Technology break #techdetox - outcomes

Technology break #techdetox - outcomes

Lasted for six days - no emails! No Facebook, no twitter, no LinkedIn, no Blipfoto, no games, no online news, no music, no TV eg iplayer, no audio books or ebooks, no blogging.
It took about 2-3 days to get used to it.  On the first day, I kept checking my phone and then realising there was nothing to check so it is definitely a good idea to delete all the apps and quick ways of accessing programmes or sites.  I deleted most of the above and with others just moved them off my home screen and hid them. I disabled alerts and I think this is important as it removes that 'always on' situation.
I kept text on for family / friends and had to keep whats app also as some family work in places with no signal but wifi but that worked ok and I used both text and whats app infrequently and just for arrangements.
The frustrating / inconvenient aspects were not being able to quickly search for information eg finding a restaurant or details such as opening hours about a place we were visiting. The twice that I 'cheated' were when I was parking at the park and ride and I wanted to pay for parking. It is easy to use the app on my phone and I couldn't be bothered to go and find change and then the payment machine when it is all set up with a couple of clicks on my phone.  The other time was using the sat nav on my phone to get into a city centre and out again. Certain tasks would have been easier if I'd planned in advance such as the parking or navigating and looked at the map in advance.  The searching was a real frustration as I'm so used to quickly looking information up and getting on with things so I can't see the advantage of not doing that.
The planning in advance applied to always having a book with me too.  The first day when we were out and about when ever we stopped, I just automatically looked at my phone or when I was in Oxford waiting for the others I was bored with nothing to look at.  On day 2 at a National Trust garden while waiting around or having a cup of tea or just generally being, I felt I was wasting time without something to read so from then on had a book with me at all times. This improved as the week went on and I started to chill out and relax.  I managed to read four books in six days which is quite good and also as the week went on I read faster and for longer periods without getting distracted. I definitely think my attention span or focus improved which is a bit worrying that it is usually poor but probably right as I do tend to multitask or rapid change task neither of which is good.
I didn't particularly miss Facebook apart from somewhere to upload photos of places to and to keep in touch with what other people are doing.  I did miss twitter but it was good to switch off and not be constantly trying to keep up with online stuff - it's mostly inconsequential anyhow and it's good not to be totally immersed in a none physical world.  I would have liked to tweet about some the places we had been to especially some restaurants which were good.
The no emails has been the weirdest thing - only time will tell whether it is a good thing i.e. This morning when I get into work and see what's waiting in my inbox.
I would definitely recommend a technology break or at least a online communication break as I think that's the important thing - to be able to call your time your own and decide when to reply and engage.  To manage your online presence and interactions. But I would so miss technology if it wasn't there, easily accessible and providing information and generally making life better and more interesting.

Technology break #techdetox

I'm on holiday from work tomorrow until next Tuesday - so almost a week.
For the last couple of years, I have had a technology break #techdetox for a week.
This was last years  
http://www.donlantechnologies.blogspot.co.uk/2014_08_01_archive.html

So this year it will start at 12 midnight tonight until 9.00am Tuesday 11th August.
I delete apps from my phone so no emails, Facebook or Twitter - no games, no news - no skype, no facetime - no ebooks nor audio books - no blipfoto, no whats app.  Music if already downloaded maybe? No iplayer or radio. A separate camera for photos. No google, no searching.
Just incoming texts in case of emergencies from family.  

I've got at least 5 books that i want to read so aiming to read one a day. 

Looking forward to it...sort of ...maybe 

ucisa SS15 conference - day 2 #ussc15

The first session of day 2 was a business showcase – Service Desk Institute Carla Thornley and Sharon Mossman from Newcastle University and was based on the Newcastle University SDC journey. 

The challenges - some negative perceptions of the service, multiple contact methods, ticket quality wasn’t constant and the system had been customised so was difficult to upgrade.  They produced a roadmap - to standardise, to increase training including SDI analyst training, to produce a customer charter and to measure activity.  They restructured to become the 'Service Desk' rather than 'Helpdesk' and increased ITIL awareness.

The assessment process – despite some delays in procurement of ITSM system they successfully introduced the NU Service with new telephony and call recording systems in the Service Desk. This led to very much improved customer feedback.  They found the SDC process an easy process to follow and although there was lots of work to collate information, the process provided opportunities to reflect; it generated sense of pride and raised the profile of the dept. within the university.

Their thoughts from their experience - don't aim for perfection - do what you want to do to improve the service, don't be afraid to fail, prepare thoroughly, be proud of the good stuff you do.

The second session of the day was a presentation by Emma Anderson, a student from the University of Leeds entitled ‘It's not just Facebook and Twitter. How students use technology in their everyday lives’.

It was an interesting presentation and great to hear insights into the student experience – there were lots of useful points that can be picked up from a library perspective too. 
Emma explained that:

Students typically have at least 3 mobile devices

A laptop is vital but essay writing is better on an actual computer as if you’re working at desk you’re 'a lot more studious'

Email is needed on the go

Email avoids awkward phone calls

The Leeds Uni app is very useful

Even people with Macs still get Microsoft Word

One Note syncs

A tablet is useful for reading

Facebook admittedly is a lot of procrastination but useful to reach out to those in a group to work on shared projects or assignments.  

