Business Excellence within

1
Business Excellence within The University of
Bolton Strategic Planning Process 17th October
2006
2
Agenda

• Self Assessment at Bolton
• Key Findings
• Main Learning Points

3
Self Assessment at Bolton

• First assessment
• First assessment took place in 2002/03
  corporate wide
• Involved a team drawn from across the
  organisation
• Collected evidence, analysed
• Facilitation support from another UK university
• Informed the strategic plan review

4
Self Assessment at Bolton
Second Self Assessment - 2004/05
Comments and amendments from - Executive -
Management team
Portfolio of evidence
Externally facilitated scoring workshop
5
Self Assessment at Bolton

• Key outcomes
• Overview description document
• Detailed notes of good practice and areas for
  improvement
• Mixture of operational / strategic / recurring
  themes
• Prioritised summary themes
• Score

6
Self Assessment at Bolton
Embedding Actions within Strategic Planning
Process
Positioning Statement
University Strategy
Plan
3 Years
Strategic Objectives
Review
Do
Supporting Strategies
Corporate Operational Objectives Plans
Risk Mgt Strategy
Local Plans
Risk Registers
Individual Objectives / PDPs
7
Key Findings

• Lots of very encouraging findings - 04/05
  assessment
• Lots of good practice (e.g. planning process
  leadership involvement with stakeholders people
  resource planning, personal development and use
  of team awaydays financial awareness)
• Eagerness to embrace improvement
• Many principles of model becoming embedded within
  our thinking (e.g. results / comparisons /
  trends, some sound approaches with links to
  university strategy)

8
Key Findings
Framework for results analysis and feedback

• Departmental performance indicators / targets
  established within local plans
• Central store developed on the intranet with a
  comprehensive suite of corporate performance
  measures and comparisons

9
Key Findings
Areas of greatest potential from second
assessment

• Some process modelling has started great
  potential if developed further to provide
  clarity, understanding and efficiencies

• Good control over strategies and plans policies
  are subject to less control and review
• Customer surveys undertaken within individual
  areas and a broad brush survey has been piloted
  although not repeated. Staff perception surveys
  are also inherent within the model.

10
Main Learning Points
Key Learning Points

• Model provides a helpful set of management
  principles and an overarching framework which
  embraces other activities it should not be seen
  as a standalone initiative

• A tool to help drive and recognise continuous
  improvement
• Good practice recognised both via local
  assessment and external endorsement
• Findings must be embedded within the strategic
  planning process
• Can be used at a range of levels (corporate /
  local)
• Demands some time and senior management
  commitment to its implementation and deployment,
  but a worthwhile investment