A close-up view of ‘Capri’ - each office desk has a flag indicating how warm and naturally-lit it is
The Educational Enhancement (EE) team, part of the Division for the Student Experience, has been taking action to improve staff experience following feedback from the most recent staff survey, to make its culture more inclusive and supportive. Office space and networking opportunities were two areas of focus – Katie Piatt explains in the article below how the team is making changes as a result.
Creating a welcoming office environment
For our team, the decision to make our workspace more welcoming and environmentally friendly was a reflection of our commitment to minimising our impact on the planet whilst still being efficient, inclusive and looking after everyone’s wellbeing. We wanted to be a little bit playful at the same time. With this ethos guiding us, as well as the Green Impact toolkit, we embarked on a journey to transform our office into a shared workspace we could be proud of. We developed our EE ‘GrEEn Office’ map which uses a fun, creative approach to communicate our office facilities and zones. The map takes the user on a journey from Teaspoon Island (the kitchen area), through each cluster of desk ‘islands’ with different light levels, to Narnia (for stationery, games and the EE Library).
Following the change, team members said:
- "I genuinely think that the desk space in the EE workspace invites collaboration across teams. Standing desks, footrests and other equipment make working long hours at desks easier. Plus, the environment with colleagues is very warm, welcoming and collaborative. I especially love team socials like games nights!"
- "I love the new office arrangement. Easier-to-use hybrid working equipment alongside plants and light as well as the creation of social spaces have made working on campus more comfortable and appealing whilst also enabling opportunities for team building and team cohesion."
- "Having a coherent, well maintained and well thought out office environment makes a big impact on day to day working. Being able to easily get settled in the morning, have stuff that works and is ready to go, takes so much stress out of day on campus. Whether I'm aiming to collaborate with colleagues or get focused on my own work - there's a space for that!"
Ways of sharing in the team and beyond
We hold fullly hybrid team meetings every Monday and Friday morning, for just 20 minutes. On Mondays we focus on cascading relevant information from the divisional leadership group and other committees and gathering comments from the team to feed back up. We often also use this time to hear from colleagues about recent events they have attended or projects they are working on. On Fridays, we are more social and focus on trying different tools, often having a quiz or activity to explore events in the EDI calendar.
These short meetings offer a great opportunity for the team to network and get to know each other, whilst providing a safe space to ask questions.
Reflecting on the twice-weekly meetings, one member of the team said:
- "Our Monday and Friday whole EE get togethers provide a great space to check in with each other to see how we're all doing, whilst working as a hybrid team. It also creates the space for colleagues to test new ideas or disseminate info from events attended."
We also ensure colleagues have the opportunity to attend events, workshops and conferences within the University and in other institutions. We share the learnings from these in our team meetings.
Part of our role is to run events such as the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Community of Practice and the Education Festival. These are great events for us to learn through sharing knowledge with other colleagues. Take a look at our blogs to find out more about the AI Community of Practice and the Education Festival 2024 which is taking place on 10-11 July 2024.
If you would like more information about these initiatives, please contact Katie Piatt at: k.piatt@sussex.ac.uk.
About our staff survey updates
Our monthly case studies highlight how Schools and Professional Services Divisions are using feedback from the staff survey to improve staff experience. You can view previous case studies, and find out more about the survey, on the staff survey webpage.