a Staff Voice rep if you’d like them to come along.
Staff Voice reps have been involved in reviewing the results of the University’s Pulse Survey, helping to improve things where we can.
From next year, FD Staff Socials will partly be organised and run by Staff Voice. They will be asking your opinion about what you would like to see happening there.
The group are working even more closely with the FD Internal Comms team (Prue Griffiths and Matt Shevlin) to help keep you updated with Staff Voice news and to get support with campaigns.

Save the date: Campus Reimagined Live!

From 10-12 February, the precinct and the Refectory will be the settings for a festival! ‘Campus Reimagined Live!’ will feature talks, workshops, and a host of other activities to enable you to share your thoughts on the future of the campus that we all help to create and maintain.

You’ll be able to read more about this on the Campus Reimagined website when information goes live on 2 December. For now, the ask is to save the date and subscribe to the newsletter.

Have your say

Car parking:

The University is developing a long-term parking policy aligned with our ways of working and Sustainability Strategy. Workshops will be held in early 2025 to gather feedback from colleagues. You can also share your views now. Learn more on the Staff Intranet.

Woodhouse Lane Gateway consultation:

Have your say online as part of the latest public consultation about the proposed Woodhouse Lane Gateway. Consultation closes on 16 December.

Race Equality Charter Staff Survey

This survey goes live on 2 December and is an opportunity for staff to share their experiences working at Leeds to help identify and address the barriers facing Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic students and staff. The data will be used to identify and address any barriers to race equality.

Further information about the survey can be found here.

Congratulations

Residential Services successfully completed an ISO9001 surveillance audit in October. ISO9001 is a globally recognised standard for quality management, and this year the audit scope was extended to include Residence Life for the first time.

Finally….

Don’t forget the Festive FD Staff Social in the Refectory, 3.30pm-5pm on Monday 9 December 2024!

Regards,

Ann Allen,
Director of Campus Innovation & Development

FD Bulletin – November 2024

1st November 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Monday 4 November.

I’m sure you’ll all join me in giving a warm welcome to our new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shearer West. If you haven’t already, I suggest you find a moment to read her first blog post on the staff intranet or watch the video.

Very early on in her blog, Shearer mentions how inspired she is by the diversity and inclusivity of our community. We know that inclusivity is a University value and an FD value. As such it is core to our People Positive work, and it’s great to see the posters promoting this area, including the learning from the behaviours training that everyone is attending. We’ve had great feedback and there is plenty more activity to come next year.

I was also interested to read the final blog post from our former interim Vice-Chancellor, Hai-Sui Yu. In it, he reviews progress against the six priorities he set out a year ago and key among those is ‘excellence in everything we do’, including research and student education, and implementing the University Strategy.

I want to say again that the Facilities Directorate is key to achieving this excellence. The work that we do directly affects the smooth running of the University and the wellbeing of students, without which our communities cannot achieve and succeed. So thank you for all you do.

Hai-Su also referred to the challenge faced by all universities as we see a decline in the numbers of international students coming to the UK to study. Thanks to skilful planning, Leeds is less affected by this than many other institutions, and we are optimistic about the numbers of home students still choosing Leeds. But we should all keep an eye on cost savings where we can.

Our Way Ahead & the Employee Engagement Survey

It’s important to remember that our business plan – Our Way Ahead – is the guide for all of us in the FD. The aims still stand and they align with the University’s strategic priorities.

Please do take time to refresh your understanding of it online or check the copies on noticeboards. You can pick up a copy from Prue Griffiths or Matt Shevlin in the Marketing & Comms team too, or they will arrange delivery to your area if you drop them a message.

The way that we deliver the business plan has been shaped by activities like the outputs from the Employee Engagement Survey that ran in 2023, and the recent Pulse Survey. For example, the People & Culture strategy includes a focus on helping staff to be heard: the Staff Voice group is a clear example of this.

Similarly, people wanted to hear more about what was going on across the University and we have started our own town hall meetings. Look out for more of these soon!

You can find more information about the FD and employee engagement in the Employee Engagement Hub on the staff intranet. And look out for details soon about the 2025 survey.

I’ve said many times how much I value collaboration – this is an FD value, a University value, and core to our business plan. Not only do we learn from each other, but we can also work smarter.

‘Working in partnership to transform our core services’ is the topic of the Professional Services Open Meeting tomorrow, 2:05pm-2:55pm, with Rachel Brealey contributing. Please do join the meeting if you can.

