Dagens Nyheter recently published an opinion piece entitled “Warning for strategists who get out of doing their job”. In the introduction of the article, the authors write: “Well-paid staff are forced to carry out trivial tasks such as filling in forms, while administrators produce yet another global communication plan”. As head of the Senior Management Team, I read the article and subsequent replies with interest.
One thing to reflect on in this context is past digital developments and digital developments currently taking place in society. A natural part of such development is an increase in self-administration. This is occurring both in private life and at work. In private life, we usually welcome this opportunity – we can take care of various matters at our own convenience and do not have to wait for telephone or visiting hours. Self-administration at the workplace is also a welcome development in the digital revolution, which we largely embrace. Naturally, it is important to ensure that administrative systems are of a quality that facilitates the self-administration we do.
Another development in recent years has been the increased reporting requirements placed on us as a public authority. Both the requirements and the complexity of reporting have increased. As far as possible, we try to handle the different reporting requirements within the Management Team. But all too often, more hands-on knowledge from the core activities is needed for the reporting. With increasing complexity comes increased demands on administrative skills. This is a natural development. But it is equally important to ensure that staff have knowledge of the activities in order to understand the challenges faced by different parts of the university.
We need to be careful not to over-administer various processes. One question that must always be asked is whether a requested task is necessary or if it can be handled through other means. We should strive for smooth administrative processes as far as possible. In the university’s risk analysis 2023–2024, we have identified the risk that the administrative processes are not efficiently organised. In order to meet the increasing requirements that we face in relation to monitoring, evaluation and reporting, administrative processes need to be efficient and effective to meet the needs of education and research, and we need to be good stewards of the university’s resources. One of the two focus areas for the Senior Management Team in 2023 is coordinated administrative processes.
This text is written by Åsa Borin, University Director. It appears in the section ”Words from the University’s senior management team”, where members of the management team take turns to write about topical issues. The section appears in every edition of News for staff which is distributed to the entirety of the University staff.