| Date | Author |
|---|---|
| 17th March 2020 | Marion Hutchins |
For Our Members and Clients
We have been closely monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and following University of Reading and Government guidelines. In light of new government advice around social distancing, the SUMS offices will be closed with all staff working from home as of 17 March 2020. This will have a minimal disruption on our usual business delivery. We will continue with this approach until Government advice on social distancing changes. The health and wellbeing of our staff, members and wider communities is our top priority.
As part of the higher education community, we are also struck by the impact the current situation is having on our members, clients and the wider HE sector. We will support our members and clients as we continue our work, meetings, interviews, and focus-groups remotely. We have decided to cancel in-person SUMS events scheduled until the end of June, and are looking to offer these via webinar/remote conferencing, where possible. If you are booked on to one of our events, you will receive an email confirming that this event will no longer be taking place in-person and advising you if you can join remotely. While we will need to restrict the nature of the events and workshops we can run, we are currently looking at more innovative approaches to deliver content through webinar and other technology.
As much of the work SUMS does can be done remotely, we will aim to continue with your service provision as usual. Should we foresee any changes to your current/future assignment delivery, we will be in touch with you directly.
If we can support you and your teams during this difficult time, please do let us know.
SUMS has a robust Business Continuity Policy in place, which outlines our plans should COVID-19, or any other unexpected event, impact our business operations. This allows for an informed response across our three divisions – Southern Universities Purchasing Consortium, SUMS Consulting and the Procurement Shared Service – to minimise any impact to our members, clients and suppliers as a result of the outbreak. As a service organisation, we have no specific supply chain vulnerability.
If you have any questions, please contact us at sums@reading.ac.uk or on 0118 378 4304.
Other News
Looking for answers to your international student recruitment conundrums? Look beyond the numbers to soft intelligence.
Higher Education Timetabling & Procurement event success
Because we’re worth it? SUMS Senior Salary Benchmarking Survey
Freedom of speech and academic freedom – finding the balance in higher education
SUMS Group successfully adds student representation to its Board
Understanding the benefits and costs of what universities do
Intentional organisation design to support high performance
Stick or twist? Is it time to change your Timetabling System?
