SM4U encompasses our staff benefits and rewards, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), wellbeing, career development opportunities, and other staff initiatives that are on offer to you during your career at St Mary's.
We're delighted to announce the completion of 1424 lessons through SMILE, with 448 individual log-ins within the first month!
Our SLT members embraced the challenge striving for the highest completion rates of essential training modules in their respective areas. Well done to Jo Blunden and the central operations team for securing the trophy! Further details available on the SMILE webpage.
HR were the only team achieving 100% completion of at least one essential learning course on SMILE. In the spirit of fairness, we've drawn six winners from everyone who completed all six essential learning lessons. We are pleased to announce the following winners:
- Violeta Kotsevska - Estates and Campus Services
- Matthew Dell - School of Education
- Righteous Mbemba - Estates and Campus Services
- Mark Fry - Estates and Campus Services
- Jade Salim - School of Sport, Exercise and Applied Sciences
- Jacob Johanssen - School of Business and Communication.
In other SM4U news...
- In February, we celebrated LGBT+ History Month with an incredible range of events and activities organised by the LGBTQ+ Staff Network! During our Flag Raising Ceremony, we proudly raised £164.45 for Switchboard. The University was buzzing with vibrant representation throughout the month. Check out the fantastic roundup of the month's celebrations!
- The Women’s Staff Network pulled out all the stops last week to celebrate International Women’s Day! From a rejuvenating free yoga session to an inspiring female stories and book workshop with SMU Library, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Explore the Women’s Staff Network webpage for a full rundown of their incredible IWD celebrations and discover how you can get involved!
- We will soon be launching our Staff Pulse Survey where staff are given an opportunity to provide feedback around what improvements have been made since the last Engagement Survey, and what further changes you would like to see.
Last week was National Apprenticeships Week (5th-11th February). An apprenticeship provides the opportunity to work within a job role while studying at the same time.
As the VC has highlighted in his open message, since the Staff Engagement Survey last year, the university has made a number of changes to enhance your experience of working at St Mary's. Within HR, we’ve introduced new benefits, such as a free slice of cake on your birthday, as well as additional staff development opportunities such as staff apprenticeships, demonstrating our commitment to your wellbeing and growth.
We now offer four Apprenticeships, designed to teach you the required knowledge, skills and behaviours to excel within your chosen career pathway:
- Level 3 Team Leader
- Level 5 Departmental/Operations Manager
- Level 5 Coaching
- Level 7 Senior Leader.
We currently have 24 staff members of varying grades across various departments throughout the University undertaking one of our new Apprenticeship programmes. To mark NAW we caught up with three of them to find out the transformative impact of the apprenticeship journey.
In other SM4U news...
- Explore the LGBTQ+ Staff Network page for upcoming LGBT+ History Month events throughout February, and the Women’s Staff Network page for information on the International Women’s Day events between 4-8th March.
- SMILE is now LIVE! Please ensure you have completed your essential training by 31st July 2024.
As we bid farewell to 2023 and step into January, the "January Blues" may cast a subtle shadow on our spirits. Fear not, St. Mary's is here to brighten your days with a burst of positivity and wellbeing.
Introducing our Beat the Blues poster, featuring quick wins to help uplift your mood! From focusing on gratitude to a quick stroll at lunchtime, these simple yet effective strategies are designed with your wellbeing in mind.
But that's not all! Bookmark the newly launched SM4U webpage, highlighting our range of staff benefits, with a dedicated tab for Beating the January Blues. We will be updating this page throughout January with content from Sport St Mary’s and healthy recipes from the Refectory.
Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), HealthHero, is available to all staff at SMU. The EAP service offers many services over the phone and online, including free and confidential access to telephone and face to face counselling, debt counselling, legal guidance, and health and wellbeing support. HealthHero is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and all calls are confidential. You can view this video which gives an overview of the services available through HealthHero.
Visit the SM4U webpage for a full spectrum of resources that promise to make your 2024 a year of self-care and positivity.
Here's to a happy and healthy new year!
In other SM4U news...
Introducing: Your St Mary’s Integrated Learning
St Mary’s new Learning Management System, SMILE, for all staff, will soon be launching in January 2024.
SMILE will serve as the online learning platform for staff, allowing them to complete eLearning courses, book onto (virtual and in-person) training sessions, record any learning completed (internally or externally), and engage in further knowledge sharing.
We are hosting live online demonstrations of SMILE leading up to its launch, and post-launch. All staff are encouraged to sign up.
Pre-launch Demos are on:
• Thursday 18th January at 2-3pm
• Tuesday 23th January at 10-11am.
