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FD Issue 58 WINTeR 2011

Making a Difference Awards 2011 We celebrate the achievements of our award-winning staff – page 6

Annual Report 2010 – 11Your pull-out-and-keep version of the FD Annual Report – pages 7–14

news THe FACILITIes DIReCTORATe NeWsLeTTeR

Dates for your diary

2011 Employee Opinion Survey

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DeceMbeR–MARch

26 December–2 January Christmas break

10 January, 7 February and 6 March Teamtalk

3–24 December Christmas markets and Santa’s grotto

9 December–8 January Sleeping Beauty, Lyceum Theatre

27 December–7 January Dick Whittington, City Hall

10–14 January The Nutcracker, Lyceum Theatre

23 January Chinese New Year

25 January An Evening with Sheffield’s Leading Ladies, Pennine Lecture Theatre

30 January–5 February Get Active week

The Facilities Directorate is committed to providing a high level of customer service and is currently developing a range of initiatives aimed at improving customer service across the directorate.

One of these initiatives was a three month pilot which ran from October to capture all comments and feedback and identify trends and potential areas of improvement.

The scheme has been monitored by the planning and performance management group and a full report will be given to FD exec with final recommendations, and an implementation plan rolled out next year. We’ve already received some excellent feedback and of 18 items of feedback received over seven

weeks, 17 were positive for facilities management including thanks to domestics, security and multi-skilled teams.

The pilot will continue to run throughout December so if you receive any feedback before the end of December, please action it in the usual way and forward to your manager who will ensure it is captured centrally.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the 2011 employee Opinion survey in November. We had an excellent response rate of 67%. The results will be published in the new year, highlighting aspects of university life that are working well, as well as areas of concern.

The findings will be published on the employee Opinion survey intranet site at staff.shu.ac.uk/staffexperience, which is accessible from the main menu of the homepage. Action plans will be rolled out from April.

Welcome to the winter 2011 edition of FD NewsIn this bumper edition we have a special FD Annual Report pull-out-and-keep feature, information on the current strategic review and details on the Employee Opinion Survey.

There’s also a feature on the Making a Difference Awards with photos from the evening and the usual updates from across the directorate and University, including an update on estates, wayfinding and graduation.

And make sure you check out our festive wordsearch competition on the back page, where you get the chance to win high street vouchers worth £20.

Claire Hamilton Jill Richards editorial team

Copy deadline for the spring issue is Friday 3 February 2012.

FD customer feedback pilot

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Facilities Directorate strategic review

business Services team As part of the strategic review a new Business services division has been established incorporating Business Planning and Quality Assurance, FD communications and mandatory training. The new team are

• sandra stephens, business services manager

• Claire Hamilton, communications manager

• Jill Richards, communications assistant

• simon Reade, management information officer

• Anthony Barker, senior administrator

• Andrew Cross, assistant human resources advisor

• Carol Clarke – secretarial/clerical assistant

The Business services team are now in place to ensure the focus of our activity supports the strategic direction of the directorate. Mandatory training, Jumpstart and the management of NVQs

will remain in FD, as will the analysis of the FD business unit training plans as a function of the FD executive supported by the planning, performance management group and the FD people group.

The Facilities Directorate champions continuous improvement. Our ongoing commitment to the training and development of our staff is acknowledged locally and nationally through the Investors in People Standard and we continually review the ways in which we deliver a wide range of services to our customers.

In seeking to meet the future challenges faced by the University, the directorate has undergone a number of changes. Since June it has taken part in a strategic review to look at how we organise our main activities. A number of restructures have taken place and the new divisions of Estates Development and Sustainability, and Business Services have been implemented.

Further divisional changes for Facilities Management and Security, and Commercial Services are planned for the new year.

The next stage following the strategic review will be an operational review looking at job roles across the directorate in two phases which we will be consulting on in the New Year. We are not alone in this process as other areas in the University has either already undergone or will go through a similar review in order to realign their services to fit in with the new corporate plan.

Richard Cartwright will be joining FD next year as the assistant director, estates Development and sustainability. Richard comes from Manchester Metropolitan university where he is currently the director of capital projects and is responsible for the delivery of their £330 million campus consolidation strategy, which aims to rationalise the university’s estate from seven campuses down to two.

Previously, Richard managed estates projects and operations teams at the Crown Prosecution service and was head of facilities management at two local councils. He also has 15 years of experience as a building services design engineer.

The implementation of the new leadership group in estates Development and sustainability came into effect earlier this month with the following people in position.

• Andy Ridge – head of property strategy and services

• Ian Heath – estates development manager

• David Furniss – head of project management

• Jonathan Telling – estates value manager

The post of head of design services and sustainability remains vacant and will go forward for external recruitment in the new year.

Facilities Management and Security Directorate The review of the management structure of Facilities Management and security has taken place with the confirmation of structure and roles finalised in November and implementation is taking place in the New Year.

commercial ServicesRoger Nunn, deputy director, is working closely with Red Box Consultancy services on the current catering review which is nearing completion.

