Engagement Toolkit

Throughout the 2016 and 2018 Surveys, employees have raised reward and recognition as a key area of concern. Feedback consistently shows employees worry that their efforts go unnoticed. Day-to-day recognition has a key role to play in building engagement and can be done without the need for a big budget or complex processes. Leave aside pay and budgets and start by focusing on what you control.

Provide frequent feedback & recognition

• Thank colleagues for a good job!
• Don't wait for an annual award ceremony. Instead provide regular, informal feedback.
• Ensure feedback is specific and fact-based.
• Note improvements in specific development areas.
• Connect recognition to the UCD Values of creativity, collegiality, diversity, integrity, engagement, excellence, diversity.
• Connect to a larger goal. Show the employees' impact locally and connect to (opens in a new window)organizational goals and strategy.
• Agree goals and a development plan through Performance for Growth (P4G)

Use all available channels

• Don't over-complicate recognition, use everything at your disposal to recognize contribution (email, phone call, written notes).
• Connect employee contributions to unit or organizational goals by recognizing specific individuals in annual reports or quarterly emails.
• Call out contributions on the School / Unit website.
• Bring the team together for tea / coffee to celebrate milestones or project completion dates.
• Reward success with One4All vouchers (available on eProcurement).

When employees and their work are valued, satisfaction and productivity rise. After all, who doesn't want to be respected and valued by others for their contribution? Local recognition initiatives also offer a chance to build relationships and reinforce our common values and objectives.

The UCD VIA (Values in Action) Awards recognise colleagues who bring the University’s values to life. Nominations are made by colleagues across UCD and six awards are presented annually.

You don't need a gala event and it's entirely possible to replicate the awards locally using the tools below. You'll find a project roadmap to guide you and some sample forms that can be used as part of the process.

SAMPLE - Employee recognition event Process Map

(opens in a new window)SAMPLE - Values in Action Nomination Form

Creating a Social Committee will ensure properly planned events take place at regular intervals. Committees give everyone a stake in the design and success of events. Before setting up a committee, consider the following...

What's the purpose of this committee?

The purpose of the Staff Social Committee is to organise social and recreational events for staff members (and on occassion, perhaps retired staff too), to help colleagues get to know each other and to build team spirit. Social Committees do not organise student events.

How many people will we need?

One person is not a committee. At a minimum, events involve room booking, arranging catering, locating and securing speakers, online publicity and managing lists of participants. Even the smallest attracts a variety of tasks so you will need at least two, and preferably more members. The broader the membership, the better the events!

Suggested composition

• Chair to be selected at the first meeting.
• Staff representing all the categories in the School / Unit (Faculty/Staff/Technical/Research).
• If it's a large, busy unit then consider having a co-chair or designated minute taker.

How long should it operate for?

There is a lot of work involved and you want to keep the ideas fresh so we'd recommend that the committee is refreshed every 1-2 years.

What kind of events should it organise?

Is this committee going to cover purely social gatherings or will it also look after more team-focused events like quarterly meetings? It's good to set out in advance what you plan to do. If you're stuck for ideas, below you'll find some typical events.

• Employee recognition events
• End of year event
• Quarterly team meetings
• Coffee mornings / bake-off’s / charity events / table quiz
• Evening events
• Guest speakers from inside or outside UCD

That's enough to get you started but if you'd like more detailed information covering, committee responsibilities, frequency of meetings, budgetary issues etc, then you'll find this and more in our Social Committee - sample terms of reference

Tips from other committees in UCD

• "If possible set up an email account for the social committee to keep responses and blanket emails separate from any one individual on the committee"
• "Set up a Google Drive document after the first meeting. Upload minutes, agendas, ideas for events etc."
• "Set up a calendar to plan/record events for the year"
• "Head of School or Unit needs to clarify the approval route for emails and events at the outset"
• "A one-person committee isn't sustainable, even in small school. Everyone should get involved"

Running inclusive events

• Timing of events
  • Take core meeting hours into account and consider if employees with family / caring responsibilities will have difficulty making early morning or evening event.
  • Plan events as far in advance as possible so colleagues have sufficient notice.
  • Use polling apps like Doodle to identify suitable dates
• Access considerations
  • Ensure your event location is suitable for employees with disabilities.
• Food
  • Event invites should take into account the changing eating habits of employees. Have you checked for coeliac, vegetarian, vegan or others dietary requirements?
  • In the interest of promoting sustainable practices, you might also consider asking participants to bring their own re-usable mugs!

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion guidelines

Looking for more detail? Our colleagues in Equality, Diversity & Inclusion have created detailed guidelines to ensure your event is as EDI-Friendly as possible.

