FD Matters editions

Grid of Facilities Directorate employee head & shoulder photos

FD Bulletin: March 2023

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Email sent to all FD staff from Ann Allen, Director of Campus Innovation and Development, on Friday 31 March.

I’m starting this month with a big thank you for supporting the Employee Engagement Survey. I’m pleased to say that 53% of FD staff took part which compares very favourably with other teams across the University.

The results of the survey are being collated by the University and we will use the FD People and Culture group (P&C), part of Our Way Ahead, to undertake some initial analysis of the FD results and share the findings in the coming weeks.

We are committed to finding ways for everyone to be heard. I’m really pleased that the P&C group led by Rob Wadsworth and with representatives from across all of our services is now well-established. A proposal to form a Staff Voice group is their first task – Rob and I will be able to tell you more about that in April.

The end of another term

As we reach the end of another term, it’s been wonderful to see so many more students back on campus. This brings more work, and particular thanks to Catering who I know are getting much busier. Their support around the cost of living initiatives and the £2.95 meal offer is much appreciated. These are still available to everyone and are fantastic value for money.

Looking ahead to the summer term, we know that it will be a busy one with the usual round of exams, graduation and repurposing the campus for conferences and other events. Increasing numbers of staff are back on campus which prompts us to think about how we are using our spaces and whether they are fit for purpose. The pilot scheme for hybrid meeting rooms – launching in May – is one of the ways that we are addressing this. Thanks to Andrea Kerridge, Jon Stothard and the teaching space support team for all their work.

Collaboration across the FD

There are some lovely examples of collaboration to celebrate this month. Examples include the building of HELIX, a new space in E.C Stoner for staff and students to develop ideas for how digital tools can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Thanks to Sarah Bacsich and team for managing this complex build with multiple stakeholders against the backdrop of the Digital Universities UK Conference which the University is hosting from 17-20 April.

The Security team have led an initiative to donate more than 300 bicycles abandoned on campus to a charity which helps train people in prison to repair them. A great result.

Congratulations

Also, congratulations to Ian Robertson and all of the team in Residential Services for their sector-leading scores in the Investors in Students survey. This is a testament to the hard work of many teams, particularly those in student-facing roles in our halls and within our Residence Life team. The data gathered will be used to set objectives to continue to improve the experience of living in halls.

Congratulations to Katie Clegg from Sustainability who has recently been appointed to the position of Director of Sustainability at Leeds Trinity University. While we are sad to see Katie leave, she goes knowing she has made a huge contribution to the University’s approach to sustainability.

We are also saying goodbye to Sara Hayes, our Interim Deputy Director of Estates & Facilities (Campus Services) who is retiring next month. Sara has made a real difference in her short time in the FD and I know that we will all miss her expert advice and energy. She has many exciting adventures planned and we will get a chance to mark both her and Katie’s departures in the coming weeks. Details to follow.

And finally, to those celebrating Ramadan, I wish you a peaceful and joyful month.

Ann Allen,
Director of Campus Innovation and Development

Aerial view of University of Leeds campus

Amazing effort from Residential Services to help stranded students

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At the end of January an inspection by the fire service resulted in the private, non-University affiliated residence Eldon Court being closed at short notice. This left students from several universities including 170 University of Leeds students suddenly displayed from their accommodation. Thanks to the hard work and tireless efforts from staff across Residential Services, the University was able to respond quickly and efficiently to help support these students in their time of need.   

What happened

On 24 January staff were notified that Eldon Court was closing with immediate effect. They got to work straight away to find solutions. Team members in the Accommodation Office and site staff co-ordinated to confirm which rooms were ready for students to move into. Other colleagues and Security Services attended Eldon Court to provide reassurance to distressed students. They then redirected them to the Refectory whilst their emergency accommodation was arranged.  

Our response to help students

The team handled calls, emails and in person meetings with displaced residents to provide emergency accommodation within hours of them having to leave Eldon Court. At the same time they continued to provide a high-quality service for our existing residents in halls. Before the offer of free emergency accommodation came to an end, many of these students chose to stay in our halls for the rest of the academic year.  

End results

The dedication, hard work and perseverance of the Residential Services team provided 173 students with emergency accommodation. The Accommodation Office subsequently offered 159 residents permanent accommodation. Of these, 76 students from Eldon Court are still living with us in halls.  

The Eldon Court incident perfectly demonstrated the amazing things that Residential Services can do when we are all working together, towards the same goal.

Colleagues within the Accommodation Office worked tirelessly to provide invaluable and time sensitive support to help students displaced during an incredibly stressful and disruptive event. I am extremely proud of how they worked to support residents and each other, in the delivery of this service. The success of their teamwork can be seen in the number of residents that we were able to support and the level of service that we continued to provide as standard.

It’s really important to highlight that we wouldn’t have been able to deliver the service that we did without the tremendous effort of colleagues, including site staff at University residences and those that we are partnered with, as well as Security Services.

The level of responsiveness and communication that we received from these colleagues was integral to the service that we were able to provide, and I’d like to thank them for being the face of Residential Services throughout this period.

Chantelle Aleksander, Accommodation Office Manager

Students playing air hocking in Montague Burton

Success for Residential Services in student experience survey

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Residential Services are this year taking part in the Investor in Students survey. This student experience survey is run by student accommodation experts the WAU agency over two rounds of insight. It aims to give a 360 view of the experience of living in student accommodation. This is done by measuring the sentiment of students living in halls, the staff who work in them and the senior management who run them.  

There are currently 16 organisations participating in the survey. This includes other universities such as the University of Birmingham and the University of Sheffield. It also includes purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) providers like Homes for Students.  