The outcomes of this review have informed the development of the new Commercial services division led by Richard McGloin, assistant director Commercial services, which was sent for consultation in December.

estates Development and Sustainability

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estates update

heart of the campusThe university has made a decision to invest in a major upgrading of facilities at Collegiate Crescent Campus as part of our long-running aim to deliver an outstanding student experience.

A new state-of-the-art teaching complex is under development for the Collegiate Crescent site. This new building is subject to planning permission but the aim is to have the first parts of the building in use by 2015. This project will deliver flexible teaching space, primarily for the Faculty of Development and society, and will include a 220-seat lecture theatre and specialist teaching facilities as well as provide pool teaching space. In addition the buildings will include student social space, catering facilities, customer services and facilities management.

We will be keeping staff and key stakeholders updated on these developments with future information published on the estates webpages at https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fdr/estates/default.asp and via Teamtalk.

collegiate hallRefurbishment work will take place in Collegiate Hall early next year to reconfigure and expand teaching space on the ground floor where the Melters catering outlet was situated. Work will start in January for six weeks with a completion date of mid-February.

Refurbishment of hallam hallHallam Hall will be receiving a refreshed new look next year to provide a modern, bright environment which can cater for teaching purposes and be used as a venue for events.

The current wooden wall panelling will be removed in favour of neutral walls to provide a blank canvas suitable for any purpose. The flooring will be updated and a feature acoustic ceiling will be installed with lighting and speaker panels.

The work is due to take place from January until April.

Renaming of the Furnival building

sheffield Hallam university’s award-winning building on Furnival street was renamed the Cantor Building at an official ceremony in October. The building was named in recognition of a generous donation from the H & L Cantor Trust which will be invested directly in student-related activities. A commemorative plaque was unveiled by Lily Cantor, wife of the late Harold Cantor.

Invitees, who included the lord mayor, went on a tour of the building to see the high quality facilities and some of the students’ work in the teaching rooms and public galleries based in the building.

Nick Jeffrey, the chair of the university’s board of governors, said at the ceremony, ‘Harold Cantor loved academia and learning, and found the ethos behind sheffield Hallam fascinating – especially in terms of widening access to people who may be the first in their families to go to university. This donation is just what Harold would have wanted, to give something back to the city that had always been so welcoming to him.’

sheffield Hallam’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Philip Jones also gave thanks to the Cantor family for their donation. ‘I am really pleased to be here to celebrate the connection between sheffield Hallam and the Cantor Trust through the naming of this building, and would like to thank the Cantor Trust for their donation and for being here today.

‘The renaming of this building marks the coming together of two important names in the city and there are significant similarities between the family and the university, in that both combine intellectual energy, the practical application of academic ideas and entrepreneurialism.’

Developments at collegiate 2012

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A project on campus navigation began last year to improve the user experience of the university. since then a number of changes have already been implemented including • the removal and installation of new signage on buildings and to highlight thresholds between connecting buildings • the introduction of a new base map which can be built on and tailored for different users • working with Connect sheffield to update and install pedestrian information points on university routes • updating map and address information on Google Maps • rebranding of the sheffield Hallam university app with up-to-date maps and photos of buildings • production of a new visitors’ guide • a trial rip map to help students and visitors to the City Campus navigate around the City Centre.

Further improvements in wayfinding will continue and tie in with other major university projects such as the brand refresh and expressions. To find out more about the wayfinding project, visit the webpage at https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fdr/estates/wayfinding where you can also submit your questions about the project.

Wayfinding update

Sustainability update

Led by sustainability in FD, the university achieved certification to the International standards Organisation (IsO) 14001 environmental management standard. Certification to this international standard ensures the highest possible standard and continuous improvement in environmental management.

This includes the impact we create when we use chemicals, energy, transport, water and produce waste. All of which affect the environment around us.

external audits were held in June and October by the British standards Institute to test our practices, policies and legal compliance. The audits highlighted some areas for

improvement across the university and operational cost savings are already being identified. The next round of external audits to ensure that we continue to meet the IsO standards take place in February 2012.

You can read more about IsO 14001 and the university’s environmental management system at https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fdr/sustainability/ems

ISO 14001 certification

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The Facilities Directorate Making a Difference Awards, sponsored by NRc, returned for a fourth year to recognise and celebrate the colleagues, managers and teams who have provided excellent services, encouraged and motivated others and always been a pleasure to work with.

The awards aim to recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement and excellent performance from FD staff and have a clear link to FD’s mission of Together we make a difference and our core values of focus on the customer, focus on the employee and focus on continuous improvement.

All FD staff had the opportunity to nominate other directorate staff and business associates in the form of partners, contractors or suppliers they work with and all nominated candidates were invited to an informal event where those shortlisted for the awards were announced.

The winners of the 2011 Making a Difference Awards are

• employee of the Year – simon Reade (business services)

• unsung Hero of the Year – Ryan Amos (sport)

• Innovation of the Year – susan Ward (mail)

• Manager of the Year – Nick DeCourcy (events)

• Team of the Year – Lynn Lindley Richard Leach (Adsetts catering)

All winners received a cash prize and a trophy.