Embedding EDI: Guidelines for Visibility

Follow some or all of the steps below, preferably in order, to create an all-encompassing publicity campaign

Step 1: Create a course or event on Booking Centre (InfoHub).
Using Booking Centre will enable you to manage participant lists, collect fees and issue reminders without the GDPR issues that accompany third-party software or providers.

Step 2: Create a graphic to promote your event.
You don’t need to get too artistic, just something simple that can be re-sized and reused across the web, email and posters. Don’t worry; you also don’t need specialist software. Your graphic is likely to be text-heavy so PowerPoint works just as well as Photoshop and allows for export to JPEG or PNG.

Step 3: Create an event page on your website.
Almost all schools have a “News & Events” page or a “what’s on page” and this can host basic event details, speaker profiles, online forms, Booking Centre links and your new event graphic! A web page allows you to host more information than an email and is much easier to update a wide audience on changes.

Step 4: Amplify your message on Twitter
Put your initial message out on Twitter. Tag other users or units that may be interested in attending. Ask colleagues in other units to re-tweet if they can. Direct everyone back to your web page.

Step 5: Targeted Communications
Now that word is spreading on Twitter, it’s time to hit a wider audience. Use the Targeted Communications System in InfoHub to email specific Schools or buildings to make them aware of the event. Keep is short, avoid attachments and direct people back to the web page that you created in Step 1.

The Targeted Communications System makes it easier to contact staff than students. If your potential audience includes students then it can be a good idea to check in with the lead administrator in the unit you’re targeting. They may have a more effective or comprehensive emailing list to hand and recipients may be more willing to read the email if it comes from someone local.

Step 6: UCD Event Calendar / What's on guide
The UCD Events calendar is your best bet for once-off events and generates a weekly email which goes to all employees. You can put your event up at any time and it will be sent out automatically the week before the event takes place. Open / read rates for this guide are high and events across UCD have benefitted from its introduction.

Step 7: After-event promotion
The event may have concluded but the engagement doesn't need to. Consider the following:

• thank everyone for attending, seek feedback from participants, let them know about similar events, direct them to further information
• circulate slides from the even
• put a recording of your webinars or event on YouTube

Pre-sized templates for your images

Using consistent images across email, web, slideshows or social media immediately raises the profile of your event. For the purposes of creating small online ads, you don't need Photoshop or other specialist software. Simple, effective advertisements can be created in PowerPoint just as easily.

To get you started, below you'll find some PowerPoint templates cut to size for a variety of platforms. Just create your image and Save As a JPEG or PNG for optimum results.

• UCD Events Calendar image template
• CMS (MainContent) image template
• Twitter image template
• Google Forms image template

Tips for creating event images and promotional materials

• Create one master image that can be re-sized or adjusted according to the medium
• Make sure it's readable from a distance
  • Print of a copy and stick it to the wall across your office. How easy to read / eye-catching is it?
  • Don't crowd the poster with text. Stick to just the one font and a couple of simple colours for best effect.

Lots of fonts, colours, text	One font, 2 colours, simple message

• Create some colour contrast
• Make It scalable
  • Creating a simple image and saving as a PDF will enable you to scale up to large posters if you're printing.
• If you have to use a photo, make it a big one (in file size terms).
  • It's easier to size down than to size up so photos should really be 4MB or more in size if you intend to use them for a poster.
• Make good use of space.
  • Don't jam your poster or image full of text but don't leave vast blank areas either.
• Pay attention to you Call-To-Action.
  • Are you asking people to register or book? Are you drawing attention to an approaching date? For example, "Book now at..." or "Submit requests by..."
• Don't forget the basics. It's amazing how many advertisements forget to mention the location, time, contact person, deadline.

In the context of UCD...Engagement is the extent to which employees commit to our university, how hard they work and how long they stay as a result of that commitment. It's about interacting well with other members of our community, enjoying work and going the extra mile to get the job done.

Engagement is one of UCD's Values: Collegiality, Creativity, Diversity, Engagement, Excellence, Integrity

Measuring engagement levels

Questions relating to engagement appear in the 'Sustainable Engagement' section of the Culture & Engagement Survey

1. I am proud to work for UCD.
2. I am willing to go the extra mile to help UCD succeed.
3. I believe strongly in the goals and objectives of UCD.
4. I have the resources/equipment/tools I need to do my job effectively.
5. I would recommend UCD as a good place to work.
6. In my area we are able to meet our work challenges effectively.                                                              
7. My work gives me a sense of personal accomplishment.
8. The people I work with usually get along well together.
9. There are no substantial obstacles at work to doing my job well.              

Bookings and payments

• InfoHub

Interactivity

• Kahoot
• Slido
• Pigeonhole

Promotions & Communications

• Targeted Communications System
• UCD events calendar