The story so far...
By Chris Connelley, staff training and development manager
It is now almost two years since Central Administration decided to go for Investors in People status when external IIP assessor Bob Thackwray came and interviewed over 90 LSE staff in all areas and at all levels of the organisation during March 1999.
The aim of this review, or diagnostic assessment, was to provide an immediate snapshot of how Central Administration measured against the national IIP standard, and identify areas and actions that would help close any gaps.
Bob's feedback report set out a number of recommendations. These were organised around five recurring main themes which came up during his sessions with all members of staff which we needed to be aware of, and act upon, if we were to realistically reach the IIP standard.
Bob's five headlines were:
-
induction
-
appraisal
-
communication
-
management
-
evaluation
It's worth running through the major messages again, both to get a sense of the challenge and to see what has changed.
then...
in March 1999
Induction
Bob identified a situation that was patchy, where people said they had not been given any effective induction, either in terms of an overview of working at the School itself or, more importantly, into the specifics of the job people were taken on to do. For too many new starters, it was a case of 'in at the deep end' and 'just get on with it'.
Appraisal
The feedback here was that many people seemed unclear about whether they had been appraised, and if they had, what the purpose of the appraisal sessions were. Some areas, on the other hand, had no system at all. Bob also referred to the large number of paper systems in existence which he suggested needed to be simplified so that effort was going into generating a useful discussion, rather than filling out pages of forms.
Communication
This highlighted the limited awareness on the part of many staff of what was going on in the School, of some of the major institutional initiatives and changes happening around them, and of making connections between their role and that of the whole School. This was particularly true for the large number of staff working in student halls of residence, many of whom saw themselves as out of sight and out of mind.
management
The sense here was that many staff - whilst getting on well with, and liking their managers - had reservations about their effectiveness, and that many managers themselves felt unconfident and unsupported in that role. It was recognised that, while many managers had plenty of professional and specialist knowledge in the areas in which they work, most had limited and/or no support to get to grips with general management and the management of their staff teams.
Evaluation
We need to evaluate all our learning, as staff, very carefully in an attempt to apply it most effectively back into the workplace. In this way, we help our work as individuals, and as team members.
now...
in February 2001
Induction
The Staff Training and Development team has developed a package of central supports for all new starters to form our LSE induction guarantee. This package includes:
-
a detailed welcome pack
-
a short video introducing the School, which includes a look back at our history; a basic overview of who we are and what we do; some introductions to staff and services, and some references to staff development support available for new starters.
-
a tour of the Houghton Street site, monthly new starter lunches which offer the opportunity to meet new and more established faces
-
regular health and safety inductions
We also recognise that, however good the institutional welcome, it is vital that new starters are properly inducted into their new roles in the actual workplace where they will be based.
Therefore, a network of local induction champions, who have been briefed and supported to make arrangements work locally, has been set up.
Appraisal
All Central Administration divisions have now done appraisals or are now scheduling them for their staff, in most cases using new, less paper-heavy formats.
For example, the Personnel division, having done some work as a divisional team on what it wanted appraisal to achieve, set up a working group to develop a new model for itself.
All staff then attended short briefings on making the most of their appraisal, the aim being that people clearly understood what it is all about - and what it is not about! - and could develop their own clear and smart objectives.
All Finance division staff have also attended workshops as either appraisers and appraisees.
Communication
Probably still one of the major challenges, simple changes have been introduced, like getting News&Views to residences.
Also, we have encouraged sharing and working together on events like Learning at Work Day, where lots of staff job-swap and shadow, and as part of IIP Week last October, we staged a staff information fair, when rooms A 85/86 were taken over for a day by different School services as a way of showcasing what goes on in different parts of the School.
Later this year, the Secretary's termly meetings will be revived for all grades of staff.