The ceremony was funded primarily by sponsorship and we thank our sponsors NRC, Bond Bryan, simon Donovan, Domino, Dolphin, Constant, Burngreave, sheffire and Mascot Management for their support and making the evening possible.

Awards update

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Introduction from Mark Swales – director of estates and FacilitiesIt has certainly been a challenging year as we continue to adjust to the ever-changing environment in which we operate. However we have once again risen to the occasion, working on estates and long term maintenance projects, receiving thousands of accommodation and graduation requests, printing student lecture notes, deep cleaning, getting the teaching estate ready, setting up catering and sports operations and preparing over 31,500 timetables.

We have embraced new ways of working, taken on new responsibilities and sought to increase the value we add to the student experience. For the future we will build on and reinforce the path we have chosen – continuing on a journey of continuous improvement, making FD a great place to work and putting our customers at the forefront of everything we do.

Our missionThe Facilities Directorate’s mission – Together we make a difference – depicts how every member of our staff individually and collectively contributes to our success.

In 2011 a values exercise took place to review the outcomes of the 2008 exercise. Results showed the directorate as a well balanced organisation and our current core values of people, customer and continuous improvement were still important, but there was a need for more accountability and adaptability.

A strategic review is currently taking place to look at our existing systems and processes with workshops and action plans to address areas for improvement.

Investors in PeopleThe Facilities Directorate is recognised as an Investors in People (IiP) organisation. First accredited in June 1997 and passing subsequent reviews since then, we went for and achieved IiP Gold standard in 2010 and became IiP Champions, which recognises those who are outstanding in promoting the principles of IiP, at the start of 2011.

Facilities DirectorateAnnual Report 2010 – 2011

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FD training – from induction to continuous improvementThis year FD training introduced a new induction booklet to make induction easier, targeted and efficient, with managers coached to help new staff settle in quickly. Individuals and teams have benefited from coaching and training to improve performance and some areas have implemented lean working principles to identify and report on efficiency savings.

Needs assessments and appraisals have informed future requirements and a core programme of generic skills has been delivered. Many FD staff have also achieved well in NVQs, Jumpstart courses and higher level studies sponsored by Headstart.

Innovative approaches to assessing need have been introduced, with new courses offered to meet changing needs. A strengths deployment inventory (sDI) has also helped individuals and teams gain insight into their values, strength and behaviours to better understand colleagues and improve working relationships.

Health and safety and FD training have helped keep employees safe and the directorate compliant through skills and safety training and ensured that FD is 100% compliant on equality and diversity training and 89% compliant on mandatory training.

staff were 94% happy with the quality of training provision and the actual spend against budget was £5,000 under.

Legal complianceThe directorate’s published governance framework sets out senior management roles and responsibilities for corporate governance and compliance. This flows from business planning review processes and the planned work of FD executive, who will be responsible for strategic priorities and managing their area of activity.

A compliance register provides the university with effective internal controls for all legislative and compliance requirements associated with the delivery of each business and service area. This will be reviewed on a regular basis as part of a tri-annual review process.

Our information policy provides staff with advice on standards and protocols for the storage of electronic information and quality of published information in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act 2000. In support of the university’s records management policy we have published our records retention schedule to provide evidence of meeting legal requirements and managing information resources.

Measuring performanceKey performance indicator scorecards have been developed and implemented across the directorate to provide strategic and operational information to monitor and improve our services. each scorecard provides performance data, lines of accountability, transparent evaluation and a focus for clear performance management reviews and continued improvement. An FD balanced scorecard is currently planned to reflect the directorate’s long-term strategic planning process.

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ProcurementOver the past 12 months we have processed approx 1,000 orders with a total value of £2.6m and annual savings of £138,485. The procurement section has also fully integrated the e-tendering system for the tendering of all goods and services.

e-procurement subjects all tenders to fair and open competition as suppliers of all sizes and locations can apply for and be alerted to relevant tenders and coached if they are not used to the process.

Procurement continues to adapt processes and documentation where necessary in order to remain compliant and collaborates with regional and national consortia, reviewing framework agreements and incorporating them into the portfolio of FD agreements to achieve greater efficiencies in terms of value and resource.

At the end of the year FD Procurement will joining the university’s strategic procurement team to align the service with the rest of the university.

Sustainabilitysheffield Hallam university makes an important contribution to long-term sustainability through a range of teaching and research initiatives and ensuring its facilities and operations meet the highest environmental standards. We have significantly reduced the environmental impact of our campuses and received national recognition by being one of only seven organisations nationwide to receive a climate change champion award from HRH Prince Charles at the May Day summit of Business in the Community.

Reducing our environmental impactIn 2011 the Facilities Directorate carried out an environmental audit against the IsO 14001 standard across the whole university achieving the accreditation in December 2011. This will assist us in continuous improvement in environmental management meeting the highest possible standard and be a key selling point when tendering for new or repeat business.

Our first ethical investment policy was also implemented this financial year to consider the ethical standards and environmental attitudes of companies when making investment decisions.

