Queen's University Belfast: Proactive provision of support, mentoring and advice

Potential promotion candidates are identified through the bi-annual appraisal process. In order to facilitate this the School requested that appraisal forms should include a question on when staff would consider themselves ready for promotion. This improved appraisal form was later adopted in staff appraisals University-wide. This has now been superseded by a question regarding the short- medium- and long-term career aspirations of staff, as well as their developmental requirements (ie provision of training courses or other support). The School has also been proactive in providing support, mentoring and advice to staff. The impact of these activities has seen a dramatic increase in the number of female academic staff who say that they have received support, advice and/or mentoring from the School about promotion.