Achieving significant insights into operational efficiency and opportunities for improvement at Glasgow Clyde College. 

In the face of increasing financial pressures across the education sector, Glasgow Clyde College has embraced Etio’s financial benchmarking service to drive more informed decision-making. By combining rigorous data analysis with collaborative discussions among colleges, the initiative has provided significant insights into operational efficiency and opportunities for improvement. 

Background 

Glasgow Clyde College was among the founding participants in the Scottish Colleges Financial Benchmarking Exercise. Though new to the college and the education sector, Chief Operating Officer, Niall Macpherson, quickly recognised the value of benchmarking.

“When I joined 12 months ago, it was clear that this data set offered a unique opportunity to understand the sector and our position within it,” he shared. “It’s been invaluable for getting under the bonnet of what drives the numbers and identifying areas for improvement.” 

Data-Driven Insights 

The benchmarking service has enabled Glasgow Clyde College to focus on specific areas where operational efficiency could improve.

“The benchmarking dataset has been central to projects where we are reimagining certain aspects of our delivery that are shown to be less efficient than others.” 

Another area of focus has been teaching utilisation and efficiency. “Understanding the college’s teaching efficiency ratio compared to others in the Scottish sector has led to some very useful discussions and informed a host of operational adjustments in the face of various structural challenges,” Niall explained.  

Enhanced Collaboration 

One of the most significant benefits of Etio’s has been the collaborative aspect of the benchmarking initiative. By working with other colleges, Glasgow Clyde has gained insights beyond its internal data. “The softer side of the collaboration has been just as important as the hard data,” Niall notes. “Simply asking, ‘Why are you doing better in this area?’ or ‘What are you doing differently?’ has sparked valuable conversations and shared intelligence across the group.” 

For Niall, the collaborative group meetings facilitated by Etio have proven particularly effective.

“These meetings allow us to dive deeper into specific issues, an opportunity that isn’t necessarily afforded by other larger collaborative groups or networks. They’ve been instrumental in fostering a sense of shared purpose and mutual learning.” 

Longitudinal Value 

With multiple years of data now available, the college is also beginning to see the benefits of longitudinal analysis. “The 2023-24 data set has been incredibly useful for comparing year-on-year performance,” said Niall. “We’re still scratching the surface, but the potential for deeper insights grows exponentially as more colleges participate and the data set expands.” 

Informing Strategic Decisions 

The benchmarking data has also supported strategic decision-making at Glasgow Clyde College, with the data and findings being well-received by the board. Additionally, Niall would like to explore using the insights as the basis for strategic discussion with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), advocating for funding allocations that reward efficiency. 

Challenges and Solutions 

While onboarding to the benchmarking service required initial effort, the process has become more streamlined. “There was some heavy lifting for HR and payroll initially, but less than we had anticipated” Niall admitted. “But Etio provided excellent support, and then it’s much easier in subsequent years. We’ve now baked it into our operating model. The analysis and interpretation provided by Etio have been just as valuable as the raw data itself. It’s helped us avoid drawing the wrong conclusions and making misinformed decisions.” 

Opportunities for the Sector 

Niall sees how the exercise will ultimately pay for itself, and acknowledges the significant potential for the benchmarking initiative to benefit the wider Scottish college sector.

“The real value lies in expanding participation,” he said. “As more colleges join, the data set becomes richer, and the insights more robust. It would enable more colleges to learn from each other’s best practices and address common challenges more effectively.” 

Enhanced value through quality data and collaboration 

For Glasgow Clyde College, Etio’s financial benchmarking service has proven to be a vital tool for driving efficiency and fostering collaboration. As Niall summarises, “Ultimately, it’s all about giving us quality data to make more informed decisions. The collaborative aspect and the longitudinal insights only enhance that value. As long as we continue to realise the benefits, we’ll remain committed to this process.” 

The experience at Glasgow Clyde College demonstrates the power of collaborative benchmarking to transform financial management across the Scottish college sector. With growing participation and ongoing support from Etio, the initiative is well-positioned to deliver even greater value in the years to come.

If you would like to understand how Etio's Performance Benchmarking can support your organisation or group's collaboration projects, please get in touch with Phil Moseley and the Benchmarking team here.