DTU’S WORK CULTURE
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Content PREFACE 3 COLLABORATION AT DTU
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DTU’S VALUES 5 YOUR MANAGER
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DTU IS AN INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY 7
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EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK
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SELF-MANAGEMENT
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COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT
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INFLUENCE
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Preface This DTU’s Work Culture pamphlet is for all DTU employees. Our work culture is defined by the values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviours, and attitudes held by our employees. The pamphlet describes the basis of our work culture. It explains what an employee can expect from DTU, and what is expected from you as an employee. DTU’s work culture is driven by our strategic objective to rank amongst the top five technical universities in Europe in research, education, innovation, and consultancy. To achieve this ambition, it is crucial that we are able to attract and retain the best employees. All employees must contribute to making
DTU an attractive work place, fostering well-being and professional curiosity. Talent must be cultivated at all levels; at DTU, employees and management have a joint responsibility for on-going employee development. In addition to this DTU’s Work Culture pamphlet, employees can obtain more information on working life at DTU from the Employee Guide (see DTU Inside). It contains information on employment conditions, guidelines on your working life at DTU, your responsibilities under the code of conduct on research integrity, DTU employee policies, and an overview of the services and options available to you as a DTU employee. Anders Bjarklev, President
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!? Collaboration at DTU DTU is an elite technical university and achieves this through collaboration, dialogue, and cooperation. All working relations are based on mutual equality and respect. DTU has an outstanding and diverse workforce who are driven by a desire to make a difference. DTU’s mission is to develop and create value using the natural sciences and the technical sciences to benefit society, and this often involves
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complex issues requiring a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach. Working together requires that you challenge your colleagues constructively and positively and acknowledge their contributions. This requires a welcoming and open approach where solutions are identified and qualified through dialogue between individuals. As an elite technical university, DTU aims to attract and develop the best talent. DTU provides a clear career path and seeks to develop and foster talent. DTU expects its employees to show mutual respect for one another and to treat each other as equals, irrespective of gender, age, education, ethnic origin, etc. Each employee is expected to align their own development with DTU’s overall goals. Competences are developed constructively and with respect for colleagues and the workplace.
Innovative thinking At DTU, innovative thinking is the creation of novel ideas, and a balanced assessment of their consequences.
Credibility At DTU, credibility is the possession of knowledge and insight, an understanding of their limitations, and their clear communication to a target audience.
Commitment At DTU, commitment means approaching work with enthusiasm, but also recognizing one’s responsibility as a staff member towards the collective effort
DTU’s values Innovative thinking DTU expects its employees to be creative, reflective, and analytical. Employees can expect DTU to be a creative space for idea generation. DTU will be positive and open-minded towards new and different ideas, and recognize the uncertain nature of all conclusions
Credibility DTU expects its employees to be professional and thorough in their communication. Employees can expect DTU to support the views expressed by employees, and ensure that they are founded on, and tested by DTU’s world-class academic environments.
Commitment DTU expects its employees to work with great professionalism, collegiality, loyalty, and enthusiasm. Employees can expect DTU to have a mutual commitment to the University’s tasks and to ensuring that outcomes are of the highest global standard.
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Your manager
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DTU is managed as a line/staff organization with an unbroken chain of command and in which managers have personnel management responsibility for each organizational unit. This means that you only have one immediate superior (also sometimes referred to as your manager). Your immediate superior is the person responsible for conducting your employee development interviews (MUS). The unbroken chain of command (also sometimes referred to as single point of responsibility) does not preclude you from engaging with other parts of DTU’s management, participating in multiple projects, working across the organization, and perhaps having a primary and a secondary supervisor, etc.
Explain how you see a situation and what is required to support you.
DTU is a large network of relevant and mutually rewarding partners who each have their own responsibilities. However, you will often be working with other people and if you are in doubt about how to prioritize, it is important that you share your doubts with your immediate superior.
For a more detailed introduction to management at DTU, we recommend that you look at DTU Inside. Here you can read more about management at DTU, including that leadership should be professional at DTU, and that power should be wielded with humility.
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The management culture at DTU is also characterized by an expectation that you lead upwards. This means that you are responsible for ensuring that your immediate superior is informed about those of your considerations and arrangements that influence your areas of responsibility.
This means that you will find that your manager prefers to reach consensus through dialogue. As an employee, you are expected to be involved in decision-making while, of course, respecting that the final decision always lies with the manager.
