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An introduction to the 8 Wastes (Lean methodology), and how to spot hidden waste in your own processes.

A short how-to guide to creating and using SIPOC analysis in process improvement

“Values are the beliefs that are important to us about the way we interact with each other, how we work together effectively towards common goals and the behaviours that we demonstrate and expect to see from our colleagues.” (Emma Rampton, Registrary)

The ourcambridge Supporting our Staff team have developed this session, to provide a follow up to the very popular ‘What do you value in life?’ workshop. In the first session, participants identified their own personal values and considered what they might mean for how they lived their life and went about their work. In this follow up session, participants will reflect further on their personal values and participate in some exercises that will help them to identify further positive actions they can take to achieve closer alignment to their values in a supportive and motivating environment.

This short session will provide an understanding of the principles, tools and techniques involved in Process Analysis with a view to improving business process effectiveness and efficiency. Delegates will have the opportunity to practice using the techniques that they learn via exercises designed to be enjoyable and thought provoking.

In this session we will discuss some digital wellbeing techniques and tools to improve your focus and ability to switch off. We’ll talk about a framework of how we work with technology collectively. The concept of Digital Culture - Work Design will also be introduced, to show how to create positive digital habits when remote working, leading to a healthy, creative and productive digital life.

Questions to think about before this session:

• What is our relationship with technology?
• What can we do about it?

These events are sponsored by ourcambridge and UIS as part of the Digital Workplace Programme.

How have your work habits changed since lockdown? In this session, we will explore how to ensure a healthy balance of work/life habits, especially at a time when we are spending more time online than ever before. We will discuss some practical tips and strategies about how to control digital burnout, and how to manage your time and energy while working remotely.

Questions to think about before this session:

• What do you find are the best parts of working remotely?
• What do you find are the most challenging aspects of working remotely?

These events are sponsored by ourcambridge and UIS as part of the Digital Workplace Programme.

A series of 30 minute drop-in sessions to talk with one of the Simplifying our Processes team. We offer expert, impartial advice relating all things process improvement and want to support our colleagues on their own continuous improvement journeys.

Please note, these sessions are informal, 1-2-1 meetings where colleagues can ask for advice and guidance from the Simplifying our Processes team. These are not workshops or taught sessions.

The Simplifying our Processes team will be available 9-10 and 4-5 every Tuesday and Friday - each hour can be split into two sessions of 30 minutes depending on demand.

5S is defined as a methodology that results in a workplace that is clean, uncluttered, safe, and well organized to help reduce waste and optimize productivity. It's designed to help build a quality work environment, both physically and mentally.

This short virtual session looks at the Lean 5S tool as a way of organising workspace and how this can help wellbeing. It also draws comparisons with the Marie Kondo tidying method.

In preparation for the session, please take a photograph of something that makes you happy.

You will receive joining instructions a few days before the session with instructions on where to upload your photographs.

The course is designed to give participants an overview of the history and principles of the Lean methodology, and an explanation of some of the basic tools used to make improvements to processes. This session will provide some basic tools that can be used immediately to facilitate a continuous improvement way of working

This course is accredited with the LCS (Lean Competency System), a certificate will be provided on completion of a short assessment.

Details regarding LCS can be found here - https://www.leancompetency.org/

• The course provides an LCS accredited Lean Practitioner qualification. The course involves a 2-day training session followed by completion of a 6-week project.

https://www.leancompetency.org/

A charge of £150 is applied to this course. Payment is via PO or credit card and the booking will be confirmed on receipt of PO or confirmation of payment. Please see the payment policy https://www.training.cam.ac.uk/ourcambridge/info/payment for payment details etc.

A curated learning path on key skills for Mentoring (both for Mentors and Mentees). This Learning Path was created originally for the UIS Mentoring Scheme, but has kindly been made available for us all.

For more resources see the University of Cambridge's LinkedIn Learning Hub.

The course can be accessed here.

A curated learning path on working remotely. For more resources see the University of Cambridge's LinkedIn Learning Hub.

The course can be accessed here.

This series of informal drop in sessions is designed to provide both new and more experienced leaders and managers, across all staff groups, with a safe space to share practice and discuss some of the challenges that can arise when supporting others to develop and strengthen their performance. Each session will start with Q&A with a panel of experienced managers drawn from across the University. This will be followed by the opportunity to discuss a scenario or question arising from the panel discussion in a smaller, more intimate break out room setting. The format is designed to facilitate peer support and learning. The sessions are not training sessions, although recommendations for training and other resources will be provided.

Times and topics

• Thursday 15th April, 11:00-12:00, Objective setting for yourself and your team

• Monday 26th April, 10:00-11:00, Supporting the well-being of your team

• Tuesday 18th May, 10:00-11:00, Using coaching skills to develop others

• Thursday 10th June, 11:00-12:00, Giving and receiving feedback well

• Monday 28th June, 10:00-11:00, Making the most of 1:1s

• Tuesday 13th July, 10:00-11:00, Saying thank you and celebrating success

Are we more distracted these days? We often find ourselves multi-tasking and juggling multiple digital tasks and distractions during the course of our everyday work and lives. So how can we create positive digital habits that allow us to focus and make the best of our time on screen?

Questions to think about before this session:

• What are your biggest digital distractions?
• What do you wish you had more time to do during the course of the day?

These events are sponsored by ourcambridge and UIS as part of the Digital Workplace Programme

Peers support sessions offer the opportunity for mentors/mentees to come together and learn from one another in a safe space. The sessions are informal and designed to offer people the chance to share their experiences and talk over any challenges they may be having. Mentor and mentee sessions will be run separately. Anything discussed in the sessions should remain confidential.

