Flexibility will be key to finding and retaining professional services staff for colleges
The pandemic has demonstrated to us all that business can, in general, be effectively conducted by employees who are remote from the workplace. Professional services teams in further education colleges are no exception.
It’s common now to see adverts for fully remote roles, hybrid roles that mix office attendance with home working, and jobs with flexible working patterns. This all serves to widen the pool of candidates, who will no doubt appreciate the greater choice around when and where to work.
As Jisc’s March 2022 digital experience insights survey of further education (FE) professional services staff reveals, to succeed in their jobs, and to feel motivated and valued, people need the right practical, technical and personal support, wherever they’re based.
The further education sector moved mountains to quickly shift work and study online at the start of the first lockdown and beyond, but it’s clear that, like the teachers we have also surveyed, some professional services staff continue to face challenges around remote and online working.
...to succeed in their jobs, and to feel motivated and valued, people need the right practical, technical and personal support, wherever they’re based.
Two years after the pandemic started, and a minority (11%) still do not have fit-for-purpose laptops, and other hardware, and a similar proportion (10%) don’t have the necessary software.
Others report unreliable or slow wifi (32%) and poor connections to the virtual private network (VPN), shared drives and online resources (23%). These problems are not only frustrating, but also impact productivity and business efficiency.
It’s important to remember, though, that even with the right equipment and reliable connections, remote or online working doesn’t suit everyone’s disposition or situation.
Unsurprisingly, many people responding to the survey missed the social aspect of working in the same physical space with colleagues and report increased feelings of isolation or anxiety.
It’s important to remember, though, that even with the right equipment and reliable connections, remote or online working doesn’t suit everyone’s disposition or situation.
Collaborative technology, such as Zoom, enables teams to stay in touch with regular virtual catch-ups or drop-in sessions, while managers can find it useful to increase the number of online one-to-ones with staff, and to take time during these meetings to check on wellbeing.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have a spare room, or a quiet space where they can set up a desk and shut the door at the end of the day. For those whose kitchen table, or sofa double as an office, we have all experienced it can be hard to ‘switch off’ from work. ‘Screen fatigue’ is another consideration.
Colleges will be bearing in mind then, that for some staff, having the option of working on campus (depending upon governments’ current pandemic advice) will be important for their mental health.
While the pandemic has kick-started a move towards digital transformation in the FE sector, including how staff are supported to work remotely, only a minority of providers are advanced on this journey.
Conversely, others feel good working from home because there are fewer distractions, it feels safer from a pandemic perspective, they save time and money by not commuting and there’s more ‘space’ for family and leisure activities.
College HR staff will be busy navigating through changes in working arrangements and supporting managers’ conversations with their direct reports. Open and honest conversations are critical here, alongside clear policies and guidance for home/remote working.
While the pandemic has kick-started a move towards digital transformation in the FE sector, including how staff are supported to work remotely, only a minority of providers are advanced on this journey.
It will take time for all to muster and implement the investment, technical and cultural changes this requires. In the meantime, we hope the results of this survey will provide useful insight for decision-making.
All Jisc's digital experience insights surveys are published on the website.
About the author
I lead a team developing our strategy in key areas such as research, learning and teaching, further education and international, and our strategic planning and management reporting processes.
I also ensure the excellence and cost effectiveness of our professional support services; especially those concerned with governance, core funding and day-to-day operations, such as IT, HR and legal.
I was instrumental in delivering the corporate changes to Jisc following the 2011 Wilson Review and have been chief operating officer since 2013.