Update from Martin Banks, SEED People Partner
28 Feb 2025
The role of People Partners at the University and how we can support you
The role of People Partner is constantly evolving, and no two days are the same. Historically we have been known as HR, People & OD and now the Directorate of People. This journey, and our role as People Partners in the University, was the subject of a guest lecture I gave earlier in the month, as you can see in the picture above, for the GDI Master’s programme, Human Resource Practice. During this lecture, a colleague and I discussed our roles, our roles’ links to our University goals, vision, mission and strategy, Manchester 2035 and the day-to-day role of a Partner.
People are at the heart of everything we do, and the University success is built on great people doing great things. From excelling at student experience and the provision of a great estate and infrastructure, to world class research and teaching.
As leaders, managers and colleagues we all have a responsibility to ensure the University is a great place to work. And People Partners support colleagues in delivering that experience. We attend SEED SLT and other management forums, and we provide advice and coaching to managers to ensure staff are able to fulfil their roles and support colleagues when challenges occur.
At a local level in SEED, I am involved with many different short-term or longer-term activities, for example, I have been actively involved with Athena Swan, contributing to the discussion, strategy development and supporting the role with various actions, such as delivering training. And it would be remiss of me not to remind colleagues of the University's supportive policies, all of which can be found on StaffNet. If any line managers of staff members would like to discuss these policies, please contact me via email for an initial conversation about support and processes.
As the University enters its third century, focusing on ‘how’ we do things will be vital to bringing our new Manchester 2035 strategy to life for all our colleagues. On Tuesday, 25 March we will be launching our annual Employee Engagement Survey 'Your Voice Matters,' providing an opportunity for colleagues to share their thoughts on their experience at the University. I would actively encourage you all to participate in this short (5-10 mins) confidential survey as the key themes from our responses will feed into the University’s Manchester 2035 strategy and future plans.