Campus Reimagined

I hope that many of you enjoyed seeing the campus and indeed the centre of Leeds lit up by Light Night, a great example of how our spaces can be used to create genuine impact. The Campus Reimagined project is about how we all use campus, and how it inspires our communities. My thanks to those who came to the online town hall on 15 October to find out more. Here’s a link to the recording of the town hall if you missed it.

The Campus Reimagined student survey went live on 28 October and has had a fantastic response rate so far. There will be plenty of opportunities as well for staff and other communities to tell us what they think. If you have any specific thoughts, please do email us at campusreimagined@leeds.ac.uk

Thanks too to everyone working on the building assets condition survey which will establish a baseline for the campus and feed into Campus Reimagined.

Office Space

People based in the FD building may have been hearing different ideas about how we use our space. The Staff Voice group have made suggestions and the Operational Excellence team have also been looking at opportunities to create better spaces.

I am thrilled that this is an initiative led by your ideas and I look forward to hearing more from both the teams. And don’t worry, there will be an opportunity for everyone to share their thoughts.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Karina Kendrick, who has been appointed Head of Conferences and Events and to Sarah Djuric, who has been appointed as the new College and University Business Officers (CUBO) Residence Life Steering Group Chair.

And finally a date for your diary: the next FD Staff Social will be on Monday 9 December at 3:30pm in the Refectory.

Regards,

Ann Allen,
Director of Campus Innovation & Development

FD Bulletin – October 2024

30th September 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Monday 30 September.

This month I’m giving you my update via a video. I also wanted to share with you the excellent video made by our marketing and communications team that really highlights the important work done by our teams to support students and the University Strategy.

Watch the video

I hope you enjoy the new term and I look forward to seeing you out and about on campus.

Regards,

Ann Allen
Director of Campus Innovation & Development

FD Bulletin: September 2024

2nd September 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Tuesday 3 September.

As we gear up for the start of the new academic year, my thanks go to everyone who is working so hard to prepare campus. Thanks also to those who have delivered conferences and other events over the summer. There’s never a dull moment for our teams!

Staff Pulse Survey: results

I’m keen to share with you the FD’s results of the University’s Staff Pulse Survey, which many of you completed in June. Look out for an email this week with an invitation to join an online, FD-only ‘town hall’ meeting on Monday 9 September, 12pm-1pm to hear about them. If you can’t make the session, it will be recorded and sent to everyone, but I hope to see you there.

The Pulse Survey was a follow-up to the main Employee Engagement Survey that ran in 2023. The intention was to check in with staff and assess what we all thought about actions taken by the University and the FD following the results of the main survey.

The overall results of the Pulse Survey have been released by the University – you can read about those on the Employee Engagement Hub. A few of the FD’s results are not as positive as we might have hoped, but there are encouraging signs that we are heading in the right direction with the changes we’ve been making to the FD. Jane Clayton and I will talk you through this in the session and you’ll be able to ask questions.

I want to make sure that you can share any comments directly with the senior team. You can do this through your Staff Voice representatives and I’ll be outlining next steps – including how to feed back – in the session on Monday.

Also on the hub you can read this Spotlight on the Facilities Directorate which details progress following the FD’s results from the Employee Engagement Survey. Key actions include the publication of the People & Culture strategy and the excellent work of the Staff Voice group.

Update on senior team recruitment

In the last year we’ve looked closely at the structure needed to help us all work together as effectively as possible. Our services are key to the success of the University and its strategy, helping students and staff to achieve their best and make the most of their time at Leeds. As you know, we have captured our ambition in our business plan – Our Way Ahead.

With our three directors in place, we looked at what other roles were needed to deliver the business plan, and I’m pleased to welcome Callum Williamson as Deputy Director of Campus Experiences, Residences and Physical Activity, reporting into Rob Wadsworth. Take a look at the updated org chart of the senior management team.

Also joining us this week in a key role is Geoff Brown, Head of Community Safety & Campus Security, reporting into Michael Longstaff. I know you’ll make them both feel welcome.

We will be announcing the date of the next FD Staff Social soon and this will be a chance for you to meet any of the directors or deputy directors.

Brownlee Centre refit supports Net Zero goals

New electrically powered heat pumps at the Brownlee Centre are in place and the installation of the pumps means that the centre, along with the rest of the Bodington complex, is now fully electrified.

The project is part of the University’s Net Zero Delivery Plan. The move from the previous primary heat sources to an all-electric heat pump solution will save the University around 58,850Kg and 2,610Kg of Direct and Indirect CO2 per year, respectively.