Receiving national recognitionThe university raises awareness of sustainable development through taking part in a range of awards and accreditations such as • maintaining Fairtrade status in partnership with the students’ union • receiving Gold for the third year in the Business in the Community environment index • receiving a ‘first’ award for environmental policies and performance in the People and Planet Green League 2011 • receiving a commendation for the Furnival Building as Best Building using sustainable Technologies at the sheffield Design Awards • receiving a third Yorkshire in Bloom gold award in 2010 and being joint winner in our category.

carbon management plan reviewThe carbon management plan agreed in september 2009 was reviewed in 2011 to align our targets with HeFCe. These reviewed targets have a baseline year of 2005–06 and aim to reduce emissions by 15% by 2015 and 30% by 2020. Our emissions from buildings in 2010–11 were 9% less than the baseline and our carbon footprint is already over 100 tonnes lower than 2009–10.

We have developed and implemented an energy management system to set and monitor energy profiles for our buildings and identify potential energy saving and aim to achieve the international standard IsO 50001 in early 2012. energy saving projects have also been implemented across the estate at a cost of £200,000 and are expected to deliver potential energy cost savings of £35,000.

Social responsibilityOur projects and work in the community continue to help reduce any negative impact created by our students and include • a university and students’ union community liaison group to raise awareness of the value added by student led initiatives • support to community assemblies and community and resident groups • the Landlords for excellence programme, now in its fifth year, which provides training for private landlords and increases the quality and sustainability of private rented housing.

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Accommodation servicesAccommodation services had an unprecedented number of applications for the 2010 intake as it reached 7,800 and had an increase in the portfolio of beds by almost 700, bringing the number we allocate to 4,925.

We are unique in the university sector, dealing with over 17 partner providers and 38 different residences to provide a range of properties that suit all students, provide value for money and enhance the student experience. There has been a significant drop in the popularity of catered halls but this has provided us with the scope to use some beds for overnight bookings which are popular with international students and those who have shorter teaching periods.

The total income from rents, agency fees, overnight bookings and associated charges in 2009–10 was over £1.2m. We have forged new partnerships with properties we have not previously used and over 250 private landlords were registered in 2009–10, offering 3,000 bed spaces in 450 houses, bedsits and flats giving students a wide range of choices and prices.

Facilities managementWe continue to consult with managers and faculty representatives on how we can support the needs of our academic communities. A review of customer needs and service levels formed the basis of revised written statements on a wide range of FD operations and quarterly meetings held between FD and the faculties will continue to assist us in meeting the needs of our customers.

customer servicesThe call logging system for the helpdesk recorded 35,234 calls in 2010–11 a decrease of 11% on the 2009–10 figures. However 2532 customer requests were received in september through the FD Customer service email. 26,514 requests covering the range of FD services were logged in the Concept helpdesk system, parking permits are up to a rolling year total of 37,976, an increase of 48%, and 24,822 new sHu cards were issued. The footfall indicator also recorded 108,346 visitors to the main reception at City Campus from sept 2010 to sept 2011.

Multi-skilled teamThe multi-skilling team continue to go from strength to strength, maintaining our target of 95% jobs completed on time since Aug 2010 averaged at 97.8% for the last 12 months whilst seeing a 4% increase in jobs received.

MailroomA mail tracker was installed last year to provide an effective tracking system with Royal Mail and other providers. To date this system has increased accountability and tracking time is more efficient with a reduction in claims for lost items.

Through collaborate working with facilities managers and building user groups susan Ward from Mail services organised road shows to improve understanding of Royal Mail’s pricing and demonstrate how savings can be made. For this idea susan was awarded Innovation of the Year at the 2011 Making a Difference Awards.

Security servicesThe directorate continues to work hard to keep the university community safe and secure. The number of reported crimes remains at a low level and can be attributed to a number of ongoing initiatives such as • annual audits of buildings across the estate • awareness raising campaigns during enrolment and induction with DVDs narrated by one of our security controllers • close working relationships with south Yorkshire Police, the local authority and the students’ union • high profile patrolling on campus by security staff • investment in CCTV at Collegiate Crescent Campus • the development of a 10 year investment programme for the control room.

building managersProgress needs identified in the 2010 review have been addressed and will be reviewed further to ensure the needs of estate users are met. Building user groups have also been created to discuss our operations with our customers, working together with them to resolve common issues and deliver services that align to the university’s business.

estatesThe revenue cost of servicing the estate for 2010–11 was £884,257 – an increase of 13% since 2009–10. Planned maintenance costs will begin to stabilise as the condition of the estate improves and new technology in certain areas reduces these costs. energy reduction and management is intrinsic in the design of refurbishments and this should also reduce planned and reactive costs.

Last year we completed over £14m worth of projects and as a result of the estate strategy, the condition of university buildings has improved significantly and reached the point in 2009–10 where 87% of our the estate is either categorised as new condition or sound, operationally safe and exhibits only minor deterioration. This quality improvement is expected to rise further in the next few years.

Operational Services

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Grounds maintenanceOur estate presents many challenges with over 400 trees to look after, Collegiate Crescent Campus in a conservation area, Bawtry Road sports pitches and the urban landscape of City Campus. However hard work by the team has once again been rewarded with a third gold Yorkshire in Bloom award.

