E mpowering S taff T hrough I nstitute P lanning (ESTIP) Working groups workshop Institute Name: XXXXXX Presenter: XXXXXX Date: XXXXXX

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Welcome, introductions and objectives  The purpose of this two day programme is to ensure that all members of this work group have the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to fulfil their role as a work group as defined in their terms of reference

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Programme outline - Day 1  – Course introduction  Planning exercise  Self- Assessment  Role of Work Group  Lunch  Work Group Planning  Effective team working  Tools and techniques overview  Summary, reading assignment

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Programme outline – Day 2  Introduction  Joint problem solving  Improving group effectiveness  Lunch  Facilitated planning workshop  Summary, course evaluation

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 ESTIP background  Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) ‏  IOTI & DIT established project –‘Empowering staff locally, by linking team & individual development plans to focused, supported & transparent strategic plans’  The aim was to review current & strategic planning processes in IOT Sector ESTIP  ESTIP: E mpowering S taff T hrough I nstitute P lanning

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Components studied 1. Pre planning 2. Environmental scanning 3. Current state analysis 4. Stakeholder consultation 5. Strategic plan development 6. Operating plan development 7. Preparation of team & personal performance & development plans 8. Plan update & review processes 9. Feedback & communication processes

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 ESTIP framework: purpose  to provide a comprehensive guide for all Institute staff & other interested stakeholders on options available for carryout strategic planning.  Making use of the approaches set out in the framework will greatly help to empower staff, through integrating the planning processes with PMDS & other processes routinely carried out in the Institutes

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Stage 2: Reference manual & handbook  ESTIP Reference manual –Comprehensive manual covering the phases of the strategic planning process –Based on best practice in IOT Sector & International research –Available in printed or online version –Meant to be used as a toolbox to provide ‘pick & choose’ options  Handbook –Meant as a quick reference point

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 IOT ESTIP Model

PLANNING EXERCISE

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module objective To provide the group with a planning exercise to enable them to think about planning in a neutral yet familiar setting To give the group the opportunity to develop and practice some basic teamworking skills

WORK GROUP SELF ASSESSMENT

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Work Group self-assessment To enable them to recognise their strengths and areas that need development –To enable this work group to reflect on their ability to fulfil their role  Objective –To facilitate a discussion on how to improve effectiveness as a steering group

ROLES OF PLANNING WORK GROUPS

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To provide participants with an overview of the types of work groups used in planning  To allow participants an opportunity to discuss their own terms of reference  To allow a discussion on possible uses of work groups going forwards

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Role of Work Groups in planning  Wide range of work groups used  Different types of groups useful for different types of plans, processes or phases  Size is an issue –Too big -unwieldy and loss of focus –Too small-anonymity and communication difficulties with the whole organisation

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Examples  Market research group  Customer liaison team  PEST groups  Performance review teams  Cross functional liaison team  Thematic groups  Standing advisory committees

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Group discussion  TOR of this group  Previous types of Work Group used  Benefits and drawbacks of each type  Possible best uses of work group types for next step of planning process (revisit this in last session day 2)

DEVELOPING PLANS

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To ensure the group understands the need to develop clear objectives and plans for their work  To provide practice in project planning, team working and consensus development

EFFECTIVE TEAM WORKING

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To provide practice in effective team working and consensus development

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OVERVIEW

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To provide tutorials and practice on tools and techniques most relevant to this working group

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Programme outline – Day 2  Introduction  Joint problem solving  Improving group effectiveness  Lunch  Facilitated planning workshop  – Summary, course evaluation

JOINT PROBLEM SOLVING

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To provide the opportunity to bring together and practice the main skills of project planning, joint problem solving, and team working

IMPROVING GROUP EFFECTIVENESS

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module Objective  To allow the group to reflect on their own modus operandi and plan for effective team working  Group effectiveness questionnaire  Identify group performance issues

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Characteristics of an effective group  Clarity, agreement and focus on TOR, objectives and goals  Appropriate membership (no’s, knowledge, skills etc) for task  Good communication  Regular meetings that start and finish on time  An atmosphere of openness, honesty and mutual respect

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Effective groups continued  An ability to reach consensus  An ability to manage conflict  Good meeting procedures –Ground-rules –Appropriate chairing –Agenda in advance –Action oriented minutes  Clear and agreed roles and responsibilities

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Ineffective groups  Work overload  Decision-making delays  Poor scheduling  Uneven work distribution  Poor information flow  General hostility  Poor relations with others  Confusion  Apathy  No initiative  Decisions poorly executed  No TOR or lack of clarity

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 What happens once a group is formed?  Individuals feel wary, cautious and even sceptical based on past experiences.  Groups are often hampered by problems, which are clear at the start but get worse: –Gate keeping of information; –Not really listening, only being polite; –Personalising issues; –Taking an aggressive or defensive stance at the first sign of anything going wrong; –Keeping real opinions and feelings to one’s self.

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 What happens once a group is formed?  Groups take time to develop and can be muddled to start with  The immature group will mature with time and effort –Forming, storming, norming, performing  Conflict within groups is both normal and desirable.  Individuals gauge their input and their output and will expect more out of the group than they are putting in

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Important communication skill Active Listening Avoid preoccupation/ distraction Make appropriate eye contact Be aware of your own emotions Suspend judgement for awhile Wait before responding Develop paraphrasing into own words/context Continually reflect Don’t interrupt or change topic Question and clarify Be ready to respond when speaker is ready

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Group Discussion  Look back to questionaire, reflect on your last meeting now identify –What is working well for this group? –What problems do we have? –Lead a group discussion on how to improve effectiveness of the group

EMPOWERING STAFF

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module objective  To outline the principles that underpin staff empowerment through Institute Planning  To look at the ways of involving staff  To reflect on these lessons and past experiences  To focus on possible best ways forward

© institutes of technology ireland 2009  Poor awareness of strategic plan and its content  Apathy towards the plan  Low awareness of link between staff activities and long term goals in the plan.  Lack of structured operational plans to achieve objectives of plan  Staff aware of plans but limited knowledge of where they came from  Minimal sense of ownership of plans  At outset be aware of these problems and design process to ensure they absent at conclusion Research across IoT sector shows

© institutes of technology ireland 2009  Poor awareness of strategic plan and its content  Apathy towards the plan  Low awareness of link between staff activities and long term goals in the plan.  Lack of structured operational plans to achieve objectives of plan  Staff aware of plans but limited knowledge of where they came from  Minimal sense of ownership of plans  At outset be aware of these problems and design process to ensure they absent at conclusion Research across IoT sector shows

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Staff consultation  Encourage staff who want to take part to get involved  Give reassurance that involvement is real and meaningful

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Module objective  To outline the principles that underpin staff empowerment through Institute Planning  To look at the ways of involving staff  To reflect on these lessons and past experiences  To focus on possible best ways forward

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Typical ways of involving staff  Phase 1 Pre-planning-on preplanning committee or Steering group  Phase 2 Data gathering –As member of general or specialised working group or standing committees carrying out environmental scanning –Current state analysis eg functional group self-assessment, SWOT, EFQM –Stakeholder consultation eg meetings with employers, schools etc

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Group Discussion  How were staff involved in this Institute?  Were working groups used – how effective was this approach  Strengths and weaknesses of these methods?  Thoughts on best way moving forward?

PLANNING WORKSHOP

SUMMARY – COURSE EVALUATION

OPTIONAL MODULES

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Analytical and Scanning Tools  PEST Analysis  SWOT Analysis  EFQM  Balanced Scorecard  Gap Analysis  Cost analysis  Scenario planning

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Balanced Scorecard  See appendix 4 page 117  Developed in 1990’s  Allows management and staff to focus on a few key strategic objectives  Recognises importance of developing a few key aspects of org  Also interrelationship between them

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Balanced scorecard consists of  The core of the strategy or vision  Four interrelated factors –Financial aspect –‘Business’ processes –Learning and development –The ‘customer’  Each factor has four components –Objectives –Measures of achievement –Targets –initiatives

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Example: Inner City School X  Vision- improve the educational experience of pupils and increase numbers going to higher education  Financial –Objective is to achieve funding of €xxx and keep in budget –Achievement measured through monthly accounts –Target- to achieve €100,000 turnover –Initiatives- marketing campaign and delegation of budgets to departments

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Exercise: Develop a Balanced Scorecard for This Institutue Key Questions?  Financial- how do we measure up to financial projections?  Operational- At what processes must the organisation be successful?  Customers- How so service users see the organisation?  Innovation and Learning- How can we improve performance?

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 SWOT Analysis (see appendix 17)  Simple, widely used approach  Allows you develop snapshot view of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as perceived by different groups  Often done in facilitated session  Can take from 1-8 hours depending on method used and size of group

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 SWOT StrengthsWeaknesses What are our main collective strengths as a unit? What are we good at? What are we not so good at? What are our competitors better than us at/ What do we need to improve upon OpportunitiesThreats What are the main opportunities that we should consider? What can we exploit? What are the main threats that we are going to face? What could stop us achieving our goals?

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 SWOT Process  Facilitator brings group through each heading  Try to reach consensus  If big groups use multi voting to achieve consensus  Next step will be action planning as a result of SWOT

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Action Plan Objective- State your intention. What you hope to achieve. Joint Objective? Strategies/Action Steps to achieve the Objective? Who is responsible for each step? What is the deadline for each step? What resources are required to achieve each step?

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 SMART Planning for SMART Objectives (appendix 16 pg 151) ‏

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Group exercise  Carry out a SWOT analysis on XXXXXXXXX  Develop a SMART action plan to achieve 4 objectives

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 PEST Analysis  A simple, widely used tool for scanning the external environment and grouping factors together under the mnemonic PEST  Political  Economic  Socio-cultural  Technological  Helps develop an understanding of the ‘whole’ environment within which the organisation operates

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 How to conduct a PEST 1. Brainstorm the relevant factors to your Institute 2. Identify the relevant information for each of these factors 3. Analyse this information and draw conclusions

© institutes of technology ireland 2009 Group exercise  As a group carry out a PEST analysis for this IoT