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Service Excellence Operations Group

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG), established in December 2024, comprises senior PS and academic leaders who oversee the delivery of our operational services at a strategic level in support of our academic mission and our "Service Excellence" commitment. They blend data with anecdote to ensure that service performance is thoroughly diagnosed, improvement priorities are clear, and any barriers to short-term service enhancement are removed. 


This group plays a key role in our institutional priority to "improve key services via continuous improvement" and aims to enhance decision-making on service delivery by sourcing insights from key stakeholders and increasing transparency on service improvements. Although the group does not manage day-to-day operations, it addresses operational functions at a strategic level and fosters collaboration between academic and PS colleagues to tackle agreed-upon challenges and opportunities in delivering service excellence. 

What problems are we trying to solve?

How are we currently operating?  Where do we want to get to? 

Inconsistent service delivery and stakeholder experience across teams, with a lack of visible process owners, agreed service catalogue and/or service standards for all areas.

We agree what services are important and to be prioritised and we make these decisions together;

We often make assumptions about what our users need and don’t consistently engage users in the design and improvement of our services.

 We define our services, what their purpose is and who’s accountable, so we know who is responsible for what

Our services don’t consistently meet basic digital accessibility requirements and we haven’t designed them end to end to be inclusive and accessible.

 We have deployed key digital tools for our staff and students that reduce manual interventions, mitigate risk and allow us to automate for more personal, user-driven, intuitive,  faster and accurate services.

Pockets of service excellence across PS are not always shared, celebrated and/or scaled across relevant areas.

We ensure all our services are inclusive and they can be used by everyone who needs to use it, regardless of their circumstances or abilities.

Our teams tell us it is not easy for them to consistently deliver a great service and they do not consistently have access to the digital tools they need to deliver service excellence.

 We measure service performance so we can celebrate success and improve where we need to

Our services expose users to the complexity of our internal structures, which creates delays, barriers and hand offs between teams

We consistently ensure our services are easy to find, are agnostic of organisational structures and require no prior knowledge to use;

We have work arounds to get things done and grow our staffing to deal with issues with service delivery.

 We put clear service improvement plans in place to guide how we make services better

Data/reporting are not used consistently to monitor performance of services and we have no easily accessible sight of service performance for leaders and managers.

We listen to our users and ask for feedback and "own it" so we meet the needs of the people who use our services;

There are low levels of trust from our key stakeholders that our services are consistent and improving.

 We prioritise investment towards improving services so we have what we need to deliver great services

 

We recruit with service excellence in mind and help staff develop to become great service managers so our people feel equipped and confident.

SEOG Terms of Reference

SEOG Members

Chair:

  • Patrick Hackett - Registrar, Secretary and Chief Operating Officer

Deputy Chair:

  • Hannah Rundle - Executive Director of Faculty Operations

Student Union Reps:

  • Ben Ward - Chief Exec
  • Lexie Baynes - Union Affairs Officer

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health:

  • Simon Hubbard - Head of School
  • Jo Hart - Head of Department
  • Maureen McLaughlin - Director of School Operations 

Faculty of Science and Engineering:

  • Sarah Cartmell - Head of School
  • David Proctor - Head of Department
  • Sam Ryder - Director of School Operations 

Faculty of Humanities:

  • Thomas Schmidt - Head of School
  • Lisa Murtagh - Head of Department
  • Sarah Featherstone - Director of School Operations 

Teaching, Learning an Student Experience Operations:

  • Craig Best - 

Research and Business Engagement Operations: 

  • Lita Denny - Head of Research Services

People and Development Operations:

  • Gary Winstanley - Director of People Services

Finance Operations:

  • George Whalley - Deputy Finance Officer

Library Operations:

  • Katy Woolfenden - Deputy University Librarian

ITS Operations: 

  • Krista Robbie - Assistant Director, IT Service Management

Estates Operations:

  •  Alison Shedlock - Director of Campus Services 

Strategic Change:

  • Miranda Hall - Deputy Director of the SCO

Technical: Business Lead DoSO (accounted for in Faculty reps)

Operations: Business Lead DoSO (accounted for in Faculty reps) 

In attendance: 

  • Jennifer Lockhart, Operational Delivery Lead for Service Excellence
  • Elizabeth Mason, Planning Officer, Integrated Planning - Point of Contact for meetings.

