"Independent Review"

Readers will be familiar with the propensity for appointing staff to the University of Salford's Business School who, shall we say, have some connection to the existing hierarchy of management.

So Professor Martin Hall's decision to appoint independent consultants TCM Group to conduct an investigation into these appointments might have initially seen by some as a step in the right direction.

But what, pray-tell, is the purpose of conducting an 'independent' review, and then not allowing staff to read the detailed results? It is all well and good for Professor Hall to write to staff asserting that:

"The TCM Group’s report concludes that all appointments within the scope of the review were appropriate. The report has, however, made a number of recommendations for improvement of some aspects of our procedures and administration of staff recruitment.

Specific recommendations include processes for shortlisting candidates, the selection and training of interview panels, resolving potential conflicts of interest, and the internal communication of staff recruitment and selection."

But why not allow staff to read the report for themselves to assess the veracity of these conclusions?

We cannot help but think that the reason might be that the report may not support Professor Hall's assertions. As ever, both of the Freedom of Information Requests asking for copies of the report have thus far been ignored.