‘Dare to vary the social safety policy’

It has already been more than one year since the TU Delft community was rocked by the Inspectorate’s report on social safety. Since then, as a faculty dean, I have learned various things. I would like to share one of these lessons in this article. It is related to the diversity and range of needs among our people at TU Delft. I do this through two fictitious personas below. Their preferences and needs are just about diametrically opposed, which may lead one to think that no single solution will do justice to them both. After that I argue that there is a clear – but by no means easy – path that administrators and managers can take.

The first person has a ‘can do’ mentality. She wants clear action and firm steps taken, and done so quickly as there is much urgency. She does not want too much attention being paid to concepts such as culture. We do not want to get bogged down in endless Babylonian confusion. Prevention is better than cure, so we need to concentrate on prevention through setting clear rules and values. And if something goes wrong, the emphasis should lie in punishing perpetrators.

She expects decisiveness from managers and administrators. Get on stage and talk. Explain where you think we should go and how we should get there. We should definitely not wait for other people to take action, so rules may vary across departments and faculties. Better good and fast than perfect and too late. Let’s also not forget that a lot of things go really well at TU Delft. We should all be proud of this!

‘Compromises in a sensitive issue like this feel like neither fish nor fowl’

The second person is more pensive. For her, improvement is not a tick-box list of arbitrary measures, it is a matter of culture. And culture cannot be changed overnight. Aftercare is crucial. You must first come to terms with your history before you can move forward. There has been a lot of pain and this needs to heal first. Even more important than punishing perpetrators is caring for victims. Make time for reflection and contemplation. How should we live together and deal with each other?

She expects managers and administrators to show their vulnerabilities and not take centre stage but instead sit at the table with their staff. Keep quiet for a while and listen. Policy needs to be made with care and to garner wide support so that the whole institution reaches a level of consensus. Time heals all wounds so take the time. And please let’s be bit humble – we have much to learn!

So as a manager or administrator, how can you move forward in a way that the community, in all its diversity, feels seen in this extremely sensitive subject? The answer: by starting to take action and creating processes that fit a can-do mentality while at the same time starting to take action and creating processes that fit the needs of more reflective colleagues. In other words, make sure that there is something for everyone. This works better than trying to find a compromise in every action and in every process. Compromises in a sensitive issue like this feel like neither fish nor fowl.

Create a policy that is a collection of clear, local, short-term actions, and of long-term culture-based, institution-wide actions. Some actions will be top down and should lead to clear measurable outcomes. Others will be bottom up so that the journey itself – rather than tangible outcomes – is the destination.

This may give rise to accusations of scattershot policy, but these can be countered. Point out that we take the diversity in our community seriously. Instead of ‘dare to choose’, it boils down to ‘dare to vary’. This gives the biggest chance for a sustainable path to a more socially safe organisation.