In with the new: deciding whether to insource or outsource a workshop’s operations
Imagine a future where the operations of one of your departments have gone through smooth transition to an insourcing model…
To achieve this, you have revised the vision of the operation, clarified and aligned all roles and responsibilities with previous external providers, and made cultural preferences of all users consistent prior to the transition to using internal staff
This was what a leading university achieved with us.
WHAT & WHY
Meet Katarina, an Engineering Masters student at a University. She has been tasked with creating a prototype of a pinball machine as part of her subject’s assignment. The theory periods pass by, and it is now 3 weeks to the due date when Katarina decides to enter the maker space.
Upon arriving, the reception staff informed her that she could only enter the workshop if she had completed the online induction. Disappointed, she heads home to complete the induction, only to arrive the next morning and find the workshop crowded. When she approaches a senior staff member to ask for a free space, he replies matter-of-factly, “Well, this is peak season, after all”. By the end of the day, she couldn’t secure any equipment and had to place her build orders through an online queue. With the builds completed just before the deadline and equipment access still restricted, Katarina now has to scramble to an external maker space to assemble the pinball components.
This is an example of an Engineering student’s practical experience. The university’s faculty of engineering and IT wanted to reevaluate which operating model was correct, and we helped them do that.
The Impact
HOW WE HELPED
UNDERSTANDING THE VARIOUS USERS’ EXPERIENCE OF THE SPACE
Three6 conducted interviews and focus groups across six stakeholder groups: students, student guides, academics, external staff, management, and student clubs. This helped us understand what worked well and potential areas for improvement for the maker space.
ANALYSIS OF INSOURCING VS OUTSOURCING SCENARIOS
We then summarised our research on the current state of the space, defining the value proposition for students. We analysed resourcing, estimated costs, and the benefits and challenges associated with both insourcing and outsourcing management models to inform a detailed report.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND TRANSITIONS
The full report encapsulates all the research mentioned above and advises management to make a phased transition to insourcing. It includes supportive documentation such as a core value proposition, quantitative data, and a checklist for when to initiate such a transition.
“Cata and Jules have been great. They’ve really leaned in and have been able to articulate to us about the challenges, opportunities, etc, they have unravelled through the interviews.”
THE OUTCOMES
OVERALL EVALUATION REPORT
The Faculty Management team was presented with formal written reports covering the space’s value proposition, current state, vendor SOW assessment, management models, and a summary of the full recommendation (assisted with cost comparisons).
QUANTITATIVE & QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS
Insights about how the main six groups work together and understand their experience of the maker space. User themes and feedback were strongly informed the recommendations, and further supported by analytics done by the University data team on the space.
COMPREHENSIVE OPTIONS ANALYSIS
The combinations of primary research and secondary investigations resulted in 5 main options stages along the continuum of in/outsource. Three6 synthesised the benefits and challenges of each option per information obtained and highlighted reasons why we have recommended the option to transition.
THE FINER DETAILS
To ensure that the University is able to fully align and integrate the action plans that were recommended, the full modelling of financial costs, resource allocations, improvement plans with current vendor, and a checklist of when to initiate transition into insourcing has been sorted and compiled.
“We are very happy with the outcome and look forward to working with you all again.”