“Employee Survey 2007” Analysis of results and comparison with 2005 survey results May 2007

Executive summary Responses are broadly similar to the 2005 survey Some responses are slightly less positive than in 2005, however for nearly all responses the “Strongly Agree / Agree” categories still greatly outweigh the “Strongly Disagree / Disagree” categories (as they did in 2005) There is a significant improvement (moving from “strong” to “even stronger”) in the way employees view RGU as a healthy and safe place to work Key messages from the survey: –Overall these are good results, by any standards –Re-affirms the ongoing drive for, and need for, consistent “good management practice” –We need to continue to improve in the areas of employee feedback, engagement in the OSCR process and effective employee development –The need for improved communication and employee involvement during periods of significant change –The need for continued vigilance regarding equality and fair treatment, with firm action against all forms of discrimination

Statistical analysis of the results Mann-Whitney statistical significance test applied to selected data (where the same questions were asked in both 2005 and 2007) Test assesses the likelihood that both data sets come from the same population, i.e. whether apparent response changes between 2005 and 2007 are significant or not Where results are statistically significant it is indicated on each slide

Overall response Feb 2007 = 571 total responses, representing 38% of employees –109 people made a comment, representing 19% of respondents and 7% of employees March 2005 = 542 total responses, representing 36% of employees –107 people made a comment, representing 20% of respondents and 7% of employees

Background data Male / Female: –Survey: % / 59% 2007 – 35% / 65% –RGU population: % / 57% 2007 – 42% / 58% Academic / Professional + Support: –Survey: % / 55% 2007 – 38% / 62% –RGU population: % / 57% % / 54% Full / Part-time: –Survey: % / 17% 2007 – 84% / 16% –RGU population: % / 30% 2007 – 66% / 34% City centre versus Garthdee: –Survey: % / 51% 2007 – 49% / 51% –RGU population: % / 55% 2007 – 45% / 55%

Background data – continued Ethnic category (summarised) Survey (2007) RGU overall Asian or Asian British/Other Black or Black British/Other Chinese White – British/Irish/Scottish/Other Other Ethnic / Mixed Background Total 100% 100%

Summary of all question responses by question number SA/A = Strongly Agree or Agree; TA/TD = Tend to Agree or Tend to Disagree D/SD = Disagree or Strongly Disagree; Q16 is a yes (yellow) or no (red) response

Overview / summary questions The results for this section show very similar results to the 2005 survey. Employees generally feel strongly committed and affiliated to RGU, and are supportive of the leadership efforts to guide RGU towards its strategic vision. With regard to visibility and employee engagement with executive managers, roughly 6 out of 10 employees said they had met with an executive manager or Dean in the past 12 months.

Q23 - “Taking everything into account, I feel committed to both my role at RGU and the organisation in general” March 2005 February 2007

Q22 - “Overall, I have a strong affiliation with RGU” March 2005 February 2007

Q21 - “I have confidence that RGU executive and senior management can guide (or are guiding) the university towards achieving the 2010 strategic vision” March 2005 “can guide” February 2007 “are guiding”

Q25 - “I have had an opportunity in the past 12 months to meet (as a team or individually) with a member of the Executive Group or Dean responsible for my area (February 2007 survey only)

Employee view of workload, role, level of responsibility Although there are slight changes in this section from the 2005 survey, there is a strong sense of employees knowing what they roles are, knowing how their work contributes to RGU overall, having appropriate levels of responsibility and being in control of their workload.

Q 1 - “I am generally in control of my work and able to manage my workload effectively” March 2005 February 2007 Difference is statistically significant

Q3 - “In general I feel that the demands and deadlines relating to my work are reasonable” (February 2007 survey only)

Q2 - “In my job I have the appropriate level of responsibility to be able to make a significant contribution” March 2005 February 2007

Q9 - “I have a clear understanding of my role and responsibilities at RGU” March 2005 February 2007

Q7 - “I understand how my work contributes to the overall objectives of my school or department” March 2005 February 2007

Employee view of working environment and relationship with colleagues A significant majority of employees continue to feel comfortable with their working environment, although there were a number of comments indicating dissatisfaction with temperature control in some buildings and a lack of common meeting space. There is an overwhelming sense that employees get the help and support of their colleagues and have a good working relationship with them.

March 2005 – “I enjoy the environment in which I work (including the people, workplace and immediate manager involvement)” Q4 - February “I feel comfortable with my immediate working environment” Q5 - February “In general I feel I have good relationships with the people I work with”

Q11 - “I get the help and support I need from my work colleagues” (February 2007 survey only)

Employee view of opportunity to develop skills and capabilities Although still very positive, the result indicates a small decline in employee perception of the effectiveness of their personal development.

Q6 - “I get opportunities to develop my skills and capabilities (either through work assignments or training)” March 2005 February 2007 Difference is statistically significant

Employee view of the relationship with their manager When asked general questions about the relationship with their manager (e.g. Q 12, 19 and 20) then the results continue to be strongly positive. However Q 13 indicates less belief that issues raised will be dealt with (although overall the response is still very positive). Q 10 indicates that employees generally feel less positive about the level of feedback they get regarding their work, possibly linked to Q 24 where 31% of employee indicated they had not had an OSCR employee review meeting in the past 12 months. (However this contrasts with other, recent survey information that indicates active OSCR involvement by employees as high as 90%).

