Business Challenge
In 2018, Transforming Solutions, Inc. (TSI) was engaged by a top ten, public research university with a medical center to develop and execute a business process improvement training program. A cohort of University trainees embarked on a journey to capture the current state, analysis of the current state whereby stakeholders identified areas of risk and opportunities for improvement within their current processes, and identified the ideal future state of these processes. These change efforts were managed by the Assistant Vice President for Strategy and Operations. TSI served as a transformation partner throughout the business processes improvement training and execution.
TSI aimed to gather data to capture answers to the following questions:
- What processes existed and how was work within those processes conducted?
- What technology was in place and used (and by whom) to perform various activities?
- What gaps or opportunities exist to streamline processes and increase ROI?
- What is the “customer experience” or “constituent experience” as a function of the current processes?
- Why did the processes occur in the way they were documented in the current state? What areas of waste occurred? What opportunities for improvement emerged?
- What metrics were used in the process to measure success and efficiency?
- What future state options should be considered moving forward?
TSI’s Approach and Role
Approach
BPI Training and Mentoring
TSI was asked to facilitate an in-depth training in BPI methodology with a cohort of Advancement employees who would later facilitate and document business process improvement sessions throughout the Advancement lifecycle. Practitioners followed TSI’s I DO, WE DO, YOU DO approach to training and mentoring that was customized to meet the unique learning styles of the cohort and needs of the department. The centralized focus of the University’s Advancement department helped frame the strategy of application of the I DO, WE DO, YOU DO methodology. Trainees observed TSI Consultants as they modeled the facilitation and documentation of the I DO, WE DO, YOU DO methodology using relevant, Advancement-focused case study examples. Practitioners gained mastery of BPI methodologies through a co-facilitation and co-documentation model, collaboratively working as part of a facilitation team with a TSI Consultant who provided just-in-time feedback during sessions with stakeholders to encourage in-the-moment, transformative learning that could be applied throughout the remainder of the mapping session. This feedback was also provided in an online rubric for reference and development.
Process Improvement Sessions
The cohort of co-facilitation team members conducted business process improvement sessions (documentation and facilitation) in functional areas related to Advancement including Gift Processing, Prospect Management and Research, Annual Giving and Membership, Finance and Accounting, Donor Relations, among many others. The facilitation teams actively engaged with stakeholders by asking reflective questions, identifying opportunities for improvement and areas of risk, and developing recommended action plans based on current and future state maps. The sessions also collected any functional or technical requirements of any technology options for desired future state processes.
Role
TSI established the curriculum for the business process improvement training and mentoring program and managed the training project. TSI monitored all processes examined, evaluated competency development and progress of each cohort participant, and managed the finalization of all BPI deliverables.
Results
TSI and the cohort were intentional about collecting metrics to track progress toward goals in learning, process, and strategy. Some of this data included:
- 10 individuals received deep dive training and 9 received further mentoring and coaching in TSI’s Business Process Improvement methodology and mastered all competencies of the Business Process Improvement training and mentoring initiative evidencing mastery of facilitation, documentation, deliverable creation, and stakeholder engagement
- 47 University participant stakeholders received a high level training in BPI without outlined expectations for their involvement
- 14 University leaders participated in an engaging training about BPI and their role in supporting process improvement and change across the Foundation
- 13 University practitioners received in-depth training on business requirements and requirements gathering methods
- 56 processes mapped and analyzed (current state, analysis, and future state) with TSI, cohort practitioners, and University stakeholders
- 40 current state, analysis, and future state process sessions held to capture existing and forward thinking processes
- 700 technical and functional requirements gathered
- Metric tracking was established to monitor total numbers of: pain points, opportunities for improvement, participating stakeholders, processes, and sessions held