University of Notre Dame Australia - People & Culture Team: Elevating Operational Effeciency

At a glance

The University of Notre Dame Australia is a national Catholic University with Campuses in Fremantle and Broome in Western Australia, and Sydney in New South Wales, sought to transform its People & Culture (P & C) team by moving away from traditional email-based processes.

Engaging Strategenics, the University aimed to reduce the duplication of effort, flexibility to share workflows with other teams, and align with a broader Enterprise Service Management strategy.

The project was approached with a focus on delivering a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) within a 6-week timeframe, from April to May 2024. Leveraging rapid planning, technical expertise, and close collaboration with stakeholders, Strategenics designed and implemented a tailored service portal via Jira Service Management.

The initiative was supported by comprehensive P & C team training, ensuring that the solution met their needs and significantly improved efficiency and visibility.

This case study highlights the critical role of stakeholder engagement and the advantages of an MVP-driven approach in delivering successful outcomes.

Services provided

Consulting
Service Delivery Optimisation
Project Configuration & Delivery

Technology used

Solutions and products involved

Jira Service Management

The challenge

Challenges in Operational Efficiency and Workflow Transparency

The People & Culture (P&C) team at the University of Notre Dame Australia was facing significant challenges in managing their high volume of HR-related inquiries and service requests due to the current reliance on Outlook for email communication. This resulted in several key issues that hinder their efficiency and effectiveness:

Lack of Transparency and Trackability: Using emails as the primary mode of communication leads to a lack of visibility into the status of inquiries and service requests, making it difficult to track and manage them effectively.
Accountability Issues: The email-based system results in poor accountability, as it is challenging to monitor who i responsible for handling specific requests and ensuring timely responses.
Impact on Client Service Quality: The inefficiencies in the current process affect the quality of client service provided by the P&C team, as they struggle to manage the large influx of requests efficiently.
Manual Processing Burden: The heavy reliance on manual processes consumes a significant amount of the People Services team's time, detracting from their ability to focus on strategic client services and reducing overall turnaround times.
Lack of Collaboration: The current system does not facilitate effective cross-functional collaboration with IT, Finance/Payroll, and employees, which is crucial for comprehensive service delivery.

The solution

Streamlined and Elevated Service Delivery

We have devised a strategic Atlassian-based solution tailored to address the key challenges. This involved the configuration of JIRA Service Management to meet the specific needs of the P&C team.

We implemented the solution through a collaborative, sprint-based approach that included design, configuration, and training. The key components of this customised self-service portal within JIRA Service Management were:

Intuitive Issue Request Types and Workflows: Designed user-friendly request types and workflows to streamline processes and ensure ease of use for the P&C team & their customers.
Automation Rules: Set up automation rules to create tickets in different team project states, facilitating smooth transitions of work between departments and ensuring efficient workflow management.
Issue Security Schemes: Implemented security schemes to ensure internal teams could view specific tickets, enhancing workflow efficiency, improving request triaging, and expediting issue resolution.
Real-Time Notifications: Provided real-time notifications to keep customers informed about the status of their requests and any updates.

The outcome

Enhanced Effeciency and Collbaerative Service Excellence

Following the implementation, the People & Culture team immediately began using their portal, expressing satisfaction with the enhanced efficiency and visibility. This solution marked a significant step forward in optimising their ways of working and elevating operational effectiveness within the P & C department

The implemented solution achieved the following outcomes:

Digital Transformation: Integrated HR forms, general queries, issues, service requests, and a knowledge hub into JIRA Service Management, transforming the P&C service desk digitally.
Streamlined Request Management: Enabled the P&C team to effectively triage, prioritise, and track the large influx of service requests, improving efficiency and response times.
Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitated cross-functional collaboration with IT, Finance/Payroll, and employees, ensuring better coordination and information sharing.
Improved Transparency and Accountability: Provided visibility into agent and customer communication, enhancing transparency and accountability for handling service requests.
Efficient Navigation and Monitoring: Allowed the team to easily navigate information and tasks, and monitor key metrics to track performance and identify areas for improvement.
Visibility and Reporting: Enhanced visibility into team performance and service metrics through detailed reporting capabilities, enabling data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement.