PI’s guide to supporting your research staff

This guide aims to support Principal Investigators (PI) so that you are able to recruit, develop and retain excellent research staff.

Line managing any staff comes with a range of responsibilities - line managing research staff often adds to these due to the specific nature of their expertise, their career aspirations and their contracts. As a PI, you should be aware of all the responsibilities that lie with you in your role, as well as ensuring your research staff are aware of theirs. For any help with any of the information contained within this guide, please see the colleagues and resources signposted throughout.

Please note the following important information

For the purpose of this guide, researchers are defined as ‘individuals whose primary responsibility is to conduct research’ and PI should be taken to mean any individuals who have direct line management responsibility for these researchers.
Whilst this guide does not cover the requirements for recruitment of staff, ensure you allow as much time as possible for the hiring process and for the selection of your research staff, referring to the relevant on the intranet.
You are also reminded to check for specific requirements with the funding body around how the employed researchers are to be supported. For example, funders may have required a development plan for the researcher to have been included as part of the bid or may require research staff to take part independently in development activities offered by funder/stakeholder groups.

Induction

As PI, you are responsible for welcoming your newly recruited research staff member and introducing them to their new workplace. They will need support with their role as a researcher, including administrative tasks and the wider aspects of being a new University employee.

Key actions to be carried out:

Arrange a visit of your faculty building and the main rooms and offices your new research staff member will occupy. Ensure that your staff member is made aware of health and safety regulations and any out of hours access procedure.
Signpost to other useful buildings on campus (for example, other faculties, restaurants, HR, gym facilities).
Organise an informal meeting for the new research staff member to meet their fellow team members, including technical staff.
Arrange introductions to the Head of Department, Head of School, Faculty Dean (if appropriate), Associate Head Research and key members of the Finance and Research office(s).
Ensure your staff member is clear on their line management and who can be contacted for help and support, including .
Schedule meetings to discuss the main components of the research project, along with other requirements of the role. For example, teaching, supervision, representation on committees, and how these will be managed within the workload.
Ensure that your research staff member has access to the necessary resources for the role and that they understand the key processes and other support mechanisms available to them, including:

- and Researchers' Portal (and how to add papers)
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- Ethics resources and support
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Research staff should also be made aware of the .
Ensure you disseminate key deadlines for the project and provide clarity on the reporting procedures for this.
In addition, your research staff member should be aware of the timeline for the PDR process and for their probationary period, which is crucial to any new member of research staff (more information below).

Getting Started

As PI and line manager, you are required to ensure that you and your researchers act in accordance with the highest standards of research integrity and professional conduct and that you promote a healthy working environment that supports researchers’ wellbeing and mental health.

Remember to:

Encourage your new research staff member to join relevant staff fora, including , and/or and ensure that they are booked onto a .
If applicable, ensure that your research staff members are clear on any entitlement to funds to attend conferences and/or access external training and development opportunities.**
Make your research staff aware of other support available from across the University. For example, from , and , and that they understand local and institutional processes including ordering, travel claims and how to make any flexible working requests.
Ensure that your staff are clear on the process for reporting and addressing incidents of discrimination, bullying and harassment. (Refer to relevant for full guidance).
The probationary period is mandatory for all staff. You should ensure that the necessary stages are followed and are clear to your research staff. All documentation for probation can be found on the .
If staff are new to the city/country, you may also want to check that they are settling in and that they are not encountering any difficulties with transport or housing etc.

**Please note: staff development costs for your research staff should have been included as part of your budget in your funding application for the project.

Additional resources

Target setting and development

It is crucial that your member of staff is clear on the plans, timescales, anticipated activities and outputs for the research project and that there are regular planned opportunities to discuss and monitor this. Your responsibility as a PI is to ensure that all project deadlines are met, requiring clear communication of these deadlines to your research team. It is important to facilitate and support a productive team working environment, at all times and take action, if required, to guarantee the wellbeing of all team members.

Researchers must act in accordance with the highest standards of research integrity and there is training available to support this. Where projects are collaborative with other institutions, the PI is responsible for ensuring that research staff are aware of wider projects/activity.

In addition to achieving the research outputs, Research Staff should also have opportunities to develop their research identity and broader leadership skills. As a signatory to the , the University has committed to ensuring that Researchers are allocated a minimum of 10 days professional development pro rata time, which should also include wider professional and personal skills, that may not be solely linked to the current project (e.g. Networking, grant writing and presenting). This could include activities such as:

Self-directed learning
Conferences
Taking part in a mentoring scheme (as mentor or mentee)
Public engagement
Knowledge exchange activities
Attending a training course, workshop or webinar

Development plans should be built into , which should be carried out annually, alongside regular career development discussions (see more details below).

For you, as PI

As a PI, you are required to undertake relevant training and development opportunities so that you can manage your researchers effectively and fulfil your duty of care, this includes actively engaging in training and development on equality, diversity and inclusion and wellbeing and mental health, as well as training on PDRs.
You should also engage with opportunities to contribute to policy development aimed at creating a more positive research and culture within the institution.
You may want to consider accessing some additional training for your own wider development, including Leader and Manager as a Coach, People and Performance and Making Conversations Count, as well as sessions offered to support project management, pre and post award, and understanding of internal processes for contracts, financial management etc.
Information about training and development can be accessed via the or pages. Alternatively, there are many external programmes available to support the development of leadership and management skills, for example, through .

