Tell Trevor Campaign: listening to make change

• Trevor Payne describes the importance of Continuous Improvement through the ‘Tell Trevor’ campaign
• He shares how Estates Services is beginning its digital journey towards a truly smart estate at the University
• The aim is to create a single point of contact; using data to drive decision-making will benefit users and Estates Services’ teams

I joined the University in November 2024, and earlier this year I launched ‘Tell Trevor’, a three-month listening initiative aimed at getting direct feedback from the people we work with and provide services to all over Oxford.

I wanted to hear the voices of those who needed to highlight critical issues or concerns, share thoughts on innovative solutions or spotlight areas where we can celebrate best practice. We need to continue evolving our services, so they meet the University’s ever-changing needs and help it meet the challenges of an uncertain economic climate.

What you said, and what we’re doing about it

Colleagues from various areas of the University shared their thoughts on a wide range of subjects with a balance of recognition and feedback. Some of the comments were positive endorsements:

‘Estates Services colleagues work very hard and provide an invaluable service to departments.’

‘Overwhelmingly knowledgeable, efficient, helpful and friendly’.

Other responses raised questions about the provision of services or identified areas needing improvement.

A significant proportion of these relate to timelines around repairs, effective communication and the challenges of keeping our customers informed with our current systems. Others relate to how we manage longer-term issues relating to buildings maintenance and the costs of some projects. Some of the subjects raised were complex, and addressing them will require further analysis and process review in order to be more effective.

Other issues raised are opportunities for ‘quick wins’, which we have already acted upon. These range from signage improvements around the Science Area, to help keep pedestrians and cyclists safe, to measures ensuring departments can reliably access our helpdesk whenever needed.

Some feedback reinforced the necessity of projects that are already underway. For example, it’s clear that we need to redouble our efforts on making better use of our data to drive maintenance decisions, and on enhancing our systems to improve our ability to share timely updates with service users.

Long-term aims

In the longer term we have a more ambitious plan to establish a single point of contact for our users. This approach will aim to enhance our staff and student experience by streamlining processes, providing self-service options and exploring the use of AI technology and performance dashboards.

Another major initiative is continuing our journey towards a truly smart estate, which involves embedding digital in Estates’ culture, fostering stronger relationships and building digital technology into how we manage every part of the estate. This will see us using data from embedded sensors and other sources to gain insights into how our buildings are working, informing decision-making and helping us use our resources more efficiently.

As an early step, we’re working to create a Common Data Environment (CDE) which will make it far easier for huge amounts of information to be managed and used across different platforms to facilitate collaboration, real-time feedback and process improvements.

Making a difference

Over time, these changes will result in Estates colleagues working in a more joined-up way across the University, providing quality digitally enabled services in line with our Professional Services Together and digital transformation ambitions.

Ultimately it will mean noticeable improvements to the working and study environments we provide to staff and students, supporting the University’s core mission of teaching and research. Looking ahead, we are committed to keeping the conversation going – ‘Tell Trevor’ may be over, but we’re still keen to hear from anyone with comments or suggestions about our work.

If you have additional feedback or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact our Continuous Improvement team at estates.cihub@admin.ox.ac.uk.