What are we actually trying to achieve?
The institutional experience
Beaumont College
"The alignment of strategic activity with strategic objectives is very well embedded in some areas of the college but working through the kit has revealed variations in implementation across the colleges departments. This is useful data. It will guide management development for individuals in the team, but also organisational development for the college. The key issue of prioritisation in a rapidly changing operating environment unsurprisingly dominated discussion. Particularly where there are areas of overlap in activity between different members of the team."
Cambridge Regional College
"The Improving Practices research sought to test the effectiveness of the business cycle, the respective roles and responsibilities within it, the effect it has on improving performance and the degree to which managers could engage with the process. Research took place in the form of structured conversations and key and common issues were identified as a consequence. The following extract from the project report outlines the key aspects of Improving Practices which the JISC infokit could support:
- "Almost all managers expressed the view that SMT needed to be clearer and more concise in articulation of corporate priorities. Contributors reflected on a lack of clarity when priorities changed; on difficulty in "picking out" key messages from SMT communications and on conflicting messages from SMT. Most appreciated that changing priorities were generally externally driven, but sought some sense of prioritisation, rather than simply adding extra tasks/functions to already busy jobs;"
- "Target setting (recruitment including Work-Based Learning and Train to Gain, success rates, budgets, contribution) need to take account of local intelligence amongst the delivery directorates and not be so formulaic;"
- "Targets to be negotiated not imposed;"
"There was also a sense that SMT needed to think decisions through to their implementation, and consult on what to do, rather than simply how to implement a pre-determined decision. In conjunction with item 1 above, managers then felt better outcomes could generally be achieved if we were clear about what we wanted."
Strategic Planning Issues to Address:
The extracts from the project report are examples of where:
- Colleagues are unclear about absolute priorities;
- Colleagues are unclear about their contribution to priorities;
- Colleagues are unclear about changing priorities, and whether they are SMT "whims" or necessary changes;
- Colleagues are disengaged from key decision-making processes;
- Colleagues are overwhelmed by the size, complexity and changing nature of their roles, which they believe is at least in part unnecessary and is in response to SMT"
