LEEDS BECKETT UNIVERSITY
1671 – Implementation Support – Staff Website Upgrade
During the summer of 2015, SUMS worked with Leeds Beckett University to collect and document functional
requirements for a new staff website. This was timed to fit in with the transition of the staff website into
a new content management system. SUMS then supported Leeds Beckett in the early phases of the
implementation project, working with both internal and external teams to define design and functional
specification documents.
1732 – New Starters’ Focus Groups
To help inform future HR campaigns and staff recruitment activities, SUMS was engaged by Leeds Beckett
University to undertake focus group research to understand new starters’ motivations and experiences. The
research explored the influence of a range of motivating factors throughout the application to employment
journey for different groups of staff.
The results illustrated some key differences between different staff groups in terms of their expectations,
objectives and level of understanding. The role (and role opportunities) was consistently the primary
motivating factor across all groups. The influence of secondary motivating factors varied across groups and
by the stage in the application process. There was a slight decline in the importance of some of the initial
headline motivating factors as other elements came into play later on in their applicant journey.
The results provided the University with some positive feedback with staff being very positive about their
new roles in the University and exceeding people’s initial expectations in most areas. The research provided
the University with recommendations to build on from this position of strength. These included developing
a more sophisticated and segmented recruitment communications strategy with content that brings to life
working at the University; improvements to keys areas of the application process; and improving support
during the first year at the University.
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SUMS Consulting Annual Review 2016