Our People
Find out more about the work we are doing to support each other to thrive, be fulfilled and reach our potential, as well as the ways in which we are celebrating diversity and being inclusive, fair and compassionate in everything we do, prioritising the health and wellbeing of our community.
PS Connect
As part of our commitment to developing technology-enhanced, flexible working practices and development opportunities, we have created our PS Connect platform. Formed in May 2023, PS Connect transforms the way we deliver professional services; offering user focussed journeys to deliver cross-functional, integrated core services and support. Initially these services included HR, Finance, IT and Strategic Procurement and has since expanded to include Service Experience, Service Improvement and Development, Pensions and Receptions, with more services expected to come.
Sharing stories about our mental health
We aim to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our University community, reducing stigma and encouraging open conversations about mental health, leading the way to a compassionate and inclusive society for all. One of the ways we’ve been raising awareness about mental health and wellbeing is through the ‘This is Me’ campaign. This storytelling movement encourages us all to share our personal experiences with mental health and show that no matter what you’re going through, you are not alone. By sharing our stories about mental health, we will reduce stigma, offer hope and provide support across our community.
Wellbeing Universities HR Award 2023
Our Strategy 2030 goals commit us to a diverse, inclusive and compassionate future for all, in which we prioritise the health and wellbeing of our entire community. We were awarded the ‘Wellbeing’ Universities HR award at the Universities HR 2023 Annual Conference. In particular, we were recognised for the development of a new online training package for all people managers entitled ‘Supporting the mental wellbeing of your team’, as well as the development of a community of Colleague Mental Health Champions. We are committed to an interdisciplinary, consistent and long-term approach that embeds mental health and wellbeing policies into our University community.
Professional Services Recognition Awards 2023
We believe in a fair and inclusive workplace for all of our colleagues, fostering an environment where excellence is recognised across all careers. We appreciate the hard work, commitment and achievements of all colleagues both individually and as part of team, through various reward and recognition schemes. This includes recognising the invaluable contribution of our professional services colleagues at the PSRAs, which returned in June 2023. Over 450 nominations were received in total recognising the dedication and excellence across our professional services divisions.
Our Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture Committee
We have created a Wellbeing, Inclusion and Culture Committee (WICC) to ensure the delivery of our strategic priorities in health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and colleague experience and development. The committee is co-chaired by the Provost and Executive Divisional Director of HR, and brings together several reporting groups across our faculties and professional services with the aim of developing and promoting a culture of inclusivity and compassion across our campuses.
Race Equality Charter – Bronze Award
We are proud to have achieved a Race Equality Charter (REC) bronze award in recognition of our commitment and efforts towards advancing race equality in higher education. Our ongoing equality, diversity and inclusion work has built a solid foundation for enhancing race equity and developing an inclusive culture that values and supports all our staff and students. Gaining the REC bronze award is just the first step in the continuation of our commitment to stand against discrimination in all its forms. As part of the application we developed an extensive race equality action plan which will be guiding our work over the coming years.
Exe-Change the Norm
As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment for our community, bystander training has been offered to all of our students, and over 500 have already taken part. The training aims to provide the confidence and skills to help our students intervene in situations, where something feels wrong or where someone is being mistreated, in a way which can create a positive outcome. We want to positively change behaviours and help create a safe and inclusive environment across our campuses.
Elevate programme
Following the success of our previous cohort, funding has been secured to enable the Elevate leadership programme to be offered again for the 2022-23 academic year. Elevate creates a unique opportunity for professional services and academic colleagues who identify as women from minority ethnic groups, to meet, share, support and learn together. The programme brings together colleagues from across five universities in the South West of England and South Wales: (Bristol, Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, and UWE Bristol).
Exeter Professional development programme
As part of our commitment to develop strong support and development programmes for our colleagues, we have launched Exeter Professional. Exeter Professional is specifically aimed at professional services colleagues to help support them to be the best they can be by providing access to development opportunities and tailored advice and guidance on their career pathways.
Mental Health Champions appointed
As part of our commitment to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our people, over 70 mental health champions are now in place across the University. The role of the champions is to promote positive mental health and wellbeing within our community. They will help to raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, challenge the stigma surrounding mental health, talk to colleagues openly, as well as role modelling positive work practices and healthy behaviours and encouraging others to take part.
Our structure
In September 2022 we created a simpler university structure focused on our three strategic goals (Environmental Sustainability, Health and Social Justice). Our three new faculties each champion one of our strategic aims. At the same time we also reshaped our professional services divisions from 12 to 8 enabling us to bring support closer to our academic and learning communities. It is hoped our new structures will create strong foundations on which to deliver the goals we have set out in Strategy 2030.
