I know from talking to so many colleagues that we all share a strong sense of common purpose in our work at Heriot-Watt to create a place of learning and discovery for our students to enable them to have successful, happy and impactful future lives. This in itself is very satisfying. Our work at the University is an important part of our own lives, and we all want to be valued for what we do, appreciated for our commitment and our achievements celebrated. These things don’t just happen by chance for any organisation. As a diverse University, not only by location but also across and between our schools and services, we need to work – together – at making our University a great place to work, one that supports our ambitions, our wellbeing and our individual lives and circumstances whilst also working towards our common goals. Recently many have contributed to our Annual Staff Survey which is one means of feeding back our experiences of our workplace. The results are now in.
In this year’s survey, we have much to be positive about, and the University-level results have now been shared. There is no doubt it has been an unprecedented year, and not only did we see a good response rate across all our campuses, I am pleased we have also increased our overall Engagement Score, an important marker for our Strategy 2025 goals. We have seen improvements in the majority of areas asked about, most notably in Change and Culture, Senior Management and Communications. We feel a connection to our Strategy and our Values, and we have taken greater comfort from the support of our managers. During the pandemic we have had to change many of the ways in which we work, but connectivity has improved for many of us, at all levels of our University.
Our Annual Staff Survey helps us all to recognise where we are strong and where making changes to our behaviours and processes are still required. Nothing is ever perfect; for example, we all know how stretched many people have been over the last year and this has perturbed the work-life balance and this is a key area for focus ahead. Other issues raised will be more localised, and each School and Directorate will receive more detailed results to be able to facilitate more local discussions – and potential solutions. Working together we will continue to build an increasingly flourishing community. I invite you to join a special All Staff Briefing that has been arranged to go through the background methodology and details of the results, and pointers towards our next steps, on Monday 31 May.
This has been an unprecedented year, and it has taken everyone’s exceptional efforts to maintain the support required for our students – and each other. I’m hoping each campus will now have received my email giving details of the one-off ‘thank you’ payment that you will receive in July. Over this last year, we have been on a journey together and this is a gesture of genuine appreciation and thanks that the University Executive wishes to express. Thank you.
Professor Richard A. Williams
Principal and Vice-Chancellor