MyGlasgow News

How is the University trying to improve the way it does things? You can find out by visiting the new Process Improvement web pages which have just gone live.

www.gla.ac.uk/services/processimprovement/

‌And here, you can meet Graham Fisher, the University's Director of Process Improvement, who has used a fascination with stacking paper cups at speed to ease the pain for students seeking council tax exemption. 

Man with a mission

At first glance hospital care, power companies and supermarket checkouts appear to have little in common with one of the world's top 100 universities. However, all ultimately depend upon user satisfaction and value for money for continued success - and that’s where Graham comes in.

‌As he nears the first anniversary of his appointment a number of changes are already underway across the university to help make life simpler, better, and easier for students and academics.

Graham's role is to help create sustainable administration processes so that more resources can be spent on learning, teaching and research.

His wide-ranging remit covers almost everything, other than academic services, which impact on the smooth running of the various departments.

Process Improvement

As with all large organisations the University is obliged to look for efficiencies in the face of increasing student numbers, greater regulation and financial pressures. While this may mean cutting down on waste or duplication of effort it also means making the experience of both students and academics more enjoyable.

At 49-years-old Graham has an extensive business background, having worked with a number of major international corporations including Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company with a global workforce of around 130,000. While working for them Graham first became involved in organisational effectiveness and achieved accreditation as a Six Sigma Black Belt, one of the world's most successful strategies used to marshal the arts of process improvement.

After leaving Honeywell he spent a couple of years with Scottish Power and a further 7 years with Atos Consulting, the company behind the IT services used for the 2012 London Olympics and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

There then followed spells of working in China, improving the customer experience for Tesco shoppers and reorganising Accident & Emergency process for several major UK health authorities before joining the University last July.

Have a life

Graham said: “I thought this was a great a opportunity. People come to Glasgow to get a world-class education and we need to provide a world-class service for both students and staff. We thrive on our reputation. A lot of international students come here but can you imagine what happens if they have a bad experience? They go home and they tell their family and friends and that could put others off from coming.

To illustrate his message Graham uses a number of videos, including one of speed stacking and an old Lucille Ball comedy sketch. www.youtube.com “Both videos, as entertaining as they are to watch, illustrate perfectly how a process used correctly can result in success but descend into chaos if ignored,” said Graham. The sketch from an old episode of ‘I love Lucy’, in which she jets a job on a chocolate production line, illustrates what can happen without a proper process in place while the video on stacking cups shows what can be achieved with the planned and practised method. “Stacking cups is quite a fun thing to watch but there is a method to doing it. I use the video to show that with the right documented process other people can learn."

“It is vitally important that processes and methods are documented. If you had a department with 30 key personnel in it and suddenly their lottery numbers came up you could lose everyone in one go. If what they do and how they do it is documented others can take over.”

“The University has a long and glorious history spanning more than 560 years and while tradition is important people often find themselves doing things just because that's the way it has always been done even though there may be a much better approach.”

Working with the Court Office Graham has a wide-ranging remit to across the various schools and departments.

“There are lots of myths about process improvement such as it is another term for cost cutting or getting rid of people, it is not. It is about making life at work simpler, better and quicker,” said Graham.

Exemption

“Saving money is not in my job description but it is a by-product of what I do. Who wants to be working 12 hours a day when systems can be introduced to make it easier for people to get home in time to see their kids or have a life outside work?” 

A large part of the job is communication with staff and students, meeting people and helping them understand his aims and objectives.

Among the projects Graham has been involved with is the automation of the council tax exemption programme.

Currently any of the 6,500 students applying for an exemption from Glasgow City Council have to down load a letter from the council website, fill in their details and take it to the student services team, to be checked, stamped and then  posted back to them, to forward to the Council. The whole process can take days.

“Even if you said it involved just 5 minutes work per letter for the back office that's roughly 15 weeks of time for somebody if all 6,500 students applied at once,” explained Graham who has been working with the team of administrative staff, IT services and Glasgow City Council to improve the service.

Teaching and Research

“We have now introduced a system by which students can opt into the new process on the University system, go online at the city council website, and fill in a form. The council then reconcile the information sent to them by the University, for eligible students, witht eh forms submitted online at the council website, and grant the exemption. There's no paper involved and no time wasted waiting for people to drop off or pick up or post the printed letters.

“By streamlining it all electronically it cuts down on the time administrative staff spend on this one task alone, speeds up the applications to the council and makes the all-round student experience so much better.”

Graham sees his role as not so much imposing changes but encouraging those involved in various processes to come up with their own suggestions.

“I'm a firm believer in sustainable improvement,” said Graham. “If the people doing the work introduce their own ideas then those changes are likely to continue. When practices or methods are imposed on people they are more likely to slip back into the old ways.

“The more improvements we make can help us increase resources and welcome more students. I want to reach out to administration staff and give academics a better understanding of what can be done so they start looking for improvements and give themselves more time for teaching and research.”

 

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First published: 7 October 2014