Making better choices: using a
costing model
Jo James, Library Administration Manager
Mike Hallas, Project & Development Manager
Michelle Blake, Academic Support Services Manager
23 August 2011
Ice-breaker: decision making
approaches
Decision making approach
Match
Task
Random choice
Buying a computer
Following tradition
Going on holiday
Going by the book
Deciding where to
hold a conference
Going by experience
choosing a supplier
for work
Gut feelings
Where to get your
car serviced
Making a systematic
comparison of the options
Recruiting staff
TASK: In groups you must decide which approach to use for
each task – you can use each approach as many times as you
like (5mins)
Background to Cost Model
Designed activity costing spread sheet to answer questions
below and inform decision making process:
• What is the cost of providing a particular service now?
• What is the cost of investment in software to automate
certain services and is it cost effective to introduce?
• How should staff resources be deployed to maximise
service/value?
• Should additional project/s be undertaken, and what is the
cost of undertaking it/them?
How it works
• An activity to be evaluated is determined, e.g. ‘taking
a study space booking at the library helpdesk’
• Estimate the average time taken for a transaction to
occur
• Calculate hourly rate based on grade of
staff/resource carrying out activity
• This calculates a cost per transaction
• Number of transactions measured then multiplied
against cost to provide overall costing
How it works
Project Name:
Study Space
Booking
Service Owner:
User Services
Service Description:
Staff on the Helpdesk 1 & 2 process requests from students to book a study space for a given date and time. This process is
currently manual and requires staff to complete a spreadsheet and XXXXXX.
Activity
Staff Process
Taking a space booking
at the helpdesk
staff checking
and manually
entering on to a
spreadsheet
TOTAL
# of
enquiries
63
63
Staff
Grade
SB04
Average
Hourly Rate
Av. Time
taken (mins)
per
transaction
Transaction
Cost
Total Time
taken
(mins)
Activity Cost
£17.24
1.5
£0.43
94.5
£27.15
94.5
£27.15
How it works
Total Cost to Employer (Basic / NI / SA / USS)
Band/Step
Aug-09
Aug-10
Aug-11
Aug-12
Aug-13
7
8
9
10
11
£0
£0
£0
£0
£0
Please select…
Please select…
0.0
Band 4 Step 13.5
Band 4
33.0
£28,281
£28,396
£28,979
£30,167
£31,403
Band 4 Step 14.0
Band 4
34.0
£28,710
£28,828
£29,419
£30,625
£31,879
Band 4 Step 14.5
Band 4
35.0
£29,147
£29,265
£29,865
£31,089
£32,362
Band 4 Step 15.0
Band 4
36.0
£29,589
£29,711
£30,320
£31,562
£32,853
Band 4 Step 15.5
Band 4
37.0
£30,039
£30,162
£30,780
£32,040
£33,351
Band 4 Step 16.0
Band 4
38.0
£30,494
£30,619
£31,246
£32,525
£33,855
Band 4 Step 16.5
Band 4
39.0
£30,956
£31,083
£31,719
£33,017
£34,367
Band 4 Step 17.0
Band 4
40.0
£31,426
£31,554
£32,199
£33,517
£34,887
Band 4 Step 17.5
Band 4
41.0
£31,903
£32,033
£32,688
£34,025
£35,415
Band 4 Step 18.0*
Band 4
42.0
£32,386
£32,517
£33,182
£34,539
£35,950
Band 4 Step 18.5*
Band 4
43.0
£32,876
£33,010
£33,685
£35,061
£36,493
Band 4 Step 19.0*
Band 4
44.0
£33,373
£33,510
£34,195
£35,592
£37,045
Band 4 Step 19.5*
Band 4
45.0
£33,879
£34,017
£34,712
£36,130
£37,604
Band 4 Step 20.0*
Band 4
46.0
£34,392
£34,532
£35,237
£36,676
£38,172
Case Study:
Library Helpdesk
Background
• Staffed by members of the Library carrying out 2 duties:
• Help desk 1:
– A first point enquiry service for users with straightforward
questions;
– More detailed enquiries are passed to Help Desk 2.
– Help Desk 1 is staffed by SB04 grades , and is open between
12.00noon and 5.00pm Monday to Friday.
– Exclusively SB04 staff;
• Help desk 2:
– Help Desk 2 is staffed by SB06 and SB07 grades.
– Handles more detailed enquiries;
– The service is open between 9.00am and 8.00pm Monday to
Friday, and 11.00am and 6.00pm Saturday and Sunday;
– Staffed by a 50/50 mix of SB06 and SB07 staff.
• When the Help Desk is not busy, the Help Desk 1 member of staff is
sent back to their office by the Help Desk 2 staff member.
Survey Results
• Undertook a manual collection of
statistics over a period of 2 months
(April & May 2009);
• Staff required to log each enquiry that
was made;
• Made for interesting reading…
Stats – part 1
• Total number of queries taken: 4,949
• Total number of Help Desk 1 queries: 4,453
• Total number of Help Desk 2 queries: 496
• 92% of enquiries were at Help Desk 1 level
Query by type
Alumni/Visitors
Number
1354
Catalogue query/how to use catalogue
484
Copy shop / Photocopying
180
Data Library
259
Directions e.g. toilets
310
E-resources
213
ILL/IDD
29
IT
317
Other
547
Other libraries
Printed materials
65
937
Reading lists
13
Referrals
66
Research question
Total
175
4949
Enquiry Type
Subtype
Alumni/Visitors
Alumni/Visitors
Alumni/Visitors
Archives
how to login PC
IT (including printing, password problems)
What resources can be used
where
792
277
285
1
Catalogue query/how to use catalogue
Copy shop / Photocopying
Data Library
Data Library
Directions e.g. toilets
E-resources
E-resources
E-resources
E-resources
ILL/IDD
where/how to use catalogue
directions, adding money
logging user on
how/what to use
Toilets, archives, study room
what to use (research)
how to find
password query
E-resources
ILL/IDD
484
180
206
53
310
52
91
21
49
29
IT
IT
IT
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other
Other libraries
Printed materials
Printed materials
Printed materials
Printed materials
Printed materials
Reading lists
Referrals
Referrals
Referrals
Referrals
Referrals
Research question
Total
JANET roaming, wireless, word, excel, value loaders
referral
paper replacement
Stapler, paper, calculator etc
Training
Induction
Additional Services
Admissions
Lost property
Other (incl. complaints)
Seat bookings (excluded these for May)
which other library to use
can't find item on shelf
missing items
location of classmark
how to use catalogue/where catalogue located
archives
Can't find reading/citation from Moodle
IT
Academic Dept
Other support dept
External library
External non-library
research question
Number
139
114
64
319
14
0
6
88
62
47
10
65
414
61
125
323
14
13
22
3
18
20
3
175
4949
Time of day
900
800
700
600
Number
500
400
300
200
100
0
9:0010:30
9:00-9:30
9:3010:00
10:0010:30
10:3012:00
12:001:00
1:00-2:00 2:00-3:30 3:30-5:00 5:00-8:00 Weekend Weekend Weekend Weekend
11:0012:30- 2:30-4:30 4:30-6:00
12:30
2:30
Time of day
Queries by length
Queries by enquiry length
2500
2000
1500
Number
Help Desk 1
Help Desk 2
1000
500
0
less than 1min
1-2mins
2-5 mins
5-10mins
Time taken
10-15mins
15-20mins
more than 20mins
Cost per enquiry. Number of enquiries is in ()
Weekdays
SB04
staffing
09.00 – 12.00

