“Dave was a pleasure to work with – always responsive and genuinely interested in our organisation and with helping us with our project.

“His style (laid back but intelligent and unafraid to challenge) suited our culture.”

Jane Hart, Director of Finance and Administration

Getting the Best out of Support Staff

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) is an independent, not-for-profit, national centre of expertise on employment, labour market and human resource policy and practice. It carries out research and consultancy for a wide range of UK and International organisations and policy bodies.

The organisation employs around 60 multidisciplinary staff and international associates who work in research and consultancy project teams and support functions. Following a recent restructuring of the research and consultancy teams, it was decided that there should be a fundamental review of the support functions and Burton OD was asked to carry this out.

The management team was keen that the review exercise should involve support staff and the wider IES community. Burton OD saw this as an opportunity both to ensure that the analysis was properly informed by the views and experience of people working in support functions and to build support for any recommendations coming out of the review.

Phase 1 – communications and involvement

The management team communicated the purpose of the review to all members of staff and the Director of Finance and Administration, Jane Hart, briefed her team in more detail. The consultant was introduced to an Advisory team comprising representatives from different parts of IES and conducted a workshop during which they contributed to the design of the data collection phase.

Phase 2 – data collection

The consultant conducted desk research – looking at written policies and practices and designed an electronic survey for internal customers of support services.

The survey canvassed people’s views using a model of service delivery that tested:

• Reliability, responsiveness and availability of services
• Competence, courtesy and communication of service givers
• Whether services were pro-active

The consultant also interviewed all support services staff and a sample of their internal customers.

A senior management workshop was held to consider the emerging data and the consultant’s initial analysis.

Several key processes were analysed during workshops with users of those processes.

Phase 3 – analysis and reporting

The consultant started to finalise his analysis and was helped in this by regular meetings with the Finance and Administration Director and workshops, during which support staff and later on senior managers, added value to the analysis.

During this phase, the consultant started to develop conclusions and recommendations and tested these out with staff. The purpose of this was twofold – to ensure that the conclusions were based on a sound analysis of the data and that there was a developing understanding of, and commitment to, the recommendations for change.

Phase 4 – action planning and communications

The management team met twice to consider the final presentation of the results of the review and to agree actions and responsibilities. They adopted and/or amended all of the suggested actions and agreed to communicate back to all IES staff the results of the review.

Jane Hart said: “Dave was a pleasure to work with – always responsive and genuinely interested in our organisation and with helping us with our project.

“His style (laid back but intelligent and unafraid to challenge) suited our culture.”