Head of the School of Psychology and academic lead for the University's work on the staff survey explains the importance of sharing your experiences of working at Sussex.
Our staff survey opened on January 25 and is open until 12 February (next Friday). So far, more than 25 % of our staff have responded. If you’re still wondering whether to take part and what happens when you do, take a look at the actions that have happened as a result of the last staff survey in 2018.
One of themes we heard in our last staff survey was the need to promote and support a culture of dignity and respect.
In 2019, we launched our Dignity and Respect policy, based on a listening exercise conducted with staff across the University and last year we also recruited and trained eight Dignity and Respect Champions who have formed an active network. They are able to have confidential one to one conversation with staff members who want to talk through their experience and consider next steps.
One of our champions Paula Burr, who has worked at the University for the past 30 years and is a technician in Education and Social Work said: “Being part of the D&R champions network has been a really positive experience. We now have a charter which set out clear how we can expect to be treated on a day to day basis so we can collectively create a culture of dignity and respect.
“It is clearly something that colleagues needed at the time of the last survey and now we are able to help colleagues navigate the support that is available to them and provide a safe and confidential space. There might be additional things staff need the University to provide now – and the staff survey is an opportunity to express your views.”
If you haven’t responded, then you will receive a reminder email from People Insights, the third-party provider who is running the survey, again next week with a personal link to the survey window.
Remember that your response cannot be linked to you and that any free text comments you make will be redacted before being shared with a Head of School or Director to reduce the possibility of a response being linked to an individual.
To find out more:
You can make a request to speak to a dignity champion using our online request form.
