Houston Community College Transformation Journey: Turnaround Journey presentation -- June 2017

2. Organizational Lifecycle
Adapted from “The Lifecycle of Social Systems” (p. 38), in Meaning, by C. Havener, 2001, Minneapolis, MN: Beaver’s Pond Press.
T I M E
ORGANIZATIONALPERFORMANCE
GROWTH DECLINE DISSOLUTION
PHASE III-A
DEGENERATIVE
PHASE III-B
STRENGTHEN
PHASE II
NORMATIVE
PHASE I
FORMATIVE
BREAKPOINT #1 BREAKPOINT #2
GOOD MANAGEMENT
GOOD MANAGEMENT
SURVIVALSURVIVAL
PEAK MATURITY
GOOD TO GREAT LEADERSHIP
GOOD TO GREAT LEADERSHIP

3. Boost Performance
New leadership focus:
• Affect targeted units
• Combining units
• Dissolving units
• Keep underlying
structure
Reconfigure
Girod, S. and Karim, S. (2017). Change Management:
Restructure of Reconfigure? Charvard Business
Review, March-April 2017.

4. Transform
Boost Performance
New leadership focus:
• Starts with reconfiguration
• Changes underlying
organizational archetype
• Culture
• Organizational alignment
• Disruptive scenarios

5. Solid Foundation
aka Entrance Plan
Garza Mitchel, R.L. and Maldonado, C. (2014).
Strategic planning for new presidents: Developing an
entrance plan. Community College Journal of
Research and Practice, 00, p. 1-9.
• Primacy of purpose.
• Organizational alignment.
• Goals and metrics.

6. What are the things that if
done well, have an outsized
positive impact, and …
if done badly or not at all,
have an outsized negative
impact?
• Finances
• Operations
• Politics
• Structure
Priorities

7. Time (years)
Stakeholder
Value
($)
Long-Term Growth in
Stakeholder Value
Service
Innovation
Student
Management
Operational
Effectiveness
Horizon 1 Horizon 3Horizon 2
Customer
Management
Processes
Operations
Management
Processes
Innovation
Processes
1 2 3 4 5
Tech Transfer
H3 -> H2

8. Knowns and Unknowns

10. KNOWN
KNOWNS
UNKNOWN
KNOWNS
KNOWN
UNKNOWNS
UNKNOWN
UNKNOWNS
Knowns and Unknowns
KNOWN UNKNOWN
KNOWNUNKNOWN

11. Known Knows
DUAL CREDIT
FALL ENROLLMENT
FA10 FA11 FA12 FA13
% Faculty and Staff Who
Recommend HCC
20%
Do not
recommend
80%
Recommend
2013
6 colleges / 630 sq miles / 2.4 MM people

13. Known Unknowns - Financial Points
TUITIO
N
$113
LO
CAL
TAX
$102
STATE
APP
$62
AUX
REV
$15O
TH
ER
$10
Increase over 2013
budget
+4%
2014 Budget
(in millions)
Sedentary Bond Projects
$
425 MM

14. Known Unknowns
BOND
PROJECT OVERRUN(EST.)
$
75MM
CALL CENTER
DROPPED CALLS
PER QUARTER
56,400
CURRENT
BUDGET GAP
$
21MM
$ $

15. Performance Barriers
When the leaders are divided in their answers, you know that there are big problems
throughout the organization … a clear sign of vertical misalignment, starting at the top … Lou
Gertsner, upon starting IBM turnaround in 1993
20%
HR Practices
10%
Finances
50%
Management
20%
Procedures

16. Unknown Knowns - Core Values in Conflict
Collaboration 92%
Culture of Trust 98% 2%
Innovation 27%73%
Passion 28%72%
Consistency 94%
Accountability 14%86%
6%
8%
AlwaysSometimes or Never

17. Unknown Knowns - A Transformation Experience
Chief Academic Officer
VC Student Services
Chief Financial Officer
General Counsel
Chief Facilities Officer
Public Information Officer
College President Central
College President Health Science
College President Northeast
College President Northwest
College President Southeast
College President Southwest
VC Planning
Chief Information Officer
Leadership Team Distress

