2017 Staff Survey – your voice

Promoting health and wellbeing at UCL

You said...
In 2017, only 38% of respondents felt that UCL did a good job promoting the importance of health and wellbeing and less than half said they would feel comfortable talking openly with their manager about their mental wellbeing.

We did...
The UCL Wellbeing team has launched the Wellbeing@UCL strategy, dedicated to creating and supporting a happy and healthy UCL community.

Over 100 people managers have received training to have more effective conversations to support colleagues experiencing mental health problems, and this training is due to be rolled out across the university. 

UCL now has 145 wellbeing champions embedded across UCL faculties, departments and professional services who receive Mental Health First Aid for Higher Education training and attend regular role development workshops to ensure they are equipped with the skills necessary to support their local UCL environments. Champions help to promote the importance of health and wellbeing and all the different support channels available in their departments. 

Providing support to colleagues affected by Brexit

You said...
In 2017, only 36% of respondents felt that UCL had provided adequate support to staff in response to Brexit.

We did...
UCL has launched a website for UCL staff on Brexit which provides the latest updates and answers to FAQs, we have also set up a dedicated email address so anybody concerned with the impact of Brexit on their employment at UCL can receive a direct response from an immigration specialist, and we have responded to more than 1,700 emails so far. We have also held 19 Immigration Clinics run by immigration specialists, with up to 60 people attending each, plus two ‘Town Hall’ meetings, hosted by the Provost and the senior leadership team. 

UCL offers an interest free loan of up to £10,000 for eligible employees to obtain immigration law advice and make certain immigration applications, and we also support the family of EU staff with making an application for Settled Status.

UCL is totally committed to our European colleagues and continuing to provide support throughout the uncertainty, whatever the eventual outcome.

Supporting career development

You said...
In 2017, only 47% of survey respondents thought that the promotions criteria was clear. 

We did...
The 2017-18 academic promotions round was the first to use the new academic careers framework, which was developed through wide consultation to make to make the criteria for promotion much clearer. Since then, UCL has seen record numbers of both applicants and promotions. A promotion route to the new position of Professorial Teaching Fellow was also introduced for the first time in 2017 and we’re delighted that six individuals were immediately promoted to this role.

Similar activities have now started to provide career pathways for staff working in professional services roles. UCL Ways of Working for staff in professional services was also launched in May 2019 and the framework enables individuals, teams and leaders to set clear expectations, support development, have quality conversations and be their best in the workplace.

You said...
In 2017 only 56% of respondents felt that their last appraisal helped them to identify opportunities for personal development. 

We did...
UCL HR has recently completely refreshed the centrally provided appraisal training so it's now highly interactive and provides tools and techniques to have a coaching style conversation. This training is available through the Learning and Development Portfolio. A digital solution for mandatory training requirements will be launched in Autumn 2019, if you would like to know more please email UCL HR Organisational Development at osd@ucl.ac.uk.

Saying Full Stop to bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct

You said...
In 2017, a quarter of respondents reported that they had witnessed behaviour towards others that they considered to be bullying/harassment in the last two years at UCL.

We did...
UCL has launched the Full Stop campaign which aims to remove some of the barriers to reporting and provide improved support for those affected. The campaign also focuses on how, as members of the UCL community, we can all play an active role in shaping a welcoming and inclusive environment for students and staff.

Significant progress has already been made:

The new Report + Support portal provides staff and students with the opportunity to report anonymously or contact an advisor to make an informed decision about their support options.

Additional training is now offered, including Student Union Active Bystander training, ‘Where do you draw the line?’ ‘Taking the Lead’ for managers, and specialist Rape Crisis training for staff in student-facing roles

UCL has banned the use of non-disclosure agreements in settlement agreements with staff or students who have raised genuine complaints of sexual misconduct, bullying or harassment and has established an agreement with Intersol Global to improve the quality and consistency of investigations.