Tangible Benefits
University of Nottingham
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Screenshots from the University of Nottingham's data capture screenand monetary impact chart and Monetary benefit/cost comparision chart
According to the project team in Nottingham
"the Impact Calculator has demonstrated that the use of 'Knowledge Worker' (the ECM system introduced to manage student case records within the revised process) to manage student cases could deliver significant cost savings over a number of years"
and the figures certainly bear this out with the change initiative in question predicted to start saving the University between £4,000 and £5,000 per annum from Year 2 onwards and to have recouped the initial investment costs and achieved a return on investment during Year 3. This is anticipated to result in cumulative monetary savings of £8,343.40 by the end of Year 5.
All these savings were achieved as a direct result of a 71% reduction in the amount of time taken to complete processes relating to the management of student case files when conducted electronically via 'Knowledge Worker', compared with the previous, manual, processes (down from 17.25 to 5 minutes). Interestingly, this monetary benefit was achieved even though the per minute salary costs actually increased as a result of the change initiative (doubling from £0.152 per minute previously to £0.323 per minute post-change due to the process now being undertaken by a higher grade member of staff) and clearly demonstrates the benefits of automating and streamlining a process, rather than assuming that it makes better financial sense to simply devote a greater amount of cheaper labour to achieving it.
