The Institute of Education's staff survey, seen this week by The Times Higher , provided some gloomy reading for managers. Staff revealed concerns about uncaring, uncommunicative and unfriendly senior managers remaining remote in an overly hierarchical system. But employees can take heart that their anxieties are being taken seriously. One of the first activities under the "making the institute a better place in which to work" initiative was to organise a luxury retreat for senior managers to discuss the poll's findings.