Episode 33: State of the nation - university estates, hybrid working and much much more

In this edition of the podcast I have a really enjoyable chat with Patrick Hackett who is Registrar, Secretary and COO at the University of Manchester. We learn first about Patrick's career journey from architect to working in estates at Royal Holloway and then to Reading followed by a spell of consultancy before a 13 year stint at Liverpool University and then the move to Manchester, each time broadening his remit.

The importance of the estate to universities is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a hot topic for Patrick and as we begin, hopefully, to come out of pandemic he sees it as even more vital in terms of changes to working practices. 

We talk too about Manchester's experimentation with hybrid working which was essentially being viewed as a big project with regular reviews of what works and what doesn't and then refinements introduced. Flexibility and finding new ways to help staff focus on outputs whilst operating on the basis of trust were seen as key but one of the biggest challenges was recreating opportunities for the informal interactions which are such an important feature of working life. This work is part of a wider professional services transformation project at Manchester which recognises the key role professional services staff play as part of a combined university operation with everyone pulling in the same direction. 

Finally, we look at the wider external pressures on universities, touching on the need for sustainable funding for research, before noting the need for staff wellbeing to remain a priority.