Transcript Slide 1
Mining Administrative Gold:
Collaborating Cross-Campus to
Find, Organize, and Share
Resources
Mining Administrative Gold
Panel of Presenters
John McBride
– Texas State University Human Resources Director
Suzanne White
– Organization Development &Training Consultant
Patricia Prado
– Executive Assistant: VP for Finance and Support Services
Mark Leamons
– Texas State HR Information Systems Specialist
What are we going to show you today?
A Simple but Extremely Powerful
Concept You Can Use to
Increase the
Effectiveness and Efficiency
of your
Administrative Support Staff
We Suggest….
Capture your “Aha’s!”
Jot down your questions for Q&A
Note the acronyms and other
information
Considered Conditions
Impacting Customer Service
Implemented new Financial & HR System
Decentralized support staff used resources
inconsistently, ineffectively, inefficiently
Some staff reluctant to use new resources
No centralized, targeted training
Resources not apparent or easily accessible
Back office resource providers frustrated
with front office users
First Thoughts...
Find a way to develop and implement a
comprehensive training program
Use North Carolina State’s model: A 4-day
program that addressed critical business
processes, such as
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HR
Accounting
Budgeting
IT Security
Police & Parking
Had Some
Overwhelming Constraints
Limited budget
No professional trainers on staff
Extremely lean staff with heavy
workloads
A Possible Solution…
Appeal to the President’s Cabinet to
fund a training program
If funded, retain a consultant to
develop and implement the program
Gained Support & Assistance
Gained President’s Cabinet support
Retained Consultant Suzanne White
to develop and implement an
Administrative Support Staff Program
Clarified Expectations
4-day comprehensive training program on
University’s Business Processes/Services
Research & Use NCSU’s model:
QuickStart: University Business Practices Program
Divide Project into Four Phases
Project’s Four Phases
Phase 1
Lay Groundwork
Phase 2
Collect & Analyze Data
Phase 3
Design Program
Phase 4
Produce and Evaluate Program
Phase 1:
Laid Groundwork for Program
Drafted the Project’s…
– Vision
– Mission
– Goals
– Desired Outcomes
Vision
Informed, Resourceful
Texas State University Support Staff
Mission
Provide support staff information about
the business processes, electronic
applications, and other tools
available on campus
Project’s Primary Goal
Identify the most cost-effective
means to identify, organize, and
share Support Staff Resources
Desired Outcomes….
University’s Support Staff will
Have access to information and processes
they need to do exemplary work
Know when and how to use resources
effectively and efficiently
Establish better working relationships with
other staff, campus-wide
Increase customer satisfaction
Compared Texas State University to
North Carolina State University
Texas State
Funding
Sources
Training/OD
Departments
Systems
in Place
1. Legislative General
Revenue Appropriations
2. Tuition & Fees
3. Endowments
NCSU
1. State Appropriations
2. Tuition and Fees
3. Endowments (56%)
$1.3 BILLION!!! in 2009
*No Training Department *Sophisticated T&D Dept.
*Decentralized: Individual *Cost-Recovery System
departments provide
*5 fulltime T&D consultants
Training & Development
Professional Dev’t Office
provides help with
registration and logistics
1. Program Development
2. Registration/Attendance
3. Certification Programs
Interviewed Key Players
Director of Institutional Effectiveness
– What tools were available for surveying
administrative assistants?
AVP for Instructional Technologies
Support and AVP for Academic Affairs
– What resources were available for
presenters?
The Six Executive Assistants
– What were their insights?
Executive Assistant’s Advice…
1-day in length, 3 times a year
Each Division would provide an overview
of its departments and operations
Various departments would produce the
program
– HR- Set agenda/Coordinate presenters
– Professional Development- Handle Logistics
– Student Affairs- Moderate/Facilitate Events
Texas State’s Constraints
Skeletal Staffing
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Unlikely to get Managerial/Supervisory support
Unlikely to get Department Reps to present
Staff unlikely to attend a 4-day program
Cost prohibitive to hire temps
$10/hour x 8 hours = $80 x 4days = $320/temp/admin
$320 x 25 admins attending each 4 day program = $8000
End of Phase 1
Presented rationale why NCSU’s
4-Day program may not be feasible
Drafted Vision, Mission, Goals,
Desired Outcomes for Program
Phase 2:
Collect & Analyze Data:
What do the admins want?
Surveyed All Support Staff
Drafted a survey & EA’s edited it
Institutional Effectiveness Office
formated, administered, collected data
Analyzed and summarized data
Support Staff Provided Feedback
70% of the support staff
responded to the survey!
Why such a response high rate?
1. EA’s emailed their Division’s Admins
2. Support Staff wanted provisions
Support Staff Reported Need for a
Website with Links to Resources
48% reported they search online
for the resources they need, but,
as one person suggested,
“From a new employee standpoint, a single
link on the front page of the university
website that told you where to find
information would be great.”
Others suggested…
“One website that lists all the items an AA
might require, listed alphabetically or by
category and then (linked) to the
particular department or office which
owns the process.”
and
“Is there a possibility of an A-Z index being
added to the Texas State homepage for
easy access for locating specific items
or information?”
