People are at the heart of all that we do as a university. Griffith would not exist without its talented and dedicated staff, and enthusiastic and committed students. If we are going to build the future workforce that we need to thrive as a university, we will need a far more deliberate and strategic approach to every aspect of the way that we bring people into Griffith and the experience that we give them when they are here.
In the pursuit of our strategic ambitions, Griffith will attract, develop and retain outstanding staff and build a strong reputation for providing an ambitious and supportive culture along with the facilities and resources required to enable people to fulfil their potential. We will engage in workforce planning in order to take a strategic and proactive approach to creating a workforce ready for the challenges of the future.
Griffith will aim to provide a positive work and study environment, and ensure that the right services are delivered to meet the specific needs of staff and students. We will continue to value diversity and provide an environment where people are supported through ample opportunities for career development, access to educational, cultural, sporting and other extracurricular activities, and programs for health and wellbeing.
We will place a high value on trust and accountability and work conscientiously to recast thinking around policies, processes and systems to reduce layers of complexity and enable people to undertake their roles more efficiently and effectively. We acknowledge that some of our systems and processes presently get in the way of strong performance by our staff and we will endeavour to improve these systems where possible over the life of the strategy.
Key actions
We will:
- Invest in professional development for our staff with a particular focus on people starting at Griffith, people moving into leadership roles, and early and mid-career researchers.
- Review our policies, processes and systems with a major focus on reducing administrative burdens and minimising ‘pain points’ for staff and students. We will commence with a focus on delegations and procurement to eliminate multiple layers of authorisation for low-cost/low-risk decisions.
- Refocus our processes and culture to encourage a more student-focused approach to our learning and teaching activities and support structures, to remove barriers to creative and innovative teaching, and to examine the ways in which our systems discourage cross-disciplinary work.
- Undertake workforce planning to ensure that Griffith has the right mix of staff and capability to meet its current and future needs. Consideration will be given in this process to ensuring better inclusion of under-represented groups in relevant areas.
- Actively work to diversify our revenue streams to provide more financial sustainability and reduce the University’s reliance on government funding. We will develop the capability of academic and professional staff to do this.
- Break down barriers and remove disincentives for people to collaborate across academic elements and professional offices.
- Undertake an annual staff survey to measure staff engagement and satisfaction.
- Support staff to embrace the opportunity provided by digital disruption.
Key outcomes
By 2025, we will have:
- Improved levels of staff satisfaction and engagement in annual surveys.
- Reduced unnecessary administration and levels of approval.
- Provided a high-quality leadership program for all staff in significant leadership roles or preparing for such roles, and supportive programs for early and mid-career academics.
- Implemented a workforce plan that has resulted in alignment between our strategic goals and our workforce.
- Increased our investment in supporting the professional development of our existing workforce.