One Big Question (7) 

7. Do staff work for departments or do they work for the University?

People come first – structures and boundaries come second. We need to get things done and all professional staff, regardless of their professional unit, contribute to our future.

The University is the employer, this has to be the starting point, with work and thinking shared across boundaries, to make it both more efficient and rewarding. We all have structural boundaries to consider in our working lives, but need to consider activities which cross boundaries which will help us to be successful.

We want to develop a common set of identities, values, performance expectations, a sense of cohesiveness which cuts across departmental cultures and identities.

In some departments staff may feel that the world stops at departmental level, but we need to connect with all staff, at all levels, even if they are in a very departmentally focused role. Everyone contributes to the broader department, faculty and university goals. We must find ways to make cross departmental connections. For example, you might have a solution in your department which another department desperately needs, and you can see ways it could be delivered to other parts of the University. We want you to be heard, how can we involve you in doing this?