Growing our colleagues’ digital competencies  

Everyday experiences in people’s personal lives are becoming simpler and more automated. From banking, dining, and travelling to learning and discovering, everything seems more connected and automated. It’s no wonder, then, when colleagues are at work, they imagine how routine tasks could be made easier, simpler, and joined-up.

This is what Katherine Tomlinson, Graduate Studies Assistant, from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) thought. This article explains how the Workflow and Automation Competency Centre worked with Katherine to improve OII's processes, and shares details of how the centre can help you simplify your work.

Katherine’s interest in continuous improvement and simplification was a perfect fit with what she was hearing from her colleagues in the OII department. The OII team were seeing several opportunities to automate cumbersome tasks. These included, for example, managing paper-based systems for administering expense claims from students, coordinating admissions application assessment feedback from faculty staff at application assessment and interview stage, and long email chains involved when course convenors were approving casual worker timesheets.

Katherine started working with colleague Caroline Watson, HR Assistant, on what they could do to automate certain tasks. In her search for simplicity, Katherine had been using YouTube videos to learn how to make power flows. However, they got stuck when creating power automate flows. That’s when they contacted the University’s new Workflow and Automation Competency Centre team.  

Stephen Kavanagh, Business Technologist and a part of the competency centre team, helped Katherine and colleagues to better use a Microsoft Power Automate flow and further simplify processes. The team now uses Microsoft (MS) Approvals so faculty can approve student's research expenses without having to email back and forth.

Once approved an email is automatically sent to the finance team to inform them that the expense is approved. With the casual worker process, the timesheet is attached to the approval and then once approved the sheet is emailed to HR. This was the specific part Katherine was seeking help with as she could not get the timesheet to be automatically sent to HR after the approval.  

Our automated flows save the OII department so much time, for example there’s no need for back-and-forth emails between casual workers and course conveners!

I'm so glad the Workflow and Automation Competency Centre exists within the University; we wouldn't have been able to implement these departmental efficiency savings otherwise. – Katherine Tomlinson

It seems Katherine is not alone. In the eight months since the introduction of the Workflow and Automation Competency Centre in May 2023, the team has been contacted by colleagues in 64 departments asking how they can replace time-consuming, manual, and repetitive tasks with existing and new software-based solutions. The team is planning to grow to meet the demands from staff across the institution.   

Helping to simplify work  

The Workflow and Automation Competency Centre is a part of Oxford University’s new Competency Centres, through a series of carefully chosen investments being introduced by the Digital Transformation programme. The Centre team delivers consultancy, training and technical deployment of automation solutions, with a focus on replacing time-consuming, manual or paper-based processes and repetitive tasks with software-based solutions.

This can free up staff time, remove human error, reduce costs, and make work easier for colleagues and students. The Centre works closely in partnership with the Focus Programme team to embed continuous improvement into the process of automating work.  

The team has had hundreds of conversations with colleagues via communities of practice, forums and staff days. They are working closely with several teams including Student Fees & Funding and Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, and on the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards.

To help strengthen people’s digital capabilities, the Centre offers specialist training courses. Colleagues can choose to attend a course to upskill so they can automate their work independently when needed. Bev Cousins, Communications Manager for the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) recently attended a Power Automate course.  

The Power Automate training was really useful and I have encouraged a number of colleagues to complete it. It was pitched at the right level for beginners which is vital, the tutor was really good.

I found it helpful to understand the software so I can use it to streamline our processes.

From that I also went on process mapping training, both of which are going to be so helpful in transforming how we do things in the Communications team at DPIR. – Bev Cousins

Bev is now planning to use her new skills to change the way her team runs events. 'We need to move away from using platforms such as Eventbrite for GDPR reasons,' she said.  

Emma Stell, Communications Officer at the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography also attended the course. Emma thanked the Centre team and said:

I felt really empowered to make improvements to my day-to-day processes.

It’s such a useful tool that not enough people know about. The course helped me feel confident to use it and our trainer was excellent. – Emma Stell  

Following the course, Emma has used the solution to streamline processes around forms, for instance, notifying staff when key information is updated and sending reminders to people who have not yet responded. 'It all helps save valuable time and effort,' Emma told us.   

Growing confidence and competence   

Oxford’s new competency centres support people across the University to explore and embrace new technologies as the institution evolves with its digital transformation. So far, there are two centres working directly with everyone: the Workflow and Automation Centre and the Cybersecurity Competency Centre. A third centre for Research Cloud Computing is planning to start supporting colleagues soon.  

A small group of dedicated staff share digital expertise through training, advice, and support for Oxford’s academics, professional services staff, and relevant students to help grow people’s confidence and competence. The centres offer three types of support:   

• Show me – An expert shows people what’s possible with existing software or infrastructure.  

• Help me – People contact a Centre to find solutions to specific technical problem up to and including bespoke software development. 

• Skill me – People can enrol onto training courses to gain new skills or take part in a development programme.  

New centres – coming soon…  

Building on the success of the first three centres, the Digital Transformation programme is enabling the University to invest in two new competency centres this year:  

• Immersive Technology Competency Centre – bringing the power of virtual and augmented reality to education across the University, giving staff and students the tools and training they need to use immersive technology in teaching and learning.  

• Competency Centre for AI and Machine Learning Support – enabling staff and students to transform their working lives by exploring the game-changing potential of machine learning tools, with an AI Literacy Programme, practical training and access to tools and resources. 

A culture of self-sufficiency  

In the first annual review of Oxford’s new competency centres, Alwyn Collinson, Head of Competency Centres, said, 'In less than a year of operation, the Competency Centres have already shown their ability to support the development of Oxford’s digital landscape.

'With a focus on creating a culture of self-sufficiency, through training and upskilling and sharing best practices, Competency Centres represent the University's commitment to technological transformation and collaboration.

'I am looking forward to seeing what we can help make possible as we continue to strengthen our colleagues’ digital competencies and capabilities.'