Leaked staff surveys from Cardiff University show increasing disenchantment with management

Martin Shipton

A series of staff attitude surveys run by Cardiff University reveals growing disenchantment with the management within the workforce, who are now facing the prospect of significant job cuts and School closures.

The university announced proposals to cut 400 jobs and close five Schools including Nursing and Music at the end of January. Members of the University and College Union have subsequently voted overwhelmingly for strike action.

Before the announcement the university’s management undertook three Pulse surveys beginning in September 2024. The results have been leaked to Nation.Cymru.

The first survey, introduced by chief transformation officer David Langley, stated: “We are committed to listening to your feedback and making sure you feel supported during our transformation journey. Regular feedback helps us understand how informed you feel about the changes, and where we need to focus our attention.”

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'Good start'

The survey report goes on to reveal what more than 1,750 responders said: “Over 56% of you agreed that you were able to shape our new strategy during Y Sgwrs Fawr - The Big Conversation, which was approved by [the university’s] Council in July. This tells us that we’ve made a good start, and we remain committed to making sure all colleagues can

contribute to strategic discussions.

“Upcoming opportunities for feedback include this week’s Town Halls, engagement sessions with the Vice Chancellor and of course future Pulse surveys.

“Over 66% of you agreed you have a good understanding of the challenges facing universities, including our own. While that’s a positive sign, 13% of you have indicated that you’d like more clarity.

“To help you stay up to date with sector-wide issues, we’ll continue to send updates in Blas [the staff newsletter], and in the meantime, you can watch our finance webinar with Darren Xiberras’, read [Vice Chancellor] Wendy Larner's article and learn more about the importance of rankings with Rudolf Allemann. Colleagues can also keep up to date with the sector by subscribing to external newsletters, eg WonkHE.

“Over 58% of you feel that senior leaders are regularly sharing updates on strategic developments. While this is encouraging, some of you felt this isn’t happening as often as it should. Ensuring consistent and transparent communication from senior leaders remains a priority.

“Senior staff forums are being held regularly, and you can continue to expect regular updates from members of the University Executive Board (UEB), including myself. In the meantime, you can explore the transformation roadmap and understand which UEB member is sponsoring which roadmap activity.

“59% of you are aware of the savings we’ve already made to help secure our financial and academic future. With 10% disagreeing and others unsure, we’ll make sure key information is more easily accessible.”

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'Input'

Explaining what would happen next, the first survey states: “Your input is invaluable in shaping how we move forward. By continuing to work together and providing feedback, we can ensure our transformation journey is inclusive and meaningful. Look out for the next Pulse survey, arriving in your inbox from next week.”

The second Pulse survey, covering results for October and November 2024, was introduced by the university’s director of people and culture, Sally-ann Efstathiou. Its tone is less positive than the first survey report. Ms Efstathiou stated: “Your input is invaluable, and it helps us understand how we’re doing and where we can do better.

“The survey results show that while a third of colleagues believe the changes we are making will help deliver our new strategy, 42% of you disagreed. This highlights an opportunity for us to do more to explain in our communications how the changes align with our shared goals and vision for the future. The university’s new success measures will be key here.

“It’s clear that not everyone feels valued or recognised for the work they do, which is a concern we take seriously. Colleagues are the foundation of everything we achieve as a university, and ensuring that everyone feels appreciated for their contributions is vital.

“One of my priorities is to enable more opportunities for colleagues to learn about the work, skills and experiences of other teams, sharing and celebrating successes (big and small) and to make providing feedback more commonplace, at all levels of the institution, including from UEB [the University Executive Board].

“I also acknowledge that some of the difficult decisions we are having to take in our current financial context will be playing a part in how some colleagues are feeling at this time too.

“It’s encouraging to see that over 50% of colleagues feel well-informed about what’s happening in the wider university. We want to build on this by continuing to revise and evaluate our existing channels and better equip managers through additional resources and training to cascade information themselves.

“Many of you recognise the efforts of senior leaders to encourage staff to engage with our internal communications (such as Blas). We’ll encourage them to continue to do this via the additional resources for managers I mentioned above. In addition, myself and other UEB colleagues understand how important it is that we are visible and accountable through these channels.”

Feedback

Setting out what will happen next, Ms Efstathiou wrote: “We are reviewing the survey feedback in detail and will use it to inform our plans. The results are regularly discussed at University Executive Board meetings.

“Over the coming months, we’ll continue to share updates about the changes taking place and how they align with our strategy, as well as work with senior leaders to improve communication and recognition across the university. I’m pleased to share that Dr Paula Sanderson, Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary, will be leading the next Pulse survey, which will begin rolling out next week.”

Reflected

On January 23 - five days before the big cuts announcement, Dr Sanderson reflected on what would be the final Pulse report, stating: “We are listening and your insights are crucial as we navigate this period of transformation together, and I’m pleased to share some reflections on the final results.

“It’s heartening to see that 65% of you feel proud to work for our university – a sentiment I very much share. We’ve much to be proud of and this is a testament to the incredible work you all do.

“However, in this challenging environment, we recognise that some of you may not feel the same way you once did, and we are committed to working hard throughout 2025 to help reignite that pride in our institution and the student experience we offer.

“48% of you feel confident in the role you play in delivering our strategy. While this is a useful starting point, we know there is more to be done. Our transformation will mean different things to each of you, and we recognise the importance of supporting you and your experience of change as well as measuring and adapting our approach. All of this plays a part in you understanding your role in delivering our strategy.

“This month, Human Resources are holding focus groups to capture a baseline of our current culture so that we can understand what colleagues think about how change is being embedded, and the impact change has on beliefs, behaviours, systems and processes. This activity will be repeated at key points during 2025 as we track how our culture evolves over time.

“We will share more information on this, and wider cultural work, in the coming months.

“53% feel you have opportunities to ask questions about the changes we’re making. Those questions and comments help us to shape our thinking. We recognise the importance of open forums, and you can currently ask questions or share your feedback in the following ways:

Join our upcoming Town Hall on January 31. Registration is essential, and a recording will be shared for those unable to attend.

Join all-staff webinars in February and March. These ensure staff have a regular opportunity to ask UEB members questions on our strategy and transformation

“31% of you feel the UEB is open and honest in our communications. We want to do better. As David Langley, our chief transformation officer explained before the Christmas break, we sensed these same concerns at the all-staff webinars.

"I’d encourage you to read David’s message, where he explains the difference between proposals and decisions, and gives a helpful reminder of how our transformation is being governed. We are committed to being honest with you and will bring our next options (not final decisions) to you at the upcoming Town Halls.”

'Abysmal'

A Cardiff University insider said:” I've been through the news pieces on the first Pulse survey results and certainly at the start they did not say this was only going to be going for a few months, or for a certain limited phase, but gave the impression of a continuous thing ‘during our transformation journey’.

"In the penultimate results piece, they did say that the next iteration would be the final one, but the results were already increasingly abysmal then.

“The feeling from many staff is that it seems like the surveys stopped because so many of the results were looking so bad for them.”