……………………The Reality Behind the Recognition

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

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

3. Background Business Excellence and LJMU

4. 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?

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

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

7. 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

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

9. 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

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

11. LJMU The Award story

12. 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

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

14. 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’

15. 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’?

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

17. 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 500’s • 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

18. 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!

19. UK Excellence Award 2008 2008

20. EFQM Excellence Award 2009 • Confirmed as finalist • No Awards made in 2009 in any category • Now that’s a tough competition!! 2009

21. What was said… LJMU has a clear view of its core customers' needs and how to respond to them in a competitive and challenging market. They have assessed and reviewed this in some depth and responded with a number of innovations. LJMU takes a business like approach to running the University. It understands the nature of the competition in the Higher Education sector and has done considerable analyses of what is needed to set LJMU apart. We heard many comments during the site visit about the approachability of leadership, a culture of openness where people are encouraged to innovate, empowered to take action and are supported during times of difficulty. The underpinning processes framework is well structured and deployed to support the implementation of policy and strategy. LJMU is recognised by its staff as a supportive and caring employer. From our site visit discussions in focus groups and meetings, we found many examples of individuals across all areas of the University having opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills through academic and other learning, and being supported in doing so.

22. LJMU Where do we go from here?

23. Paul EvansDirector of Business ExcellenceLiverpool John Moores University Questions & Answers