Thanks to everyone involved for their work on this.

Internal communications survey

Thanks also to everyone who has helped the Communications team by filling in their anonymous internal comms survey. The results will help them to understand how you like to hear about what is happening in the FD. It closes on Friday 6 September, so complete the survey now to have your say.

If you’d prefer a paper copy, please contact Prue Griffiths or Matt Shevlin.

And finally…

I was delighted to see another cohort of colleagues completing the ‘Learning to Log on’ training recently, with members of the Cleaning Services team receiving their certificates of achievement.
This is such an important initiative – collaborating with IT, People & Culture and the Organisational Development and Professional Learning teams, we are working to help colleagues develop IT skills that will be helpful both at work and outside it. It takes hard work and commitment to complete this course. My congratulations to everyone involved. Make sure you read this case study on the initiative.

Regards,

Ann Allen
Director of Campus Innovation and Development

Saying thanks to fellow Facilities Directorate colleagues

14th August 2024/by Darcy Tomlinson

FD Bulletin – August 2024

29th July 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Tuesday 30 July.

I want to start by thanking everyone who was involved in making graduation such a success. It really is such a joy seeing smiling students and their guests on campus, and I know how much work goes on behind-the-scenes to make it work. It’s very much appreciated.

Thanks too to colleagues for their support in organising the UK Corporate Games last weekend – a fantastic event for the University. Congratulations to those from the FD who took part, I heard it was great fun! You’ll be able to view the full results in tomorrow’s eNews.

Operational Excellence team

The newly-formed Operational Excellence team is making great progress. Four secondees from the Infrastructure, Construction and Delivery team – Ryan Ball, Ric Fisher, Richard Martin and Kristian Page – are identifying opportunities for business improvement by gaining insight from colleagues at all levels into their roles and challenges. They then work with FD teams to help implement and develop solutions, supported by the FD’s business improvement team.

Over the past two months they have found nearly 300 potential opportunities and have 30 different live projects. In a quick win for Grounds & Gardens recently, the teams worked together to change their daily briefing meeting, making better use of the time and clarifying processes.

This project is core to the FD’s business plan and to our values. Working collaboratively to improve what we do makes working life better for all of us. At the same time, we are being more effective and efficient and that has an impact on staff and students. Thank you to everyone involved and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Communications

The Marketing & Communications team are running a survey to ask FD staff what they like, don’t like and would like to see from the way they communicate with you all about what is happening in the FD. You can fill in the survey online and they have a paper version that they can bring along to team meetings or leave in staff areas.

They are working with heads of service to get round teams but please do contact Prue Griffiths or Matt Shevlin if you’d like them to get a paper survey to you or if you have any questions. They’re very keen to understand what people think so they can keep making improvements. It closes on Friday 6 September.

Thanks to people across all FD teams who are taking part in focus groups as the team build an intranet for the FD – a staff website that only we can access. This will be a really effective and useful tool for bringing together the FD. Hopefully many of you have been exploring the University intranet.

Fire safety

The most recent annual fire evacuation drill for the FD Building revealed that some staff did not use their nearest fire exit. A reminder that as well as the main entrance to the building, there is a fire exit in the back corner of the building (towards Mount Preston Street). In case of an alarm, providing it is not blocked, staff should always evacuate via their nearest fire exit. Any questions, please contact Tim Knighton in Health & Safety.

Professional Behaviours training

Thanks to everyone who has completed the training. This work is really important to the culture of the FD. Claire Sowerby and the team appreciate your feedback and the training is being finessed in response to that. Find out more about the training and the steps we’re taking towards creating a more inclusive culture.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Mike Leonard, who is a finalist in the Staff category of this year’s Green Gown Awards. Winners are announced on Wednesday 13 November.

Lucy McDonald, Marketing & Communications Executive, is giving a presentation at this week’s Browzer Buzz, an industry event for Residence Life and Accommodation teams across the country.

This will profile work she has instigated and led on establishing new guides to reflect our diverse student population. My thanks to Lucy for going above and beyond, and not just spotting a need but providing a solution.

Regards,

Ann Allen
Director of Campus Innovation and Development

FD Bulletin – July 2024

1st July 2024/by Matthew Shevlin

Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Monday 1 July.

Summer is finally here, and while the campus feels quieter with most students having left, our teams are hard at work preparing for conferences, graduations and refurbishing residences. Thanks to everyone involved.

I also want to extend my thanks to everyone who was involved in working with the protest encampment on campus. The protestors have now left.

