In order to realise our vision, we will...
F1. Be sustainable and legitimate
What this means:
- We have an excellent relationship with the University and understand and meet their requirements
- Our governance structures are at the leading edge within students’ unions
- We are financially stable and sustainable
- We are recognised as a leading Students’ Union via external validation
- We are socially, ethically and environmentally responsible
What we will do:
Lead Staff member – Lesley Dixon, Chief Executive
Involved departments – All departments
By July 2009
- We will have implemented the corporate social responsibility and sustainability strategy
- We will have begun work towards accreditation for our environmental/CSR practices outside of Sound Impact whilst also regularly monitoring our activity against that standard
- We will have a clear understanding of our carbon footprint
- We will have further developed our governance practices and will have benchmarked ourselves against others in the sector as well as having reviewed our governance practices against the Good Governance toolkit
- We will have a financial strategy to take us through to 2010
- We will have reviewed our banking, investment and financing strategy against ethical as well as sound commercial criteria
- We will have investigated alternative sources of funding and revenue
- We will have grown commercial income by 3.5%
- We will have developed a Business Continuity Plan
- We will have reviewed “not for profit”
As a result of this:
- We will continue to be accredited to Sound Impact Gold standard
- We will reduce our electricity consumption by a further 10% year on year
- We will reduce our carbon emissions by 5%
- Our governance will be rated as “ahead of the game” in the Boards Count benchmarking
- 87% of members will be aware of profit recycling in LUU and the negative commentary on profit recycling will reduce by half
By July 2010
- Continuous development in terms of CSR will be seen as the norm and we will have publicly reported on our CSR activities
- We will have regularly monitored our water and energy consumption and setting reduction targets for departments
- We will have accessed alternative sources of funding
- Continuous development in terms of governance will be seen as the norm - our governance will have been internally audited and we will have implemented the action plan coming out of the review against the Good Governance toolkit
- We will have successfully registered with the charity commission
- We will have reviewed our pension provision in line with changes to legislation
As a result of this:
- We will gain the Sound Impact award to the highest level within students’ unions
- We will achieve external accreditation for our work on CSR
- We will be hitting the agreed targets for water and energy consumption
- We will fulfill the criteria as outlined in the good governance code of practice
- We will achieve SUEI to gold standard
- We will implement a new banking, investment and financing strategies
F 2. Be relevant and responsive to our stakeholders
What this means:
- We know what our members want and deliver it
- We have excellent customer service across the board
What we will do:
Lead Staff member – Jackie Berry Commercial Services Director
Involved departments – Marketing/All services
By July 2009
- A stakeholder action plan will be in place and will have been implemented
- We will have asked members what they want in terms of customer service
- Customer service standards (internal and external) will have been agreed and will have been implemented
- We will have introduced a mystery shopper scheme
As a result of this:
- 95% of members will rate the Union as good/very good*
- At least 90% of members will feel that the Union contributes positively to their student experience*
- 35% of members will feel that the Union influenced their decision to study at Leeds*
- 40% of our non-student stakeholders will rate us as excellent
By July 2010
- Customer service will have been embedded throughout the Union, internally and externally
- We will have benchmarked our customer service rating against best practice
- We will have benchmarked our customer service rating against the best
As a result of this:
- At least 90% of members will feel that the Union contributes positively to their student experience*
- At least 95% of members will rate the Union as good/very good*
- 40% of members will feel that the Union influenced their decision to study at Leeds*
- 50% of our non student stakeholders will rate us as excellent
- The mystery shopping score improves from the initial benchmark and compares to the best
* These are the “killer questions” within the Union’s annual survey and are key measures for the Union’s success
F 3. Have competent and highly motivated staff
What this means:
- We have some of the best staff within Students’ Unions as well as within their respective fields
- Our systems for managing the performance of staff enable us to get the best out of them and them to get the most out of their employment with LUU
- Our recruitment ensures that the best people apply to work at LUU and the very best are appointed
- We develop excellent leaders and managers throughout the organisation
- Our staff are committed to LUU
What we will do:
Lead Staff member – Antonia Frezza, HR and Admin Manager
Involved departments – HR and Admin
By July 2009
- A culture of the importance of people will have been embedded throughout the Union
- We will have internally audited our people management processes
- We will have reviewed the internal systems within the HR department and will have defined the key reporting criteria for human resources issues. There will have been regular meetings with department heads to discuss and progress the issues in their areas
- There will be equivalent processes for monthly and weekly paid staff
- We will have reviewed our reward systems to ensure fairness and competitiveness
- We will have taken part in the 'people counts - voluntary' benchmarking project
As a result of this:
- 100% of monthly paid staff will have a Making Headway meeting in the previous 12 months
- 100% of all weekly paid staff will have a Making Headway meeting in the previous 12 months
- We will be in the top 100 list of the Sunday Times Best Companies
- Responses in the staff survey to the questions “I enjoy my job” and “I would recommend LUU as a good place to work” will remain at above 90%
By July 2010
- We will have investigated committing to IIP profile with a view to going for assessment in 2011
- We will have implemented the changes to the reward system
As a result of this:
- Pay will no longer be considered as a top 10 risk
- 80% of staff will think that pay in LUU is fair.
- Responses in the staff survey to the questions “I enjoy my job” and “I would recommend LUU as a good place to work” will remain at above 90%.
