Cultural change in a time-poor environment A Hanlon

1. Cultural change in a time-poor environment A Hanlon

2. Cultural change in a time poor environment Tertiary Education Management Conference August 2006

3. Audit is a gap analysis • Responding to audit recommendations within the context of developing a pro-active management framework to guide continual department-wide performance improvements • Our focus is ISO9000 accreditation • Continual improvement ensures that procedures will not fall behind acceptable standards again

4. Quality management & audit response (QM & AR) project • Prioritised support to operational areas that would in turn enable outcomes that “counted” as results with respect to audit response • Priorities are flexible, negotiable and reviewed regularly • FM management group is the sponsor

5. QM & AR project approach • FM operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year • Staff are utterly outcomes content focused, often to the detriment of management systems / accountabilities • Require simple, small and immediate steps to change • Less intimidating, less effort leads to less resistance

6. Project set up • 245 audit recommendations • Break up into useful “chunks” • Recommendations grouped into functional and/or compliance areas • 22 project area/chunks in all Are you insane??!!?

7. Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 patch comply quality 3 stages of the project

8. Patch • Workflows are mapped (drawing) • Significant compliance issues are resolved asap • That is, immediate actions are a band aid solution, rather than a long-term ISO9000 compliant solution • Satellite systems and workflows are removed

9. Comply • Comparison with other Uni procedures and policies • Research into legislative or regulatory requirements • Research into State government practices • Amend and build the “patched” system • This stage is focused on policy levels • Resolve inter-departmental issues

10. Quality • Policies and procedures are evaluated against ISO Quality standards • Development of a quality assurance policy • Preparation of internal quality audit • Final decision to proceed to ISO9001 levels

11. Patch/comply/quality • Biggest and most immediate result • Shifted the conversation (and attitude) from Why do we have to do this? to Are we in patch, comply or quality?

12. What are the real tools for change?

13. Senior management ownership of the required change • What does that look like? • That management remain convinced of the requirement for change regardless of staff complaints, change resistance, sabotage and other forms of thrashing about • Benefit: No white-anting or back-peddling

14. A single authorisation point for policy and strategy • What does that mean? • All staff required to submit policy, operational plans and other plans of management or strategy documents for approval • Benefit: Reality check! Cohesiveness. Communications point

15. Common language • What does that mean? • Phrases that often mean different things: • Business case, policy, procedure, form, minor works, major works, small project, medium project, large project, etc. • Benefit: have the same conversation

16. Tolerance for ambiguity • Not knowing what the entire system / procedure will look like before making improvements • Requiring trust in each other • Creating space for mistakes • Benefit: Being able to start. Building a system that allows for individual judgment

17. Patience for resistant behavior • Where staff support each others tolerance levels • Discussion and identification of “thrashing about” behaviour • Real management /team work supports each others weaknesses • Benefit: Creating and supporting a culture that allows us all to be human

18. Consistent clarity of roles and responsibilities cross the organisation • Red / Black / Blue • How does that help us work smarter?

19. Services / Products Service production Business support Service Delivery Clients Red / Black / Blue ~ A Shirlaws business model “STRATEGY” “CASH FLOW” “COSTS”

20. QM & AR project areas • Accounting • Change Management • Code of Conduct • Complaints handling • COI Management Plan • Contractor management • Information management & filing • Inter-departmental advice • Fleet • Fraud Control Plan • IT infrastructure • Maintenance • Packaged works contracts • Planning processes • Quality assurance system • Restructures / reporting lines • Risk management • SAM Process • Service Level Agreements • Space Information • Staff management • Tender procedures

21. QM & AR project areas • Accounting • Change Management • Code of Conduct • Complaints handling • COI Management Plan • Information management & filing • Fleet • IT infrastructure • Risk management • Services level agreements • Space information • Staff management • Tender procedures • Contractor management • Maintenance • Planning processes • Fraud Control Plan • Inter-departmental advice • Quality assurance system • Restructures / reporting lines • SAM Process

22. Immediate use for R/B/B • List of things to do • Color code them • Then do one black, one blue and one red (and repeat)

23. More change at UNSW • Paper’s have reported huge numbers of voluntary redundancies at UNSW • Requirement to tighten our belts • All these tools are re-usable in the new context

24. thanks for having me! questions?

25. Lunch Please reconvene at 2pm on Level 3, Ballroom A/ Ante (adjacent to the Trade Exhibition)