You may have seen that the Executive Director for People reported on how the results of the survey were being responded to at a University level. We have now received the results from SEED as a School – you can see the full results for SEED and how these compare to the University averages here.  

There was some really positive news from the results: 

• 82% of SEED colleagues said they are proud to say they work for the University 

• 78% said they’d still like to be working at the University in two years’ time  

• 82% said that their work was interesting and challenging  

• 93% said they cared about the future of the University  

These percentages are all higher than the University average and show that we have an engaged and motivated staff team in the School.  

However, some of the other findings from the survey were concerning. Support from line managers is a particular issue. Only 48% of SEED colleagues agreed that their manager gives them regular, supportive feedback on the work they do and only 39% said that they regularly have a conversation with their manager about their wellbeing.  

Understanding and communicating change was also a concern, with only 22% of SEED staff saying that the reasons for change are well communicated to them and less than 1 in 6 colleagues believing that the University manages change effectively.  

These results were all lower than the University averages and point to areas where we need to improve.  

Changes we’re making 

The School Executive is carrying out a series of actions in response to the survey findings which we are reporting back to the University Executive. 

A lack of support from line managers was a particular concern for academic staff. Working with Khalid and the whole School Executive, we’ll be encouraging line managers across the School to be holding regular structured one-to-ones with the staff they are supervising.  

We know that roles and responsibilities change, and that it can sometimes be hard to understand lines of report. So we will be working with the Heads of Department to ensure that transparent lists of School and Departmental leadership teams are available on SEED StaffNet by January 2026. 

We’re asking all line managers to sign up for the University’s new Mental Health and Wellbeing Training for Managers training, which the School Executive have all committed to completing. We’re also asking all line managers to ensure that they have familiarised themselves with the University’s Stress Management Toolkit. 

For PS staff, the survey highlighted concerns about a lack of career progression opportunities. In response to this the School’s senior PS leadership team are working with the University Talent Development Team to offer career progression support and to ensure that colleagues are able to access training and skills development.  

We want to make sure we are providing spaces for colleagues to connect. As well as our regular School socials, Heads of Department are all considering how to create spaces for informal check-ins and listening, and are sharing feedback on what has and hasn’t worked.  

SEED is a large and busy School, within a huge and very busy University. Communications can be confused or overwhelming. That’s why we’re working to try different ways to communicate at a School level and to make sure that we are providing colleagues with the information they need, without overwhelming your inboxes!  

We are always looking for ways to innovate and improve so please do reach out to me (David Pattwell), to our Head of School Khalid Nadvi, to your line manager or to your Head of Department if you have suggestions or questions.