HELP US GET IT RIGHT (HUGIR) CAREERS & EMPLOYABILITY SERVICE FOCUS GROUP FEEDBACK 2016-17
Topic 1 – Social Media
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments1.1 / One or many social media accounts
One whole C&ES social media account or separate for each part of the service. All of the following are being used at the moment:
· C&ES
· Student Jobs
· Graduate Jobs
· FOB Placements
Lack of consensus from the group on the direction of travel on this / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to keep the following
· C&ES
· Student Jobs
· Graduate Jobs
Placements:
It has been agreed that we will negotiate with each module every year on their preferences and respond to their preference at module level
1.2 / Facebook or Twitter
The consensus was for:
· both
· but with different types of content – FUN i.e. not contentious, more approachable, interactive, humorous, GIFs, current, image based, case study based
· “people share funny” / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / · A strategic social media project plan is being constructed that reaches across C&ES, cross references and drives content to current and planned international, national and local events, and takes a more coherent approach, joining up content across the various social media accounts, through a hub and spoke approach on all of the platforms used / We can report that:
· we have implemented a more varied range of content and are seeing significantly better footprint and response rates to these types of posts already
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
1.3 / Social Media - use of other platforms
The consensus was to start to use:
· Snapchat / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to:
· use Instagram to show what has happened i.e. a gallery. Instagram will not be used as a communication forum or route, it will focus on outcomes with pictures posted
· use Snapchat for live events to encourage more visitors to the events that are happening at that moment on campus / We are planning to:
· appoint Placement Ambassadors who will post photos every week while they are out on placement with 2 lines of content
· trial Snapchat at the Autumn Part Time Jobs Fair
1.4 / What would you like to see?
The consensus was to have:
More about who works in the C&ES and content about what they do
· photos of staff to be used in the social media feed
· more about the role
(Knowing who works in C&ES and what they do was a recurring theme) / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to:
· use photos or memes/caricatures of staff on the social media feeds with first names
· occasionally feature posts or blogs from staff about their roles / We are planning to:
· use photos and first names in the Hub with a small bio – like Twitter profiles - which could be fun and light hearted or generic
· Extend the “me in a minute” idea, using either video or a photo and post it onto social media, tied into relevant events that are happening within the team / We will need to consider:
· consultation and negotiation with C&ES staff on content and take up
1.5 / What would you like to see?
The consensus was to have:
· FAQs about the C&ES as a pinned post on Twitter / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We are planning to:
· produce a pinned post every month
· Update the website pages as this may be a more appropriate platform for this information
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
1.6 / What would you like to see?
The consensus was to have:
· Subject specific information, case studies, alumni stories / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to consider this proposal as it may not be an appropriate platform – the website may be a better space and we need to avoid duplication / We are planning to:
· Promote early sign up to Alumni
· Promote the Alumni social media posts and their subject specific case studies / We need to consider:
· Alumni stories are already available on the campus and are a regular feature on the Alumni Team’s social media feeds
1.7 / What would you like to see?
The consensus was to have:
· Facebook live or Q&A session for those who are uncertain about coming into the C&E Hub / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We are planning to:
· use Facebook live and Snapchat during events
· investigate other options such as Messenger for live chat and a live chat system linked to the C&ES webpages
Topic 2 - Rising Awareness and Accessibility to the C&ES (Accessibility, Events and Support)
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments2.1 / ACCESSIBILITY (2.1-2.5)
How can we raise awareness of and
Accessibility to the C&E Hub?
The consensus was to have:
· inclusion of the location of and services delivered by the C&E Hub included in induction across all stage and programmes / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We are planning to:
· take this to the Induction Planning Group
· ask faculties to include this in their Induction Faculty Evenings and their induction/ returner materials
· hold a late night open event to “meet the team” in the Hub / We need to consider:
· we are a feature of induction but are dependent on academic staff booking us
· we have limited staff resource in the C&ES making this a challenge
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
2.2 / How can we raise awareness of and
Accessibility to the C&E Hub?
The consensus was to use:
· different media
· the big screen
· UPSU radio (advertising?)
· pod casts
· webinars / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this
Web content is always under review and development / We are planning to:
· make better use of social media as outlined in 1.1- 1.7
· negotiate appropriate input with UPSU Radio
· promote the C&ES Hub through the big screen
· provide pod cases – we have commissioned 2 staff to produce up to 7 min long pod casts / We can report that:
· our live webinar programme will launch in the summer
We need to consider:
· we already use the big screen extensively
2.3 / How can we raise awareness of and
Accessibility to the C&E Hub?