Twitter is good for your social profile and to get news quickly

The ‘Brotherton library is gorgeous – you feel clever just sitting in there’

But need more plug sockets - students fight over plug sockets (interesting – basic requirement)

The new Laidlaw library has plug sockets as far as the eye can see, comfy chairs and bright spaces

Group spaces are needed

Also need desks that have a PC plus extra plug socket plus space for work

Emma praised the IT Service Desk staff as students are tech savvy but have different needs so it is good to be able to pop in and have chat. A physical presence is definitely needed so more approachable and more personable 'Lovely friendly faces’.  Also it is hard to explain computer problems over the phone or email - need to speak face to face

She gave good, positive feedback about student experience at Uni of Leeds and had a direct approach to what students want and need. 

The next sessions was a panel session:

Heidi Fraser-Krauss (Chair)

Emma Anderson

Rachel Fligelstone

John Fijalkowski

Carla Thornley

The only thing that is constant is change - an old problem that is still relevant today.

How to cope with change?

Bring people together to talk - do the change together - share – get everyone involved - personal contact.  Make it a team effort - not everyone needs to be an expert - ask staff what digital means to them, relate to what they want and need to do.  In the corporate world, change is necessary to survive – it’s slower in the HE sector so need to be a champion of change - setting goals and vision.

The move from IT to digital - digital capabilities that are the responsibility of everyone.  Is it obvious where people have to go to for help?  If they have a problem the Service Desk needs to be like a sat nav and know where to get help

Transformational change - don't assume you know what the customer wants.  Share the journey with the customer.  Get people to realise that change is needed - be dramatic - educating people

The problem is often not with change itself but supporting change - relate it to organisational change

It’s important to give students notice of changes - be honest. But the problem with all student emails is that students get bombarded with email so use app notifications, twitter, announcements on VLE,

You need to make the difference between communications about 'vital' issues and things of interest.  Still need to tell students about things of interest so use somewhere else to provide a daily update or feed.  How do students feel about change? They are willing to embrace change - new computers, new apps - keep student needs central

Who should drive change?

Ask students what they want and tell them what will work – then got to meet in the middle. Show people what is available, listen to what people say and then make decisions. Share experience.

Be open to innovation - support people to use technologies

The next sessions were parallel sessions and I went to one about mapping and optimising the Student Journey using a service design approach by Ruth Drysdale and Jean Mutton from jisc.

It was about Jisc co design - prospect to alumnus – the student journey from the student, user, customer point of view. 

Is HE a 'Product' or 'Service' industry?  A qualification and an experience?

There were a couple of practical activities:

Question - who is involved in student enrolment?

Basically everyone

Tools and techniques

Service blue printing

Emotional journey mapping

Task - Make a personna?

Behaviours

Walk that person through the process

(This activity was good not necessarily as a task in itself but was a good group round the table discussion and light relief)

So what is Service Design?

Problem solving - People centred

After lunch there was a presentation by Chris Dixon, Rob Ellis and Tom Skarbek-Wazynsk from Lancaster University.

‘Ping pong, coke and crisps’ – a tale of innovation.

It included an opportunity to tweet a task to Tom to work on and come up with the beginnings of a solution during the 45 minutes of the session. #Tasktom

Chris gave some background and context to the Innovation hub quoting examples from Virgin Atlantic who have lots of success and awards.  “Innovation is invention plus exploitation plus persistence” (virgin definition)

Also the Gartner model - bi modal

Mode 1 - the long haul, vital work

Mode 2 - looks easy more risky

When they set about creating the innovation hub they created a business case and then recruited.

Aims - engaging students to improve student experience - ask students if want to be involved.  Every idea has a digital twist.  Some ideas fail.  Embrace the idea that anything is possible.  Operate flexibly Agile methodologies.

Cardboard office

Rob talked through some of the ideas and projects that they have undertaken and how they approached the development of ideas. 

Project types:

Nike - just do it.  Tough Mudder.  Bonkers

e.g. Minecraft

Build university - gaming society

Crisps and coke

e.g.  Gamification

Record of day to day life at university (not academic) Library use e.g. course hand in
A badge should be achievable by everyone if they want

e.g. Peer help and market place

Get ideas through idea generation events and opportunities such as 'Jolt the library' where students pitch ideas.

Summary – the expectation of what's possible versus reality is very different in the education environment.  There are a number of blockers. Be prepared to get into trouble.  Once students have a platform for ideas they will use it.  Be flexible.  Need senior management support - have a varied steering group/ advisory board early on.

Breaking rules!

The next session was a business showcase HEATsoftware and John Ireland, University of Oxford. 

5 different service desks which were consolidated into one support function - service desk consolidation project.   

Lessons learned:

It was business change rather than a process change with technology.
Look at the changes from a customer perspective

'Cake is the way to hearts and minds and to get organisational change through...'

The project was successful especially as far as customer experience was concerned. 