HD1 level (664)

HD2 level (79)
12.00 – 17.00

HD1 (2,039)

HD2 level (216)
SB07
staffing
£4.16
£34.55
£11.09
£47.23
£21.32
£28.42
£3.66
£29.40
£4.88
£39.19
£1.59
17.00 – 20.00

HD1 (754)

HD2 (94)
Weekends
SB04
staffing
11.00 – 18.00

HD1 (996)

HD2 (107)
Average cost per enquiry

HD1 (4,453)

HD2 (496)
SB06
staffing
£2.17
SB06
staffing
SB07
staffing
£3.55
£32.75
£4.80
£45.13
£3,07
£27.61
£4.10
£36.81
What happened next?
• Based on the evidence we came up with a
recommendation to change how the service was staffed.
• A paper was taken to the Library’s senior management
team where the proposal was mandated.
• Over a period of 6 months, change processes were
initiated and consultations with Library Assistants and
other library staff began.
Issues we faced
• Library assistants believed that they were doing more service
counter duties than before the changes
• Training implications – not all library assistants had
traditionally worked on the HelpDesk;
• Some staff (both library assistant level and qualified librarians)
believed that it was a ‘dumbing down’ of the service;
• Reassurance for staff that the backup librarian would be there
quickly.
Lessons learned / outcomes
•
Importance of communication throughout the change process is key;
•
Skills upgrade for Library Assistants;
•
Collecting statistics is very important;
•
Qualified staff have since been used on a number of newly developed service
initiatives such as 1-2-1 research consultations and research postcards;
•
Helpdesk: further changes now due;
•
All projects undertaken within the Library use the costing model
It’s your turn
• Scenario based group exercise (30mins)
• Must decide which option you will
recommend to management:
– Do nothing
– Introduce hybrid model
– Introduce roaming help and close service counter
– Do more investigation and analysis
• You must be able to justify your decision
Group feedback
• What option(s) did you choose?
• Why?