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Staff and Student Surveys 2023

Staff survey

Trends

General positive trends were observed in the following themes:

  • Induction
  • Being a Manager
  • Relationships
  • Wellbeing and Workload
  • Communication

There were fewer positive trends across the following areas, where declines or disparities between genders were noted:

  • Being Managed
  • Career Development
  • Personal Development Reviews
  • Decision Making
  • Pay and Benefits
  • Engagement

Areas for action

Three key areas for action include:

  • Career development, with a focus on funding
  • Communication, with an emphasis on decision making and transparency, and giving people a voice
  • Management/leadership training, with a focus on academic and research staff

A more nuanced action plan will be developed for the Athena Swan charter renewal, which will focus in particular on gender and other under-represented groups.

response rates

The overall decline in response rates (75% in 2018 to 58% in 2023) may be attributed to several changes in survey methodology, the pandemic and survey fatigue. There will be scope to work with central University colleagues before the next iteration to see what can be done to mitigate this decline.

Student Survey

The 2023 RDM Student Survey, with 76 respondents (39 female, 29 male), presented a snapshot of student experiences, focusing on induction, supervision, career development, and wellbeing.

We were grateful for the increased response rate when compared to the 2021 survey: having a higher number of respondents provides additional validity to the results.

  • Responses around Induction were largely positive but showed a decline compared to earlier years. Women found departmental inductions less helpful than men but rated research group inductions more positively. Supervisor objective setting meetings remained consistent.
  • Regarding reasons to apply to RDM, Oxford's reputation and specific research groups were the most cited reasons with expectations mostly met.
  • Supervision scores varied, with high marks for personal leave support but lower ratings in areas like professional development and research direction. Women rated supervision more positively than men.
  • Career development responses were down from previous years, with gender differences in perceptions of leadership aspirations and development opportunities.
  • Teaching participation showed a gender gap, with fewer women teaching. Mentorship participation dropped, but those who were mentored found it beneficial.
  • In terms of integration, most felt supported by colleagues, though fewer felt integrated into their teams or divisions. Gender differences were evident, with women feeling less valued. Wellbeing scores were mixed, with declines in satisfaction around workload and caring responsibilities. Bullying and harassment reports increased slightly.
  • Communication was largely positive.
  • Overall, students called for improvements in pay, supervision, and divisional culture.
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