BUILDING PARTNERSHIP TRUST AND CREATING A SHARED VISION THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES STORY GRAHAM ROGERS DEPUTY VICE CHANCELLOR USW EX DEPUTY VICE CHANCELLOR UNIVERSITY OF WALES, NEWPORT

UNIVERSITY MERGERS Complex Time consuming Difficult to reverse

MANAGING UNCERTAINTY Performance Time Merger corridor of uncertainty TENSION Forces Extending Uncertainty Forces Reducing Uncertainty

C ULTURAL D IFFERENCES The most commonly cited reason for mergers failing is the failure to reconcile cultural differences

O RGANISATIONAL C ULTURE Is about the way people work The social glue of shared values and beliefs Is the “personality” of an organisation Unique to an organisation

C ULTURAL F IT Top Management relations and reporting relationships Decision making Compatability of systems and processes Employee engagement Benefits and rewards

T OP M ANAGEMENT R ELATIONS CEO (Vice Chancellor) Establish executive team early and meet regularly Each executive member responsible for a Delivery Group: –Academic –Systems Integration –Finance, Legal and Governance –HR –Students / Student Union

D ELIVERY G ROUPS Equal representation Task focussed Open and transparent Developed mutual understanding and started to build trust Potential for submerged tensions and covert agendas

D ECISION MAKING Centre versus Devolved Differences inevitable University type Who is the “top management” team Budget responsibility Custom and practice Personalities Ownership

USW A PPROACH Timing key –Merger in 11 April 2013 –2013/14 Academic Year largely fixed Structures –Started pre merger and cascaded development Appointments –Executive pre merger –Cascade process –Deans / Directors by Summer 2013 –Faculty Structure September 2013 –Administration May 2014 Shared values and understanding –Externally facilitated process September 2013-ongoing

S YSTEMS AND P ROCESSES Audit pre merger Finance system – by 1 August 2013 Student Record System (SRS) –Year 1 – Two systems operational –Year 2 – Integrated SRS –Years 3 and 4 – SRS integrated with other systems

S HARED VISION Pre merger –Business Case Post merger –Process of establishing and shared vision one of the tools to engage staff and facilitate partnership working –Develop strategic plan

S HARED V ISION Developing a USW Vision and Mission Engaged all staff –Focus groups –Forums –Meetings / debates Engaged stakeholders –Students –Community –Employers –Politicians etc Took 9 months – launched March 2014

N EXT S TEP Enabling strategies 2020 Academic Portfolio High Performance University Systems and Processes “NORMAL BUSINESS”

THANK YOU GRAHAM ROGERS (SSA)