feedback conversation with our ANU school client.
3 minute read
We worked with a School at the Australian National University and facilitated their internal consultation process to raise the voice of staff and students. Read more about the School review project here.
Our founder Ravinith sat down with the School Director and School Manager to reflect on their experience of the project.
What problem were you trying to solve when engaging Karana?
School Director:
I think initially we were looking for somebody or a company that had knowledge about the ANU. It's a very particular institution, so it was a benefit for us to engage somebody who really had some insight into our community.
We knew from your background that you had that insight, and were also clearly somebody who was empathetic to academic staff. These things were big ticks for bringing you onboard.
School Manager:
And because you're on the outside [of the University], you could remain objective throughout the process.
How did your experience on this project compare with past experiences working with external consultants?
School Director:
Look, I've worked with a number of external providers and a whole range of different approaches. With this project, there was a sense of an easygoing approach and less corporate sort of jargon. Being overly corporate can seem less friendly which wouldn’t work in our School’s environment.
I think your approach was very suited to these groups which allowed for more interactive conversations, helping people engage and raise their issues and concerns.
School Manager:
Yeah, I think that balance between not being overly corporate but still professional, but not also being sort of cheesy car salesman, constantly wanting to smooth everyone's egos and just being a bit over the top. Some consultants can be a bit like that. I’m glad that you weren’t.
Ravinith: Thank you for your feedback. This is a very intentional choice of operating which aligns with my own values.
Did you hear any feedback from the School community about their experience with participating in this project?
School Director:
The feedback that I heard was very positive. I think the pace of the work, the size of the groups involved and the way each of those workshops proceeded was very efficient and brought out some important points.
I think the way you designed the project and workshops was really effective.
How likely are you to recommend our services to your peers, and why?
School Director:
I would 100% recommend you to a school or other areas within a university. Your experience in tertiary sector and the insights these bring were extremely valuable to this project.
School Manager:
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend your services. This project was a task that we knew we needed to do, we wanted to do, but we just did not have the capacity or the expertise to run or facilitate the sessions.
I think it's a unique skill set that you have to practice all the time. And when your primary job is something else, I think that's quite a hard thing to do.
I liked the final report that you submitted including the summary sheet which I can keep referring back to. The visuals are great in the report, otherwise it will be very similar to some of our other documents which are just very wordy and hard to digest.
I like that you used Miro. I know some people love it and some people hate it. I thought it was quite good, the way you were able to communicate important pieces of information like that. It was easy to follow and understand.
Your approach (including using Miro) worked really well for hybrid meetings and people working remotely. They were still able to engage fully in the workshops.
Ravinith: Thank you for the detailed feedback. I’m glad you liked the report format. It was tricky synthesising and consolidating so much information, so I’m happy it worked!
Was there anything that I could have done differently in the project?
School Director:
No, I can’t think of anything. The outcome is good.
School Manager:
No. I think people felt like it was a genuine process, which is what we wanted to achieve. I think that was really important, and it worked out well.
Is there anything else you'd like to say about your experience working with Karana or the project overall?
School Director:
I’m very happy and would definitely recommend you again.
School Manager:
Well, we're using you again for the follow-up initiative prioritisation workshop with our senior leadership group, so that's obviously a good sign and indicator that we were happy with our experience!
I know our Executive Officer really appreciated your quick turnaround and responsiveness.
