Staff Survey

Positioning City University London as an "employer of choice" is a primary aim of the University's Corporate Strategy and the key objective of its Staff Experience Programme. As most of you will know, Ipsos MORI were appointed this year to conduct a staff survey.

We have now received the results of the staff survey from Ipsos MORI. The response rate was high - 77% (this excludes visiting lecturers) – placing us in Ipsos MORI’s top ten of all those organisations they have ever surveyed. Thank you for taking part and for the useful feedback you have given. Read a summary of the results.

Employer of choice

By this we mean being the employer of choice to new applicants, as well as continuing to be the employer of choice to our existing workforce.  In order to achieve this, we aim to create a working environment in which people feel committed to the University’s values, principles and priorities and where they experience City as a stimulating, satisfying and supportive place to work.

It is well recognised that customer satisfaction starts with employee satisfaction, that committed employees are more motivated and productive, and that this is reflected in the way in which they treat their customers and the way they treat each other. For City, this means committed staff making us a University which provides a stimulating supportive environment for our students, a place where excellent research is undertaken and where staff engage with the world around.

So, the benefits are clear, but creating and improving employee satisfaction is a significant challenge.

How we will do this

In order to know what we need to do to improve the experience of City staff, we need to understand where we are now, what we do well, and where we may need to improve.  To some extent, this can be gauged by recognised indicators of organisational health such as staff turnover, rates of sickness absence and incidence of complaints (disciplinary or grievance cases, for example), but these don’t tell us how employees relate to the University, or feel about working here.

 

A satisfying working environment means different things to different people but, as a minimum, it requires that people:

  • understand what is expected of them and are given the development, tools and support to deliver;
  • feel that they are treated fairly and respectfully, irrespective of disability, gender, ethnicity, orientation or status;
  • have equality of opportunity;
  • understand how their job/team/department contributes to the University’s mission and objectives; and
  • feel that their contribution is valued and their reward appropriate.

Through the survey we hope to gain an accurate picture of perceptions of City University London as an employer in all of these respects.

How the University will act on the survey outcomes

The outcomes of the survey will help set the priorities for the Staff Experience Programme.  They will also provide data against which we can measure our progress in future years and compare ourselves to other universities and employers. 

 

Find the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the survey.