Arts and Music

Each year, we ask all colleagues to get involved in our Colleague Engagement Survey. We want to know what’s going well, what could be better, and how we can better support you at work. Your responses help shape how each service area moves forward.

With the next survey coming up in September 2025, we’re sharing a short series of conversations with our Senior Leaders. Each one is a chance to hear how they listened to your feedback and what they’ve done since last year’s survey.

Each service area has its own priorities, challenges and successes. These interviews highlight what’s changed, what’s still to come, and how your voice has made a difference.

We spoke to Katie Duffy, Head of Arts and Music to hear about the commitments the team has been introducing in 2025.

Hello Katie. What have you and your team been celebrating in 2025?

We have been sharing the success stories and achievements within Arts and Music with our team, including customer feedback, commercial success and the benefits that our operation and initiatives bring to the people of Glasgow. We have found the Friday all-staff newsletter a great way of doing this. We’ve also been working hard on the Arts and Music pages of the website to make networking opportunities and the resources we offer stakeholders and the sector more accessible and useful.

What was important to you and your colleagues to improve?

We are always looking for ways to improve how the work of our team is recognised and valued. This year, we have focused on improving the ways that we communicate the impact of our work to external stakeholders and audiences.

We run Spare a Minute three times a year: summer, autumn, winter. Spare a Minute is the in-person networking and information sharing event for artists and cultural organisations in the city. The format consists of three or four presentations on projects or themes relevant to the sector, followed by the ‘Spare a minute for the arts’ element where members of the audience have the opportunity to update the assembled group about current projects/request support/seek collaborators etc. – they have the floor to speak for up to a minute.

Has your team started working in different ways? 

We have committed to generating, contributing and listening to more ideas across every area of the service, from programme ideas to driving efficiency. We have established new channels to support this approach to working including twice yearly service planning sessions that bring the whole service together. We have also built ideas sessions into team meetings, such as the seasonal updates from the Group General Manager and the bank colleague meetings. This allows us to share our successes, communicate our impact, and provide new listening opportunities for all colleagues. 

We are holding management reflection sessions to give space and time to understanding how to navigate important social justice movements that impact us, our staff, audiences and stakeholders.