Major projects and refurbishmentsDue to the increased number of students the main focus this year has been improving the teaching provision, providing additional classrooms with enhanced office accommodation and environmental upgrades. For the coming year, the university has committed investment around sport, research and major upgrading of facilities at Collegiate Crescent.

Works carried out 2010–11• £0.12m – new cell culture facility

• £4.35m – refurbishment of levels 2–4 and external facade of the Norfolk Building

• £0.3m – internal refurbishment of 44 Collegiate Crescent (Oaklands)

• £0.375m – 7 additional teaching rooms in Howard level 4

• £1.6m – second phase of refurbishment in Adsetts Learning Centre

• £0.350 million – second phase of refurbishment in Collegiate Learning Centre

• £2 million – leasing of, and conversion of five floors for teaching in Aspect Court

• £0.1 million – refurbishment of stoddart lecture theatre

• £0.5 million – creation of the business engagement suite in the stoddart Building

• £0.1 million – redecoration of university areas including student accommodation

• £0.3 million – phase 1 of wayfinding project including additional signage, redesign of maps used for publicity and various it upgrades

Long-term maintenanceLong-term maintenance projects ensure that the fabric and engineering services of the estate are kept in a good functional and efficient condition. some of the works this year have included • the Owen main stairwell • Collegiate Learning Centre roof • Pearson Building stairwell • Refurbishment of level 4 Owen and the lift lobbies/corridors throughout Owen. In addition, there have been numerous projects to renew and replace emergency lighting and fire alarm detectors over the summer, ensuring a safe working environment.

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cost management and estates procurementThe cost management section has worked to introduce frameworks for design team services in line with eu procurement regulations to secure the very best designers to work on our major projects and protect the university from a contractual and procurement governance perspective. During 2010–11 our in-house quantity surveying resource carried out cost management services on a total of 35 projects.

TelecommunicationsDue to an excellent tendering exercise, annual expenditure on telephone services (calls only) was £100,000, down by £30,000 on the previous financial year. The number of voicemail users has remained stable at 2,100 and the number of calls handled by the university switchboard was 365,000.

This year telecommunications engineers • repaired 605 faults • installed 250 additional sockets • completed 1,345 telephone moves • continued with the programme of upgrading CCTV cameras and equipment at City Campus and completed 214 hours of remedial and repair work.

Space managementThe space management team works closely with faculties and departments in determining their future space needs which informs the university’s capital programme. The team is also responsible for developing the MICAD system to inform decision making around space needs, allocation and utilisation.

University Timetabling Management Services (UTMS)The 2010–11 timetabling database held over 70,000 activities scheduled into pool, specialist and meeting rooms with over 25,000 non teaching activities roomed by uTMs and spanning a wide variety of events.

The university’s Changing to Improve project provided a major focus in 2010–11 bringing together the five timetabling teams, based in faculties and FD. This centralised university university Timetabling Management services team came together at the end of 2010–11 and key to future success will be the need to maintain strong networking relationships to develop the Changing to Improve philosophy of a ‘one team approach’ across professional service teams throughout faculties and directorates.

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catering servicesThe past 12 months have been challenging for catering services with 6% food inflation amongst other things making it a difficult trading period. Contribution fell on previous years to £168,212 below target.

The start of the year saw an emphasis on consultation, collaboration and change. Customer focus groups supported by feedback, benchmarking and a mystery shopper exercise aimed to assess products and services and how they might be improved. Comprehensive sales training was undertaken by all the catering team in early september to develop the team’s skills and knowledge and improve customer service.

The new catering outlet in the Collegiate Learning Centre offered an improved service on that site and the addition of Aspect Court and changes to services in eric’s Café and Heartspace should support sales growth over the coming year.

Catering services has seen an increase in the demand for ethically sourced and Fairtrade products as well as information on health and nutrition. Our ethical policy has been updated to include locally sourced products, free range eggs and ethically sourced fish. Our reusable mug scheme has also been a success with hundreds of people using the mugs across all sites. We also sold over 550,000 Fairtrade drinks in the last 12 months and through the sale of bottled water, raised over £5,000 for charities nominated by staff and customers.

Sheffield hallam eventsThe events team had a very positive year both in terms of events delivered and with internal development of processes and skills to ensure success in the future. The work of the team touches the whole of sheffield Hallam’s community from welcoming applicants and their families to recruitment events to our first annual strategy event for the board of governors.

uK graduation had an extremely successful year with the online graduation project fully implemented to allow graduating students to book their ceremonies online. This saw a significant increase in attendance to the ceremonies and throughout the booking period an extensive improvement log was created to ensure the student experience of this process would be further enhanced.

The team has been involved in a variety of profile raising events at a corporate and faculty level including the Creative spark launch evening, the annual management lecture delivered by Lord Browne, a successful programme of Nights Out events and the enterprise and Innovation Dinner.

The team also made significant progress with a new five-year business plan, ensuring a highly commercial focus whilst providing solid service to growing internal demands throughout the period. In very difficult trading conditions most income objectives were met and the end-of-year financial position exceeded the budgeted target.