The consensus was to:
· better promote the C&ES and the C&E Hub to International Students / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We are planning to:
· work in partnership with ISA to improve awareness of the C&ES Hub and C&ES with international students through new content on the C&ES and ISA webpage, social media and the International Student Orientation Programme / We can report that:
· we are currently reviewing the needs of and service improvements to international students through a focus group, in partnership with International Students Advice (ISA)
2.4 / How can we raise awareness of and
Accessibility to the C&E Hub?
The consensus was to:
· set up an open booking system so that students do not have to phone in every morning to see if they can get an appointment that day / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We can report that:
· this is being trialled at the moment
We will need to consider:
· non-attendance might be a problem and will impact due to our staffing levels
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
2.5 / How can we raise awareness of and
Accessibility to the C&E Hub?
The consensus was to use:
Academic engagement i.e.
· tutorials
· at every stage
· greater collaboration
· some compulsory sessions in the academic timetable
· more guest speakers to be set up by academic staff as part of the curriculum
(Academic engagement in promoting and supporting both employability and the C&ES was a recurring theme) / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this
· Julian Chaudhuri (DVC Education & Student Experience) is reviewing our tutorial systems
· each school now has an academic staff member who is an Employability Lead
· we now have an Employability Forum comprising of careers, academic staff, and staff from University’s Teaching, Learning and Support team, UPSU and Learning Support & Wellbeing / We are planning to:
· request through Julian Chaudhuri (DVC Education & Student Experience) that the timetable Programme Module Organisation Project (timetable project) considers timetabling careers sessions
· publish a tutor guide to C&ES
· hold show and tell sessions for academic staff twice a year
· circulate the HUGIR summary document to key stakeholders
· invite HUGIR participating students to talk to the Employability Forum about HUGIR and their views about employability in the curriculum / We can report that:
· the recommendations of the Employability Jigsaw project are being considered by Julian Chaudhuri (DVC Education & Student Experience)
We need to consider:
· we already have a pedagogical approach that academics can use to embed at every stage
· some courses do have compulsory sessions
· there are a small number of timetabled careers sessions, the vast majority are not timetabled or compulsory
· we have limited staff resource in C&ES, making delivery at every stage a challenge
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
2.6 / EVENTS (2.6-2.11):
What bespoke sessions are needed relevant to degree programmes?
The consensus was to use:
· subject specific events (fewer big generic events and more small subject specific events)
· “Day in the Life of….” certain industries Day in the life of a lobbyist, HR manager – talks or podcast
· timetabled careers sessions in the curriculum
(Timetabled careers sessions in the curriculum were a recurring theme) / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this
· we will run some smaller subject specific events such as “Careers Conversations” at topic level
· we will trial some “Day in the Life of ..” sessions as talks and podcasts to see which format resonates better with students / We are planning to:
· refresh our events offer
· request through Julian Chaudhuri (DVC Education & Student Experience) that the timetable Programme Module Organisation Project (timetable project) considers timetabling careers sessions / We can report that:
· we have already set up our first “Careers Conversation” - around working in probation
We need to consider that:
· we have limited staff resource in C&ES, making it a challenge to deliver a larger number of subject specific events
2.7 / How can we encourage more participation in events?
The consensus was to use:
· more evening sessions
· days other than Wednesday as those with sporting commitments can’t attend – focus in on when the season has ended / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action trial some events on other days of the week / We are planning to:
· trial some early evening delivery sessions during busy times e.g. October and February/March
· deliver one of the careers fairs on a different day / We need to consider that:
· we deliver 3 networking evenings, which are well attended
· we have limited staff resource in C&ES, making it a challenge to deliver later into the evening on a more regular basis
Area of Feedback from the HUGIR group / Action/Decision / In Development / Comments
2.8 / How can we encourage more participation in events?
The consensus was to:
· poll students on which employers they want to be targeted for events and use destinations data to get a relevant mix of employers
· target placement returners and their employers to encourage them to come on campus / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action the polling of students / We are planning to:
· establish the dates and go out on social media on poll on the types of employers
· delve into 2015/16 placement and DLHE data to update our target employers
· produce a strategic plan for our employer engagement
· support poster presentations around placements where employers can come on campus / We need to consider that:
· most graduate employer schemes have “target universities” and if we are not one of their target universities it may be hard to persuade them to come down to Plymouth, so we will need to carefully manage student expectation
· we do use placement providers and alumni widely in terms of engaging with our events
2.9 / How can we encourage more participation in events?
The consensus was to:
· encourage academic staff to attend the careers fair and use the fair as part of academic content being delivered at this time / Based on the feedback a decision has been taken to action this / We are planning to: