……………………The Reality Behind the Recognition Business Excellence

Outline Background to LJMU and Business Excellence The EFQM Excellence Model - Relevance to Higher Education The Award Story Where do we go from here?

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AND LJMU Background

Background to LJMU & Business Excellence Modern HE – cloistered sanctuaries or complex real-world businesses? Out of the Crisis (Thank you Tom Peters) Reinvent the wheel or adapt that which works?

Out of the Crisis 2000 – several years of deficit Major Staff redundancies in 1998/99 (Mis)management by Committee Morale poor – and thats just the management!! Who needs a strategy when we have so much fun just putting out the fires?

We had to do something! When Michael Brown was announced as the new VC in 2000, the Times Higher ran an article suggesting hed taken on the toughest job in HE

Higher Education Complex –Multiple Stakeholders –Diverse Customers –Many products and services –Diverse people –Many Processes Resource Hungry Results Driven Huge Strategic Challenges = But this is a lot easier to manage

The Excellence Era New VC in 2000 HEFCE GMP Project Creating financial stability Creating structural capability Empowering managers, not committees Then……………….

The Excellence Era …Let the Journey Begin –Gaining commitment to using the EFQM Excellence Model (2002) –Daring to self-assess the whole University (2003) –Daring to address the findings (2003-5) Strategic Planning and Management Process People

The Excellence Era Then doing it all over again …….... and Again!!

THE AWARD STORY LJMU

UK Excellence and EFQM Excellence Awards Run by the British Quality Foundation – British National Partner to the EFQM, and the EFQM respectively Rigorous external assessment against all 32 criterion parts within the Excellence Model Independent feedback report for each of the 32 criterion part – strengths and areas for improvement Fallback levels of Recognition Confidential process, unless Finalist

Timeline of Events Qualification Stage – February 2008 (EFQM January 2009) Assessor Team Allocated 31 st March 2008 (EFQM February 2009) 75-page application to BQF 25 th April 2008 (EFQM February 2009) Preliminary Meeting with Assessors – May 2008 (EFQM March 2009) Site Visit – 7 th – 11 th July 2008 (EFQM 1 st – 5 th June 2009) Feedback Report – August 2008 (EFQM August 2009) Awards Ceremony, London – 14 th October 2008 (EFQM Brussels – 28 th September 2009)

The Site Visit 6 Assessors (EFQM 8 Assessors) Opening and closing meetings with SMG representatives In depth interviews with selected senior staff and others Themed and General Focus groups with various staff groupings Viewing of evidence on site

What they assess Approaches – how we do things, are they systematic, relevant, effective and aligned to strategy? Deployment – Rhetoric or Reality, are the approaches fully deployed across the University? Assessment & Review – does the University take time out to review and improve approaches? Results – is the University achieving sustained performance results; meeting or exceeding targets across the scope of the business?

Preparation Site Visit Plan Appointments with interviewees – they come to you! Briefings for interviewees and focus groups Copies of the application available

Possible Outcomes Nothing….not achieving a score above c. 450 R4E….achieving a score above c. 450 Finalist & R4E…. Achieving a score in the low to mid 500s Special Prize Winner…. A Finalist score with an exceptional performance in one area e.g. Leadership, Sustainability etc. Award Winner (Public Sector)…. A score well above 600

Expectations We were not in it to win it – but any formal recognition would be nice! Benefits: –Rigorous and independent assessment –Objective and detailed feedback report –Basis for a further improvement plan –The cheapest but best consultancy you could ever buy!

UK Excellence Award

EFQM Excellence Award 2009 Confirmed as finalist No Awards made in 2009 in any category Now thats a tough competition!! 2009

What was said…

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? LJMU

Paul Evans Director of Business Excellence Liverpool John Moores University Questions & Answers