Post-launch Demo:
• Tuesday 30th January at 11am-12pm.
In other SM4U news…
The holiday season can be a stressful time for many, with increased workloads, money concerns, and gloomy weather. Your EAP, Health Hero, can be an avenue of support during this ‘festive season stress’. See this news article for how they can help.
The International Day for Persons with Disabilities was on 3rd December 2023, the St Mary's Disability Staff Network have created a poster with some staff testimonials, quick wins for colleagues, and some further resources which our members have found useful, to help build awareness, and to continue to contribute to a more inclusive community.
Thank you for joining us for SM4U on 18th October 2023 in the Waldegrave Drawing Room. The event featured 17 stalls representing various aspects of University staff life, including staff networks, benefits, and wellbeing. There were also various talks and presentations covering a range of topics which were recorded, and can be viewed online. The event, prompted by the Staff Engagement Survey, aimed to provide staff with insights into the resources available whilst an employee at St Mary’s.
With 188 attendees, the event provided a platform for staff to explore the offerings and engage with different aspects of the university. The Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Staff Networks, in particular, saw 87 sign-ups during the event, indicating a noteworthy interest in promoting EDI among staff members.
Participants expressed satisfaction with the opportunity to connect with colleagues from diverse university departments. One attendee mentioned, "I was delighted that I met people from different areas of the University". Staff representation from various University departments and faculties emphasised the inclusivity of the event - there was something for everyone.
Following feedback from the event, we will be hosting further SM4U talks, presentations, workshops, and more throughout the year, continuing to showcase how St Mary’s supports you.
We'll be running the SM4U event next year, so add 16th October 2024 to your diary!
The Staff Engagement Survey told us you wanted to find out more about what St Mary’s has to offer staff, including our benefits, staff networks and groups and other opportunities for personal and professional development. To address this, we decided to run a marketplace-style event, in the form of SM4U. We had 17 stalls, showcasing all the benefits we offer to staff during their career with us. We had representation from the six EDI Staff Networks, the Chaplaincy, Short Courses, HR, Family Friendly Hub, Mental Health First Aiders, Wellbeing, Costco, Sport St Mary's, staff apprenticeships, and the SMU Library. We hope you discovered everything you needed and that the day was a success!
If you were not able to attend, or didn’t have a chance to sign up to one of our EDI Staff Networks, please fill out our Join an EDI Network survey.
This year, throughout January, we will be sharing some of our employee benefits and self-help tips which are in place to support you to help you to Beat the Blues.
Take a look at our Beat the Blues flyer, which has some quick wins to help us to overcome the January Blues.
Beat the Blues quick wins
Sport St Mary's have provided us with some useful tips to help you get started with exercise, kick-starting a healthier 2024.
- Start slow.
- Begin with low intensity activities to avoid injury and excessive soreness.
- Focus on consistency rather than intensity.
- Set realistic goals.
- This could be as simple as going for a walk everyday, or completing a 15-30min workout (as fitness levels improve, goals can be adjusted).
- Choose enjoyable activities.
- Engage in activities you genuinely enjoy. Whether it’s dancing, going for long walks, or playing a sport, enjoyment will increase motivation.
- Mix up the routine to make things interesting.
- Listen to your body.
- Pay attention to how your body responds to exercise. It’s normal to feel some discomfort, but sharp pain may indicate an issue.
- Allow for rest and recovery days to prevent overtraining and burnout.
- Create schedule.
- Plan your workouts into your schedule to establish consistency.
- If possible, exercise at the same time each day to build a routine.
- Find a workout partner.
- Working out with a friend or family member can make exercising more enjoyable and provide mutual motivation.
- Explore different options.
- Try different types of exercise to discover what you enjoy most. This could include strength training, cardio, flexibility exercises, or group classes.
- Warm-up and cool down.
- Always warm-up before exercise to prepare muscles and joints for activity. This can help prevent injuries.
- Include a cool down with stretches to improve flexibility and reduce muscle soreness.
- Celebrate progress.
- Acknowledge and celebrate small wins along the way. This could be reaching a certain milestone, consistently sticking to your routine, or completing a challenging workout.
View the SIMMSactive timetable and find a class that suits you. The gym also offers free Les Mills virtual classes for staff, find a class on the Les Mills class timetable.
If you have any questions, please email sportsvillage@stmarys.ac.uk.
The SMU Catering team have put together some delicious recipes in a Beat the Blues recipe booklet. Warm up with spinach, sweet potato, and lentil dhal, or experiment with sticky lime and honey wings.
January Beat the Blues recipes
If you have any suggestions for future events, talks, or presentations, please contact EDI.Team@stmarys.ac.uk.