Ideas for Prioritization and Action
from Huron Baseline Assessment of A&F (Fall 2008)
During Fall Semester 2008, the Huron Consulting Group was commissioned to conduct a Baseline Assessment of the Division of Administration & Finance (A&F). The study included a series of interviews with A&F leadership, customers, and campus partners. See results of the study here.
Specific ideas raised in the study and prioritized for action by the Division are listed below. Progress will be made on prioritized action plans and reported back to the campus throughout the year.
Partnership Focus:
- Establish regular update meetings with the community in a town hall format
- Map current methods of communication used by A&F departments. Inventory current approaches for customer interaction used by A&F departments. Review methods of collaboration; develop selective, but more effective means of partnership. Strive for clarity in the way A&F delivers and receives information
- Model the behavior A&F wishes to see in the Institute - adopt a single calendar tool for A&F.
- Identify opportunities to identify best practices in communication within A&F departments and apply to organization
- Segment communications needs by constituent; make adjustments to communications plan appropriate to level of stakeholder (executive, operational leader, staff). Identify strategies & approaches to inform, involve, get investment from and engender stewardship in customers.
- Engage the community in energy savings opportunities (audit, ideas, conservation)
- Engage user community and executive leadership in business process redesign efforts
- Increase the academic representation on various partnership groups
- Develop an A&F Advisory Council with strong faculty representation
- Identify a standard "place" for communicating with A&F customers.
- Develop an A&F brand identity (logo and tagline) and provide standards on use
- Develop "product teams" to advocate and explain new A&F ideas to academic units
Infrastructure Focus:
- Communications plan for desktop PSF implementation
- Desktop online purchasing Phase I
- Desktop vacation and sick leave reporting
- Involve academic stakeholders in prioritization
- Unified communications platform
- Common calendar and electronic mail
- Consolidation of A&F IT staffing
- Desktop online purchasing Phase II
- Infrastructure checklist
- Infrastructure planning group
- Multi-year budget planning
- Globalization checklist
Human Assets focus:
- Ethics program
- Performance management system
- Training needs for various levels / position types
- Career plans for each job family
- Employee Value Proposition - figuring out how to use it
- Expand onboarding program
- Human Assets standards and metrics