18. Realignment
Areas of strength, feels successful
Start-up
Much activity, focus on excellence
1. Low urgency- believes it is good
2. High resistance - uncertainty
3. Low need for change
1. High urgency - looking for wins
2. High resistance - excellence
3. High change – newness driven
Sustaining Success
Strong team, is successful
Turnaround
Isolated successes, stagnant
1. Low urgency - already good
2. Low resistance – confident
3. Open to change – winning model
1. High urgency - looking for wins
2. Resistance Low - seeks direction
3. Seeks change – find wins
Diagnostic
URGENCY LOW URGENCY HIGH
RESISTANCE
HIGH
RESISTANCE
LOW

19. Establish a Sense of Urgency
The Case for Transformation
• Employee morale
• Equity and fairness
• Financial risk management
• Budgeting
• Cost consciousness
• Product positioning
• Customer relations
• Quality of service
• Organizational alignment
• Community relations
• Board relations Many organizations are structured to have
different functions compete with each other,
not work for the good of the total. - H. James
Harrington

20. Clear Vision
Where we are going
How do we get there
1. Have a clear vision
• More responsive
• More successful students
2. Leverage our scale
• More efficient
3. Align priorities across system
• More interconnected
4. Create opportunities
• More innovative

21. C O M P E T E N C I E S
T R A N S F O R M A T I O N
V I S I O N
H C C
C O R E VA L U E S
M I S S I O N
A. Focus on one HCC and consistency
of quality experience across the
campuses, departments, and facilities
B. Foster an environment within the
institution as a compelling place to
work and learn
C. Employ analytic measures to assess
and guide performance excellence
I. STUDENT SUCCESS
A. Improve student preparedness,
readiness and alignment
B. Improve the student experience
C. Increase student completion
D. Ensure that instructional programs
prepare students for success in
current and future working
environments
II. ORGANIZATIONAL
STEWARDSHIP
A. Ensure that the strategic plan serves
as the basis for funding
B. Improve and streamline business
transactions and processes
C. Increase diversity, inclusion and
engagement throughout the
institution
III. PERFORMANCE
EXCELLENCE
A. Build a culture that champions
collaboration, creativity, and
innovation
B. Increase innovation in teaching and
learning
C. Expand the use of technology
throughout the institution
IV. INNOVATION
Focus
Foster
Employ
Improve
Increase
Ensure
Serve
Process
Engage
Build
Teach
Expand

22. Form Guiding Coalition – G65
Distil Vision to a Simple Plan

23. The HCC Vision
HCC will be a leader in providing high quality,
innovative education leading to student success and
completion of workforce and academic programs.
We will be responsive to
community needs and drive economic development in
the communities we serve.
The Ultimate
Student Experience

24. Network of
Best Practices
Aligned
Organization
Cybernetic
System
Little or No
Collaboration
Organizational Adapting Over Time
time

25. Organizational Dynamics
overloaded
Crunched, tornM I D D L E S
B O T T O M S
TOPS

26. Student
Svc
Fin &
Admin
Gen
Counsel
Planning &
IE
Com &
Marketing
Instruction
Organizational Alignment – Functional View
26
Value Zone
(delivery)
Empowerment Zone
(resource mgmt)
Strategy

27. Known Knows - Progress
DUAL CREDIT
FALL ENROLLMENT
FA10 FA11 FA12 FA13 FA14 FA15
% Faculty and Staff Who
Recommend HCC
20%
Do not
recommend
80%
Recommend
2013
10%
Do not
recommend
90%
Recommend
2015

28. Unknown Know - Progress
60%
73%
79%
90%
40%
27%
21%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 GOAL
PercentofTotalCalls
TOTAL CALLS HANDLED
Calls Abandoned
98% DECREASE
Calls Handled
30% INCREASE
Reasons for Improvements
• Focus on Student Success
• Increase in # of FT staff
• Use of data to drive the
scheduling of staff
• Dashboards developed to
provide real time monitoring
of each Call Center
• Improvements in call routing
and management

29. Lessons Learned for the Leadership
1. Commitment to an empowering, clear vision
2. Consistent and constant communication
3. Situational awareness and sensitivity to people
4. Slow is fast
5. Define scorecard early

30. Questions?

31. From Silver Bullet to Silver Buckshot
-it’s not about one answer, it’s about a systems view
From Structured Solutions to Adaptive Strategies
-it’s not about what we have, it’s about what we can be
From Credit to Credibility
-it’s not the about team Members, it’s about the Team
From Competition to Coordination
-it’s not about the sum of the parts, it’s about the whole
adapted from fsg.org
Transformational Mindset Shifts