Name and Job Title

Bridget Wilkinson, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development (FCIPD), Associates and Collaborations Manager, Centre for Innovation in Technologies and Education (CITE) and the Professional Development Unit (PDU).

How long have you been at the University

Six years. Appointed to my current role in August 2013.

What does your role at the University involve?

Working in partnership with colleagues across faculties and professional services, the purpose of my role is to facilitate collaborations and deliver projects that enhance learning within the University. This could either be with the focus on student learning, bringing innovation into the education experience or focusing on staff learning through professional development.

Having spent my career enabling colleagues to develop new skills and gain the knowledge and confidence to achieve things that initially they never thought possible, I believe that the University should be a place of learning for both students and staff. As an organisation we are committed to enhancing student learning by providing excellence and innovation in education. For me, of equal priority must be the personal and professional learning and development of staff, enabling us to excel in our current roles, be supported to achieve our career aspirations and deliver excellence.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on an overhaul of the appraisal process for Education, Research and Enterprise (ERE) staff. The findings of the last staff survey, and recent discussions with faculties, highlight that although we have pockets of excellent practice, there are huge inconsistencies in the value and use of the current Personal Performance and Development Review (PPDR) as a development tool. In some cases, the PPDR has been reduced to a negative tick box exercise lacking any discussion of the appraisee’s development. Indeed in some isolated areas it has become apparent that staff have not had a PPDR for years.

I have therefore been delighted to work, over the last six months, with ERE staff from all areas and levels to redesign the approach to Appraisal and develop a training suite for ERE staff, all of which will be launched at the start of the new academic year.

How will this benefit staff?

Commissioned by UEG as part of the Academic Reward project, the new approach signals a desire for a cultural shift, emphasising the need to look forward and enable the development of skills, knowledge and behaviours that will enhance the appraisee’s contribution, and where appropriate, support their readiness for promotion. It also introduces  the expectation that all ERE staff will make a contribution to the University community through leadership management or engagement activities. For me, if successful, this will be a real step towards building a staff community where the ongoing learning and development of ourselves and each other, as well as our students, becomes the norm.

How can individual staff members help bring about this change?

The success of the new approach will rely heavily on the quality of the individual appraisal discussions taking place and therefore the skill of appraisers to listen and lead a supportive conversation in which both parties feel able to be open and honest. So important are these skills, that UEG have decided to mandate a half day skills workshop for all appraisers, training which they undertook themselves on 10 June. If you are responsible for leading appraisal discussions, please reserve your place here.

The active participation of appraisees will also be crucial if a cultural shift is to be achieved. Briefings will therefore be held in the new academic year, setting out what you can now expect from your appraisal and how best to prepare. Dates and times will be announced in October 2014, please book yourself on.

To ensure that we are all up to speed on the new approach and such fundamentals as how to ensure fairness and consistency, all ERE staff, will be required to complete a brief introductory online learning unit launching in October 2014. I know that the requirement to complete online training is not always welcomed, however this is such an important subject that I would personally urge you to please take the time.

For more information on the training, please go to http://www.southampton.ac.uk/pdu/Academic%20Practice/Appraisal_Training.html

When does the training start?

All training will start in October 2014, however appraisers can reserve their space on the skills workshop now by visiting https://www.staffbook.soton.ac.uk/. At the moment the training is tailored to ERE staff, so will require revision before creating for other staff groups.

Why is it only for ERE staff?
The new approach has been tailored to meet the needs of ERE staff looking specifically at the areas of Education, Research, Enterprise and Leadership, Management and Engagement. A review of the PPDR process for support staff is planned.

What do you enjoy about your job?

Supporting others to learn and watching them fly!