Operational Effectiveness
Overview
Operational Effectiveness services offer a data-informed look at how your team operates—and how it could work better.
We analyze staffing, structure, processes, and workflows through a mix of interviews, benchmarking, and scenario planning. Our approach blends campus context with proven tools to uncover what’s working, what’s not, and what to adjust. The result: tailored recommendations to help your organization run more efficiently, effectively, and sustainably.
OSI brings a campus-informed perspective – we know UC San Diego’s environment and can suggest improvements grounded in how our university operates.
What We Offer
We help teams assess current operations and design new models or strategies to optimize efficiency and effectiveness.
Organizational Review
Evaluate structure, staffing, and services. Includes benchmarking against peer units to identify opportunities for alignment with mission, strategy, and growth.
Organizational Design & Redesign
Align or realign roles, teams, and workflow improvements to support your goals during major shifts in work.
Operational Modeling
Scenario planning to explore staffing, technology, or structural changes before implementation.
Process Mapping & Anaysis
Workflow analysis using Lean and Promapp to uncover gaps and streamline operations.
What to Expect
Informating GatheringWhen OSI conducts an operational effectiveness review, we start by gathering information from all angles. Expect us to dive into data – we will look at workload metrics, throughput times, budget and staffing numbers, etc., and also into perspectives, via interviews or surveys with your team and customers.
Current State Mapping
OSI will map out your current operational model: how work flows, who handles what, and where pain points emerge.
Benchmarking & Analysis
After mapping, we then benchmark and analyze. For example, we might compare your staffing levels to similar units or national guidelines, to discover if you’re under-resourced or overextended. We identify gaps in services, duplicative efforts, or areas of under-utilization.
Recommendations & Ongoing Support
Once the analysis is complete, OSI delivers a clear set of actionable recommendations. You can expect suggestions like “consolidate these functions" or “adopt a new tool for this task” – all backed by data and rationale. After the review, OSI can continue to support you in implementing changes or planning for future growth, ensuring the momentum doesn’t stop at the report
Project Spotlight - Staffing & Service Alignment Review
The Challenge and Our Approach
One UC San Diego administrative division facing rapid growth asked OSI to assess whether their staffing and structure were still effective. Over five weeks, OSI analyzed the division’s workload metrics and benchmarked them against peer institutions. We discovered a 30% gap in staffing for front-line service roles and several areas where two different teams were unknowingly doing overlapping work.
The Impact
With OSI’s insights, the division made informed changes: they secured approval to hire 3 new front-line staff, merged two small support teams into one to eliminate duplicate efforts, and clarified each team’s service portfolio. These changes led to faster response times (initial customer inquiries are now handled 20% quicker) and better morale, as employees have more manageable workloads and well-defined roles. The division’s director noted that OSI’s review provided exactly the evidence needed to justify the budget requests and “take the guesswork out of our reorganization.” This is a prime example of how an operational effectiveness review can translate analysis into real-world improvements.
One UC San Diego administrative division facing rapid growth asked OSI to assess whether their staffing and structure were still effective. Over five weeks, OSI analyzed the division’s workload metrics and benchmarked them against peer institutions. We discovered a 30% gap in staffing for front-line service roles and several areas where two different teams were unknowingly doing overlapping work.
The Impact
With OSI’s insights, the division made informed changes: they secured approval to hire 3 new front-line staff, merged two small support teams into one to eliminate duplicate efforts, and clarified each team’s service portfolio. These changes led to faster response times (initial customer inquiries are now handled 20% quicker) and better morale, as employees have more manageable workloads and well-defined roles. The division’s director noted that OSI’s review provided exactly the evidence needed to justify the budget requests and “take the guesswork out of our reorganization.” This is a prime example of how an operational effectiveness review can translate analysis into real-world improvements.
Let's Work Smarter, Together
Connect to see how we can support your team in working smarter and planning for what’s next.