The latest Finance and Planning Staff Forum was held at the end of August. We decided to keep the forum in the same, informal style as last time, but gave colleagues a heads up on the topics to be discussed. The main points of discussion centred around PSOM, catering, security issues and non-pay savings. The forum was well attended and even a few staff from Planning ventured downstairs! We took your comments and fed them back to the FPLT (please click here for the FPLT responses to your questions) ahead of the next LICC meeting, held on 4th September (minutes to follow in next edition of the blog).
As many of you will be aware, self-service catering is set to replace the café downstairs – this was a hot topic for staff who feel we are being neglected in 1-11. Although people can see this will help the University to save money, there are still concerns that you won’t be able to pay using your SHU card (at least not initially), won’t get to join in with £1 Wednesdays and will have to eat scones out of a vending machine! It is hoped that SHU card payments will be accepted soon, although there is still work to be done to get the systems up and running. As for £1 Wednesdays, there are a choice of 12 catering outlets across the campus that will still offer this service. Aside from that, we have raised the point about redeveloping the café into a nicer environment for us all to use – this has been referred to Facilities, so we will keep you posted. Staff are welcomed to send any feedback to the FD Feedback page and while the café is being redeveloped, you can claim a 50% off voucher to use in the old Post Office café – you just need to collect one from reception.
Non-pay savings was another point of discussion – there will be wider communications circulated in the next couple of weeks around catering and travel so keep an eye out for these. A Frequently Asked Questions page will also be posted on the Finance site, to assist with all of your travelling quandaries.
Anti-social behaviour around the building is never a nice topic to discuss, but one that seems to keep cropping up. Based on your feedback at the forum, Emma met with Head of Security (Dawn Meates), head of Health and Safety (Peter Roddis) and Director of Commercial Services (Richard McGloin) to get an update. The University is taking the issue very seriously, is working with a number of external parties and actually has a meeting with South Yorkshire Police this week. Police need to be aware of any incidents, so we strongly encourage you to report any incident where you feel threatened, or see illegal activity out on the street. We have also been promised to be kept more up to date about things – quite often, there is stuff happening, we just aren’t always aware of it. Another thing you mentioned was the lack of security in an evening – the security guard on reception hasn’t been present since the magna-lock was fixed. However, they are looking to see if it is feasible to reintroduce one, especially as the nights draw in.
On a lighter note, Random Coffee at SHU is set to launch this month – the FPLT are all signed up and eager to meet some poor, unsuspecting colleague! Maybe it could be you? If you haven’t signed up yet, why not give it a go? You could make a useful contact, make a new friend or even find the love of your life… Alternatively, you could be paired with Lorna! Either way, what have you got to lose?
Please see attached for the minutes from the LICC meeting on the 8th June.