Mental health and wellbeing

We are committed to promote good mental health and wellbeing for all staff and recognise the particular challenges that staff on research only contracts may encounter.

Our has a breadth of information and resources for supporting health and wellbeing, including, the effective management of workloads and people, and effective policies and practice for tackling discrimination, bullying and harassment.

In addition, Mind have produced a .

We also offer mental health and well-being training, webinars and resources specifically aimed at research staff. As and when these are available, details will be found .

Positive action that you can take as a manager:

Role model healthy workplace behaviours like working sensible hours, taking breaks and annual leave.
Signpost staff to relevant information, tools and support.
Be open with your staff about mental health, sharing what you do to look after your wellbeing.
Encourage wellbeing check-ins at both internal and external meetings.
Attend mental health events to show your commitment to the agenda.
Attend mental health training for line managers.
Ensure that support is accessible for staff working remotely, or during periods when they don’t need to be on campus. Recognise remote staff and teams in communications, acknowledging the specific pressures they may experience.
Look after yourself! .

PDRs

We know from talking with research staff at the University, and from conversations in the sector, PDRs for research-only staff can take on a different meaning and value depending on the individual circumstances of the researcher, or the wider context of their role. However, every member of Research Staff is entitled to, and should have, a PDR (or appropriate development discussions) and the PI should ensure that it takes place.

From our work with research staff and PIs, the following guidance has been developed:

It’s all about the conversation. The PDR process provides time and space for staff to think about things they have been doing, their plans for the future, and consider what support may be helpful to them in achieving those plans. The most important element of the process is the conversation: the PDR system is there to provide a consistent platform and experience for all staff across the organisation, but it shouldn’t get in the way of a meaningful and honest conversation. While the formal PDR process is a once-a-year activity, these sorts of conversations can take place at any time.
Conversations about future plans and professional development are vital for all staff no matter what their role or length of contract. If someone is on a contract of 12 months or more you are expected to participate in the PDR using the . However, research staff on a shorter contract may find it more useful to focus on those parts of the PDR that are most relevant to them and have a conversation outside of the formal PDR process - do still check out the advice and suggestions.
Entering into the PDR with a positive mindset will support all involved. We know from talking to colleagues that some genuinely feel that the PDR is not relevant to them or is an administrative exercise that serves the employer rather than the employee, however, evidence demonstrates that staff who invest in their own ongoing development and find their own connection with a shared set of values and common goals will most likely be successful in their work. That in turn brings success to the institution - so everybody benefits! Adopt a positive mindset and make the PDR process work for you.
The University strongly supports the idea that research staff should access 10 days of development activity every year. We recognise that tensions might arise between project delivery and other activities, but we firmly believe that research staff who feel supported in their professional development will be more engaged and successful in their roles (links to resources below).
We recognise that research roles can be precarious: they are often short term and it is not always clear what the next step might be for someone coming to the end of their contract. Understanding context is essential. The PDR is a really important tool for those staff to help develop their strategies for ongoing career development and progression to put them in the best possible position for future employment whether it be at the University, or elsewhere in academia or beyond. Take the time to discuss where you would like to go next and plan development activities around this.
There are a lot of resources available to support PDR, professional development and career progression. These tools will be most useful to you once you’ve thought about your own career aspirations, opportunities and development. You will find resources through the links below:

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Career development

It is important to build in time to engage in meaningful career development discussions with your research staff member, with a review at least annually, and for shorter projects preferably bi-annually.

This could include discussions around different employment options across different sectors. Research staff should be supported in exploring and preparing for a diversity of careers - this may not be carried out by the PI, but may be supported by mentors and career professionals and training. Researchers should be made aware of eligibility to apply for promotion (and the process for doing so) and secondments and signposted to appropriate careers support internally and externally. (Contact DRI for further information).

It is also highly recommended that you encourage your research staff member to consider their career development through use of the . The framework can be used to identify strengths and gaps in development, prioritise development needs and/or monitor progress. The (UoP has organisational subscription, follow the and access these resources).

includes a wealth of guidance on how to support staff in exploring career pathways and how to plan for career development.

Additional resources

Mentoring

Having at least one workplace mentor to support any staff member as they progress through their career is hugely valuable. Regardless of experience, expertise or discipline, there will be someone within the university who can provide them with support, advice and signposting that can really help them plan for their career development. A mentor doesn't always have to be someone from within their subject expertise - it can be really useful for them to engage with an individual from a different school or faculty. External mentors are also extremely useful. For more guidance visit our support for mentoring webpages.

Project completion and next steps

6-12 Months prior to project end (depending on project length)

It is recommended that you meet with your research staff member to discuss opportunities open to them internally within the organisation, as well as externally. Be open with discussions around processes for references. Discussions should take place at regular intervals (eg. 6 and 3 months before project end).

Project end

Close to the end date, a project closure meeting should be carried out and leavers’ procedures followed. Guidance and documentation is available on the . Your staff member may require you to support them to ensure that the end of contract process is delivered as smoothly as possible. We also highly recommend carrying out an exit interview - there is much for us to learn from these interviews, as well as giving the staff member an opportunity to feed back on their time with us. They can also support us improving the support we might provide for our staff during and at the end of their contracts. There is an for exit interviews but we have also developed a ‘’ set of questions that can be used/adapted alongside the institutional template according to individual circumstances.

6 Months after project end

Consider and explore any opportunities for new collaborations with previous researchers who may now be employed in other organisations.

Who can help and supporting resources

Your Faculty Research and/or Finance Offices

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