The Awards Showcase is a window into the projects that won, or were runners up, in the 2026 UHR awards. Each session will focus on one award category and bring together the individuals who led and delivered the projects. Presenters will give a quick overview of their projects before having a facilitated conversation about the opportunities and challenges the activity brought about. The audience will get the opportunity to engage directly with the presenters to ask any questions.
WINNERS - De Montfort University - Leading and Managing at DMU: Embedding A Refreshed Approach to Empowering Excellence
People Services Team
How we launched a new leadership and management framework, setting clear expectations of roles and behaviours, linked to pay and performance management, as part of our ambition to be an Empowering University.
Our approach involved the co-creation and design of a leadership and management framework which included three elements - a suite of leadership and management standards and behaviours linked to our organisational strategy, vision and values; reviewing our organisation design for leadership and managerial roles, creating a new job evaluation process and rolling out a new pay and grading scheme; the launch of a novel appraisal and performance management process.
Co-owned and led by People Services and senior stakeholders, the framework was launched in a holistic way to enable a refreshed approach to empowering excellence.
The framework has been aligned with the leadership lifecycle and core people processes such as recruitment, induction, probation, performance management, development and progression.
RUNNERS-UP - Manchester Metropolitan University - Creating a great place to work through the power of employee voice
People and Organisational Development
The University’s employee voice programme has transformed colleague experience through a bold, data driven and strategically aligned approach to listening and acting on staff feedback. Beginning in 2022, the University replaced declining inhouse surveys with an externally hosted, trusted model supported by a comprehensive engagement and communications campaign. This immediately restored confidence—raising response rates from 38% to 70%—and enabled the creation of an institution wide action plan focused on strategy alignment, ways of working, reward, wellbeing and creating a great place to work. Significant improvements followed, including measurable gains in reward perceptions, autonomy, strategy understanding and confidence in leadership.
In 2024, the University shifted to a devolved action planning model, empowering departments with tailored data, toolkits and facilitation support. Despite sector wide pressures in 2025, engagement, recommendation and response rates remained exceptionally strong, leading to consecutive Outstanding Workplace awards and top tier national rankings. This programme stands out for its scale, innovation and impact. It demonstrates a mature, sustainable model of colleague engagement, grounded in transparency, shared ownership and strategic alignment. It also provides a replicable framework for other institutions to improve trust, culture and organisational performance through meaningful employee voice.
Tagged : Diversity and Inclusion, Employee Relations, Enhancing HR Services, Organisational Development, Events, Showcasing Good Practice
Type : Meeting
