The Office of Quality Initiatives provides customized consultative and facilitation services to departments and services units in the following areas:
- Benchmarking – We work with cross-functional benchmarking teams to identify and understand best practices in work processes, in order to improve service delivery. Cross-functional benchmarking teams follow the five-phase Benchmarking Model adopted by Carleton University.
- Continuous Improvement – We support continuous improvement across campus using multiple tools including Lean methodology to create efficient processes from the customer perspective. We customize our approach to understand the needs of the team we are working with to ensure change is meaningful and successful.
- Service Excellence – We guide and assist our clients in achieving the Service Excellence Standards by understanding customer needs and by determining the best strategy to meet or exceed customer expectations.
- Strategic Planning – We provide guidance and assist any unit, department, division or team with planning efforts by helping clients to develop their mission, goals and strategies, and associated objectives, initiatives, and measures.
- Learning and Professional Development – We work collaboratively to ensure that all Carleton University employees can develop the skills and confidence they need to excel in their roles, contribute to their departmental missions, and participate in Carleton’s organizational success. The portfolio fosters talent across the organization and builds our potential to meet the needs of varied stakeholders, from students, to staff, to research communities, to government agencies, and our broader social surroundings.
- Change Management – We support change management across Carleton. Change management is the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals and teams to successfully adopt change, and also provides a structured approach for supporting people as they experience change and transition. We do this through process review and improvement using Lean methodology; benchmarking and best practice research projects to identify leading practices; facilitated conversations about change and transition; change communications planning and guidance; workshops and training for change leaders, as well as strategic planning.
- Carleton Leader – Carleton Leader engages leaders and emerging leaders from across Carleton’s diverse academic and professional services groups in an interactive and reflective development process. We recognize that leadership exists throughout the university; at all levels, in all areas. Leadership is about influence and impact. It is about individual self-awareness, engaging others in the pursuit of excellence and fostering a collective sense of Carleton University’s vision in order to contribute to moving our community forward and tackling our most complex challenges.
- Healthy Workplace – We encourage Carleton University faculty and staff to adopt and promote positive physical and mental health, build social connections, engage in professional development opportunities, and achieve work-life balance. Lunchtime workshops and activities, monthly challenges, and many other programs and resources allow members of the Carleton community to get involved in our Healthy Workplace culture.
- Workshops and Meeting Facilitation – We organize, plan and conduct retreats, workshops and meetings so the participants can focus on the issues and topics of the day. We formulate and customize the agendas to meet specific goals of the customer.
- Associated Services – To promote quality, we provide the university community with a variety of associated services on an ‘as-needed’ basis. These include best practice research, focus groups, in-depth interview, quality coaching, and/or quality consultation.
We encourage you to Contact Us for a quality consultation to determine the right tool(s) for your needs.