Shaping the future together

• Dr Markos Koumaditis reflects on the progress made following the 2023 survey
• The survey provides the University with an opportunity to gather feedback on the working experiences of staff in academic, research, professional and support roles, at all career stages

As we approach the next Staff Experience Survey, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the impact staff feedback has made in recent years and how your insights will shape the future working conditions at Oxford.

Our listening journey

In 2018, the University conducted its first ever all-staff survey, which gave us a foundational understanding of your experiences and perspectives of working at Oxford. In 2021, and again in 2023, further surveys gave us the opportunity to systematically measure our progress over time and understand how we compare to other institutions across the sector. Thanks to your input, the insights gained have led and informed a range of initiatives impacting staff across all roles and departments – from enhancing pay and benefits through the Pay & Conditions review, to improving professional and career development opportunities through the Researcher Hub, Technician Commitment and the Confident Manager series of modules.

Progress since 2023

In the 2023 survey, your feedback identified clear areas of focus: pay and benefits, professional growth, wellbeing and workload, and inclusive and collaborative culture. This led to a number of institutional initiatives making progress on these priorities, which you can read about on the your feedback in action pages of the EDU website.

Your feedback will also make a difference in the future. In February, we launched the University's People Strategy, designed to create an excellent workplace for everyone. The strategy includes the Academic Career and Reward Framework and Pay & Conditions, both developed based on staff feedback from the 2023 survey. Your continued feedback will be vital in shaping future improvements.

Your feedback in 2025 will help us understand where you feel that progress has been made and enable prioritisation and refinement of work across the institution, divisions and departments, to ensure that we are addressing what matters most to you.

Keeping your information confidential

We ask you to voluntarily provide us with some key items of personal information, reflecting the characteristics protected under equality law, and other demographics that may affect your experience of working at the University. These include questions about your ethnicity, disability, religion or belief and sexual orientation. We understand that these are very personal questions for most people. Please be assured that all survey responses will be de-identified before being shared with the University.

Hearing all perspectives

In January’s MPLS Newsletter, Professor Jim Naismith, Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division, shared his view on the importance of the survey and why your participation is vital. Jim said: 

'It’s the time of resolutions for the coming year; can I ask that amongst the intended plans, please add "I will complete the upcoming staff survey". I know that for many of us these things feel like yet another centrally imposed demand. However, they really matter: if good things are not recognised and praised, they get removed, if problems you face are not highlighted, they will never be addressed, and if you don’t input, your views will be ignored in favour of those who do input. I’d be lying to say "fill it in and everything will get better all at once". The truth is, "fill it in so we know what is good and what needs to be fixed”. At least then there is a chance we will be working on the right things.'

Let’s shape the future together

This survey is more than a data collection exercise, it is an ongoing conversation. Your input guides our actions and helps us create a workplace where everyone feels valued and empowered to succeed.

The survey will be open on 31 March 2025, and takes 15–20 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential, and we will share a summary of the findings, priorities and how we will take these forward in Trinity term. 

Please take the time to share your experiences and encourage your colleagues to participate as well. Thank you for contributing your time and thoughts towards improving our University as a workplace.

University staff will receive an individual email to participate in the survey at 10am on Monday 31 March 2025, from People Insight (survey-invite@peopleinsight.co.uk).