Self service - good feedback

Clarity 'your call has been resolved'

Faster and more effective escalations

Single phone number

Complaints: zero about new tool set

350 staff in central IT using system so a vast operation and need time to get used to processes

It was an interesting presentation to see how change is driven through in an institution where change is sometimes complicated and involves a lot of people and processes.

There was then another batch of parallel sessions and I went to one with the title 'what a digitally capable institution looks like' although it was mainly about feedback to a ucisa survey and the digital capabilities group 

The final sessions of the day were 20 x 20 sessions which were brief sessions from a variety of presenters and institutions. Some of them were very interesting and would have warranted much longer sessions and opportunities for questions.  (see my notes below - I don't usually take paper notes but it was the last session of the day #conferencefatigue.
Hopefully the slides will be  available from the ucisa website so I would recommend looking there.  

Tony Brett's presentation was useful and kept to the 20 x 20 format.

Gareth Edward's presentation was fascinating and I didn't take many notes as I was concentrating on the slides.

All in all, a great conference with lots of ideas to take away. 

ucisa SS15 conference - day 1 #ussc15

The first day of the ucisa SS15 conference at the Oxford Belfrey started with a welcome by John Cartwright, ucisa Executive Chair.  He welcomed everyone to the conference and encouraged delegates to participate and make the most of the networking opportunities. To 'pinch with pride' - share ideas and take them to implement in your own institution and service.  He talked about how, as we all know, change is a constant including organisational change with departments and services converging and de-converging, having to do more with less.  

New ideas created at the conference will lead to new ways of working - an opportunity to combine thought power.

Sally Bogg, Chair of the conference then gave an introduction and welcome to the conference the theme of which is change. 

The first presentation of the day was by John Fijalkowski from Manchester College entitled 'From superhero to mild mannered process engineer'. 
He explained that most IT superheroes start out wanting to change the world but changing processes is the way to success. There is no easy stairway to process maturity heaven.  You need to be an explorer and have expertise and experience and execution. 
Achieving process maturity is like moving from the Wild West to a High Performance Team and you will find different tribes along the way. You need to define the process, use metrics, have good KPIs and aim for continual improvement.  Embrace change as a daily event so therefore use an adaptable model optimising in high performance.

One person’s ad hoc superhero is another person’s chaotic cowboy - this is a useful analogy and a thought to hang on to as I think it is often the case that staff use the superhero idea to justify doing what they want, not what they should.  You should start the quality process to optimisation. Learn from mistakes and this involves being tactful and managing staff. There are different sorts of mistakes some honest, some deliberate and because of this there is a need for quality assurance - to check up.

How do you mature a process? Use 5S

Sort it out - when in doubt, red tag

Straighten - a place for everything, everything in its place

Shine - clean, inspect

Standardise - rules, compliance

Sustain - daily check - habitualise people 

If there's a gain, take it.  Take 1% from everything you do. Each gain may seem trivial but the cumulative value great.  Think of KPIs as a form of GPS - you use a KPI to meet a target.

Performance Management. Quality Improvement Plan.  Quality Control.

It was an interesting and appealing approach and involves being rigorous about improving processes.  It definitely made me think about the work that I need to do and that I should have confidence to aim for a structured and detailed process of improvement.  

The next presentation was a business showcase - Andrew Dixon from the University of Bristol, talking about TOPdesk.

Web forms are an ideal way of asking the right questions.  Use dedicated web forms for routine requests.

The next presentation was by Dave Churchley from Newcastle University.

'Real ITSM in the real world'

What has he learnt?

Adapt - understand the environment, work with the culture - make sure you know what's important to your institution - get allies - communicate.

Improve - get started, then improve - got to be pragmatic (not just idealistic) to get things done

Focus on areas you can identify that need improving

Don't forget the people - influence behavioural change - set a good example - explain what you're doing. 

Service Management - it's a never ending journey - break it into chunks so more manageable

The last presentation of the day was 'Vorsprung durch Technik' by Heidi Fraser-Krauss and Thomas Krauss about IT support and services for researchers.  It was an entertaining and informative role play with a moral about the differences between what academics want and what IT support can provide.  The IT service drivers are service reliability, customer service, student expectations whereas researchers / academics like to think - need to have a passion - and have to bring in funding and produce papers.  Academics don't get rewarded for compliance!  They want the network to be available all the time, they want to manage their own people in their dept to fix things - want to knock on door of an office and talk to someone.

So the advice from Heidi on how to deal with researchers:

Apologise, know your numbers, work with academics, manage expectations.  Understand what they want - one size doesn't fit all.  Take on responsibility for other professional services if appropriate. Recognise that some areas are not IT responsibility e.g. where to record research data - it's not a technology problem, it's a policy problem. Academics don't get rewarded for compliance therefore they don't see the need to do so.  They are used to being critical so will criticise something when it is not working.

It was a useful insight into looking at central IT support form a different angle - we know it would be better managed centrally but it is unlikely that we will be able to persuade academics of this so we have to offer and manage support in a useful and acceptable way.  

