Pay & Conditions: Investment in people workshop

Professor Tim Soutphommasane is a member of the Pay & Conditions Report Steering Committee. He is the University's Chief Diversity Officer, a Professor of Practice in Human Rights and Political Theory in the Department of Politics and International Relations, and a Senior Research Fellow at Balliol College. Prior to joining Oxford, Tim was Director of Culture Strategy at the University of Sydney (2019−22) and he served as Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner (2013−18).  

How do we best invest in our people in ways that support their wellbeing and development? That was the question we examined in our Pay & Conditions Steering Committee workshop on 19 October.  

As with each workshop we have had, members were given reading material on what other organisations have been doing. One thing is clear, when it comes to investing in people: organisations everywhere are thinking hard about how they can attract and retain talent. Increasingly, the issue is not just about levels of pay or job security; it is also about the ‘employee experience’ – something defined by the culture and environment in which people work. 

Investments in people, then, come in many forms. Yes, it’s about how we give people opportunities for career growth and advancement. But it’s also about creating trust, transparency and inclusion within places of work. 

Some current challenges 

The committee reflected on the barriers to career development and training.  

There was the issue of workloads. Put simply, where workloads are too high, colleagues may struggle to find enough time to take up development opportunities. As we have seen from the results of the recent Staff Experience Survey, there are significant concerns about growing workloads in some sections of the University.  

Even when there is scope, development opportunities are not always realised. Managers or heads of department may not, for example, be well equipped to facilitate or enable training and development. Where joint appointments with colleges are concerned, there may be a lack of co-ordination of training and support. 

We also discussed significant differences between academic and professional services staff experiences. While professional services staff often have clear relationships with a line manager, academic colleagues work differently with their head of department. If that’s the case, how can we ensure that academics are still well supported with career development and progression?  

Where did we land?

With these challenges in mind, the committee's discussion in this workshop focused on examining a range of opportunities for enhancing people’s experience of working at Oxford. There is much work already underway on this theme alongside the Pay & Conditions review. This includes the Academic Career and Reward Framework project, the work of the Researcher Hub, the Thriving at Oxford and FOCUS programme initiatives, Professional Services Together, and the Technicians Commitment. And then there is the work we are doing on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), to build a more inclusive culture for staff and students. 

Committee members recognise the importance of investing in our people – and in connecting this with the broader experience of staff. We have been paying close attention to the ideas and perspectives shared by colleagues from across the University. There is now an opportunity for us to consider how we can strengthen our offerings in professional and career development support. An opportunity, too, for us to work with managers, heads of department and PIs to ensure all staff can take full advantage of the opportunities we provide. 

In other words, the challenge is as much about investing in our culture, as it is about investing in the individuals who make this University all that it is. Considerations of EDI are central to this. But, as with so many questions the committee has considered during our deliberations to date, our proposed recommendations will need to be sensitive to the different academic and professional experiences that staff have across the University.

You can find out more about the work of the Pay & Conditions Report Steering Committee on the Pay & Conditions Report webpages, including frequently asked questions, a record of updates shared with all staff, information about Pay & Conditions events (including slides and recordings) and details of committee meetings and workshops. Please note that the staff consultation phase of this review has now finished, but you can contact the project team with any questions about the review at payandconditions@admin.ox.ac.uk.