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20th IUA HR Conference

The Revolution of Work - Day 2 outline

Hybrid working with Manchester University - Thinking Differently

Plenary 5

'Hybrid working - Thinking Differently'

The session will cover the Manchester University’s iterative approach to developing hybrid working by engaging with a wide range of colleagues and using the University’s values to guide them.

The University will showcase their recently published Hybrid Working Framework for Professional Services colleagues and bring the framework to life by walking through a series of personas which demonstrate how different colleagues experiencing hybrid working, and how the framework allows for flexibility and ingenuity at the local level.

The team, two of whom will be joining us remotely from Manchestor, will share their successes and learnings over the last two years around true transparency and authenticity at leadership and management level, by listening to colleagues and basing decisions on their feedback, and using data as a source for action.

Manchester University

Helen Ashley: Helen Ashley is the Head of Workforce Planning and Talent at the University of Manchester. She is an experienced People and OD leader with a background in Healthcare, International Higher Education, and Science Publishing sectors. With a focus on evidence-based performance improvement and transformational leadership, her areas of excellence are designing and implementing workforce and OD strategies, client-led service improvement, and leadership of organisational change through cooperation, collaboration and colleague engagement. She is a qualified coach and remains research active in the field of organisational culture. She is a Fellow of CIPD, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has a master’s degree in Education. 

Kay Nicholls: Kay Nicholls is a Project Manager in the University of Manchester’s Strategic Change Office. She is an experienced transformation and change specialist, with a background in management consultancy working in public and private sectors across Australia and the UK. Her areas of expertise lie in people and change management, leadership and stakeholder engagement, behaviour change and workforce effectiveness.

Adèle MacKinlay (joining remotely): Adèle joined The University of Manchester as its inaugural Director of People and Organisational Development in November 2022.  Previously she was the Director of People and Organisational Development at Loughborough University and worked at Pace University and College Avenue Student Loans in the US. Prior to her family’s move to the US, Adèle was Director of Human Resources and then Chief Operating Officer at Aston University.  Her early career was spent in Financial Services.

Rachel McGraw (joining remotely): Rachael leads on the University’s approach to colleague experience. With a background in internal and external communications and marketing, she has led a number of high profile strategic projects at the University including the engagement programme which led to the creation of the University’s vision and strategic plan Our future; engaging more than 800 colleagues in uncovering our University’s values and she is a key member of the Professional Services hybrid working project team.

Becoming an employer of choice with David Vuletich, EAB

Plenary 6

'Becoming an Employer of Choice'

Higher Education Institutions are facing a staffing crisis as they try to recover from labour force cuts made during the pandemic by hiring in a historically competitive labour market. The key to successfully attracting top talent is to have a well-defined Employee Value Proposition, which is a demonstration of all the ways an organisation provides value to employees and convinces people to want to start working and stay working there. EAB research has found that some of the best practices come from outside of the Higher Education sector but are easily transferrable. Attendees will learn the four main components of a strong Employee Value Proposition and how it can differentiate your institution in a crowded employment marketplace.

EAB.com

EAB (Education Advisory Board) partners with over 2,300 universities across North America, the U.K. and Ireland, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. We conduct best practice research across the Higher Education sector, and support our partner institutions on the implementation of these practices through the provision of case studies and data, expert consultation, diagnostics, and targeted networking.

David Vuletich is a Senior Director in EAB’s Research Advisory Services and serves as the Academic Strategy Team lead. The Academic Strategy Team houses EAB’s experts in academic affairs, student success, and university budget models, and is responsible for driving value for our partner institutions through consensus building, decision support, and guidance on best practices implementation.

What to expect

In today’s competitive labour market, many institutions struggle to find high-quality external candidates but overlook opportunities to tap internal candidates. Investing in internal staff career development and advancement can bolster short-and long-term recruitment and retention efforts. In fact, current higher ed employees are less satisfied with their future career opportunities than pay, yet few universities prioritise career initiatives for internal staff. This presentation focuses on the financial, organisational, and strategic benefits of investing in internal career advancement. Attendees will learn how their competitors prioritise and develop internal talent, understand the key design features of career mobility strategies, and bring lessons back to their own institution.

About the speakers

David Vuletich is a Senior Director in EAB’s Research Advisory Services and serves as the Academic Strategy Team lead. The Academic Strategy Team houses EAB’s experts in academic affairs, student success, and university budget models, and is responsible for driving value for our partner institutions through consensus building, decision support, and guidance on best practices implementation.

Dr. Jennifer Latino is a Senior Director for EAB’s Research Advisory Services and serves as an expert in Student Success and Institutional Strategy and Planning. Jennifer enjoys engaging with EAB partners around topics such as Mental Health, DEIJ, and Strategy and Planning. She is a facilitator for EAB’s Mental Health Collaborative.