Q20 - “I get the support I need and have a good working relationship with my immediate manager” March 2005 February 2007

March “I feel I can raise issues and concerns with my immediate manager and have them addressed” Q13 - February “I feel that any issues and concerns I raise with my immediate manager will be addressed” Q12 - February “I feel I can discuss any issues or concerns with my immediate manager”

Q19 - “My immediate manager communicates effectively with our team (e.g. by regular team meetings, informal discussion and feedback, etc)” (February 2007 survey only)

Q10 - “I feel I get adequate feedback about my work, and how I am doing, from my immediate manager” February 2007 March 2005 Difference is statistically significant

Q24 - “I have had an employee review (OSCR or equivalent) meeting in the past 12 months (February 2007 survey only)

Employee view of changes within their department or school The responses to Q 14 and 15 show a similar result to 2005, with employees expressing some concerns about changes within schools and departments, and the need for improved communication and employee involvement during such times. Overall however positive responses continue to outnumber negative ones.

“Regarding changes within my school or department, I feel: March 2005: “An appropriate effort is made to involve me, and the rationale for such changes has been explained to me” Q14 - Feb 2007: “An appropriate effort is made to involve me (by communication, discussion, etc)” Q15 - Feb 2007: “The rationale for such changes has been explained to me” Differences are statistically significant

Employee view of equitable treatment and discrimination / harassment Q 8 and 18 indicate that employees generally feel they are treated and given opportunities in a fair and equitable way, and that their managers strongly support such action. Q 16(a) shows that the number of employees who feel they have been subject to harassment or discrimination is approximately the same as in 2005; however at 14% this would scale up to roughly 200 employees overall. More significantly twice as many academic staff as support staff responded positively to this question. Q 16(b) shows that the main categories of discrimination, of employees who responded positively, are age and gender.

Q8 - “I believe I am treated, and am given opportunities, in a fair and equitable way” March 2005 February 2007 Difference is statistically significant

Q18 - “My immediate manager proactively supports and encourages fairness and equal opportunity at work” March 2005 February 2007

Q16(a) - “In my work I have been subject to harassment or discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief or age” March 2005 February 2007 Academic staff Professional and support staff

Q 16(b) - “In my work I have been subject to harassment or discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief or age” Breakdown of the “yes” responses : % of total “yes” responses

Employee view of health, safety and wellbeing The results indicate a strong ongoing sense that employees’ health and safety is safeguarded, with a significant improvement in the positive response over the 2005 results.

Q17 - “My health, safety and well-being are taken seriously by the university” March 2005 February 2007 Difference is statistically significant

Analysis of comments 19% of respondents made a comment (versus 20% in 2005) Comments made by respondents have been grouped into themes that capture the main areas The themes are shown on the next three slides The number in brackets represents the number of comments that relate to each of the themes

Comment Themes (Ranked by number of responses) Comments regarding management and leadership; areas of note being the need to tackle under-performance, greater emphasis on teamwork at all levels, better basic management of people and teams (19) Comments about the ethnic origin definitions, specifically the lack of a "White English" definition (note that the definitions used at RGU are the standard definitions set by the Scottish Executive) (10) Comments that some staff, particularly academic staff, believe they are becoming over-stretched with bigger workloads and too little time to get work done effectively (9) The need to improve communication and decision- making, both within and between schools and departments (8)

Main Comment Themes (Ranked by number of responses) The need to improve on equality, particularly with regard to eliminating favouritism (7) Comments that Executive Group and Deans could be more visible across RGU (7) Comments about the need for better collaboration and understanding between schools and support teams, although recognition that things have improved in the past year (7) Comments about facilities, mainly regarding staff not having enough informal meeting space and poor temperature control in some buildings (6) Concerns about the pay modernisation process, particularly the time it is taking to implement (6)

Main Comment Themes (Ranked by number of responses) Training and development needs identified or commented on, including management training (3) Positive recognition regarding leadership and the RGU brand (3) Comments about improving or modifying the survey questionnaire (3) Comments about the employee review process, particularly the lack of them for some people (3) Comments that a better defined policy on flexible working is needed, particularly regarding time off when dependents are ill (2) Concern that staff turnover isn’t being addressed adequately (2) A concern about Health and Safety, particularly fire evaluation procedures (1)

Summary Responses are broadly similar to the 2005 survey Some question responses are slightly less positive than in 2005, however for most responses the “Strongly Agree / Agree” categories still greatly outweigh the “Strongly Disagree / Disagree” categories (as they did in 2005) Key messages from the survey: –Overall these are good results, by any standards –Re-affirms the ongoing drive for, and need for, consistent “good management practice” –We need to continue to improve in the areas of employee feedback, engagement in the OSCR process and effective employee development –The need for improved communication and employee involvement during periods of significant change –The need for continued vigilance regarding equality and fair treatment, with firm action against all forms of discrimination