In summer 2021, over 2,300 colleagues completed our staff survey. The responses provide a sound basis for future areas of focus and were consistent with feedback we’ve received from across the institution in recent months. This means that we’ve already started to work on many of the issues raised. 

We communicated with colleagues on 8 December 2021, sharing an overview of our institutional level results and outlining next steps.

The headline results

The survey results revealed our key strengths which included:

• Trust in staff by line management
• Empathy and support from managers to do a good job
• Staff being treated with respect by their line managers/supervisors.

The proportion of staff who stated that they are proud to work at Durham University was 78%, with 63% of staff who responded to the survey saying that the University is a great place to work.

The survey results have also enabled us to identify key focus areas, and our senior leadership team is committed to taking action. Our institutional focus areas include, Leading by Example, Creating a Supportive and Caring Culture and Being Fair and Equitable to Everyone.

Whilst some of the comparator information highlighted in the Great Place to Work report is a helpful reference point, the results are not benchmarked against other higher education institutions. However, it does allow us to benchmark our results against some of the best places to work in the world.

Next steps

This is very much the start of a conversation. We want to explore the survey results further with colleagues, so that we can understand the actions we need to take at a local and institutional level that will make the most difference to our community.

Heads of Department, College and Professional Service will receive detailed departmental reports. This follows facilitated discussions with the survey providers regarding the construct of the reports. Faculty and Divisional level discussions will begin after this, with departmental discussions to follow.

We will be open and transparent as we take the next steps. We will continue to communicate with you throughout the lifecycle of the staff survey and provide opportunities in the spring, following your departmental conversations, to engage with institution wide discussions within “Making a Difference” cafes.

We’d like to thank you again for sharing this honest and very valuable feedback, which will now help to inform and develop initiatives that make a difference to our work, environment and community.

We look forward to working together to shape and prioritise our plans for the future.

Find out more

• Read our Sway update for more information on our institutional level results.
• Download a PDF version of the Sway, which can be printed and shared with colleagues who do not have regular access to emails.