Introducing the service catalogues
25 March 2021
As we develop the new organizational structure, specific services and functions will begin to transition into the new administrative operating model. To help ease this transition, the SET team has coordinated the development of the service catalogues in consultation with subject matter experts and leaders in faculties and central units to allocate processes to the appropriate service delivery area within the model: Centres of Expertise, shared services, service partners, or college/faculty/unit.
What is a service catalogue?
In short, service catalogues provide an expansive list of activities and services in a particular functional portfolio (like IT, HR, or finance), and record where those services would be best placed within the model. They include a high-level depiction of the types of activities that will remain in the colleges, faculties, or units, as well as an indication of what will transition into a Centre of Expertise or shared services.
The catalogues describe the four service delivery areas and services are listed under the area that will take primary responsibility for the service delivery. It’s important to note that they are not divided into current organizational structures (i.e. college, faculty, department, centre), but rather reflect the services within an administrative function.
While most services are included, these catalogues are not exhaustive lists. They are also living documents and may change or evolve as more details are uncovered through the functional review process and the new administrative model becomes more established.
Guidance tools
The SET team and university leadership are using the service catalogues when implementing the new operating model. From the discovery process through to process redesign with the workgroups, catalogues primarily inform organizational design, job design, and resource allocation. Faculty and unit leaders have been referencing the catalogues to help guide them in transitioning staff to the Centres of Expertise and/or shared services. Overall, service catalogues support both design and ongoing operations.
As the discovery process continues for each functional stream, the SET team will be working with the new college deans, faculty deans, and unit leaders to effectively define the services.
Development of the service catalogues
The academic and administrative sponsors for each functional workstream led the development of the catalogues, consulting with staff and subject matter experts in each of their respective streams. These groups helped to identify the services currently provided within a functional workstream and where best to allocate them within the new operating model.
What’s next?
All functional workstreams are preparing service catalogues, three of which are ready to share publicly: IT, HR, and Finance. You can find direct links to the catalogues for each of these workstreams below, as well as on their corresponding web page:
Stay tuned for the remaining three service catalogues (Research administration, student services, and external engagement) to be released in the near future.
[Update June 4, 2021: Research administration and external engagement streams have published their catalogues:
- External Engagement Catalogue | External engagement stream page
- Research Administration Catalogue | Research administration stream page ]
Rob Munro
Executive Lead, Service Excellence Transformation
Brian Stewart
Program Director, Administrative Transformation, Service Excellence Transformation
Frequently Asked Questions
How will service catalogues inform what gets migrated to the shared services as a transactional activity?
Part of discovery for each functional stream is to gather information about the work currently performed in the faculties and units. If it relates to a process that has been identified to be delivered in the transaction processing hub, we will do process redesign workshops which include looking at the process from the perspective of delivery within a shared services model.
Will the service catalogues be available to staff before the restructures begin?
With the introduction of the three colleges, the SET team will be working with the functional stream sponsors as well as the interim college deans to review all of the service catalogues and include the services and processes that will live at the college level. Now that this process is complete, we are able to share the service catalogues more widely.