5 things we learned from our HE community at the University of London 

A quick insight: Our HE community came together at the University of London to explore how universities move from insight to impact. The strongest message from the day was clear: staff listening builds trust when feedback leads to focused action, visible follow-through and stronger belief that something will change. 

On 2nd June 2026, People Insight brought its HE community together at the University of London for another face-to-face event focused on employee listening, action planning and staff experience. 

Despite heavy rain and a tube strike, 36 HE professionals joined us for a productive working day built around real examples from across the higher education sector. 

The theme was Insight to Impact: An Inspire™ HE Celebration. It captured the focus of the day: helping universities move from feedback to action, and from action to stronger belief that listening leads somewhere. 

This was our third in-person HE community event, following our HE community event in Manchester earlier this year. Each event is helping to build a stronger space for HE people teams to connect, share openly and learn from each other. 

What happened at the University of London? 

The day brought together client stories, practical discussion and peer learning. 

St Mary’s University shared how 360 feedback is helping managers build self-awareness and look beneath positive survey scores. The University of Birmingham showed how leadership, local ownership and sustained dashboard use have helped make listening part of business as usual. 

The University of Bath spoke about using Prism to support action planning, while the University of Oxford shared its staff listening journey and the importance of shared ownership in building belief in action. 

Jane Tidswell, our HE Director, helped frame the day and the wider HE community conversation. Our HE Growth and Engagement Lead, Suzanne Christopher, led a session to co-create a survey champion playbook, and our Head of Consultancy, Kate Pritchard, ran an action planning surgery where attendees worked through real challenges.  

From the start, attendees were encouraged to think about one thing they would start, stop or do differently, keeping the day focused on practical action. 

Why trust was the thread running through the day 

Across the sector, one theme keeps standing out: trust. 

The Inspire™ HE data shared on the day reinforced this. Top-performing institutions are not simply achieving stronger engagement scores. What sets them apart is trust in leadership, trust that feedback will lead to action and trust that people are genuinely being listened to. 

Staff do not judge an employee survey by the dashboard or the report. They judge it by what happens afterwards. When people can see action, belief grows. When communication fades, scepticism takes root. 

Related: Survey action plan: how to turn survey results into meaningful action 

5 things we learned from our HE community 

What are our main takeaways from the event? 

1. Positive survey scores still need context

St Mary’s University shared one of the most relatable challenges of the day. 

Their staff survey results around line management looked positive, but other HR data suggested a more complex reality. Staff may have been scoring managers generously because relationships were positive, while deeper issues around feedback, performance management and career conversations still needed attention. 

St Mary’s response was to use People Insight’s 360 feedback tool as part of a development programme, helping managers build self-awareness and move from broad survey insight to behaviour change. 

The lesson is clear: Survey scores are powerful, but they need context. A positive score does not always mean there is nothing to do. 

2. Action planning works best when it becomes business as usual

The University of Birmingham showed what can happen when employee listening becomes embedded in the rhythm of the institution. 

Birmingham was recognised as People Insight’s most improved Inspire™ HE university from 2024 to 2025. Their progress has been shaped by senior sponsorship, consistent survey timelines, transparent results and strong local ownership. 

From 2023 to 2025, engagement increased from 70% to 74%, pride from 77% to 81% and belief in action from 40% to 46%. Between its 2024 survey results and 2025 survey launch, Birmingham also recorded 8,352 dashboard activities across 207 active days. 

That suggests survey insight was being used well beyond the initial post-results period. 

3. AI is most useful when it supports human judgement

The University of Bath shared its first-year journey with People Insight and the role Prism has played in supporting action planning. 

Bath used Prism Suggest to explore action ideas and support more targeted planning. One useful point was Bath’s focus on a maximum of three robust actions. 

That aligns closely with effective action planning: smaller, focused plans are more likely to build momentum than long lists that become difficult to sustain. 

Prism helped Bath move faster and with more confidence, but the value was not in replacing human judgement. It was in supporting it. 

4. Belief in actionhas tobe built before the next survey 

The University of Oxford shared a powerful example of how to build trust before asking staff for more feedback. 

Oxford’s challenge was familiar. Participation was stable and engagement was relatively strong, but belief in action was low. Their response was to start earlier, make action visible and build shared ownership across the university. 

Through “You said, We did” communication, Oxford showed how feedback from the previous survey had informed real priorities and local improvements. Participation increased by 5 percentage points, belief in action by 4 points and engagement by 2 points. 

Oxford’s strongest message was this: “We didn’t improve our survey results by changing the questions. We improved it by changing what people believed would happen after they answered them.” 

5. Survey champions can help action happen locally

One interactive session focused on the role of survey champions. 

This is valuable in HE because universities are complex, distributed organisations. Central teams can provide the framework, but local action often depends on trusted people who understand their area and can help others engage. 

Attendees explored what a great survey champion looks like across pre-survey preparation, survey live engagement and post-survey action. 

If everything sits centrally, action can feel distant. If local leaders and champions are equipped properly, survey insight becomes easier to understand, discuss and act on. 

What this means for staff listening in HE 

The London event reinforced a clear message: employee listening only becomes powerful when it leads to action staff can see. 

The most effective organisations do not try to solve every issue at once. They identify a small number of meaningful priorities, create clear ownership and communicate progress regularly. 

A useful structure is simple:  

1. What did we hear? 
2. What are we doing? 
3. What are we not able to do right now? 

That last point is important. Staff do not need every problem solved immediately, but they do need honesty. 

Keeping the HE community conversation going 

Our HE community events are going from strength to strength. 

Manchester showed the value of bringing HE professionals together to talk openly about leadership, listening and action. London built on that momentum with practical client stories, shared challenges and clear takeaways. 

Through the HE Microsoft Teams community, future face-to-face and virtual events and our monthly newsletter, we will keep creating spaces for universities to share openly, learn from each other and strengthen employee listening across the sector. 

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the University of London, and to St Mary’s University, the University of Birmingham, the University of Bath and the University of Oxford for sharing such honest and useful stories. Let us know if you want to join our HE community and take part in future events! 

If your university is looking to strengthen staff listening, improve action planning or build greater belief in action, People Insight can help. 

Speak to our team to learn how our employee survey platform, Prism and expert support can help you turn staff feedback into meaningful action.