Acting on feedback in Teaching, Learning and Student Experience

09 Mar 2026

Carly Peesapati reflects on local co-created action planning

We recently spoke with Carly Peesapati, Head of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience (TLSE) in the School of Engineering, about how Professional Services teams have approached their Your Voice Matters action planning through co-creation, meaningful local action and stronger cross-team connection.

Following the release of last year’s survey results how did you develop your action plan?

Last summer, we asked teams what they wanted to see in the plan rather than taking a top-down approach. Emily Sagues, Student Service, Support and Development Manager, led this work gathering suggestions directly from colleagues across TLSE and by early September we had a ‘menu’ of actions. Managers reviewed themes and overlaps and agreed five key priorities focusing on what mattered most and what was achievable. We fed back throughout so colleagues could see their input shaping the final plan.

What are the five priority areas?

Three of the priorities were areas we could act on quickly. These focused on improving meeting culture, embedding recognition and appreciation and introducing a buddy scheme to better support new starters. The other two themes are longer-term pieces of work. These involve reviewing processes that colleagues find frustrating or unclear and creating more opportunities for cross-team sharing across TLSE.

Can you tell us more about meeting culture?

With many colleagues working flexibly or with caring responsibilities, meeting practices really matter. Feedback highlighted issues with scheduling and the impact of minute-taking on participation. We developed guidance on inclusive meetings including thoughtful scheduling, ensuring all voices are heard and using tools like AI to support notetaking so colleagues can contribute fully.

What does the buddy scheme involve?

Every new starter is now paired with a buddy as part of their induction. The buddy acts as a friendly, informal point of contact during those first few weeks helping new colleagues settle in, feel welcome and get to know how things work day to day. It also provides someone approachable to ask questions they might not feel comfortable raising in a more formal setting and helps new starters build connections across the wider team more quickly.

How has embedding recognition worked in practice?

A more structured ‘thank you’ approach has been received very positively. Colleagues are recognising one another for both major achievements and everyday contributions. Shout-outs are now part of monthly team briefings, helping appreciation become a regular part of team culture. We also wanted to celebrate line manager support, one of our strongest survey scores, and reinforce what’s working well. It’s important that our action planning doesn’t only focus on the areas where scores were lower but also builds on the strengths and positive practices already in place.

What have you done in response to cross-team sharing and reviewing processes?

A key theme from the feedback was that colleagues wanted a clearer sense of how work connects across TLSE. People could see that other teams were busy, but it wasn’t always easy to understand priorities, roles or how different pieces of work fitted together. That can make collaboration harder and can also leave some processes feeling more complicated than they need to be. In response, we’re taking a two-pronged approach. First, we’re introducing more regular show-and-share sessions to give teams space to talk about their roles, current priorities and upcoming work, helping to strengthen relationships and shared understanding. We’re starting with Information, Advice and Guidance and Student Support and Wellbeing, as these were areas colleagues were particularly keen to learn more about.

Alongside this, we’re mapping key end-to-end processes that span multiple teams, starting with those raised most frequently. We’re also developing clear, accessible resources on our SharePoint site so colleagues, especially new starters, can more easily navigate workflows and understand how everything links together.

What feedback have you had so far?

While we haven’t gathered formal feedback yet, engagement has been strong. Colleagues have contributed thoughtfully and the recognition scheme has had an especially positive response. I hope the visibility of changes helps build trust that people are being listened to.

How will you approach the next survey cycle?

We’ll take a similar approach next time but with more opportunity to build co-creation in from the start. This year, some of the filtering and prioritising had to be manager-led because of time pressures but we’d like to broaden involvement further. For the next cycle, I’d like to set up a task-and-finish group with volunteers from each team so colleagues can help shape the themes, priorities and actions. That kind of shared ownership not only strengthens the plan but also helps ensure it reflects what matters most to people day to day. It’s something we’d really like to develop further as we continue this work.

Finally, what would you say to colleagues about taking part in the next survey?

I hope people can see that feedback is read and acted on. Visible change encourages more participation and the more responses we receive, the clearer the picture becomes.