The University of Central Lancashire has defended staff survey results which revealed workers felt overburdened by bureaucracy and not listened to by senior managers.
The 2009 staff study, carried out by consultancy Capita, polled 1,602 staff, and found that more than two-thirds felt swamped by the extra time they have had to put in over the past 12 months.
Sixty-one per cent said too many approvals are needed for routine decisions, and more than a third said their manager doesn’t motivate them to give their best.
A further 57% didn’t think the organisation was doing a good job of retaining its most talented people.
However, the university said it was pleased with the overall feedback, which showed that 92% of staff agreed it was a good place to work.
Four areas have been identified for improvement: work load and bureaucracy, change management, communications, and career progression. A senior manager has been appointed to lead on each of the areas, with a brief to provide an action plan by December 2009, with full implementation by July 2010.
The university’s joint HR directors Pauline Davies-Taylor and Alison Smith pointed out the survey results place the University of Central Lancashire in the top 20 ‘Employers of Choice’ when compared to the 212 public sector clients that took part in the Capita survey during 2008-09.
Davies-Taylor said: “The purpose of these surveys is to provide honest feedback on the university as a place to work, and its results are used to improve the environment that we offer to both staff and students.
“Any survey will highlight areas that can be improved upon, and we believe that it is important that all employees are able to see all the results published – as we have done by publishing the results online – so that all points are reflected openly.”
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