What to expect

Video can be a really useful tool for explaining policies or forms, showcasing new projects or providing cost-effective training. In this very practical session, Paul and Katharine will show you how to produce short videos and animations to help get your message across quickly and effectively. No backgroud in video or design required!

From high level corporate productions to webinars and in-the-moment reels we will go through the options available and provide you with the practical skills needed to start boosting engagement using video.

  • Recruitment - Can video help attract employees or provide a window onto your culture?
  • Learning & Development - Can video help create more engaging content and provide more for less?
  • Operations, payroll, etc - Could short videos help reduce query rates or incorrectly filled forms?

From UCD

Paul Fitzgerald, Engagement Specialist, UCD: Paul is currently working as a specialist in employee engagement with a focus on events, social media, video production, website design, policy development, project management, data analysis and surveys. He also has 20 years experience working in HR roles from resourcing to people development. Prior to UCD, Paul worked in graphic design, web design and e-learning.

Katharine Slattery, People and Organisation Development Specialist, UCD: Katharine is involved in the design, development and implementation of a range of projects which support the implementation of the UCD HR Strategy and the strategic goals of the University.  Katharine has worked in the people development sphere for fifteen years and has an extensive background in higher education environments. Katharine is interested in the changing landscape of L&D, specifically how new technologies and platforms can support traditional approaches, and has designed and integrated video content into website design, eLearning content and social media channels. 

What to expect

Universities can play a critical role as educators, employers, and social innovators to positively shape more equitable outcomes and experiences which reflect the neurodiversity of students, employees and people more broadly.

This panel brings experts and thought leaders together to reflect on the creation of the UCD Neurodiversity Working Group which has embarked on a programme of awareness raising and research to inform strategic developments across the university and align to leading global universities wherein neurodiversity is embraced and understood. In addition, this panel looks at the role of social innovation and the recently launched ADHD App to support adults with ADHD developed by the HSE ADHD in Adults National Clinical Programme in partnership with ADHD Ireland and UCD School of Psychology in partnership.

More about Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is a concept which represents a paradigm shift in the understanding of human neurodevelopmental differences such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). At its core is the recognition of the need for equality and inclusivity for neurodivergent individuals who experience life differently, oftentimes dis-enabled by societal barriers which at best do not accommodate for and at worst exacerbate hidden difficulties.

From ADHD Ireland

Ken Kilbride CEO, ADHD Ireland. Ken is the CEO at ADHD Ireland and has over 25 years experience in senior management positions in a wide range of both very large and very small not for profit organisations in Ireland. Ken’s role with ADHD Ireland is to enact the vision and strategy of the Board, and in the words of Captain James T Kirk take this ADHD organisation to where no ADHD organisation has ever been before!

From UCD

Dr Blánaid Gavin, Chair of UCD Neurodiversity Working Group, Associate Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UCD School of Medicine. Dr. Blánaid Gavin has worked for 20 years with children and teenagers with mental health difficulties. She is actively involved in teaching and research which aims to enhance detection and treatment for young people experiencing mental illness in Ireland. She has published widely in national and international peer reviewed journals. Blánaid is Chair of UCD Neurodiversity Working Group.

Dr Timmy Frawley, Chair of UCD Neurodiversity Working Group Research Subgroup: Dr Timmy Frawley is an Associate Professor in Mental Health Nursing employed in the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems. He is registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland as a Psychiatric Nurse and Nurse Tutor.  Dr Frawley has significant experience in higher education, previously holding roles of Project Champion (Curriculum Review and Enhancement), Associate Dean for Taught Graduate Studies, is a current Programme Director and was a member of the School Management Team from 2018 - 2021.  He is Head of Subject – Mental Health Nursing and is a member of the University level Neurodiversity Working Group as well as an elected member of Academic Council. Timmy chairs the research subgroup of  the UCD Neurodiversity Research Working Group.

Eimear O’Reilly is an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Project Officer, UCD: Eimear’s role includes project managing EDI groups including the Neurodiversity Working Group which marked Neurodiversity Celebration Week in 2022, UCD Disability Group, leading on the development of UCD’s Employment for Persons with a Disability Policy and development of tailored training for managers and employees. Eimear leads the Athena Swan Schools Programme in UCD and previously developed a successful national workplace benchmark for LGBTI Equality and Inclusion working with organisations including; LinkedIn, IBM, Microsoft, and EY as well as working as National Public Engagement and Business Engagement Lead for the Yes Equality Campaign which successfully campaigned for marriage equality in 2015.

Sponsors

Contact Culture & Engagement

Culture & Engagement, UCD HR 3rd Floor, Roebuck Offices University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
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