Support Staff Confirmed
Their Need to Learn about the
Wide Array of Resources
One person pointed out,
“…each (admin) has to learn different
tasks for different situations with different
priorities…. Whatever emerges should
accommodate all these differences….”
Half or More Respondents
Indicated the Same Topics of Interest
Division of Finance and Support Services
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Financial Services – accounts payable, travel, purchasing, payroll, moves
and events
Auxiliary Services – IDs, catering, printing, mail, vending, Bobcat tram
Budget Office – budget development, budget reports
Facilities – work requests, construction projects, recycling
Environmental Health Safety and Risk Management – safety, insurance,
Workers Compensation
Human Resource – Master Data Center, employment,
classification/compensation, benefits, leave and time, retirement work/life,
dispute resolution, employee assistance program
Division of Information Technology
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Reporting/resolving problems with computers, network connections, phones,
classroom technology
Software training, including SAP (the online Finance & Human Resource
related services)
TRACS: the online teaching, research, and collaboration system
IT Security
Topics of Interest, Continued
Office of the President
– Audits and Analysis – ethics, compliance
– Equity and Access – hiring process, EEO Training
– University Attorney – compliance, legal matters
Office of the Provost/ Division of Academic Affairs
– Registrar – class scheduling, grade rosters, administrative change
forms
– Marketing – logos and developing brochures
Division of Student Affairs
– Career Services – student employment services, career planning
services.
– University Police Department – criminal activity, safety and crime
prevention programs, parking facilities and services and university
keys.
University Advancement
– (None in top 17)
The Big Question:
How can we address such
varied needs effectively with
the university’s constraints?
HR Director and Consultant
Renegotiated/Redefined
Project’s Deliverables
Recommended New Products
A Support Staff Resource Website:
All resources at a single location
and
A Support Staff Resource Fair:
Staff & Dept. Reps Networking Opportunities
Began Developing Resource Website:
Each Executive Assistant
Collected Her Division’s Resources
Resource
URL
Office/Dept
Phone #
Resulted in a
7-page, 10 point-font, single-spaced
List of Resources
Training
Information
In the meantime, Consultant
Attended university’s website design class
Discussed creating the website with the
University’s Webmaster
Followed his advice: Asked HR Director to
identify staff to develop and maintain the
website
HR staff identified to develop the
Support Staff Resources Website
The 3 HR Site Developers
Met with HR Director and Consultant to
learn the site’s purpose
Used EA’s list of resources to create site’s
main page, arranging the resources by
Division
Later, created site’s page arranging the
resources A-Z
Developing the Other Initiative:
The 1st Support Staff Resource Fair
Needed a Cross-Campus Committee to
Participate in Development
and
Prepare to Oversee
Recurring SSR Fairs
Getting Support for an
Administrative Support Staff Committee to
Oversee Resource Fairs
Consultant wrote rationale for an ASSC
HR Director advocated for establishing the
ASSC to his Vice President
VP recommended chartering the Committee to
President’s Cabinet
EA’s recommended members: 1 or 2 from each
Division including Admins I to Admins IV
President’s Cabinet chartered the Committee
The
Administrative Support Staff Committee
chartered to
♦ Organize Resource Sharing Events ♦
♦ Oversee the Website ♦
ASSC Executive Sponsor Bill Nance
ASSC Co-Leaders
John McBride
Floyd Quinn
ASSC Members
Bret Adams
Lisha Barker
Sue Hall
Linda Arredondo
Dixie Burge
Melinda Olivo
Ethel Banks
Cynthia Darling
Ana Webb
Facilitator – Suzanne White
The Administrative Support Staff Committee
Organizing the ASSC
Began with a Team Building Meeting and
shared mission
Consultant facilitated weekly ASSC
meetings with agendas to ensured timely
progress producing 1st Fair
Engaged Website Developers with ASSC
Consultant’s Role in Phase 4
Orchestrated & Created Systems/Templates for
The 1st SSR Fair
Created Systems
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Presenter/Department Rep selection process
Communications systems
Assigning/Tracking ASSC roles/responsibilities
Registration process
Consultant’s Role in Phase 4
Orchestrated & Created Systems/Templates for
The 1st SSR Fair
Created Templates, Documents …
– Fair Agenda
– Presenters’ & Dept. Reps’ Logistics
– Exercises & Job Aids for Participants
– PowerPoints
Consultant’s Role in Phase 4
After the 1st SSR Fair
Administered, analyzed a Post-Fair Survey
with the Institutional Effectiveness Office
Prepared Report from SSR Fair Participant
Feedback
Facilitated a Post-Fair ASSC meeting
Passed the Torch to ASSC
Consultant’s Keys for
Any Organization-Wide Endeavor
Ensure Executive Support
Base Decisions on Data
Identify & Engage Key Players
Empower Players
Patricia Prado
Executive Assistant/ASSC Liaison
Serves as connection between ASSC
and all Divisions’ Executive Assistants
Oversees activities of the Administrative
Support Staff Committee
Texas State University
Administrative Support Staff
Over 500 Administrative Assistants
Six Executive Assistants
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President’s Office
Provost and VP for Academic Affairs
VP for Finance and Support Services
VP for Information Technology
VP for Student Affairs
VP for University Advancement
Purpose of SSR Fairs
Provide Support Staff Opportunities
Network with Department Reps
Attend “Hot Topic” Presentations
Explore the SSR website
Three Fairs Produced to Date
* October 2010 *
* April 2011 *
* November 2011 *
350 Admins Have Participated
Producing an SSR Fair
Initial Planning
– When?