A Week in the Life of ... 2015

A Week In The Life Of
https://newsletter.alt.ac.uk/2015/04/about-me-claire-donlan-alt-trustee/

About Me – Claire Donlan, ALT Trustee

Posted on 24 April 2015. Tags: altc, Claire Donlan, Trustee

I have been an ALT Trustee for nearly four years now including serving as Vice-Chair, Chair and President of ALT.  Before that I was a member of the FE Operational Committee for three years.  I wrote ‘A Week In The Life Of’ in 2010 when I was Head of Learning Resources at Middlesbrough College and outlined one of my busy weeks focusing on typical FE related activities such as student inductions, VLE courses and assessment, staff recruitment, technologies and devices, voting systems etc.

I now work as Customer Services Manager in the Information Services Directorate at Heriot-Watt University.  I manage all frontline services including the Library Service Desk and IT Helpdesk.  It is a busy role with a never ending to-do list but is interesting and exciting and a good mixture between operational and strategic issues.

I spend quite a lot of time on staffing related issues – there are 35 members of staff in my team.  We have just held interviews for an Information Assistant and successfully appointed. Yesterday I spent time shortlisting for evening/weekend Library Assistants, there were 74 applications for two posts. Other staffing related tasks – Performance and Development Reviews (PDRs) have been completed this week.  I have 6 to do which are direct reports and also have input into the objectives for all staff in the Customer Services team.

The focus at the moment as far as students are concerned is study spaces.  The main library building has a mix of quiet study spaces, individual and group study tables and rooms, study booths, soft seating / social learning spaces etc. It is always busy – we have a high footfall into the building and are open 24/7.  We manage the space by monitoring the usage through occupancy and footfall figures from systems and from roving. We’ve introduced an online booking system for our study rooms this semester to enable students to book online in advance. I spend lots of time collating and analysing data about the usage of the service we deliver including access (footfall/occupancy), usage (loans, returns etc.), self-service facilities, enquiries, printing and printers, IT tickets and issues etc. We use this data to measure impact and inform developments.  I spend time at the IT helpdesk as well as the library and we’re working on improving communication between first and second/third line services and triaging issues for departments and services across the university.

Communication and feedback plays a big part in what I do.  I officially record any complaints that come to information Services (we don’t get many) and also deal with comments and suggestions.  Students can use a variety of channels to let us know about our services – we have a Tell-IS alert service which is text, iMessage and email for feedback.  I manage the department’s facebook page and twitter account and the social media development group.  I also chair the Service Development Group which looks at operational and strategic developments for the Directorate and there are plans for building and service improvements for next year – everything from new online resources, the VLE, stock relegation, a new lift and study spaces across the university campus.

One important area that I’m leading on is Customer Service Excellence and how we can achieve this external accreditation for our services in the next year or so.  I liaise with colleagues at University of Edinburgh, Napier University and Queen Margaret University to share information and experiences regarding CSE.  Other external groups that I’m involved in apart from ALT, are Edinburgh Library and Information Services Agency (ELISA) and Customer Services Group UK (CSGUK).

A Week In The Life Of.... what's changed 2010 - 2015? #altc

In the ALT Online Newsletter there is a feature 'A Week in The Life Of...' http://bit.ly/1FlxQpY
It is an interesting feature as it gives an insight into the daily working lives of the people involved in Learning Technologies and how diverse the roles can be. There has been a recent discussion on the ALT email list about Learning Technologist jobs and how they have changed and developed over the last 5-10 years - the 'Week in the Life of...' articles reflect this.  Two of the most recent posts have been by Fiona Harvey and by Sheila MacNeill who are both ALT Trustees and it is very interesting to read about their 'day jobs' and the work that they are involved in.
I wrote 'A Week In The Life Of..' in October 2010 http://bit.ly/1NVSf49 and am now in the process of writing a 2015 version.  Much has changed in the 4.5 years - different job, different institution, FE to HE, more management, more strategic? In 2010 I was working as Head of Learning Resources at Middlesbrough College, now I'm Customer Services Manager, Information Services at Heriot Watt University.  It's interesting to compare and reflect on the changes that have happened.  I'm glad that I still work in an area that concentrates very much on the student experience and how important that is for learning technologies and for education.

SCONUL Winter Conference 2014 #sconul2014

On Friday November 21st I attended the SCONUL Winter Conference 2014 which was held at the Royal College of Physicians, St Andrews Place, London.
It is the first time I have attended the SCONUL conference and it proved to be an interesting and informative day.
The conference was entitled 'The Visible Library: Demonstrating our Value' and the aim, according to the conference programme, was to  address the need 'to define and articulate the value of the library to both internal and external stakeholders'.  The outputs from the discussions on the day will form a basis for a SCONUL advocacy toolkit.

The introduction and welcome was given by Liz Jolly, Chair of SCONUL and Director, Library & Information Services at Teesside University.

The keynote was given by Graham Henderson, Vice Chancellor of Teesside University

'Opportunities & Challenges for the Modern Academic Library: A VC's perspective.

It was a very interesting presentation and useful to hear a view about the purpose of academic libraries from a different perspective, from the perspective.  He talked about Teesside University and it's role as the 'Opportunity University', the 'can-do' university driving enterprise.
He explained that the library needs to be a hub of the university and a place for all students to get work done.  It should be a triage point for all.  