A great deal of focus during the year was given to staff development and engagement to embed progress made through the 2009 restructure. A new mechanism for gaining engagement was trialled with the setting of personal objectives and performance reviews in preparation for the 2011–12 planning year. There was also significant work done on staff development through establishing regular knowledge sharing and away days.

The events team are in a good position to meet future challenges which will refocus the needs of customers on high quality events that aid in student recruitment, engage with businesses and supporters, generate income and provide an exceptional experience to students, staff and other guests. In the future landscape, professionally delivered events providing measurable success will be increasingly important to the university in these and many other areas.

commercial services

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Sport and recreation servicesFollowing on from the university strategy for sport and new Team Hallam partnership with the students’ union, 2010–11 saw the introduction of some new initiatives for sport at sheffield Hallam.

The sport scholarship scheme has seen performance athletes recruited to the university to study and play sport to help the university teams that they represent reach the highest level within the British university College sport (BuCs) competition. This is also supported by the development of a new Focus sport programme where the Team Hallam partnership is putting in extra support to those sports that can achieve this.

On a national level, we were ranked 33rd out 145 institutions in the overall BuCs rankings, which was a drop of four places from 2009–10. As the scholarship scheme and Focus sports become embedded it is predicted that this will improve quickly.

It was another record year for fitness suite and class participation. The fitness suites saw 132,199 visits beating the previous best total by 8013. Class attendance peaked at 17,312 surpassing the previous best total in 2009–10 by 1513, whilst income from sports card sales reached £461,559.

This year was also the start of a partnership agreement with the english Institute of sport sheffield which saw a number of teams establish this fantastic venue as their home for training and matches.

In partnership with the Centre for sport and exercise science in the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, we successfully delivered support to 55 elite athletes on our Talented Athlete scholarship scheme (TAss) making us the fourth largest TAss hub site in the country.

However, the best news of the year was the successful bid for sport england funding to increase participation in recreational sport. In total sheffield Hallam was awarded £273,734 over 3 years which was the fifth highest successful bid in the country.

Print ServicesA value-for-money review of the service was conducted which resulted in a positive verdict and suggested some key areas for change. One service improvement suggested was to restructure the department, which will take place late 2011.

This year, we printed 15.3 million pieces of paper from just under 8,000 jobs – a reduction of 4.5% on the previous year. The demand for colour printing is continuing to increase by a further 42%. However mono printing is declining which will influence the tender process for new machinery in the new year.

The print tender for new printers has just been completed and this will realise £50,000 worth of savings a year (based on figures from 2009–10). external work including student binding and printing, has continued to rise by 13% on the previous financial year. Further increases are expected following the introduction of improved electronic job submission software which will allow more accessibility to Print services.

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Spotlight on...

Susan Ward – mail servicesFresh from her recent success in winning Innovation of the Year at this year’s Making a Difference Awards, we chat to susan Ward about her role in mail services.

‘I first joined FD as a cleaner at Collegiate before moving to City in 1994 after the Gardner Merchant review. A secondment with mail services came up and I got the job. I’ve now been with mail services for 15 years and I love working here. I enjoy getting about and meeting people instead of being stuck behind a desk all day.

‘My award-winning idea was to help staff across the university understand Royal Mail’s pricing by providing letter samples, writing guidance notes, and running roadshows to show how savings can be made, as some areas were using oversized envelopes for small items.

‘I started by contacting staff by email but wanted to make more of an impact in getting the message across, so I developed a presentation on how to package items and worked with Tina Needham to deliver the presentation at building user groups. I got a brilliant response once they could see what savings could be made and now some areas have removed large envelopes from their stationery orders.

‘I’m no stranger to training people – after the merge with the multi-skilled team there was only myself and Tony Moxam who were fully trained in mail so I had to provide training for 14 members of multi-skilled staff that was easy to deliver and understand.

‘At first I found the multi-skilling restructure difficult but I turned it to my advantage by working on projects to help train the new team and received contribution pay for my work on this over the past two years.

‘The projects included creating individual training sheets to record who had done what, labelling mail pouches with department names and account numbers so that multi-skilled staff would have all the information they needed when sorting mail, developing a troubleshooting book full of useful information such as a list of postcodes for all university buildings, a list of couriers and emergency numbers which all staff can refer to and providing a notice board showing which faculty or department is based on each floor in all buildings.

‘I was very proud when I received my award, although I was very nervous about going on stage to collect it! I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and felt a real sense of achievement. It was good to be recognised.

‘I’d also like to thank Tina Needham, Andrew Goude, Liz Dickens and Denise Nelson for all their support in helping me get the messages across and arrange the presentations.’

A stitch in time-tabling sue Langton, academic timetabler with the university Timetabling Management services team, has a hidden skill as a dab hand with a needle and thread.

‘I’ve always been quite creative and interested in design and dressmaking runs in the family. My mum owned a dressmaking shop and growing up I remember I was always knee-deep in fabric. unfortunately my mum had to close down her shop but moved all her haberdashery materials into the spare room and continued on from there.