Management
A whole host of supports will be offered for all grades of staff to include:
-
a full programme of short sessions aimed at supporting busy people with the most basic level questions and queries
-
access to certified management programmes - like the NEBSM Introduction to Management course for new post holders now running for the second year at Rosebery Hall every Wednesday morning of Lent term
-
the option of regular one-to-one management coaching
-
funding support for conferences/external programmes and events in a range of areas
-
national university-sector programmes for senior managers
All managers in the Central Administration were also encouraged to attend a short briefing this year on supporting staff development and using the Staff Development Guide 2000/2001 in their locality. This recognises their key role to encourage and promote effective learning.
Over 50 postholders attended and are now included on a dedicated staff development mailing list which regularly sets out details of new options and opportunities around staff learning.
Evaluation
All programme bookings now coming through Staff Training and Development ask for information on what the person wishing to attend hopes to gain from the programme. It also asks for confirmation that managers agreeing release have discussed the appropriateness of the booking and have agreed objectives/outcomes with the delegate.
They also sign up to agree to help delegates apply their new skill, knowledge and/or attitude back in the workplace.
Hopefully this helps focus on people's real needs and supports the application of learning back to the work area.
Did you know?
Ten facts about IIP
1 IIP is now nearly ten years old.
2 It operates in all sectors of the economy and all types of workplaces, from architects to zoos.
3 IIP applies to all organisations - large or small.
4 It is made up of 12 indicators all of which have to be met to become an Investor in People.
5 It has changed since we signed up in 1998. There were originally 23 indicators and it took 27 re-writes to get the new wording right, in a plain English format.
6 Universities came late to IIP - so far, only 12 universities have IIP status.
7 It is now all about outcomes - what happens, rather than processes or systems.
8 Under the new rules to get IIP, nothing even has to be written down. It is about investing in people, not paper.
9 LSE's Library already has IIP status. It was independently assessed in December.
10 Over 116 staff work in LSE's three IIP fast-tracked divisions.
What's in it for you?
-
the right to an effective induction for all new starters
-
a clear understanding of how you fit into the organisation
-
a commitment to regular discussions on your development
-
a wide range of workplace learning to support your development
-
respect for the contribution you make
Two key facts
1 The Central Administration is headed by the Secretary and comprises the following divisions:
-
Academic Registrar's Division
-
Secretary's Division (headed by the Deputy Secretary)
-
Estates
-
Finance
-
Personnel
-
Research and Project Development
-
Residential Services
2 Over 837 staff work in Central Administration
Overall
Since undertaking the original review and formally committing to achieving IIP in October 1999, a lot has happened, as this update on the headlines hopefully makes clear.
Making sense of the changes in the workplace has probably been harder, since much of the early work took place, often quite slowly, behind the scenes with an inevitable sense of frustration on the part of many Central Admin staff, who had invested great faith in IIP's potential to move things forward at the School and were underwhelmed by the speed, visibility and impact of change.
Staff training and development manager, Chris Connelley, who has acted as the IIP internal consultant from day one, shares the frustration. 'I think that things have taken time to put into place and sense that at times the trail seems to have gone cold, at least in public terms. That doesn't mean that nothing has been happening.
'Rather it reflects the time and effort it takes to move major initiatives forward in seven divisions, with sometimes very different workforces, histories and cultures; whilst also highlighting the importance of getting local management to understand and take up the issues for themselves - rather than having them imposed by outsiders.
'The recent decision to move our efforts away from Central Administration as a whole to individual divisions, does seem to have helped break the impasse, since the department or team we are part of is the place we most identify with and understand best.
'At the start of this School year, a decision was made to fast-track three divisions for a dry-run assessment at the end of March, the aim being that we focus our efforts and get some valuable feedback on where we are now and on how things have changed in these three areas since 1999.'
The three fast-tracked areas are:
-
Estates division
-
Finance division
-
Personnel division
They were chosen for a variety of reasons, to include the mix of staff within them and the obvious link between IIP and other improvement work in progress locally.
There is no suggestion that they are any more or less prepared than other divisions to go for assessment now.