So, what are the challenges:

1. To respond to the increasingly diverse support needs of a wide spectrum of users within a finite resource envelope (All users - UG, PG, graduate employability, non confident)
2. Copyright - equivalence for partner locations
3. Access to research
4. Balancing the cost of resources to support teaching and research without burden on teaching funding
5. Embracing social media as an asset not threat
6. Access to sufficient finance and resources to provide staff, space and resources (fewer books on shelves does not mean less resource but more)
There is a need to get more people to understand the changing role of academic librarians - therefore express in employability , research impact, retention.  Update the perceptions about libraries - they are about innovation in L&T and not just content.  He used the phrase 'responsive repositioning'.
It is important to nurture the fact that the library is more than just 'another support department' -it has a critical role in academic processes.  I think this is an important point to note and a key message that needs to be communicated in a positive way.

The next session was crowd sourcing narratives - this was discussions in groups about the perceptions of Finance Directors, VCs, Academics of Librarians / Libraries.
I was in the Finance Directors group.  
The positive perceptions included:

Play according to the rules, evidence based, operational efficiency, good project management, corporate players, the library as student space, solution focused and pragmatic, strategic enablers.  

The negative perceptions included:

Do well in NSS so don't need to invest, cost too much and rising (content, space, procurement practices) the view that 'everything is free on internet', different systems used for library as for finance.
Each of the tables in the group came up with much the same answers which is reassuring in one way but in another it means that there are common problems that haven't been solved (if it is possible to do so?).
It was agreed that the perception is that libraries are good for engaging on open access.  Also an agreement that there is a need to put forward a business case in the right way, to align it to institutional strategies (not too parochial and don't be too precious about library).  Finance Directors want resilience and financial robustness and a good business case.
This was a recurring theme throughout the day - the need to put forward the case for libraries in a language that can be understood by those you are communicating with, use their language and present the case in the terms that others understand and can align with their priorities.

After lunch there was a reflections session which brought together the ideas from the crowd sourcing sessions.  The SCONUL Chair and Strategy Group Chairs summarised the narratives and explained how these linked with the work that the groups were currently undertaking and future plans.

The positive perceptions were that libraries are an important part of the University's brand and are valued as provide access to resources.  

The other points I picked up from this feedback and reflections session (and these are from my notes so not comprehensive)

Demonstrating our value - libraries are inspirational spaces from social to silent (I liked this)
Libraries have a good understanding of student behaviour 

But how do we make something visible when there is nothing wrong?

Reputational challenges

Academic

1.Cost of content 2. Copyright and licensing 3. Open access

SCONUL are having a content forum - ways to advocate the cost of content.  

Working with jisc collections etc. will produce a RDM briefing

User experience - concentrating on:

1. Graduate attributes 2. Supporting researchers 3. Supporting learning and teaching 4. Organisational skills and professionalism 5. Library space - is there a need for them these spaces to be anything other library spaces?

Shared services

1. Collaboration v competition between institutions. Need to give examples of shared services successes

Performance and quality

1. Data used appropriately for hard advocacy 2. SCONUL stats widely recognised - data is useful - how do we use that evidence base to build reputation 3. Use evidence for advocacy and to create strong business cases 4. Toolkit to help present business case 5. Link to jisc co-design

The next three sessions were based on case studies.

Margaret Weaver Head of LiSS University of Cumbria 

'Leading for Value Added'

She explained that they had had feedback from staff that they wanted better communication so they planned and facilitated a strategic conversation between the library and the University leadership.  They prepared by producing a poster presentation to show what their team offered to university and it had to be data rich. They aimed to show their value, their corporate value as a service and to show how they deliver innovation in practice. They produced infographic style posters with performance data including research support, graduate employability, academic support, learning resources, personal development and recruitment and conversion.  

This was interesting as it was from a wider perspective i.e. as Student Services and Library and therefore may be easier to present more comprehensive evidence of the student experience.  Also the use of infographics to present data and information - sometimes you have to use different formats to present a case and a visual representation is effective.  We used infographics when I was at Middlesbrough College to demonstrate data and trends and found it engaging for students and staff. 

The next presentation was given by Andy Priestner, Information and Library Services Manager, Judge Business School, Cambridge.
He talked about using 'Ethnography for Impact: new ways of exploring user experience in libraries'.

They decided to use ethnography in addition to surveys as surveys often have closed or leading questions and are self reporting - does this give an accurate picture of what students are doing in the library?

He explained about three ethnographic techniques that they have tried:

1. Behavioural mapping - map routes through library space, where students went, what they did.

Heat map. Desire lines. 

Most traffic going straight through - use ground floor in order to walk straight up to first floor

Users are quieter the fuller the space

 2. Show me round. Students guide us around the space.  This showed that some users are failing to access key services.  Workspaces - more desks and desk spaces.  2 tribes - upstairs and downstairs with different needs. Kiosk terminals - not popular

 3. Cognitive mapping

Students use different libraries for different purposes. Most people are regularly on the mover and use variety of research environments. Library services are complex so need to use ethnography

There is a link here to his presentation on Slideshare

http://www.slideshare.net/AndyPriestner1/ethnography-for-impact-a-new-way-of-exploring-user-experience-in-libraries

And a link to the #UKAnthrolib blog

http://ukanthrolib.wordpress.com

The next presentation was by Lorraine Beard, Head of Digital Technologies and Services, University of Manchester.  She talked about the Eureka student innovation challenge. 

