August 25, 2009

iS² Project Activity Analysis update

For a three-week period, 1,178 staff across 33 different support service areas, including Information Technologies, Human Resources, Finances, and Supply Chain Management and Facilities Management and Development were invited to complete an Activity Analysis as part of the iS² Project. The university reached its participation goals for this activity—92 percent completed the questionnaire.

“This is one of the important tools that will help the university improve support services and define our Shared Services Model,” said Gary Durbeniuk, executive sponsor, iS² Project. “Achieving 92 percent is a big success for this Project and is another example that staff are engaged and want to be involved.”

The Activity Analysis covered activities related to 32 different key areas, such as Accounts Payable & Receivable, Research Accounting, Payroll, Compensation & Benefits, Client Services and IT Infrastructure.

The information collected is one way the university will gain a clearer understanding of the variety of ways support services are being delivered within different units and roles, and will help to identify how staff time can be more effectively used within their units and show opportunities to reduce costs.

The iS² Project team has already begun working with the extensive data that has been collected, compiling it into relevant reports that will help to understand the effort that is extended across the university in each of the 32 areas covered by the questionnaire. The next step will be to validate and analyze these reports within the workstreams, in order to determine where initial gains in efficiency and effectiveness could be made. Validation and analysis of results will be coordinated with faculties and units where relevant and useful to inform decision making.

The iS² Project is the university-wide administrative review designed to improve support services and reduce the costs of delivering those services.