There were some challenging moments – particularly for the Security team – and I appreciate the calm and professional approach shown by everyone.

Campus Reimagined

I am delighted to share with you that the Campus Reimagined project has taken a big step forwards. This major initiative is a 15-year+ project to redesign aspects of our campus to ensure it meets the needs of its users now and into the future.

This work is different from anything that has gone before it at the University. The development of our campus has tended to focus on new buildings. But what makes a campus special is about more than that: it’s what you see and feel as you walk from one place to another; the view as you turn a corner; whether you feel you belong. It’s about your whole experience of it.

Last week we started recruitment for a masterplanner for Campus Reimagined – someone who will develop a framework, or plan, for changes to campus. You can find out more about that and about the whole project on the new Campus Reimagined website. Please sign up to the newsletter on there and watch the video made by the Marketing and Communications team – it shows off our campus so beautifully. This is the start of the journey.

We will keep you updated.

People Positive: Professional Behaviours training

Following my email last week, I hope that team leaders are encouraging everyone to book onto the Professional Behaviours training. I’ve heard really positive feedback from the training for managers that is currently taking place.

It’s so important that we are all on the same page when it comes to understanding what respect for each other means. The People & Culture strategy is also a part of this, as is the activity following last year’s Staff Survey results. We are all responsible for creating a happy and healthy workplace.

Employee Engagement Pulse Survey

Please remember to complete this survey by the closing date of Friday 5 July. You should have received an email from CultureAmp with the link. Paper copies are available from your manager if you would like one. You can find out more about it on the intranet.

Go Beyond project

The Infrastructure, Construction & Development team are making great progress in their programme to improve operational excellence. A peer-led process, four secondees have been appointed from within the team to take forward ideas for improvement, working with the FD’s Business Improvement team and an external supplier.

They are reviewing the current operational model and recommendations for ‘quick wins’ and short and medium term actions are being formulated.

Mandatory IT security training

Please may I remind you all how important it is to complete your mandatory IT information security training. I’ve been informed by IT that over 350 people in the FD have not done this, and are not therefore compliant. Remember to check your ‘Clutter’ if you can’t find the reminder in your inbox.

We all have a responsibility to understand what might make us vulnerable to security issues. Not doing so can lead to breaches that can affect the security of the whole university. If you haven’t completed your training, please find time to do so asap.

Community Safety & Campus Security Survey

This is a chance to feedback about the service provided by the Security team. The closing date is 31 July and there’s a draw for £100 worth of Morrisons vouchers. You can access the survey here.

Planon update

The team have worked with Marketing & Communications to develop a process for regular updates to the wider team, using a template that can be printed as a poster as well as used online. Good progress is also being made through complex SAP interface work.

And finally…

If you were at the Staff Festival on Friday, I hope you enjoyed it!

Regards,

Ann Allen
Director of Campus Innovation and Development

Working together to improve the Facilities Directorate

25th June 2024/by Chloe Smith

It’s been a busy start to 2024 for the Facilities Directorate’s Staff Voice group.

The team of volunteers from across the service have been meeting since last year to discuss ideas, questions and concerns raised by their colleagues.

From stocking up new cutlery in the FD Building, to opening a dialogue with senior leaders about the issues colleagues care about, the team are making an impact on the service. Read more below.

Raising issues that matter to colleagues with senior leaders

Representatives from Staff Voice presented to the FD’s senior management team (FDSMT) in May to showcase what’s been achieved so far and what further support would be needed.

Feedback from FDSMT has been positive and work is ongoing to allow Staff Voice to action suggestions and ideas.

Updating Residential Services on progress

Following this, representatives also presented at the Residential Services away day to update on Staff Voice progress and to show how you can get involved. If you’re interested in Staff Voice presenting at your away day, please contact your Staff Voice representative.

Improving offices in the FD Building

You’ll now find cutlery and cleaning supplies have been restocked within several staff kitchens areas and a refresh of the showers in the FD building. We’ve also made sure decaf is supplied at all catered meetings. Have any other ideas? Let the team know.

Have your say

The physical and virtual Staff Voice suggestion boxes you’ll find across campus now have a process in place to manage the suggestions and ideas to ensure every suggestion is read and considered. The Staff Voice webpage will be updated with details on the process in due course.

The team are keen to make more FD staff aware of Staff Voice so you may have seen posters, flyers and pull up banners located across campus in FD staff rooms and areas. Why not add a suggestion to their virtual dropbox?

The Staff Voice team will be at this year’s Staff Festival – make sure you go and say hello!