First round – student experience survey

The first short survey to students in our accommodation saw a strong response rate of 28% in autumn 2022. The results were largely extremely positive. There were particularly strong scores for the check-in process and the cleanliness and condition of our accommodation when students arrived.  

For both of these questions we scored the highest out of all organisations surveyed. Clearly a testament to the fantastic effort and hard work put in by staff over the summer months! This ensures that students not only have a great first experience of their accommodation, but that their welcome to the University as a whole is positive.  

Second round – including staff in survey

The second round of the survey will be out in late April 2023. This time we will also be asking our staff for their impression of the student experience at the University. This helps to identify where we are succeeding and potentially what is holding us back if we don’t perform as highly in some areas.  

Gathering staff insight on the student experience as part of a formal survey is a new approach for Residential Services. Because of this the senior management team will be engaging closely with site staff to help explain what we’re trying to achieve by taking part in the survey. It represents a fantastic chance for our most knowledgeable resource, our staff, to help contribute their expertise.

Undertaking the student experience survey with the WAU Agency has provided us with the opportunity to uniquely benchmark many areas of our operation with some of our biggest competitors.

To be sector leading in a number of areas is a testament to the hard work of many teams, particularly those in student facing roles in our halls and within our Residence Life team. We’re excited to utilise the data gathered in order to set some achievable objectives so that we can continue to improve the experience of living in halls and help students feel part of a caring community.

Rebecca O’Hare, Assistant Director (Residence Life & Accommodation Office), Residential Services

Security team receiving their SafeZone award

Awards for Security team’s support of students

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The Security team at the University of Leeds won the ‘Best use of SafeZone: Study Abroad/ International Travel’ Award at the SafeZone Conference last week.

SafeZone is an app that everyone on campus can use to ask for help. It is there to give extra peace of mind in addition to the other support offered by the University and is linked to the  Security team.

Mark Bownass, Head of Security Services said:

“Our role is to keep our students and staff safe including those on placement or studying abroad. We wanted to use the app to be in contact in the event of a critical incident abroad.”

“Working closely with the International team, it is now strongly recommended to students abroad that they download and register with SafeZone. This means we can let them know if there are potentially dangerous events in their region and they can seek help and advice from the university more easily.”

Danny Malone, Global Customer Success Director presented the award on behalf of Critical Arc and commented that the judges were impressed with how the University of Leeds team had adapted the process to enhance our support of students.

The SafeZone app is free to download and has over 4000 users registered. You can find out more about the app on the Security Services webpage.

Have your say - Employee Engagement Survey

FD Bulletin: February 2023

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

As we reach the end of February it is heartening to see Spring arriving and flowers coming up all over campus, thanks to the efforts of James Wright and his team. As I walk around and see the sun reflecting on the buildings, I feel a great sense of pride that it is our work in the FD that keeps our campus looking so beautiful.

I hope by now that all of you will be aware of the Employee Engagement Survey. I want to say again how important it is that we all take this opportunity to have our say. With our business plan – Our Way Ahead – now launched, this survey couldn’t have come at a better time, as we consider the future and putting our plan into action.

You are at the heart of the plan: core to our success as a directorate is how we develop our people and continue to create a culture in the FD that makes it a great place to work. You will have plenty of opportunities to have your say through the Staff Voice group that is being developed as part of the People & Culture strand of the business plan, but the staff survey gives us all another platform. It is completely anonymous but the overall findings for our service will be fed back to inform our future working, so please use it – we want to hear the good and the bad!

Opportunities to complete the survey

This was a late addition but there is a drop-in session being held at the LOGIK Centre today until 12:30pm to answer any questions related to completing the survey. If you would like to attend and complete the survey, please bring with you a copy of your recent payslip or have to hand your staff ID (personnel number on your pay slip) and if you have access to a smart phone, the team there say that would be useful too.

There are also now survey stations in the FD building for you to come and fill in the survey, with help on hand in accessing it. If you’d like to use them please just come to Reception – no appointment needed. I know how busy everyone is but I’ve asked the senior team to make sure that everyone is given time to do the survey, so please contact your manager if you’re finding that difficult.

Our Way Ahead

Some of you will already have seen presentations about the business plan in team meetings. The senior team are getting out and about to run through the main points and ask for feedback. I’ve heard plenty of positives and all constructive feedback is welcome. I contacted senior colleagues in the University Executive Group and elsewhere about the plan and have had some very positive comments. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the writing and production of it.

The next FD social

Our next FD social will be on Tuesday 25 April at 9am – 11am in the Refectory, which provides us with another opportunity for discussion. I hope to see you there.

Planon will launch in April and the team are currently engaged in user testing, working with the digital team in Marketing and Communications. There will shortly be workshops for colleagues to learn how they will get to use it in their everyday roles. Self-serve pages built into the website mean that staff will be able to log and monitor their own issues and those across their buildings without having to chase up through the FM service desk. Thank you to Kirsty Gill, Majid Khan, Dave Kellett, Amanda Payne, Adam Maddison, and everyone else involved for their work.

Kirsty and her team would like to remind you that the door of FD building will remain locked for the time being. If you don’t have a fob you’ll need to press the reception intercom button on the post. If you need access after 4pm you’ll need to contact someone inside the building.

A new statue arrived on campus

Finally, you may have noticed that a new statue arrived outside the Edward Boyle Library last week of Sir Isaac Newton. Christopher Wade, our Architectural Technical Officer, and others in his team have been working with Layla Bloom, curator in the Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery on its installation, including on creative aspects such as the lighting design. It looks stunning. Thank you to them for all their work. Another example of the FD enhancing the campus!

Ann Allen,
Director of Campus Innovation and Development