Hybrid working with Manchester University - Thinking Differently
Plenary 5
'Hybrid working - Thinking Differently'
The session will cover the Manchester University’s iterative approach to developing hybrid working by engaging with a wide range of colleagues and using the University’s values to guide them.
The University will showcase their recently published Hybrid Working Framework for Professional Services colleagues and bring the framework to life by walking through a series of personas which demonstrate how different colleagues experiencing hybrid working, and how the framework allows for flexibility and ingenuity at the local level.
The team, two of whom will be joining us remotely from Manchester, will share their successes and learnings over the last two years around true transparency and authenticity at leadership and management level, by listening to colleagues and basing decisions on their feedback, and using data as a source for action.
Helen Ashley: Helen Ashley is the Head of Workforce Planning and Talent at the University of Manchester. She is an experienced People and OD leader with a background in Healthcare, International Higher Education, and Science Publishing sectors. With a focus on evidence-based performance improvement and transformational leadership, her areas of excellence are designing and implementing workforce and OD strategies, client-led service improvement, and leadership of organizational change through cooperation, collaboration and colleague engagement. She is a qualified coach and remains research active in the field of organizational culture. She is a Fellow of CIPD, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and has a master’s degree in Education.
Kay Nicholls: Kay Nicholls is a Project Manager in the University of Manchester’s Strategic Change Office. She is an experienced transformation and change specialist, with a background in management consultancy working in public and private sectors across Australia and the UK. Her areas of expertise lie in people and change management, leadership and stakeholder engagement, behaviour change and workforce effectiveness.
Adèle MacKinlay (joining remotely): Adèle joined The University of Manchester as its inaugural Director of People and Organizational Development in November 2022. Previously she was the Director of People and Organizational Development at Loughborough University and worked at Pace University and College Avenue Student Loans in the US. Prior to her family’s move to the US, Adèle was Director of Human Resources and then Chief Operating Officer at Aston University. Her early career was spent in Financial Services.
Rachel McGraw (joining remotely): Rachael leads on the University’s approach to colleague experience. With a background in internal and external communications and marketing, she has led a number of high profile strategic projects at the University including the engagement programme which led to the creation of the University’s vision and strategic plan Our future; engaging more than 800 colleagues in uncovering our University’s values and she is a key member of the Professional Services hybrid working project team.
