From Pen to Painter

The day started very differently for John Cater, Vice Chancellor at Edge Hill University today. Instead of donning the usual office suit, overalls were called for, and instead of worrying about the colour of his tie, it was the colour of the paint on the walls that was important.

Under the Back To The Floor scheme, which was first introduced two years ago, 15 members of the senior management team at Edge Hill University have agreed to work for a day in teams that they would not usually come into contact with in their everyday capacity. More importantly, the teams, such as the Student Information team and the technical team at the on campus theatre, the Rose, have agreed to have senior management work with them.

The scheme gives staff the chance to find out more about what the senior management do and also sheds light on the day to day running of the University at every level.

Sharon Buckley, who organises the Back to The Floor placements said, "We try and match staff with a team that they may not encounter everyday, but who are relied upon for the smooth running of the campus. Everyone from the Deans to the University Secretary steps outside their usual role. The feedback is always really positive and everyone gains a lot from the scheme - even though the placements are only for one day."

She went on, "The Facilities Management team were thrilled to have John Cater join them for the day. They started work this morning, stopped for the usual cup of tea and a sandwich at lunch time, then it was back up on the cherry-picker this afternoon, painting the top guttering on one of the campus buildings."

Peter Bracken, Facilities Management said, "John has worked on four different jobs today. From what we have seen he can pick a paint brush up for us any time. I think that he was amazed at the number of different jobs that we work on each day across the whole campus."