Speaking of wheels, you’ve probably already heard of a certain term that’s now well-known, having first risen to prominence in the elite cycling community not long after the turn of the millennium. ‘Marginal gains’ is the idea that small improvements can lead to big results over time, with the concept gaining in popularity in part because of its almost universal relevance to anything from business to sport. It also alludes to the fact that operational inefficiency isn’t about one big issue. Rather, it describes a multitude of smaller, interconnected problems that can hamper people and put up roadblocks to their work’s progress. Thankfully, there are ways to clear such barriers, boost productivity and get things running like a well-oiled machine.
Streamline processes
Simplifying processes and removing complex procedures is a pretty good place to start. Imagine, for example, the finance manager whose workload has long included the unwelcome burden of checking multiple spreadsheets and emailing colleagues to send up-to-date figures, in order to see how close they are to their budgeted spending. With a single integrated software system, time-consuming finance processes like these can be swiftly updated and truncated, making relevant costs and spending information available on demand and at a glance.
Automate processes
In addition, modern technology is geared towards the reduction of manual effort and errors. For instance, the right tech will automate data entry, reducing or eliminating the time required for individuals to input info by hand and the risk of needless duplication work. It’ll also provide seamless automation for needs such as compliance, handling that issue within, say, procurement cycles, so that everything’s brought into line digitally with DoE legislation.
Continuous improvement
Although teaming up with the right tech partner will bring immediate benefits, there’s no need to try and overhaul everything all at once, from the start. It arguably makes more sense to begin in one area that really needs operational improvement, to watch and learn from that endeavour, then add to your targets as you go, so that you’re aiming for continual improvement rather than some silver bullet at the outset. You can also reassess and adapt processes as you progress, potentially introducing new technologies and strategies to meet changing needs. And by working closely with your tech provider, particularly in the initial months of implementation, you’ll help to ensure that everyone’s getting good value from the investment.
Gather feedback
As with any fresh approach or project, it’s advisable to tap into the knowledge and experiences of all those connected with the work that you do and which you want to develop for the better. So encourage open communication within your teams at all levels, as well as from parents and students. Understanding feedback from different parties, after all, can identify common challenges and areas for improvement. By way of an illustration, utilising an asset like parent engagement software, to set up an online feedback form, can swiftly help you to identify areas of shared concern among a significant number of people.
Team training
To make sure that you’re getting the most from the digital tools your set-up offers, follow best practice and train your team, not least in how to identify areas for operational improvement. Once those goals have been established, ensure that enablement programmes are developed to keep training your people on new processes and technological developments, so that you keep moving forward – by making work easier – collectively.
Collaboration and communication
Working together and communicating effectively as a team is a vital component of any organisation’s success. It can lead to developments such as collaborative purchasing, with buying consolidated to unlock serious savings on anything from stationery to energy system costs. Finding the right tools and technology to improve cross-departmental communication is also a must, because by opening up internal comms channels and reducing any friction in them, you can transform how supported your staff feel.
Optimise resources
It’s a pretty common refrain: resources are stretched, so people need to know how to make do with less. But with the right tech, you can actually do more with less effort, because existing resources become more efficient by ensuring they work in harmony with each other. Looking at it another way, great tech creates a single source of truth, where trusted data and easy functionality exist together and complement each other. It’s also worth asking whether a tech provider can offer true integration, for example, with individual modules that allow data to flow back and forth automatically. If you’re not sure about this, have a look at the software bundles that Access offers.
Time management
Time may be of the essence, but managing it effectively can seem like a thankless task. Again though, today’s technology means that programmatic and repeatable tasks should require reduced effort, or no time at all, as automated systems make it much simpler for your teams to manage and complete their checklists. Administrative duties including attendance tracking, as well as broader needs like scheduling and payroll, are the kind of areas where automation is now making a huge difference.
Accessible data
Nowadays you rarely hear talk of technology without the mention of data, but given the value of accurate, insightful and easily retrievable information in today’s world, it’s hardly surprising. So be sure that important data entry and retrieval points are accessible when and where they are needed by your teams, and in one central location. In other words, whether it’s payslips for employees, budgeting information for managers or department heads, or absence information for staff and cover managers, your data should be a secure, trusted and accessible store of invaluable information.
With integrated people management software you can also, for example, create a single and precise staff record system; track real-time data across employee lifecycles, from recruitment to exit; and even connect curriculum and HR data to see how best to manage or reallocate teaching capacity. From a finance and budgeting perspective, meanwhile, integrated financial management software means you’re able to make sure your actuals match up to your budget, with no need for manual spreadsheets or the rekeying of data, with its accompanying risk of errors. In addition, you can forecast and reforecast at the click of a button, make budget scenarios for example up to five years ahead, and even watch your budgets’ data feed into HR automatically, because everything is connected up.
Will you opt out of operational inefficiency?
We hope we’ve given you a taste of the crucial role IT continues to play in the streamlining of business operations and the improvement of institutional efficiency. And remember, it’s not about ‘no pain, no gain’, because with marginal gains, little changes add up to the big shifts that people are really looking for from their tech. And with the right tech partner, it’ll be easy to take the incremental steps that give you real momentum.
To read more on the value of contemporary tech for schools and for further examples of the benefits that it brings, take a look at our brand new Marginal Gains Guide, authored specifically for the education sector.