Some of the projects that have come out of the partnership with students are a facility to reserve study spaces and click and collect book reservations.  

The things that were found difficult were: 

PC desk availability

Finding a book

Sharing reviews

Student well being. Sleep zones (yes, sleep zones in the library...)

The quick wins they have introduced 

Textbook rescue

Living plant project

Book trolleys

Ear plugs

Umbrella stands

There were some really interesting ideas and it was very much student experience focused.  It shows how difficult and different it is to see it from a student perspective when you are providing the service...

The final presentation was by Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind

It was interesting to hear about how a charity such as Mind promotes itself and it's cause and raises public awareness.  He said that it is important to concentrate and advocate the difference you're making to people you are working with. In the case of Mind they were promoting it as much more important than just as a subset of NHS health. Should this be how we think of libraries - more important than just being a subset of the university?  There were some useful points about changing peoples perceptions and using the passions of those involved to create engagement and secure funding.

The main takeaways from the event for me were:

1. You have to use the 'correct' language for the situation and the audience

2. Presenting a business case is vital - it has to be robust and aligned to the institutional strategies

3. Academic libraries do lots of good things, they are valued - it's not that they need to do anything different to the ways they are developing already - just need to engage and inform other people

4. Economy, effectiveness and efficiency are the important factors

5. Use the student experience - map developments and outcomes to it - e.g. "the library does 'x' and this leads to increased recruitment and retention"

6. Collect feedback - map behaviours - use data 

Customer Services Group UK Conference CSGUK2014 #csguk2014

The CSGUK Annual conference was held in London at the Magic Circle on Friday 14th November 2014.  The title of the conference was 'What does excellence really look like? Tangible examples of quality in Customer Service'

The welcome and introduction was given by Erin Caseley, Chair of CSGUK.

The keynote speaker was Ian Creagh, Head of Administration and College Secretary, Kings College London. He talked about the organisational culture for award winning customer service.  

Culture is the climate and practices that exist in organisations including the subcultures.  These cultures and subcultures are fostered within teams and change over time.
Organisational cultures depend on:

1. Size of the organisation and how far it is spread worldwide
2. Technology - a new system can change how the culture operates
3. Diversity
4. Age - the age of institution and its history
It's necessary to reflect on culture and subcultures in order to enable action in organisations and also to reflect on values.  Empowerment is vitally important - nothing gets done in organisations unless teams are empowered. 

He then talked about strategy and how it is difficult and takes time.  He gave the example of Apple in 90s where there was a need to cull manufacturing lines due to duplication and a waste of effort.  There was a need to remove barriers and obstacles and so choices were made.  

There should be a focus on market orientation rather than process orientation.  Universities tend to focus on the products that they think students want but instead should be market oriented. Market focused service delivery.  But market orientation means change - it's necessary to change and be dynamic to respond to customers This gives us a link to our customers.

He went on to say that values really count - values, integrity and leadership behaviour. Take a value and look at what it means - to do this and not do this. 

Empowerment - this is difficult as Unis are hierarchical.  You have to think about clarity of direction and the team who are going to deliver need to be involved in creating the strategy. It is important to have a rewards system and celebrate the successes.  Also to be able to try new things without blame if they fail.  An interesting point that Ian mentioned was 'conflict tolerance' - permission to conflict so that improvement can take place.  

Kings College initiatives were mentioned - CSE and 'fit for kings'.  A world class services for a world class university.  The quality of service we give to our customers begins with the quality of service we give to each other.  'Real Talk' Kings Future transformation programme - facilitating conversations about strategies and change. It is necessary to talk about things that count - identify issues - go through issues in a constructive way and move through it. 

The next presentation was 'Compliance Plus' Culture presented by the Libraries Customer Service Team Kings College.  

There were 6 members of their team represented.  Their Customer Service Manager explained how you have to empower staff to make decisions.  There has been a shift in culture from process focused to customer focused  - to be 'Responsive, inclusive, knowledgeable, friendly'. They have a Team Plan which provides a clear vision and roadmap (which they talk about all the time). Everyone is working towards the same aims and objectives and there is an opportunity for all staff to be involved.  

One of their Senior Library Assistants talked about 'Freedom in a framework' which means they have the freedom to make decisions.  Staff are responsible for decision making based on the ethos of being responsible and providing a consistent and fair service 'What can we do to say yes?'  They, as staff, are empowered to do what they think is right, to use their initiative in a no blame culture.  There are guidelines rather than rules and they do what they think is right within the framework. The Team Plan gives objectives, expectations and opportunities.

Their Library Shelver spoke about how everyone matters and they are empowered to contribute. There is an expectation on all staff and they are trusted. 

The Library Operations Manager explained about the shared vision and the values and commitment to change.  The focus on customer service experience.  The team goals are embedded in PDRs. Their recruitment processes focuses on recruiting for personal qualities.  The advert text is self filtering and they conduct competency based interviews.  The interviews include role play to assess  for customer service skills and there is a behaviours matrix for probation.