How does the dry run work?
Basically, it is set up as identical to the real, final assessment planned for December 2001
Each fast-tracked division has been asked to provide a current staff list, to include the names of all full-, part-time, and long-term temporary staff, with details of length of service and grades.
From the list, the assessor will select names for individual or group interviews of around 20 minutes. The selection will include staff at all levels and will reflect the makeup and balance of staff in that division.
Staff will be asked a range of questions, the responses to which will help form a picture of how clearly each division meets each of the 12 IIP national indicators which must be met to become an Investor in People.
Each division will be assessed separately, with immediate verbal feedback offered at 4pm on the day itself. This feedback will be offered to heads of division and anyone else they choose to have present.
More detailed written reports will be produced by the time of the Easter closedown on April 11.
Assessment days are as follows:
-
Finance Friday 23 March
-
Estates Wednesday 28 March
-
Personnel Thursday 29 March
Support for the three fast-track divisions
Meetings have been held with the Heads of each of the three Divisions to develop a local action plan in advance of the assessment days
In each division, all managers have been asked to attend a coaching session on the IIP standard, to cover what it means, how it is phrased and its expectations of organisations and their management teams.
This covers the type of activity and evidence needed to fulfil the requirements and allows any issues of concern to be raised with Chris Connelley and our Central Admin IIP external adviser, Julia Houghton, who will be working with us all year and brings with her a wide range of assessment experiences including work with the university sector.
Each division has also set up its own local steering group, drawing upon staff talent from all parts of its operation, to monitor what is actually happening on the ground, to ensure that key actions around Bob Thackwray's headlines are taking place and to provide an ideas and action team to support managers.
The expectation is that assessment will show where things are working and where improvements have been made, as well as giving very specific recommendations to further improve divisional performance.
The results of the dry run assessment will also be fed back to other divisions who can import activities and ideas that seem to work without having to reinvent the wheel.
One important point
The dry run assessments will be undertaken by Julia in her capacity as an adviser. They are set up identically to the real thing but are still formally only test runs, so that even if areas reach the standard, they will not be able to use the IIP logo until the whole of the Central Administration goes for assessment en masse in December.
This is because we are committed together as a Central Administration and will be assessed together.
Induction Champion Training: local co-ordinators
During the autumn, the Staff Training and Development team ran a briefing for induction co-ordinators in a wide range of Central Administrative offices and academic departments. Those who attended were:
Academic Registrar's Division
David Ashton; Louise Burton; Tim Rogers; Simeon Underwood.
Secretary's Division (headed by Deputy Secretary)
Chris Cobb; Stephen Emmott; Judith Higgin; Andrew Webb; Mandy Webb.
Estates Division
Cliff Begley; Sarah Smith.
Finance Division
Sean McNally; Chandra Patel; Stuart Sharkey; Maggie Wollard.
Personnel Division
Nabila Majeed; Nova Mullineaux; Heather Stephenson.
Research and Project Development Division
Amanda Bullock; Jeni Steers.
Residential Services Division
Adelina Ali; Martha Guardiola; Mark Holmes; Jill Martin; Trevor Murtagh; Angela O'Rourke; Danny Simmons; Mark Worrall; Laura Caulton; Rosa Gil; Sara Jons; Amanda Edwards; Joe parfitt; Jackie Woodley.
Departments
Sofia Avgerinou; Jane Dickson; Colleen Etheridge; Joanne Hay; Marilyn Hynes; Michelle Langan; Jenny Law; Hilary Parker; Emma Peel; Pippa Smith; Sue Redgrave; Linda Sampson; Ann Seal; Julia Shaw; Angela Waplington; Barbara Wesley; Brenda Mowlam; Demetra Nicolaou; David Scott; Jean Ingram.
Finally
Both of the most recent national reports into universities - Dearing and Bett - have recommended that all universities think about becoming Investors in People. Nationally, over half are now getting involved at some level.