DTU is an international university DTU is an international university with a Scandinavian work culture. Employee relations are characterized by equality, even between a manager and an employee.
If you are familiar with Danish culture, DTU’s dialogue-based and cooperative working methods will not be new to you. However, some of our international employees may find this consensus-oriented approach to work puzzling, and perhaps experience it as a lack of management. On the contrary—the consensus-oriented approach is a management style where your input is both expected and valued. At DTU, everyone is expected to participate in dialogue, regardless of their position. Employees are expected to be curious and inquisitive.
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Employee management framework
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and plays a part in defining who they are. On the other hand, the high level of commitment means that work can be stressful during busy periods, and this may have an impact on their well-being.
DTU has a management framework based on a rolling four-year strategy for each department and centre: the development goals and measures plan (UMV). Each year, all departments and centres prepare their UMV input which is then discussed and approved by DTU’s Executive Board. The UMV motivates an annual action plan and budget. Strategy and action plans are implemented through established, ongoing organizational dialogues between different management layers, and are supported by the dialogue between manager and employee. Each employee also discusses their individual tasks and responsibilities at their annual Employee Development Interview (MUS): a formal annual meeting between the employee and their immediate superior.
Self-management
DTU’s employees are dedicated, talented, and have a strong commitment to their tasks. For many employees, this means that work is often something that inspires them,
Self-management is a pivotal aspect of DTU’s work culture. DTU’s self-management approach is based on the belief that all employees are qualified to take responsibility for
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A positive dialogue with your immediate superior is therefore important so he/ she can sense whether there is a balance between your priorities, working hours, and assignments. DTU’s performance is dependent on you finding the right balance between your engagement and your workload. Your dialogue with your immediate superior defines and adjusts your working tasks and objectives.
their own tasks and work proactively. DTU provides a high degree of freedom to employees who are willing and able to assume independent responsibility for their own tasks and for ensuring that they are well-integrated with the work of others around them. Self-management is a major source of motivation for many of DTU’s employees. At DTU, self-management is characterized by the delegation of tasks and responsi-
bilities. That delegation is based on your experience with similar tasks as well as on mutual trust and respect between you and your immediate superior. In order for self-management to work, it must be supported by the University management. This means that you should regularly discuss your responsibilities with your immediate superior and adjust your tasks accordingly. In addition, self-management requires that you are aware of your wishes for competence development, and that you draw attention to your strengths and limitations when relevant for the execution of your tasks.
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Competence development DTU generates results by inspiring its employees in their pursuit of new knowledge. Competence development is necessary to maintain and develop DTU’s position as an elite technical university. In addition, DTU is committed to supporting all employees in maintaining and increasing their value in the labour market. You and your immediate superior will engage in regular dialogue about your wishes and needs for competence development, and this is also one of the themes addressed at your annual employee development interview (MUS). At your MUS, you will also discuss your progress on your tasks and identify how you can best contribute to your unit’s overall development. In order to ensure that you understand the link between your respective long-term planning and tasks and those of DTU and your department, you should be familiar with DTU’s and your department’s strategy.
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Influence DTU expects you to provide your immediate superior and the rest of the organization with active support and constructive criticism. This can occur through daily dialogue, in connection with the preparation of the development goals and measures plan (UMV), at employee development interviews (MUS), formal meetings, during seminars, or via your response to DTU Job Satisfaction Surveys, etc. DTU’s annual cycle includes a dialogue between DTU’s Executive Board and all departments and centres. The annual cycle is managed through a range of meetings, where all the departments regularly discuss their strategies, action plans, and budgets with the Executive Board. As an employee at DTU you have an active role in the dialogue with DTU’s management because DTU expects the UMV to be the result of broad employee involvement. You can read more about the formal framework for involvement and co-determination in the HR policy.
You are encouraged to contribute to DTU’s management. You can do so by playing an active role in DTU’s academic organization or by providing input to joint consultation committees (‘LSU’ in Danish), through dialogue with your union representative, or with the occupational health and safety representative. The formal basis for DTU’s management is the collaboration agreement between the Danish State and its employees which states that strong, solution-oriented, and local collaboration between managers and employees is crucial to well-functioning institutions. No matter how you become involved in DTU’s partnership system, dialogue and collaboration are essential. You can read more about how management at DTU is based on involvement and co-determination in DTU’s Articles of Association.
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