ESHCC to have work culture investigated by external agency

The Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) is appointing a external bureau to investigate the work culture, transparency and inclusivity within the faculty. The reason for this is the letter of concern from staff members at the end of last year.

Last November, 54 staff members from the faculty raised concerns because they believed there was an unsafe working environment. Among other things, they expressed concerns about transparency, inclusivity and social safety within the faculty.

Independent

According to the faculty board, several measures have been taken since December. To guarantee independence, the board is appointing an external bureau to assess whether those measures are actually leading to improvements. “It’s not only about whether the measures have formally been introduced, but above all about how staff members experience them”, says dean Martine van Selm.

The bureau will examine existing policy measures and ask staff members whether they are experiencing improvements in the areas of transparency, inclusivity and fairness.

Internal support team

To assist the bureau, the board is setting up an internal support team. The internal team consists of staff members involved in social safety and organisational development within the faculty, including a Diversity & Inclusion officer, an HR staff member, an adviser from Safe@EUR and a member of the faculty council. “Among other things, the support team will assist the research agency in formulating research questions, collecting additional signals and monitoring progress”, Van Selm explains.

After the summer

The intended members of the support team have now been approached and an initial meeting has been scheduled. Because the assessment is being carried out by an external party, the board expects the preparation to take some time. The actual assessment will begin after the summer.