Where do you work and what is your role?
My role is Organisational Development Manager at the University of Huddersfield in the People & Organisational Development (P&OD) Team, I’m the OD bit!
When did you join the SDF?
I joined when I started my role here at the University, back in August 2022.
Why did you want to join the SDF?
FOMO firstly! The rest of the team were members, and I’d not worked in a solely HE environment before, so it was a great opportunity to find like-minded SD peeps and see what OD initiatives are developing across the sector.
What’s the best thing about the SDF?
The online festivals have been incredibly useful, though it’s always much nicer to meet face to face, the workshops and breakout rooms were very thought provoking. It’s also interesting when the SDF emails arrive from other Development Managers across the country with their initiatives which have led to further conversations taking place.
What are you working on at the moment?
It’s a busy time for OD now at the University, the latest initiative is a behaviours and expectations framework for staff. It outlines our university behavioural expectations and links to our values, it aims to provide clarity and transparency about the Uni’s culture, and what the expected behaviours are for staff working here. With lots of measures and data to support this, we will create an environment of support, respect and a positive culture throughout our employee’s lifecycle.
In developing this I have created new data dashboards for all schools and services, with a mix of data we can use including student and staff surveys, HR data and employee feedback. These are all useful indicators that help the teams across the University recognise what’s going well. I really have no idea how I have survived this long without the use of PivotTables in Excel!
What does a typical day look like?
I’m sure others would agree that “typical” means doing less of what’s planned and more of what comes up unexpectedly. Luckily, I work hybrid, so my day varies depending on where I am. In the office, I work with a fabulous supportive team so it’s great catching up over coffee first thing, usually chatting about the latest Netflix series or what we had for tea (as we say in Yorkshire). Mondays we have our full team MS Teams call, to connect with those working from home and discuss the past week and what’s ahead.
My week involves managing tasks, overseeing an administrator, reporting, training, and developing future initiatives. We have a lovely campus with a canal and woodland walks running through it, so I also try to fit in a lunchtime walk or make a trip into town to spend more money at the local second-hand record shop.
Tell us about an event that altered the course of your life/and career
Some might say I’ve had a staid career, leaving school at 16 starting work at a job centre which kicked off a civil service career for over 20 years. It was there that someone recognised my skill for telling others how to do things (I mean training), and that’s where my passion for training delivery started. When NVQ’s were starting out, I applied for a job as an NVQ assessor across the DWP in the North of England, evaluating various NVQ courses to staff in Job Centres. A vacancy at my local College in 2006 led me to working in education where I continued to deliver assessor and verifier units to lecturers before moving into the Learning Manager role. That’s where I caught the bug for working in education.
The person who has influenced you the most is
This is such a difficult question to answer, I’ve read so many people’s “SDF Story”, who say they have been influenced by their parents, which I agree with completely, they are the ones who set me on my path to discover who I am. I’m influenced by what I see daily, people I’ve worked with who I admire their way of working, and their ethics. I’m influenced by my colleagues who have so much love for the role they are in, one can’t help being influenced. I’m also very lucky to have the same group of friends who I went to school with, over forty years ago, and I’d have to say we have all influenced each other one way or another.
Work life balance – what leisure activity do you enjoy the most?
I love walking, I live in a town which is very close to open countryside and has a canal (for easier walks) and lots of wooded areas. I love photography, taking landscape shots, because my family always hides when “Dad’s camera” comes out, I love to catch the different seasons and views when I can. I still prefer a proper camera to a phone, but that might be because I have a cheap phone!
I’m also quite obsessed with the Cornwall area, we visit two or three times a year now that we don’t need to go on school holidays and have seen so many beautiful places, though I’m not sure how many more photos of St Ives harbour I can take!
And if I can squeeze one more in, I’ve found a passion for vinyl music again, now I’m of an age to remember it first time round, so spend lots of time at record fairs and far too much money on online stores.
Something about you people would find surprising
As a work thing, people are always surprised when I meet them face to face, after having delivered an online Teams course to them previously. I’m 6’4” so it’s always a shock to them after they’ve only seen the top half of my torso online!
Other than that, I’ve been a dad/stepdad for many years, have a 40 years old step-son, a 36 year old step-daughter and an 18 year old daughter…you can only imagine what the first two said when they found out the third one was on her way!
During Covid I volunteered for an online confidential texting crisis-line to help those struggling with mental health, which was my way of doing something to get people through those months.
What’s your greatest fear?
I found this really quite a difficult one to answer, I tend to be very laid back with life and have spent my life catching mice, moths and spiders for the family, nothing really scares me that way. I suppose at this point in my life it would be not being healthy enough to enjoy time with my family and friends.
Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?
I’m a bit of an introvert to be honest, so maybe whoever I’d invite, I’d be fine if they cancelled on me! Saying all that though, I’d be really interested to listen to anyone who made me laugh out loud, didn’t have a massive ego and enjoyed my kind of dinner party…a few drinks and a nice curry to finish the night.
What would your superpower be?
The power of travel, like many others wish for, to get from A-B is the shortest time. That way I wouldn’t need to be stuck on the M5 or M6, or A30 on my way down to my beloved Cornwall.
What’s your favourite/least favourite food?
I have to say I’m not much of a fish fan, unless it’s battered that is, and anything like muscles, cockles or other shellfish is a no-no. My favourite foods are comfort foods like pizza or curry, and we tend to make our own. The best night is pizza night, fresh dough, and slap anything that’s edible on it, , then sit down to a good movie and enjoy a unique offering!
What’s the worst job you ever had?
Of all my jobs, and I’ve only had five employers, none have been that bad, I always try to find the positive in things. I suppose my last job before working here was an eye opener, working during lockdown as a trainer for one of the “Big Four”. The difference between private industry and public was a real interesting one, and although my boss was amazing, delivering training five days a week, eight hours a day, via Zoom was the most tiring role I’d ever had. I’m not saying working in an educational environment is easy, but at least I have time to breathe and enjoy my weekends much more now.
What would improve the quality of your life?
A two-day week, and five-day weekend would be nice. My current job is fantastic, I have great colleagues (have I said that?) and love coming into work and making a difference each day. I can also switch off when I get home and do the things a family are supposed to do, something I found quite hard to do a couple of years back.
What’s coming next for you?
Workwise, it’s releasing the people framework I mentioned, across the University and seeing the change this will bring. It’s taken some time to develop and now I’m excited to finally get it out there. Our strategy is due for a refresh soon so there’ll be lots of exciting opportunities that arise when that’s fully developed and released to our colleagues.
On a personal point, I have a few more years of work left, but not many so I’m planning for my long-term future, and if you were to ask my wife, she’d probably say I need to find a hobby that doesn’t involve vinyl LPs.