Why is Self-assessment so exciting?
“ENJOY it. See it as a blue-sky thinking moment, an
opportunity to push the boundaries of your service and
product, to be the best in what you do.”
“The customer comes second”
Happy staff =
Happy customers
= Happy profits
Henry Stewart, “Do happy staff make for happy companies and profitable companies”?
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Happy staff and company performance
• Alex Edmans’ research
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What makes staff happy?
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Employee engagement
• “Engaging for Success” -
Macleod Report 2009
• Job satisfaction
• Organizational commitment
• Job involvement
• Feelings of empowerment
• “Engaged employees Inspire Company Innovation” - Gallup Study 2006: • More productive
• More profitable
• Safer
• Create stronger customer relationships
• Stay longer
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Employee voice
• ‘Sunday Times Top 100 Companies
to Work for’ findings
• The importance of being heard
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Leadership …
• A strong strategic narrative about the purpose of the organisation
• Employees have clear line of sight between their job and the narrative – they understand where their work fits in
• Aims and values are reflected in a strong, transparent and explicit organisational culture and way of working
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Sekretariat - [email protected] 7
Self-assessment …
• …encourages reflection
• … gives staff a voice
• … engages and empowers staff
• … provides a safe framework for giving and receiving feedback, and acting on it effectively
• … is a great leadership tool
• … should be a positive, non-threatening journey of discovery!
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Sekretariat - [email protected] 8
How can this be achieved?
• Preparation and communication • Consultation, Planning, Awareness-raising,
Training
• Carried out by groups / teams
• Empower staff to self-assess, recommend action, develop shared objectives
• Lead by example – self-assess
• Make self-assessment and review integral to your operation, and ongoing
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Above all …
• Listen!
• Accept and act
on staff
feedback
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Practical considerations
• Assessment criteria? • Service standards; Internal or external?
• Scope and method? • Agree the terms of reference
• Self-assessment instrument: questionnaire? checklist? report form?
• Evidence? • What data? What other evidence?
• Outcome and follow-up action? • Action plan
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Eaquals Survey Data on Impact of Self-Assessment
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Re sp o nse
Pe rce nt
Re sp o nse
Co unt
19.0% 8
69.0% 29
11.9% 5
0.0% 0
0.0% 0
42
0skip p e d q ue stio n
Ho w wo uld yo u ra te the o ve ra ll imp a ct o f the se lf-a sse ssme nt p ro ce ss o n
yo ur ins titutio n?
Slightly positive
Extremely positive
a nswe re d q ue stio n
Moderately positive
Answe r Op tio ns
Not at all positive
Very positive
42 member institutions from 10 countries responded to the survey
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Re sp o nse
Pe rce nt
Re sp o nse
Co unt
100.0% 12
0.0% 0
0.0% 0
0.0% 0
5
12
30skip p e d q ue stio n
If the re wa s a ne g a tive imp a ct o n yo ur o rg a nisa tio n, cho o se b e lo w the
a re a tha t ca use d the g re a te st d ifficulty .
The process was too disruptive, unsettling or similar
The process was too time-consuming
a nswe re d q ue stio n
The process caused resentment, bad feeling or other
Answe r Op tio ns
Other (please specify)
The self-assessment instrument (e.g. questions etc.)
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Response
Pe rcent
Response
Count
48.7% 19
43.6% 17
5.1% 2
2.6% 1
39
3
Would you ca rry out ano the r ins titutiona l se lf-assessment in future?
Other (please specify)
Yes, definitely, It is or will be a regular (annual or biennial) event
sk ipped question
Only if we have to because of an internal or external requirement
Answer Op tions
answered question
Yes, definitely, from time to time, when it seems necessary.
What would you do the same? What would you do differently?
• This was our first time we carried this out and we have
learned a lot for future self-assessments
• The same – we observed a lot of the teaching over a
period of three days. I would definitely repeat this.
Different – I would have liked to have involved more
stakeholders e.g. teacher focus groups, student groups
• Start earlier and involve everybody in a more carefully
staged way
• Small workgroups and an overall evaluation meeting at
the end
• Ensure that all staff are involved not just managerial staff
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What advice would you give?
• Communication with all the team from the beginning
• Be fully aware of inspecting bodies’ criteria and use this as a basis
• Plan it carefully and plan plenty of time if you want to make it worthwhile
• Use a cross section of staff from different departments in each area of self-assessment e.g. member of the admin team in areas such as assessment & certification
• Be open-minded and ready to change things – there is always room for improvement and development
• Plan for the time and produce an action plan based on the results of the self-assessment procedure
• Enjoy it, see it as a blue-sky thinking moment, an opportunity to push the boundaries of your service and your product to be the best in what you do
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Summary
• Not only … • Preparation for an inspection or quality audit
• But also … • Fostering a learning organisation
• Team-building, greater staff engagement
• Development of an institutional culture of quality
• Raising quality standards
• Enhanced organisational and team focus
• Improved performance in client satisfaction, product development and market share
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“Worthy of your own approval”
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And that is why self-assessment is so exciting!