What We Do
Transforming Solutions partners with higher education institutions to assess finance and administration operations, organization, and processes in order to improve performance and experience and maximize success in meeting their mission and vision.
With a deep understanding of the approach needed to improve operational effectiveness combined with knowledge and experience working with finance and organizational excellence services, TSI will help guide a variety of strategies to meet client objectives. Ultimately, TSI is centered on developing actionable recommendations for sustainable, achievable end results. Through a thorough understanding of existing or setting of new short- and long-term goals with project leaders, we customize the approach and implement best practices to best accommodate those goals.
Services we provide focus on operating expense review, budget analysis, procurement practices, strategic planning, governance, quality management, revenue and business operations enhancement, organizational change management, and business process improvement.
Revenue and business operations enhancement TSI has helped higher education organizations to review commercial operations to develop specific recommendations to improve and enhance revenue streams and finance performance. This can include retail, dining, bookstore, and other campus operations.
Operating Expense Review TSI has helped universities reduce operating expenses and align those with current budgets and revenue forecasts. On previous engagements, TSI has identified and implemented reductions in excess of 25%.
Process Improvement TSI will help institutions define the current state of identified business processes, conduct an analysis of those processes, and lead the design of desired future state processes to assess process operations and efficiency. Through this analysis, TSI will identify pain points and waste within processes, opportunities for improvement, potential tangible and intangible benefits of improvements, financial benefits, consistency or variability in processes, metrics to assess operations and improvements, and actionable steps towards improvement strategies. The use of process improvement strategies will increase operational effectiveness by improving transparency, increasing responsiveness, and enhancing the quality of service.
Operational Assessment TSI will work closely with institutional leadership and or designated project teams to evaluate existing model(s) of operations to determine potential opportunities for growth and improvement related to people, processes, and technology. This evaluation will identify controls, checks, and balances for optimizing operations and compliance while assessing current and potential risks. Through administrative and financial assessment and using data-driven performance metrics, we will define and respond to risks, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to enhance and improve operations. Grounded in extensive expertise and best practices, we will support transformation and operational change efforts and goals by providing high-quality recommendations that are actionable and attainable. We do this by ensuring we understand the Finance and Administration department’s short- and long-term goals as articulated by your team and the key constituents and stakeholders it serves.
Reporting & Data Integrations TSI will help determine reporting needs that support goals for individuals, units, and institutional performance measures. TSI evaluates reporting and data integration needs and explores options best suited to successfully support the identified goals and priorities. We will also help produce actionable recommendations using business intelligence to be shared with project stakeholders, and conduct system/application inventories to determine data sources.
Organizational Assessment TSI has a deep understanding of the approach to improving organizational effectiveness as well as the nature of work that typically occurs in Finance and Administration. TSI will spearhead assessment of the organizational structure, staff roles and competencies, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and training needs, to determine alignment with the institution’s vision, mission, and values. We often conduct benchmarking to determine appropriate staffing levels, best practices, and structures and support organizational change through recommended action steps to increase effective management and adoption.
Change Management In all of our work, we hold people in very high regard. To achieve any desired organizational development change, we must focus on the people side of change. Therefore, TSI weaves change management methodologies into all of the work conducted with clients. We will drive organizational change management and communication efforts to articulate and manage transformation. These practices help foster a culture of transparency, clarity, and effective communication while maintaining a pulse on challenges, bottlenecks, or disruption for those who are most critical to the success of change initiatives. Working closely with clients for a customized and personalized experience, TSI pulls from expansive experience to enrich the experiences of clients with pragmatic, cost-effective solutions for change.
Constituent Experience Within higher education, the experience and development of constituents is an important factor for finance and administration related decisions. To best understand and ensure high-quality services and experiences and thorough decision-making are provided, TSI will support institutions in defining the constituent experience. We will lead efforts to assess and define the constituent experience to illuminate needs, expectations, experiences, and desired experiences. Once needs are identified, we will help design a plan to align desired experiences with organizational and operational goals and objectives. To achieve this alignment, TSI will provide detailed, actionable recommendations that are interwoven with the desired end results and definition of success of the institution.
