Dear colleagues,
Earlier this year, I asked for your participation in our fourth Staff Survey to date in order to help us understand whether our University Values match your experiences at Strathclyde. The level of engagement has been fantastic, with almost 2,000 colleagues responding – a significant increase on our previous survey in 2019.
The overall results of the 2021 survey are now in, and I am delighted to share with you that our five Values, of being people-orientated, ambitious, collaborative, innovative and bold, continue to define who we are and how we work. The overall weighted average shows that more than 90% of colleagues surveyed believe the University is strongly aligned to our Values.
This year, we also introduced a new question asking colleagues if they would recommend the University as a great place to work. Almost 82% of staff agree or strongly agree with this statement, with less than 5% disagreeing. According to our independent survey company, Medallia, this is a significantly higher score than the UK average for similar surveys.
The results of the survey are hugely encouraging and, following on from our success in winning the national Working Families Best Practice Award in May, are an indicator that we are making good progress on our People Strategy, which places you, as a member of our talented Strathclyde community, at the heart of our plans.
However, we cannot rest on our laurels. We are currently undertaking detailed analysis of your feedback and will use this to develop local action plans with Faculties and Professional Services directorates to make further improvements. I would also warmly encourage you to continue to engage with us through our Strathclyde Innovation Forum as we strive to make our work more efficient, our jobs more enjoyable, and ultimately, our University more successful to the benefit of us all. Many thanks to each of you who took the time to respond to the 2021 survey.
In other news, we are continuing to monitor developments carefully in relation to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The variant is now spreading rapidly in Scotland – indeed, cases have increased by a quarter in the past week, and the doubling time for Omicron is estimated to be two to three days.
While work is still ongoing to build a full picture of the impact of the variant, what is clear is that we each have the opportunity to strengthen our compliance with guidelines to protect our own, and other people’s health as we move towards the Christmas break.
As the First Minister said in her statement to Parliament on Tuesday, early data tells us that the protection we have against Omicron infection with just one or two vaccine doses is significantly lower than it is for Delta and we need a booster jag to ensure a substantial level of protection against Omicron. Everyone over 18 in Scotland is now eligible to book their booster online through the NHS Inform website.
Scientists have also indicated that it will be necessary to slow down the spread of the virus to protect the NHS from becoming overwhelmed, and new protection advice has now been put in place. With testing becoming an everyday part of our routine, please remember that test kits can be collected from Livingstone Tower and reception at Strathclyde Sport.
At Strathclyde, our internal protection measures already go beyond the Scottish Government’s guidance for higher education, but with the rapidly-growing number of positive cases in the UK, combined with the enhanced isolation rules for households in the event of a positive case, it is important that we all ensure we are adhering to the guidance as we head towards the holidays. This includes:
- getting fully vaccinated and boosted
- avoiding crowded places
- taking regular lateral flow tests, especially before mixing with other people
- self-isolating if you have symptoms, and booking a PCR test
- notifying the University if you test positive using the COVID-19 Notifications Webform
- wearing a face covering on campus
- working from home if you can
- opening windows when meeting indoors
- washing your hands regularly
Thank you for your ongoing support and continued efforts to keep each other – and our wider Strathclyde community – safe and well.
Take care and enjoy your weekend.
Best wishes,
Jim