Please note this article was published before OEE Consulting and gobeyond joined forces to become Gobeyond Partners.

We recently took members of the Service Excellence Network to The Intellectual Property Office, to explore the steps they have taken to embed a culture of Continuous Improvement (CI) across the organisation.

With a bold target to become the best Intellectual Property (IP) office in the world, the organisation has set out a clear vision to deliver excellent services, a world-leading IP environment, and be a brilliant place to work.

“Excellence will continue to evolve…the best isn’t an end goal, it’s a journey. Central to that journey is people.”

Organisations including Burberry, the Financial Conduct Authority, EDF Energy and Lloyds Bank attended through the Service Excellence Network, and shared experience with delegates from The Intellectual Property Office, Companies House and The Insolvency Service.

Dominic Houlihan, Director of People, Places and Services, talked about how behaviours support CI, and the role of leadership at all levels in creating space for these to thrive.

“We empower our staff to do things differently.”

The IPO shared the progress model they use to track how CI is being embedded across different departments, and the strategies they use to support further progress.

CI change agents from different departments discussed how this embedded approach to CI had changed their workplace environment and the results they deliver to customers.

“I spend less time on admin and more time on strategy.”

By taking a broad approach to CI the IPO has successfully embedded cultural initiatives across the organisation too, being listed in 2018 as a Stonewall top 100 employer and a top 10 employer for working families.

A panel discussion on empowering change within organisations supported networking among delegates, with joint experiences and advice shared across the group.

Our next event will explore how to deliver the benefits promised from customer-centric transformation, at our annual conference on The Future of Service.