One of their newer Library Assistants also spoke to give an insight into how he had found the recruitment and induction process and the positive approach to new members of staff.

The next presentation was by Judith Andrews from Birmingham City University and was about 

Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) for Excellence

The purpose of CJM is to map the journey and identify key processes that the customer encounters. It is important for CSE, in order to enhance services from a customer point of view and also to collect information.
They had spent a lot of time and put a lot of work into the development of CJM methodology.  They are a multi-campus University so need to apply processes consistently.  They built on business process mapping (trained by Talis) and introduced the customer element.  They used a flow chart of a process and then introduced the customer with the effect of reducing the negative flow of the process. Judith explained the way that they had introduced CJM - initial training sessions with senior staff including scenarios.  Then introduced to Senior Library Assistants. They then moved to a swim lane mapping approach followed by a public trial of the methodology with Weslink.  Then it was rolled out to frontline staff.

They mapped everything eg self service reservation, borrowing laptops.  Issues were identified and actions taken to address them. Individual appraisal objectives were given to senior staff so that they owned the process and then the training was enhanced.

How to map a customer journey:

1. Produce a scenario

2. Brief staff how it works

3. Then have to let the staff member or student get on and fill in a template. They walk through the process . Then results come back and use flip chart and post its to show problems or issues. Then produce ideal map and this produces the actions. They also include the emotions - how do users feel if they are using your service?

It is important to work with students because "we can't be 18 again or unlearn what we know about libraries". They set up two pilots with students to test the CJM methodology.  They learned how the student researchers applied the methodology.  The projects confirmed the value of mapping with customers.  

Staff were involved by carrying out the initial mapping and it raised awareness of the problems encountered by students.  Staff were involved in the development of scenarios.  The outcomes of the student projects were shared and involved in creating action plans. Staff continue to lead student CJM.

Benefits of CJM:

It helps with planning 

Looking at it from student view perspective leads to reduction in complexity. 

Remember need to validate - don't use just a small sample of students.
Introduce concept of 'super mappers'

Emotions - valuable as shows impact of service and changes on users.
Can use results of CJM for library Learning and Teaching Team. 

The next presentation was by Lynn Sykes from the University of Sheffield about the Thelma Award.
Some of the elements that counted towards the awards were:

Investment in Study Spaces

National Fairground archive - showzam

Digital Leadership Alma Primo

The Thelma bid was a cross service bid and involved lots of staff.  Customer Services have streamlined processes - requests, variable loan, auto renewals. Variable loans - the length of loan depends on the level of usage - it's a week loan unless someone else has requested it then it becomes a two day loan. Books move round quickly which is essential and staff need to be flexible as they work at more than one site, more than one job, in more than one team.   

They have knowledgeable staff  who facilitate efficient referral at the Helpdesk including telephone, email and social media enquiries.  There are service desks at each site for face to face enquiries. There is efficient enquiry management and queries are logged and referred systematically. 

Lynn explained how they have standard answers for questions which are in a searchable word document based on a google site and searchable database. Everything that is requested is recalled, everything else is auto renewed.  There are no fines but if the item is not returned then the account is blocked (this is the library account not IT account)

The next presentation was by Jenny Share from Leeds Beckett University.  

Customer Service Excellence -  Making it Real.
They have achieved CSE for the whole university which is impressive.  

The University had a new strategic plan in 2010 which aimed to promote and embed a customer focused culture.  A  KPI was set to achieve CSE by 2015. The first step was to identify customer groups eg potential students, current students, alumni, staff. Then research best practice.  Followed by a gap analysis which helped  with the identification of next steps and quick wins.  A crucial step was to engage staff.  It was difficult to engage academic staff but was helped by the fact that communications about CSE came from vice chancellor.  Then they concentrated on process improvements The applicant experience, student inductions, fees, financial and student debt advice.  Then graduation and leaving the university.   Staff recruitment and CRM.   Other initiatives were  - mystery shoppers, communications guidance - what's your view feedback scheme.
The accreditation process involved the selection of an assessment body and building a relationship with assessor.  Pre-assessment visit, then desk based review of the evidence and then the actual assessment. They used a lot of real examples of current practice and planned events to do so.

CSE makes a difference in the following ways:

Cultural - institutional pride and celebratory culture
Reputational - of the University
Practical - enhanced customer experience, better understanding of customer service, better business process work, skills development, genuine learning from assessment, support for other initiatives - helped to evidence
Strategic - keeping CSE alive, continuous improvement

The workshop that I went to was a CJM workshop and was useful as a discussion forum and to look at the practicalities of how you would take a topic and try to map the process.  I talked to some delegates from University of Hull and they gave me some useful feedback about things they have implemented in their library including the room booking system

The final presentation was by Shepway District Council - Karen Everett - Customer Services Manager.
It was useful to hear about CSE in a non-library setting.  She explained how it is important to understand the customer journey.  They used customer focus groups and mystery shoppers.  The feedback from mystery shoppers went to the focus group.  It enabled better relations between teams and services and staff were involved in all processes.  Their service is based on triage when people come into building so they are dealt with promptly and directed efficiently.  Complaints are dealt with consistently.  

