The final activities and evaluations have been carried out and it has been agreed with the employee participation body to complete and close the DORS project. ‘This project has brought us a lot,’ Gerben explains. 'The biggest gain is that we are cooperating more among ourselves within Radboud Services when providing services to students, employees and visitors to our university. With that aim, we also initiated our organisational change at the time.'
What was it all about?
This organisational change is the result of the Radboud Services Development Project, which started in 2019. Its aim was to improve the connection of support services to education and research. Previously, those services were divided into 17 units. However, this meant that within the university, it was not always clear where to go with a specific question. Hence, it was decided to merge these different units and house them within six divisions and a Management Support Office, together called ‘Radboud Services’. In step 1 of this project, the new outline organisational structure and governance model were developed, and divisional directors were appointed. In step 2, since 2020, under the supervision of those directors, the processes and structures have been put in place.
‘It was a programme-based route,’ Gerben looks back. 'The project was not super-fast, but it was thorough, structured and well thought-out. We are now benefiting from this; we are no longer a flat organisation. This ensures that employees, managers and directors work together in a more attuned way, they know how to find each other better.'
What is next?
In a previous interview (only available in Dutch), Gerben mentioned that after the completion of the DORS project, the next step will be directed outwards. ‘As Radboud Services, we will seek further cooperation with faculties starting in the new year. This is important: the services of our divisions are part of the business operations of the entire Radboud University. The operational management is organised per column: teaching and research support, marketing & communication, finance & control, ICT & library services, accommodation and facility management and Human Resources. Each business operations column also includes parts of the various faculties. The aim is to align and harmonise the processes within the operational column, and thus also within faculties. And in doing so, reduce current variations within those processes, so that we can serve employees, students and visitors of our university even better. In this way, we can increase our efficiency and customer orientation and possibly save costs.'
What that next step will look like specifically, according to Gerben, is not clear at the moment. ‘Right now, we are fully in the analysis phase,’ he explains. 'We are doing that with all business management directors within our university. We hope to have the results of those analyses early next year, so that we know what concrete steps we can take where. In addition, we are currently conducting our own analysis within Radboud Services, in which we are looking - so separately from the DORS project - at what we can do even better and more efficiently. Not only to save costs, but also to make choices that are based on policy. Depending on the outcome, we may also be able to take the next step internally. As soon as more is known about all this, there will be news about it from the Radboud Services management team.
Gerben stresses that, in view of the announced budget cuts, employees will be asked for different solutions than usual. 'Be aware, with your team, that other choices will have to be made in the financial area. Talk about it with each other, look for alternative service provision and opportunities to change and/or simplify working methods. Communicate openly with each other about this: not only about the content, but also about the feelings these choices evoke, both positive and negative. So don't just walk around with it.'
Looking back, Gerben says the DORS project has already shown that change can be handled in a positive way within Radboud Services. I found it really great that during the implementation of all the changes, our services continued as usual. I am enormously grateful to everyone for that and it also gives confidence that we can go through the coming changes together.'