Kent celebrates its staff in many ways and was even recognised for its staff practices through its top rankings in the 2014 Times Higher Education (THE) Best University Workplace Survey. In addition to formal annual promotion and salary award schemes that are in place for all staff, the University recognises the efforts and achievements of staff across five different University level schemes through a series of annual staff awards events.
Each of these schemes recognise different elements of the staff experience:
- Green Impact awards focuses on the desire to make a difference locally and globally through our environmental efforts
- Innovation and Enterprise awards help staff to make a difference by engaging with and supporting our community
- Learning and Development awards encourage the support of a continuous learning environment for all our staff
- Learning & Teaching awards recognise the importance of our staff efforts in creating a positive student learning experience
- VC’s Cup awards emphasise the value of maintaining a healthy work environment through team efforts
Additionally, as part of the work taking place through the 50th anniversary celebrations, a new scheme and event celebrating Research will be added during the current academic year.
Celebrating and inspiring a positive staff experience is not just a one-off activity. We are in the process of developing case studies from individual schools/departments to share good practices that are also underway with a view to encouraging all to consider how they acknowledge the efforts of their staff. Each of the schemes are different and has been created to fit the particular working environment and context. The University of Kent’s goal is to continue to grow and share these good practices to enable us all to continue to be inspired by the excellent work of our staff.
Does your School or Department have a good practice case study of a staff awards or recognition scheme that you would like to share with others? Please get in touch with Cindy Vallance.