‘I did an O level in dressmaking at school and went on to study art and design at college. I have a strong interest in interior design with an eye for colour, design and texture and before I decided to work at the university my previous jobs were always around fashion and art. I used to work in fashion fabrics and furniture fabrics in House of Fraser and John Lewis, and also as an alteration hand.

‘I still work on clothing alterations in my spare time with my mum. I’ve worked on variety of clothing from wedding dresses and suits to curtains. One bespoke item I worked on was a multi-coloured dress made from layers of tuille which someone had seen in a magazine.’

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charity update

christmas card donationsevery year FD holds a charity Christmas card donation scheme as an alternative to sending cards to colleagues by asking staff to donate the money they would spend on Christmas cards to a worthy charity.

This year in light of our recent losses of Beryl Barson, sylvia Davies and Danny Kemp we are asking staff to donate their Christmas card money to Cancer Research.

You can pledge your money at https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fdr/charity/xmascards11.asp and view the amount of money raised, as well as a roll of honour featuring the people who have donated.

We are only accepting cash donations this year which can be made in person to FD Business services Level 2, 20 Furnival street.

Adam hawker – charity skydiveTo mark my 20th year of having type 1 diabetes and in loving memory of my dad who had type 2 diabetes, I took part in a 10,000 feet tandem skydive to raise money for Diabetes uK – http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes

For those of you who don’t know much about my hidden disability, I have to inject five times a day and vary the amount of insulin depending on how many carbohydrates I eat in my meals as my body doesn’t produce any insulin of its own. I also use a glucose meter to test my sugar levels at least a few times a day. I have ‘hypos’ (low blood sugar levels) where I feel dizzy, confused and weak – something I have to deal with frequently.

I took part in this skydive as a personal challenge (yes I am scared to death of heights!) and for all those people who live through the same daily struggles as me. so far I have raised over £770 and donations can still be made via the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/adamhawker

Thanks to everyone who has donated so far.

children in NeedAs one of the directorate’s chosen charities, staff across FD held a number of fundraising events for Children in Need. These ranged from dress down days to cake sales and raffles. The totals raised across FD were

• Accommodation £125• FM (receptions) £314• 20 Furnival street £166• Catering £754

Raising in total a whopping £1359 which is the highest amount we have raised for this cause. Well done and thank you to everyone who took part.

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countdown to graduation 2011

Sport hallam

After twenty ceremonies and a record-breaking attendance of over 7,100 graduates and 24,500 guests, (an increase of 12 per cent on last year) this year’s uK graduation ceremonies ended on Friday 25 November.

The management and delivery of our graduation ceremonies has gone from strength to strength since FD became involved in 1999 and we look behind the scenes at the meticulous planning which takes place for this event to continue to be a success.

The year began with tweaks to the graduation module to help manage and deliver the ceremonies and allow students to book tickets online. Just 24 hours after online booking was switched on, 1,300 students had already booked tickets. Bookings continued to flow in steadily with a peak of 6,750 when online booking closed and a further 350 late bookings were accepted, right up to the ceremony dates.

We work with graduation suppliers throughout the year, particularly sheffield International Venues, sheffield City Hall, and ede and Ravenscroft, our official supplier of gowning and photography. We also work closely with other external contractors to supply everything from staging and lighting to floral decorations and we work with our own internal services such as marketing, catering, security and facilities management.

This year for the first time the ceremonies were broadcast live via the university graduation website to Galaxy Video. This was very well received – particularly by the families of international graduates living overseas, and also by uK families unable to travel to sheffield.

each ceremony has many key roles to which staff are appointed and all of these people make a valuable contribution to the smooth running of the events. Graduation is one of the finest examples of success through excellent teamwork across the entire university and we thank all the staff involved.

sheffield Hallam got into the spirit of Rio de Janeiro earlier this term, when the Brazilian judo squad arrived for their first pre-Olympic Games training camp.

The Brazilian team, who have several members ranked in the world top ten, have selected sheffield as their uK training base ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

They spent the week training at sheffield Hallam university ahead of the GB World Cup in Liverpool. During the visit, the squad worked with British Judo on open sessions for British athletes and sheffield Hallam students.

Ney Wilson, performance director of the Brazilian squad, said, ‘This visit has been very positive, and I’d like to say thank you

for the way we have been treated, in a very caring way, searching for solutions to our needs together.’

Guy Masterman, head of sport at sheffield Hallam university, said, ‘It is a tremendous honour to have the Brazil judo team with us for their preparations through to the 2012 Olympics.

‘It is a testament to the facilities and sport support systems we now have in place at the university and our sport campus at eIs sheffield. It is especially pertinent for us as we forge links with Brazil in its progress towards hosting its own Olympics in 2016 and the FIFA World Cup in 2014.’

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Get fit for the festive season with free personal trainingsport Hallam offers free one-to-one personal training sessions and

tailored fitness programmes to all members.