All members attend both to represent their area and to play a wider leadership role in ensuring the delivery of service excellence across our Professional Services. 

SEOG Meeting Summaries

SEOG 14th May 2025 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 25th May 2025. Discussions covered follow-up actions from the previous meeting, including timelines for reviewing the Services Satisfaction Survey, updates on the RLP vision, and a planned discussion on continuous improvement challenges.

The group reviewed key activities for University PSLT in 2024/25 and provided comments and suggestions, particularly around the development and visibility of the Movers & Shakers Network and ensure inclusivity and objectivity in nominations.

Service metrics and the role of SLAs (ELAs) will be explored further. Draft communications plans for Service Excellence were shared, with a focus on storytelling, authenticity, and embedding the work into regular channels. A problem statement on the current state versus desired state was referenced through ongoing initiatives.

The group also discussed celebrating good practice on Our PS Hub and engaging academic colleagues. Key themes of service excellence included inclusivity, ease, accessibility, adaptability, and personalization. The next meeting was scheduled for July 2025.

SEOG 24 April 2025 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 24th April 2025. Discussions covered the Service Excellence Learning Proposal for Professional Services, with a verbal update provided and the item added to a future agenda.

The group supported the Services Satisfaction Surveys, with suggestions for improvement and considerations for effective response rates. The sequencing and next steps for Service Catalogues were discussed, with a roadmap to be brought to the next meeting.

The Research Lifecycle Project and Service Excellence were reviewed, with objectives outlined for the next steps. Continuous Improvement team updates included the availability of training and the scheduling of a single university process for a future meeting.

The next meeting was scheduled for 14th May 2025.

SEOG 25 March 2025 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 25th March 2025. Discussions covered the PS Services Satisfaction Survey led by the Students’ Union, with actions agreed to improve awareness, participation, and regular updates from the Associate Director of Data & Insight (SU).

The group reviewed key activities for University PSLT in 2024/25, including service metrics and the role of SLAs (ELAs), which will be explored further.

Updates were shared on the Service Metrics workshop defining services, and a phased approach to service catalogues was supported, with links to the Library and DSO network. A storytelling item related to RLP was proposed for the next meeting.

Key themes of service excellence included inclusivity, ease, accessibility, adaptability, and personalization. The next meeting was scheduled for 24th April 2025.

SEOG 18 February 2025 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 18th February 2025. Discussions covered the definition of service excellence, the role of academics in delivering service excellence, and the importance of listening well.

The group agreed to identify academics for collaboration on survey design and data collection, leveraging expertise in Social and Human Sciences.

A proposal for a Service Excellence Learning initiative was discussed, with suggestions for pilot areas including Research Services and IT Services. The group aims to clarify training targets and involve academic colleagues.

The group also discussed there is a need to define who the customers are for the services provided and to add a standing agenda item to highlight current service excellence efforts.

The importance of intangible metrics was emphasized, recognising the need for a broader view beyond structural definitions. The next meeting was scheduled 25th March 2025.

SEOG 22 January 2025 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 22nd January 2025. Discussions covered the 2025-2026 budget, prioritisation of student-focused initiatives, and cost-saving measures over the next five years.

The group identified several actions, including updating a slide for final agreement on problems to solve, discussing service metrics with Lita Denny, and exploring survey design with internal academic experts.

The group expressed a desire for a dashboard to monitor service metrics, recognizing that some areas may require more mature approaches. They also noted the potential for collaboration between academics and professional services to enhance survey methodologies.

Members were encouraged to submit names for workshop participants to ensure alignment with core goals and the Manchester 2035 vision. The next meeting was scheduled 18th February 2025.

SEOG 10 December 2024 Meeting Summary

The Service Excellence Operations Group (SEOG) met on 10th December 2024. Discussions covered the definition of service excellence, with outputs to be developed for agreement at the next meeting.

The group reviewed key activities for University PSLT in 2024/25 and provided comments and suggestions. Service metrics were discussed, and the role of SLAs (ELAs) will be debated further. The terms of reference were updated to reflect the role of academics in delivering service excellence.

A problem statement on the current state versus desired state was shared for discussion. The group also identified the top 12 services to focus on and reconsidered having a student representative.

Key themes of service excellence included inclusivity, ease, accessibility, adaptability, and personalisation. The next meeting was scheduled for 22nd January 2025.