Details of the current Staff Development Programme – 2013 - 2014
Cardiff Metropolitan’s corporate staff development programme is hosted on an internal
website which is available to staff once they have logged into the main system:
http://uwicstaff.learningpool.com/
The programme is divided into 9 topics or themes, ensuring that staff can more easily find
what they are looking for:
Business Skills
Equality and Diversity
Health, Safety and Well-being
ICT Skills
Induction, Probation and Staff Performance Review
Learning and Teaching
Managing and Developing People
Research and Enterprise
Personal and Professional Development
Training opportunities are also provided at a local school or unit level, for example
attendance at conferences or at more specialist/subject related training programmes. This
training is funded from the school or unit budget. Providing a variety of methods of learning
(e.g. e-learning, short face-to-face sessions, coaching, on-the-job training, research) also
helps to ensure that there is something there to suit everyone and that part-time or
temporary members of staff have an opportunity to access development.
A range of E-Learning modules are available and these are being added to on a regular
basis (see below for examples)
 Sustainable Thinking
 Coaching
 Leading Teams
 Managing Organisational Change
 Equality and the Research Excellence framework
 Equality Impact Assessments
 Front Line Managers
 H&S for Display Screen Equipment
 Health, Safety and Well-being at Cardiff Metropolitan
 Time Management
 Assertiveness
 Stress Awareness
 Student System – Marks Entry, QLe student enquiries and class lists
 Giving and Receiving Feedback
These are available to all staff and are hosted on our Learning Management System which
records who has accessed which module and if they have passed any tests. These modules
are particularly useful for part time staff who can access them at their own convenience or
for experienced staff who need a quick refresher.
We also host (from GoodPractice) a leadership / management resource with referenced
articles, videos, exercises, top tips etc. These on-line resources are accessible to all staff
under Leading Lights at:
https://member.goodpractice.net/uwic-ll/welcome.gp
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The Staff Development website – front page:
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Corporate Staff Development programme September 2013 – July 2014 - advertised
month by month
for example:
Appropriate staff development opportunities are available.
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Cardiff Metroplitan’s Staff Development and Training Policy forms part of Cardiff
Metropolitan’s Human Resources Strategy. Within the context of this policy, staff
development is defined as:
‘Learning processes, activities or other interventions which enable staff to develop the
skills, knowledge, attitude and effectiveness required to deliver Cardiff Metropolitan
University’s Vision and Mission’.
There are a number of other policies and management guidelines which support staff
development at Cardiff Metropolitan. These include:
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Staff Performance Review Scheme
Managers Guide to Induction – How to get it right
Managers Guide to Probation – How to get it right
CPD Framework
Staff Studying for further Qualifications
Induction
Research indicates that inefficient and unorganised approaches to induction lead can to “at
least a week of dead time when employees join an organisation”, thereby costing UK
businesses up to £2 billion per annum in lost employee productivityi . The long-term costs of
not affording sufficient and appropriate induction programmes are evidenced by the CIPDii
who identify that 19% of leavers do so within the first six months of service. The workplace
induction is a ready made opportunity to pro-actively engage new staff in the delivery of the
school/unit plans and strategies. Giving the induction process (both at school/unit and
corporate level) greater visibility is an important way of minimising potential underperformance later on, through setting out standards and expectations at the start of the
employment relationship. Induction and probation systems have been tightened up over the
last few years with 100% of new staff attending and there is now a requirement for
mandatory training to be undertaken as part of these processes for example, Corporate and
Academic Induction, Diversity in the Workplace, Workplace Health and Safety, IT Security
and Sustainable Development. Other training needs can also be identified at an early stage.
Probation
Cardiff Metropolitan University has in place probation arrangements which allow for all new
staff to be reviewed three times before being confirmed into post. The probation process is
critical to ensuring that performance requirements in the role are agreed and that
performance is monitored against those requirements. Staff performance is reviewed
against the job description, person specification, initiative/responsiveness, general conduct
and completion of an induction programme. Some contractual requirements such as
membership of the HEA or the completion of the Post Grad Cert tHE are also linked to
probationary requirements as are a number of other checks such as medical clearance and
CRB.