Sessions

Sessions for mentors:

• Tuesday 9 March 3.30 – 4.00pm
• Tuesday 8 June 11.00 – 11.30am
• Thursday 4 November 2.00 – 2.30pm

Sessions for mentees:

• Thursday 11 March 2.00 – 2.30pm
• Monday 14 June 10.30 – 11.00am
• Wednesday 10 November 11.00 – 11.30am

Have you ever wished you could get 10 minutes with a senior colleague to ask their advice on how they would handle something? Have you ever wondered how others approach challenging problems? This is your opportunity to ask. We are bringing together a panel of senior managers and leaders from across the University for a special speed mentoring session so that they can offer you their support and advice.

Speed mentoring offers you the opportunity for a series of short, focused conversations about a specific question or issue you are struggling with. You will rotate around four different mentors, spending around 10 minutes with each, to gain different perspectives on an issue you are seeking to resolve or a project you are trying to progress.

"I liked that there were a diverse background of university staff involved in the session, and all of the mentors were really engaged and enthusiastic. I felt that I could be honest about some of my experiences in the University, good and bad. All the mentors I spoke to acted as a good sound board for the issues that I wanted to discuss and they have given me some excellent advice and ideas."

"The fact that we saw 4 different mentees was brilliant - we gained different perspectives, saw different mentoring types and were also introduced to people and roles we may not have known about."

Monday 26th April Time: 2.00 – 3.15pm

Mentors:

• Andrew Rose – UAS Relationships Manager at UIS
• Anita Marguerie de Routrou – Head of Office for Translational Research, Faculty of Clinical Medicine
• Daniella Manca – Interim Assistant Registrary, Estates and Buildings
• Natalie Robson – Portfolio Manager, ourcambridge
• Steph Lott – HR Business Manager, Human Resources Division
• Greg Strachan – Technical Officer, Institute of Metabolic Science

Wednesday 9th June Time: 2.45 – 4.00pm

Mentors:

• Emma Marron – Business and Operations Manager, Department of Public Health & Primary Care
• Linda Spinks – Process Improvement Manager, ourcambridge
• Shui Lam – School Secretary, School of Technology
• Laura Smethurst – Faculty Secretary, Faculty of Law
• Adrian Whittle – HR& OD Project Manager, Estates Division
• Elena Carpenter – Process Improvement Analyst, ourcambridge

Please note you will be invited to meet four out of the six mentors listed. Due to the complexity of the scheduling, it is not possible to request particular mentors. You will be sent details of who you will be meeting and the times, in advance. If you foresee any particular difficulty, please email rebecca.shipley@admin.cam.ac.uk

A short course explaining how we identify, map and analyse business processes at the University of Cambridge

This series of drop in sessions has been designed to support both mentees and mentors who are taking part in the ourcambridge self-match mentoring scheme. They are entirely optional and you can attend as many or as few as you would like. To ensure that everyone is able to contribute to the sessions we are limiting the number of places for each session to 20. Where sessions are specifically designed for either the mentees or the mentors, this will be made clear (if you are both, you are welcome to attend both). The sessions will be interactive and focus around key discussion topics. For some sessions, we may contact you and ask you to watch a short 5-10 minute film beforehand.

Sessions

There is no need to attend all sessions. Please register only for those that you wish to attend.

• Friday 19 February 14:00-15:00: Communication skills (listening and questioning) (for both mentors and mentees)
• Thursday 18 March 10:00-11:00: Giving and receiving feedback
• Wednesday 24 March 11.00 – 12.00: Mentoring Basics
• Tuesday 11 May 11.00 – 12.00 : Establishing a Positive Mentoring Relationship (mentors only)
• Monday 24 May 14.00 – 15.00 : Establishing a Positive Mentoring Relationship (mentees only)
• Thursday 27 May 14.00 – 15.00 : Mentoring Basics
• Tuesday 29 June 10.00 – 11.00 : Self Reflection (mentees only)
• Tuesday 6 July 11.00 – 12.00 : Mentoring Basics
• Wednesday 22 September 15.00 – 16.00 : Goal Setting
• Wednesday 29 September 14.00 – 15.00 : Mentoring Basics
• Thursday 21 October 11.00 – 12.00 : Communication Skills (listening and questioning)
• Tuesday 16 November 10.00 – 11.00 : Mentoring Basics
• Thursday 2 December 14.00 – 15.00 : Giving and Receiving Feedback

A short introduction to De Bono's Six Thinking Hats - a creative thinking tool for creative meetings.

A bite-sized introduction to Understanding Benefits in Lean Management. Please complete the short feedback form (link in interactivity tab next to transcript) to let us know what you think and what we could improve.

An introduction to the questioning techniques 5 Why's and 6 honest men which can be used to understand processes and why things happen in a particular way.

“Values are the beliefs that are important to us about the way we interact with each other, how we work together effectively towards common goals and the behaviours that we demonstrate and expect to see from our colleagues.” (Emma Rampton, Registrary)

We are offering this ‘taster’ session to provide you with an introduction to thinking about your values. Following the introduction of the Professional Services Values of trust, respect, integrity and collaboration, we are offering this opportunity for you to consider how you can align these with your own personal values, and what this might mean in terms of how you live your life and go about your work.

This short video provides an overview of the history and high level principles of Lean as a process improvement methodology.