All in all it was a great day - extremely useful and informative.
My main takeaways from the day were:
1. To achieve CSE you need to have staff on board and they have to be positive and engaged
2. Different institutions have different cultures and subcultures and you have to take these into account and develop them to succeed
2. You need to plan ahead - there is a lot of work involved
3. Involve your customers - become customer focused not process focused

The venue, the Magic Circle, was interesting and appealing and, as you would expect, all the delegates were friendly and happy to exchange knowledge and experiences.

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Association for Learning Technology (ALT) Conference - Day 1 #altc

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) Conference 2014 took place at the University of Warwick 1st - 3rd September
https://www.alt.ac.uk/alt-conference/altc2014
The first day started with a welcome from the conference chairs - Sarah Cornelius, Linda Creanor and Joe Wilson - the 21st ALT Conference has arrived.  They encouraged everyone to engage and interact with ideas and with other delegates and use the conference hashtag #altc plus #innovate #educate #community to share experiences.

Christina Hughes PVC T&L at Warwick University gave a welcome address describing the conference as a 

'Smorgasbord of creative engagement'.  She talked about the global power of MOOCs and open educational models.

The first keynote speech was by Jeff Haywood from the University of Edinburgh and entitled Designing University Education for 2025: Balancing competing priorities.  He started with a quote from Terry Mayes 1995 'Learning Technology and Groundhog Day'.  It takes patience and persistence to make progress and move forward - has learning technology changed in the last 20 years or is it a series of new and exciting initiatives which appear and then disappear? Since 2004 there has been an explosion in online identities and range of tools and technologies.  These tools and technologies are not educational but social consumables - they are part of the user not the institution.  It is the changes in those sort of things that will have an impact on education and learning.  There is now a realisation that it is a certainty that wholly online courses are possible and can be of high quality.  

We may laugh at the 'trough of despondency' but often those technologies do come through, a steady maturity.  

Students do have positive feelings about online courses but do employers trust online education and qualifications?  There are a vast technologies, tools, applications - the conversation prism.  90% of technology in universities is brought in by and used by the students in creative ways - they are student oriented rather than institution oriented.

He then talked about MOOCs at the University of Edinburgh.  You've 'got to brag about MOOCs', everyone does and the slickness of marketing is apparent much more than for traditional courses. Moocs have reopened a debate at policy level about digital education. Courses can be run at large scale, charismatic lecturers can touch learners. Technological innovation is coming out of MOOCs - tools and applications - we need to capitalise on this as an opportunity.

How can we use the technology? Throughput of curriculum - learn at own pace, don't have to wait. How do we increase the productivity of education system?  However productivity is not the vision of many as their driver is to increase the quality of the content and experience.

So what of the future - 2025 - he predicts that, education will be on demand, self paced, location flexible, relevant to your life/ career, affordable, personalised, global and local, high value added.  Without technology then this would be undoable.  A vision is needed at policy level otherwise nothing will transform  - there needs to be a roadmap and investment.  The 'M' will be dropped from MOOCs to OOCs  meaning that students will take at least one core module wholly online and universities will offer most courses as open online courses.  

The technology of the future that will most impact on education is in the areas of security and the internet of things.  Students (and staff and courses) will have a Digital / |Physical co-presence.

 During the Q&A session he was asked about how support will be offered on an individual / small group basis? The answer was that offering support to small groups is not feasible are not at this stage or at least shouldn't be the focus.

What 'leaps' should be taken?

Invest in learning and instructional design, online assessment and learning analytics

It was an interesting talk - it shows that educational technology is higher up the list of priorities in Universities but presumably this because of financial considerations....and productivity....and globalisation

The other presentations I went to were:

Riding the unstoppable WordPress wave - ePortfolios - Alex Furr - University of Southampton

Different themes for different groups of students and different purposes eg medical students and language students. Promote employability - badges. To be successful they need to be embedded in the core content of modules.

Linking the real world to the digital world: QR codes in non-standard teaching spaces
Dan Jagger - University of Manchester

The presentation was about creating video tutorials for use in sewing labs.

Instructions were created in a simple web page for each sewing machine and then these were linked to via QR codes.  

Then two invited speaker sessions:

Bryan Mathers gave an interesting presentation and the slides were engaging with sketches and images

Performance or innovation - which culture for education?

Bucket or fire

Leadership - create a belief system

Make something awesome

Use images to explain ideas - a picture speaks a thousand words
He also said that if you're running a business,  don't run it as a democracy

Fiona Harvey talking about the Watching the Moocs go by - and the ALTMOOCSIG

There are 43+ UK MOOCs plus others not on platforms, The  Future Learn launch had a big impact on MOOCs in the UK. Should QAA have a say on the quality of a MOOC?

People are looking at the technology and seeing what they can use to offer courses?

Are you a teacher on a MOOC?

Participation rates are NOT a measure of success Massive is about reach, how far your knowledge spreads

Pick and mix modules - Change the model for education.

Again a great presentation with images of hands presenting information.

Next the drinks reception and dinner and tomorrow's another day...