5 things we learned from our HE community in Manchester 

A quick insight: Our HE community came together in Manchester for Navigating the Now: IRL to share what is really shaping staff engagement in Higher Education. The aim was simple. Learn from each other and leave with ideas people could apply straight away. This blog shares five lessons from the room and what they mean for employee listening and action in HE. 

People come to an HE community meet up to sense check reality. What others are dealing with. Where progress is being made. And where people still feel stuck with employee engagement and employee listening. 

That was the tone in Manchester on 8 January, when 30 Higher Education professionals met at the University of Manchester for Navigating the Now: IRL. Hosted by the University of Manchester alongside People Insight, the day brought the HE community together for shared learning and open discussion. 

This meet up is part of an ongoing effort to build a dedicated and passionate HE community. A space for HE HR and people teams to talk engagement and listening with peers who understand the context and constraints of Higher Education. 

Related: Check out our report on employee experience in higher education 

What happened in Manchester and why it mattered 

The day opened with a keynote from the University of Manchester, sharing their colleague listening journey and how engagement is being linked to strategy, leadership accountability and local ownership. 

This was followed by a practical session on action planning with generative AI. The discussion focused on where technology can help create clarity and prioritisation, without replacing the human conversations that sit at the heart of employee listening. 

After lunch, Liverpool John Moores University shared their staff survey journey, focusing on how trust, empowerment and belief in action had shifted over time through leadership visibility, local action and consistent communication. 

The afternoon closed with a best practice exchange and reflections, giving the HE community space to share what they are trying, what they would change and what they wish they had known earlier. 

A short survey after the session captured the impact clearly. 93% of attendees said they felt confident about applying something they learned in their own HEI. The value of the day sat not just in listening, but in leaving with something practical. 

Benchmarking insights 

Alongside the conversations in Manchester, it is worth grounding what we heard in a wider sector view. Our HE community benefits from one of the most comprehensive benchmarking datasets in Higher Education, built from organisations that actively survey, listen and act. 

In 2025 alone, more than 70 Higher Education institutions surveyed with People Insight, engaging over 230,000 HE employees. That scale allows us to see patterns across the sector, not just isolated examples. 

From that benchmarking data, three signals stand out: 

• From 2024 to 2025, employee engagement scores across Higher Education increased by 2 percentage points within the People Insight benchmarking database. 

• Over the same period, belief in action rose by 3 percentage points, reinforcing the importance of visible follow-through after listening. 

• In 2025, we saw a 35% increase in HE institutions actively using the People Insight reporting platform, pointing to a growing shift towards shared insight, transparency and action across the HE community. 

Together, these signals reflect what many attendees recognised in Manchester. When listening is paired with clarity, ownership and action, confidence starts to build. 

Five things we learned from our HE community in Manchester 

Below are our top five takeaways from the big day. 

1. Belief in action shapes how staff respond to engagement activity

Across the HE community, belief in action came up again and again. 

What resonated most strongly in the Liverpool John Moores University story was not the survey itself, but what happened afterwards. Results were shared openly. Ownership was clear. And actions were visible at both institutional and local levels. 

This mirrors what many HE professionals recognise. Employees respond to employee surveys through memory. What happened last time, whether anyone came back to them, whether actions felt meaningful or performative. 

For the HE community, employee listening only works when people can see movement. Even small steps build confidence. Silence, on the other hand, erodes it. 

In practice, this looks like sharing results early, being clear about priorities and returning to progress regularly. Not every issue can be solved quickly. But acknowledging what has been heard and showing where action is happening makes a difference. 

Related: Learn more about ‘You said, we did’ campaigns 

2. Leadership behaviour is experienced day to day, not through statements

Leadership featured heavily in conversation, not in abstract terms but through behaviour. Participants talked about senior leaders showing up, explaining decisions plainly and staying involved beyond survey launch. 

Strategies set direction. But trust is built through everyday signals. How leaders communicate. How visible they are when things are difficult. For the HE community, engagement is experienced through behaviour, not statements. 

Related: 10 Ways to improve leadership and management in higher education 

3. Local ownership turns insight into action

A strong theme was the gap between institutional action and local reality. Universities are complex. A single set of actions will never meet every need. 

What landed most strongly were examples where teams and directorates were trusted to interpret results and decide priorities. Local ownership gave action a place to live. But it also needs support. Managers need clarity and confidence to hold meaningful conversations, or action risks becoming a paper exercise. 

4. AI is welcome when it supports people doing the work

The generative AI session sparked curiosity rather than resistance. The HE community was open to AI that helps with sense making, prioritisation and drafting actions, especially where capacity is tight. 

There was strong agreement on one point. Employee listening should remain a human experience. AI works best when it reduces friction and supports better conversations, not when it replaces judgement or dialogue. 

5. The HE community itself is part of the answer

One of the strongest insights came from the conversations between institutions. The best practice exchange created space for honesty about challenges and shared learning about what helps. 

For many attendees, the value of the HE community lay in realising others are facing similar issues. That shared understanding creates confidence and momentum. Building the HE community is not a side project. It is a practical way of supporting better employee engagement and employee listening across Higher Education. 

Looking ahead for the HE community and EX 

The Manchester meet up reinforced something simple. Engagement is built through relationships, not reports. Employee surveys play a powerful role in capturing employee sentiment and actionable feedback. But their impact depends on what happens next. 

For the HE community, the focus is on consistency. Clear leadership. Local ownership. And practical use of insight that leads to meaningful change. 

Navigating the Now: IRL was one step in that journey. More HE community conversations are planned, both face to face and online. 

Want to join the conversation? Sign up below to express an interest in our next HE community event or explore how People Insight’s Prism platform can help you turn listening into action.