Meeting resistance to change head-on at a Russell Group University

The challenge

23 finance teams at a Russell Group university each had their own strong cultural identity, ways of working, inconsistent policies and ‘local’ processes. Working in partnership with other consultants, the vision was to bring all aspects of financial operations into a centralised hub.

Our approach

• A collaborative engagement campaign to inform everyone about the challenges and benefits.
• Extensive ‘as-is’ mapping of complex HE financial processes to identify areas of duplication, risk or over-processing.
• Impact assessments for critical areas to enable the right resources to be planned for the move. 
• Phased plan to move business areas one by one to the new model and ways of working.

The outcomes

• No drop or break in the service as teams moved into a centralised finance hub.
• All finance processes documented for the first time.
• Widespread adoption of simplified processes saved time and improved accountability.
• Upskilling of the project management team in engagement and change management techniques.