Book your session today by calling 0114 225 2449/2150.

brazilian judo team gets a firm hold on Sheffield hallam

FD people

Poetic Golf Day by Alan ShepherdKen, Shaun P, Rob, Dave, Shaun C, Alan, Mark,Seven inspiring golfers with their Sunday best on,Went hacking and duffing at Garstang, near Preston,After two days off playing this game,And couldn’t find, no matie,Cos in-between the rain, wind and sleet was Hurricane Katie,

Last day arrived with the weather now more dissolved,Then we found the perfect time for the game to be resolved,The event was fine, food and hotel, the best,Competing in this game, at times is a hard test,With balls lost, missed shots and putts not going in,Who invented this game? Could it be a sin?

Overall the honours, the wooden spoon to Mark,Whom at times his anger was worse than his bark,The coveted cup, that had to be,Was won, quite fairly, by Shaun P,It’s not about winning or losing, it’s a game within your heart, But the overall winners were those taking part……..

New starters and farewells• We welcome to the Collegiate domestic team Dawn

Cripps, Philip McKeen and Carli Laycock who joined us in October.

• Sinead O’Toole was appointed as furniture and project assistant in the estates division in November.

• We said goodbye to Bryan Kirk, estates, who left us in October

• Kat Wood, communications manager, left her temporary position in September and we welcome Claire Hamilton back into communications following maternity leave.

• The Collegiate domestic team would like to wish Rosemary France a happy retirement and good luck for the future.

• Farewell to Graham Sykes, Cherie English, Clive Booth and Roger Nunn who will all be leaving in December.

• Welcome to Daniel Judge in accommodation services.

• Welcome in catering to Michael Frost and Jill Hayes, catering assistants and Sophie Wood, administrative support and welcome to Ericka Heslington who started in the role of events assistant in October.

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A bird’s tailSome more feathered friends have been stopping by to visit the City Campus and gained the attention of BBC2’s Autumwatch.

The city centre is alive with birds if you know where to look, and the section of grass on Arundel Street outside the catering offices makes an unlikely roost for a large flock of pied wagtails late every afternoon.

The Pied Wagtail is a small black and white bird with a long tail that is sometimes mistaken to be a young Magpie, with a distinctive wagging tail which never stops!

Over 600 of these birds flock to this area because of the warmth of the area, and the protection provided by the Laurel bushes. This small piece of land has now become a very important urban area of wildlife.

A sad farewell to SylviaA sad farewell to our colleague and friend sylvia Davies who passed away after a long battle with cancer. she will be sadly missed by all who knew her. We also said farewell to ex-colleague Danny Kemp who also passed away in November. Our feathered

friendIs it a bird? Is it a plane? Well, yes, it is a bird – albeit a plastic, sand-filled one – and it’s also FD’s newest member of staff. Tweetie Pie the owl has made a home on top of the Howard Building to help us with our pigeon problem around the Owen and Howard.

This little owl was originally designed as a hunting decoy but enterprising members of the estates team thought she might be a good deterrent for pigeons. Thanks to John Senior for supplied the sand and Martin Hazlehurt’s team for finding her a perch.

congratulations toDan Armstrong who has graduated in BA Business and Management.

Congratulations to Beth Walker in estates who has completed her Pass Plus (Advanced Driving) on Jumpstart.

1. how often do you read FD News? Always Frequently sometimes Rarely Never

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4. Which is your favourite section of FD News? estates news sports news Charity updates sustainability updates Feature articles Well done to/Moves and changes Interviews with staff Competitions Other (please state)

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10. Do you prefer to read FD News online or receive a hard copy? Online Hard copy

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FD News Feedback questionnaire

With Christmas round the corner we are giving you the opportunity to win not once but twice with our usual wordsearch questionnaire on the next page and secondly with this feedback questionnaire.

We want to know what you think of FD News, what features you would like to see more or less of, how often you would like to receive a copy or any other things you would like to change.

To win a prize of £20 high street vouchers simply fill out the questionnaire below including your name and contact details and return to Jill Richards, 20 Furnival street, City Campus by Friday 3 February 2012.

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CompetitionWith Christmas mere moments away its time to deck the hall and complete this edition’s festive wordsearch. Simply find all the words in the grid to be in with a chance of winning £20 of high street shopping vouchers.

To enter the competition, mark your answers on the page and post to FD communications, 20 Furnival Street, city campus. Good luck!

The winner will be drawn at random. The closing date for entries is 3 February 2012.

Printed by Print Services www.shu.ac.uk/print

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competition winnerIn the last edition we gave you the chance to win with our Making a Difference Wordsearch. Thank you for all your submissions. The winner can be revealed as Dawn Meates from security who has won £20 of high street shopping vouchers.

Comments? suggestions? Ideas? Do you have any comments, suggestions or ideas for FD News? If so, please email them to fd-comms@shu.ac.uk or post them to FD Communications, 20 Furnival street, City Campus. We rely on you, the reader, to tell us what you would like to see in FD.

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sLeDGe FD News available online All previous issues of FD News are available on the staff intranet. Visit https://staff.shu.ac.uk/fdr fdnewsonline to view electronic versions of every edition. If you would like to view FD News in an alternative format, please contact the communications team at FD-comms@shu.ac.uk

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