Staff Performance Review
Staff Performance Review sits at the heart of Cardiff Metropolitan’s people management
processes. It follows on naturally from the induction and probation processes and is critical
to engaging staff and managing and monitoring performance. The scheme aims to support
a constructive partnership between staff and managers in matching individual needs and
aspirations with organisational requirements. It is a two way process, providing a structured
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approach to objective setting linked to the aims of Cardiff Metropolitan University. The
scheme provides a framework for:
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reviewing individual performance on an annual basis and providing a formal context for
feedback;
identifying personal development needs and learning outcomes
identifying organisational and other factors which may have a bearing on the future
objectives of the individual and their priorities;
providing an open and transparent process for agreeing work objectives linked to
School/Unit plans
providing a further opportunity for staff to give feedback to managers on any matters of
concern to them including recommendations for School/Unit and Cardiff Metropolitan
University strategies
There is now an expectation that 100% of reviews will take place [Corporate Strategic Plan
2012 - 2017]. To this end, reviewers continue to be trained to carry out reviews effectively
and a variety of leadership and management training is included in the corporate staff
development programme.
Identification of training needs
An active approach is taken to identifying development needs and opportunities at three
levels:
Corporate requirements
Training needs at a corporate level are identified through Cardiff Metropolitan’s Corporate
Strategic Plan from core areas of activity such as Research, Enterprise, Internationalisation,
Learning and Teaching. Training needs also emanate from corporate committees such as
Health and Safety, Equality and Diversity or Risk Management and external influences such
as new legislation, Welsh Government directives or on-going maintenance of standards such
as ISO 1400 and Investors in People.
School / Unit requirements
The training needs of schools and units are usually identified by Deans of School/Heads of
Units and Reviewers as part of the Staff Performance Review Scheme, but can also be
identified in response to feedback from students, external examiners and staff. Identified
training and development needs are collated and prioritised by Deans of School / Heads of
Units and these are collated by the Staff Development Unit on an annual basis for
presentation to the Staff Development Panel and the Human Resources Committee.
Individual requirements
Individual training needs are usually identified during the induction or probation period and
thereafter, either through the annual Staff Performance Review Scheme, or through day to
day management processes such as one-to-one or team meetings. There is an expectation
that all staff will maintain and develop their skills and knowledge through a process of
continuing professional development (CPD), which forms part of the Staff Performance
Review Process. Work will now be undertaken to make a better link between the Staff
Performance Review Scheme and the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) and
other professional standards.
Once the training needs have been identified, a costed programme of corporate staff
development activity is compiled.
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Investment in Development
The budget for corporate staff development activity for 2011/12 and 2012/13 and 2013/14
has remained at £113,000. Additionally, Deans of Schools and Heads of Units are able to
support local staff development requirements through their annual budget allocations. For
2011/12, schools and units spent a total of £204,842.73 in addition to the £113,000
corporate staff development budget.
All corporate staff development activity is free of charge to schools and units, although there
is a £100 charge for non-attendance without sufficient notice.
A fee waiver scheme is available for staff wising to pursue qualifications at Masters level and
above and staff wishing to access Cardiff Metropolitan programmes for their own personal
benefit are afforded a 25% discount.
Other specialist staff development activity is provided by staff located in, for example,
Learning and Teaching Development Unit, Library and Information Services Division,
Research and Enterprise Services and Welsh Language Unit.
Return on Investment
Staff Development activity and progress is reported on a regular basis to the VCB and on a
termly basis to the Board of Governors at the Human Resources Committee.
Evaluation and review of staff development interventions and training activities is important
and Cardiff Metropolitan University utilises the Investors in People standard, indicators nine
and ten, as a framework for demonstrating the return on its investment in staff development.
Each year, schools and units produce an annual staff development report which identifies
whether or not their previous years staff development priorities were met (fully, partially or
not), the benefits (outcomes) of the staff development activity that took place, barriers to staff
development, investment in staff development, the percentage of staff performance reviews
taking place, percentage of academic staff who are HEA Fellows and the staff development
priorities for the following year. Theses outcomes are collated across the university to
produce an overall report which is able to describe detailed benefits from staff development
activity by each school and unit.
Individual development activity is evaluated through the staff review and development
scheme and day to day management arrangements.
Evaluation forms are completed following each staff development session with the outcomes
contributing to the overall evaluation of activity, as well as informing the delivery of future
sessions. Feedback is also sought from groups of staff, for example, cohorts of new starters
are surveyed on their views on the induction programme they experienced [see annual
report] and middle managers are asked inter alia about their management development
requirements, use of on-line resources and preferred learning methods
i
Online Recruitment, (2006) Poor Employee Induction Costs UK PLC £2 Billion [Internet]. Available from: <.
http://www.onrec.com/content2/news.asp?ID=10735 > [Accessed 15 August 2007].
ii
CIPD, (2007) Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2007. Survey report. London, CIPD.
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