The rector will also be setting up an analysis panel and a group of experts before identifying concrete solutions to the administrative and organisational problems facing AU.

The staff made their views plain in the workplace assessment, and you went round the university listening to what people had to say before taking up the reins as rector. And now you want to set up an analysis group. How much more do you need to know before making a decision?

“We decided to include questions about the academic development process in the psychological workplace assessment, but we only asked these questions in general terms. And the answers revealed clearly that the academic development process was one of the factors that had an impact on the psychological working environment. Since then I’ve been keeping my ear very close to the ground, and I’m convinced that there are plenty of issues to deal with. But although I’ve been on a tour of the university, I’m just a single individual. We need this analysis to get a clear picture of the scope of the problems, because the priorities we make must reflect what we find out.”

The analysis group will be studying “the biggest problem areas in our administrative support” and “the organisation of the main academic areas.” Can you be more specific?

“My tour of the university gave me my own ideas about this; and I’ve also been a dean of course – so I know all about the problems in my own academic area. But I don’t want to say anything more specific yet because I want to talk things over with the analysis panel. I mean it when I say that I want to include the staff, and the members of the analysis panel will be staff representatives. But we have to acknowledge that there are some problems. We simply have to solve them – which is why I’ll be focusing on individual problem areas. One of these areas could be the IT systems that are supposed to support our organisation. We have to admit that there’s been a special issue in this area which affects the entire administration.”

You’re suggesting that decisions will be made next summer. When will anything actually be done? Anything that the staff and students will actually notice?

“We’re not going into hibernation. If there’s any need to change our administrative procedures, we’ll be doing it. Let’s take our finance services as an example: should some of our front office staff be based at our departments on a more regular basis?”

When you were appointed rector you said you were a good listener and that you paid attention to what people said. A lot of people were pleased to hear that. How do you react to people who might be starting to ask themselves the question: How many times does the rector have to hear a message before he starts taking action?

“I could easily start taking a whole raft of initiatives, but I’m not a believer in top-down management. I’ve promised to include as many people as possible, and of course that will take a certain amount of time. That’s the downside. But I believe it’s absolutely vital to act in this way if we’re to achieve an atmosphere of mutual trust between the management and staff.”

The senior management team were criticised severely in the workplace assessment for not including the staff in connection with the reorganisation of AU. A lot of employees said that they felt marginalised by central management. What are your views about how to give the management, staff and students the same picture of the decision-making processes at the university?

“I think it all starts with a much closer dialogue than the management have achieved in the past. And a closer dialogue will require closer contact – and a more obvious presence. I won’t deny that one of the reasons we’ve designed the follow-up process like this is to show that we really want to enter into dialogue before starting to put pen to paper. So this isn’t just part of a consultation procedure for staff and students. They will also be involved in the preparatory process.”

Facts

• The senior management team will set up an analysis panel as soon as possible, with members being recommended by the academic councils, the main liaison committee, the administration and the students.
• The senior management team and the analysis panel will set up an internal group of experts to carry out the analysis, based on a mandate designed jointly by the management and panel.
• The management will prepare a proposed decision based on the expert group’s analysis and the panel’s comments.
• The management will then submit the proposed decision to an internal hearing at the university.
• The management will make the final decision in June next year.