People
Strategy

We are proud of our staff and understand that the best student experience can only be delivered if the people we have working for us share our vision, our ambitions and our dedication to delivering excellence. We understand the importance of a high-quality staff experience to get the best out of people in a high-performance culture where we strive to compete with the very best in the sector.

We recognise that the world of work is continually changing and along with it, people’s expectations of the workplace and ways of working. We value our employees as individuals and recognise that our working methods need to adapt to be fully inclusive and to ensure we can attract and retain the most talented individuals from a diverse talent pool.

We recognise that we are operating in a continually changing, and volatile environment which presents us with significant challenges but also exciting opportunities to consider innovative solutions to the challenges we face.

I am proud to present our People Strategy which has been developed following consultation and engagement with our staff and other stakeholders, as well as views received from staff surveys and engagement activity related to the development of our Strategic Framework.

Sarah Setchell
Chief People Officer

Our Values

Values People

• We enable people to achieve beyond their expectations, which attracts highperforming staff, students with a drive to succeed, and partners who are keen to benefit from our expertise.
• We share a collective endeavour to open minds, and encourage and inspire those who come into contact with us.
• We trust and support each other to deliver on our promises.
• We listen and act with integrity to build positive long-lasting partnerships. We are true ambassadors of our purpose and promises.

Bold

• We think big and make an impact.
• We have passion and ambition, and look for opportunities to stretch and challenge ourselves and others. We evolve through new learning and experiences, and are beacons of good practice.
• We are proud of what we do, make ourselves visible, and tell our story in a way that strengthens our global presence.
• We create a reputation where our innovation, skills and knowledge are relied upon by industry to fulfil their potential and ensure their future success.

Future Focused

• We are modern, seek out and embrace current thinking, and employ innovative practices.
• We have a confident and adaptable approach to change, working together to challenge, take the lead and set the pace.
• We have determination, knowledge and a positive attitude, keeping engaged in the world around us and staying ahead of the game.

Brilliance

• We are curious, optimistic and strive for excellence.
• We create thriving communities where those around us are confident to share their views, celebrate success and are proud of the achievements we make.
• We create stimulating environments that transform the prospects of all who engage with us. We believe we all make a difference.

Our People

We value people and are future-focused. We are bold and foster brilliance. Our culture is one in which diverse skills and experiences are valued. We are open-minded, with individuals given the space and support to develop and grow.

We work as a community, with a sense of purpose which translates itself into a single shared passion among all staff to provide the best possible experience for our students,
partners and stakeholders.

We trust and support each other to deliver on our promises. We listen and act with integrity to build positive, long lasting partnerships. We think big, and encourage our students, partners, city, county and region to do the same. We have passion, ambition and look for opportunities to stretch and challenge ourselves and others.

Our confident and adaptable approach to change means we work together to challenge, take the lead and set the pace. We are curious and optimistic and do not accept mediocrity.

Strategic Themes

Talent and Success

We have passion and ambition, and enable people to achieve beyond their expectations.

• We will strive to attract and retain high-performing individuals and teams who contribute to our vibrant scholarly and professional community.
• We will help create an environment where people understand their strengths and their contribution and where they are supported to have honest conversations about their future aspirations.
• We will support our staff in developing and sharing their knowledge and skills so that they can excel in their roles and contribute to the sustainable success of the team.
• We will invest in our staff to ensure they are qualified and professionally accredited through effective use of apprenticeships, attainment of teaching qualifications and HEA accreditation and other indicators of teaching and professional quality.
• We will develop coaching and mentoring opportunities for staff to help achieve a culture of high performance and continuous improvement.
• We will invest in the research excellence of our staff and provide them with the time and resources to enable them to undertake ambitious, rigorous and impactful research.
• We will support the development of a range of career pathways that enables a more customisable progression route to reflect the needs of individuals at different stages of their lives and career and to help develop our future leaders from our existing workforce. This will include the development of clear academic pathways e.g. from early career through to professor.

Leadership and Management

Our leaders create an environment where people are accountable, strive for success and are supported and trusted to deliver.

• We will put in place mechanisms to effectively identify our future leaders and, recognising their individual strengths, enable them to deliver positive and lasting change for our university, our staff and students.
• We will collaboratively define the Derby Manager and Derby Leader roles to ensure that our current and future leaders embody our values and role model the behaviours we need to drive a culture of trust, high performance and continuous improvement.
• Our managers and leaders will ensure their teams are involved in setting their own objectives and understand how their work contributes to the wider university strategy.
• Our leaders will enable staff to be accountable for their own contribution and achieve ‘High Performance’ through strategically aligned, digitally enabled performance and development processes with fair and equal access to development opportunities.
• We will review and streamline our reporting structures to increase clarity, remove duplication, and enable better and more transparent decision-making.
• We will adopt sector-leading governance and decision-making processes to ensure we continue to meet our conditions of registration and inspire the trust and confidence of staff, students and the wider community in how we conduct our business.

Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing

We work in a culture that promotes wellbeing, diversity and opportunity for all.

• We will foster a culture of shared and personal responsibility for wellbeing at work and promote healthy lifestyle choices for the benefit of our staff and students.
• We will influence and promote a healthy work life balance through our forwardthinking policies and introduce wellbeing and mental health frameworks in line with our “5 Steps to Wellbeing programme” to help reduce the incidence of workplace stress.
• We will create a thriving staff community that celebrates diversity and promotes inclusion and through our positive and forward-thinking policies, develop our external reputation as an employer of choice.
• We will work to achieve excellence in diversity and inclusion through externally recognised charter marks such as Athena Swan and the Race Equality Charter.
• We will strive to achieve a year on year reduction in our gender and other pay gaps.

Collaboration

We are the only university in the city and we will encourage our staff to seek new opportunities to work with and engage our partners in the city and country.

• We will be outward facing ensuring that our people policies align to our civic responsibilities, strengthening our position and reputation within the city, region and beyond.
• We will take our civic responsibilities seriously, supporting our local communities and facilitating opportunities for our staff to engage in voluntary work.
• We are proud of our vibrant and diverse city and will champion good citizenship through our commitment to environmental protection and sustainability, future-proofing Derby for the next generation of students and the local community.
• We will enable our staff to work collaboratively, enhancing our reputation through public and community engagement within a Knowledge Exchange Framework and implementation of the KE Concordat.
• We will facilitate more effective cross-functional working across teams within the University and support and encourage our staff to develop their external professional networks both within the sector and beyond.