Technical Service Structures and Restructuring
Increase your awareness, insight and know-how of technical services structures and restructuring in higher education.
Type of Course: Leadership and management
Course Reference: HOC-028, HFFC-030
Course duration: One day
Hosting Mode: Online - instructor-led, face-to-face
In the last decade we have witnessed centralisation and decentralisation (in common terms, the ‘make-up’ and ‘break-up’) of the organisational structure in higher education (HE) across the UK, mostly in the name of seeking operational efficiencies, cost savings, meeting the needs of the customer (ie students) and achieving growth in a highly competitive environment.
Restructuring can occur in the face of unprecedented financial pressures and challenges; often in times of crises, with change in the upper echelon of management that result in reviews and a revised medium and long-term strategic plan. Whilst these are regarded as ‘hard’ restructuring at universities, there are also ‘soft’ and ‘organic’ transformations taking place at the business and functional levels that are smaller in scale, cost, change and complexity. Both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ restructuring have been applied to academic, administrative and professional service functions, including in the technical services structure.
Most technical services restructuring aim to create a more agile and responsive structure, address historic issues of duplication and silo working, coupled with enabling staff with the opportunity to gain new skills, operate in matrix structures and career opportunities.
Like all change projects, it comes with a range of pitfalls that need careful understanding, insight and navigation, to achieve the best possible outcomes. However, this can be a huge challenge and a source of stress for leaders and managers in the current climate, especially as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Aims and Objectives
This intensive course is tailor made to meet the needs of technical and professional service managers and leaders, including HR, to help them increase their awareness of the best practice and pitfalls in technical services restructuring. It accommodates various learning styles, to allow participants to learn from theory and practice, group discussions and individual reflection on their current practice.
The course will utilise pre-event activities and formative assessments to increase learner knowledge, competency and confidence; enabling them to implement learnt skills and insight in their work.
Aim
To equip participants with increased awareness, insight and behavioural skills, to better engage, manage and lead technical services restructuring.
Objectives
To explore:
Organisational challenges and transformational forces that trigger restructuring in technical services.
Organisational restructuring: what, why, who, when, where, how and how much!
The ‘pros and cons’ of simple and complex technical structures in teaching and research centric universities.
The process in ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ restructuring of technical services at universities: differences and similarities between academic, administrative and technical restructuring.
Understanding people’s fears and concerns in restructuring - how can it be mitigated?
Stakeholder analysis (interest vs. power), engagement and expectation of sponsor(s) during transformational change management (including effective communication plans).
Power struggles, organisational politics and the restructuring loop in some universities.
Technical services review - aims, developing proposals and options, process, outcomes and the roadmap in restructuring.
Planning, timeline and execution of restructuring programmes and projects.
Participant problems and solutions associated with technical service structures and restructuring.
Outcomes
By the end of this course, participants are expected to be able to:
Identify the triggers of technical services restructuring.
Lead and manage transformational change with confidence from increased awareness of the best practice and pitfalls in technical restructuring.
Analyse stakeholder needs to better engage and manage expectations.
Apply change management principles to restructuring process.
Course Fee
HEaTED members
Online: £289
Onsite: £394
Course credits
1 x online course credits
1 x onsite course credits
Non-members
Online: £412
Onsite: £612
Notes
This activity is subject to minimum group numbers but can be delivered onsite at your institution at a time and date to suit your team. Please contact us at enquiries@heated.org.uk for more information.
For HEaTED members, we offer one free place for every 10 bookings, and two for groups of 15 or above.