• Dates
• Timeframes
– Where?
– Assign ASSC Roles/Responsibilities
Producing an SSR Fair
Determine
– Workshop Topics
– Departments Reps for Networking
Producing an SSR Fair
Arrange for
– Location/AV equipment
– Refreshments
– Supplies
– Give-Aways
– Door Prizes
Producing an SSR Fair
Communicate with
– Executive Assistants
– Workshop Presenters
– Department Reps
– Potential Attendees
Producing an SSR Fair
Prepare…
– Fair Agenda and Map
– Nametags
• ASSC members & Volunteers
• Workshop Presenters
• Department Reps
– Feedback Forms for
• Attendees
• Department Reps
Logistics for one SSR@TXSTATE Fair
November 2011: LBJ Ballroom
25 Departments
Represented
2 Presentations
– TRAVELTracks/
Rental Car Billing
– Student Info System
SSR Website:
Opportunities to
– Explore the Site
– Provide Feedback
Producing an SSR Fair
Follow up Activities
– Collect and Summarize Feedback
– Use Feedback for Improvements
– Begin Planning Next Fair
Mark Leamons
HR Information Systems Specialist
Will tell you about the SSR Website
Worked with 3-member HR technical
team to develop the SSR Website
Maintains the SSR website
The SSR Website
WENT LIVE!
At the 1st SSR Fair
October 27, 2010
The website provides links to…
Offices, Divisions, Departments
– Contact Information
– Org Charts
Business Processes
Services
Electronic Forms
Training Opportunities
SSR Fair Participants
Explore the Website at the Fairs
Take hands-on tour of site
Discuss it with developers
Provide feedback
Tour the Site
Access the
Resources Website
from the
Texas State Homepage
Click on “Expand Navigation”
↑
Click on “Support Staff Resources”
under “Faculty and Staff”
↑
Search for Resources on the
SSR Website Main Page, arranged by Division
Note the Divisions listed across the page –
Click on a Division to see its Resources
↑
President
│Academic Affairs
│Athletics
│Finance and Support Services
│Information Technology
│Student Affairs
│University Advancement
Note the tabs near the top of the page –
Click on the “Resources A to Z” tab to access
the alphabetized list of Resources
↑
Search the Support Staff Resources “A to Z” Page
Click on the 1st letter of the
resource you seek
on the “A-Z quick link” bar
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Or, Scroll Down With Your Mouse
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We Ask Users to….
Provide Feedback
at
http://ssr.hr.txstate.edu
Click on the “Feedback” tab
to access the feedback form
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Fill in the Form and Submit Your Ideas
↑
SSR Website Usage to Date
Number of “Main Page” Visits: 18,775
Number of “A-Z Page” Visits: 3,243
Number of Page Views: 22,267
Unique Visitors: 3,282
Total Visits: 13,335
Average Time on Site: 5:07 minutes
% New Visitors: 23.88%
SSR Website Top Traffic
Sources by Keywords
Procurement Card: 732 Visits
Dean of Students: 670 Visits
Leave Request: 453 Visits
Payment Request: 419 Visits
Travel Tracks: 372 Visits
New Student Worker: 324 Visits
Departmental Deposit Form: 201 Visits
I-9: 190 Visits
Back to John McBride….
Staff’s Comments on the
SSR Website
“I love the SSR Website… a valuable and time
saving resource. Thank you! Thank you!”
“…I have found it quite helpful and it’s a site I
frequent. I love the layman’s terms and the less
than two click accessibility…. I don’t know why it’s
taken so long to come up with this for Support
Staff! Thank you bunches!”
“I only recently discovered the resources page
and think it’s great…. THANKS! Keep up the
good work!”
SSR Fair Participants’ Feedback
Support Staff Say They Like
Associating faces with names and voices
Mingling with knowledgeable staff
Gathering a variety of info in one place
Asking specific reps specific questions
Freedom to come and go as their
individual schedule permits
Cross-Campus Impact
Resources are apparent, understood,
and easily accessed
Support staff use resources more
consistently, efficiently, effectively
Improved communications between
resource providers and users
These improvements have raised
the quality of customer service
Looking to The Future:
Continuous Improvement
Forms
Guides
Manuals
Checklists
Handbooks
The Beauty of
Support Staff Resource
Websites and Fairs
Applicable to any size institution
Cost effective
Needed information is already on-hand
No need for additional staff
Dynamic and easily updated
Mark will demo the website
before we have a discussion
Thank You!
for attending
Mining Administrative Gold!