Services to Students Organization

Organizational structure that utilizes cross-functional teams to promote one-stop and student self-service approaches to service delivery.

Focus on:

Service delivery infrastructure
All services to students 
Organizational structure needed to deliver service effectively, efficiently, and consistently
Team-based management
Cross-functional processes

Key Issues:

Stovepipe or silo approach to service delivery; fragmented individual functional unit processes
Within each functional unit, specialists are responsible for individual steps in process and delivery of service
Services to students units have different organizational reporting relationships
Employees want to 'protect' their knowledge or expertise
Authority is closely-held at all levels
Responsibility doesn't always mean accountability
Narrowly defined job descriptions limit decision making and accountability
Limited scope of decision making - only within job responsibilities
Risk taking is discouraged - initiative is demonstrated within limits of job descriptions
Identifying difference between leader, manager, supervisor
Training is focused on individual skills with no follow-up to ensure use of what has been learned in the work environment
Inconsistent application of or adherence to policies both within and between service to students units
Policies are exception-based rather than rule-based
No unified college commitment to encourage student self-service
No college-wide standards for customer (students, employees, businesses) service; different definitions across campus
Informal networks encourage inefficient use of employee time and resources; results in information received via network not always shared with co-workers
Services to students units are physically dispersed
Offices are not open at the same time; hours are not conducive to evening and weekend service

CURRENT SITUATION:

PEOPLE/ ORGANIZATION	CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORKFLOW	TECHNOLOGY	PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE	POLICIES/ PROCEDURES
each unit has individual resources and function as self contained units with limited sharing of resources with other units units compete for resources and recognition primarily specialists in individual functional units; generalists have emerged out of necessity individual instead of group decision-making… sometimes, authority is directed away from responsible parties in an effort to not be accountable… inconsistent philosophies re: what 'good' customer service is multiple organizational reporting relationships training focused on individual skills and provided on individual basis participation in training is not mandatory and value depends on unit; often no consequences for not attending multiple providers of training leads to inconsistency in delivery and content no follow-up to training received to ensure individual is making use of training in work environment no comprehensive training plan to identify, address or develop needs	unawareness of entire processes no understanding of completion of process limited number of teams (i.e. work groups) within individual functional units conflict is viewed as negative; unawareness of what healthy conflict entails very little cross-training within and between services to students units lack of an encouraged approach in interacting with students and other employees no formal process for providing information between individual units; informal networks have been created	not all service to students units have access to information and equipment no plan for enabling student self-service and employee assisted service: interaction of data, presentation (format, style) existing programs are not user-friendly or integrated inadequate documentation for end user programming computer tools are not being used to full capacity (e.g., end user screens or report development) training is inconsistent and not regularly scheduled information obtainable via kiosks is limited even though it is available within the system	services are physically dispersed financial resources available to develop / create physical space limited space available for: individual conferences, group activities, waiting areas configuration of offices within different locations not in sync with processes offices not always in secure areas poor signage - offices difficult to locate inability to share equipment results in individual unit purchases	training is not mandatory no in-service for classified and management - only training policies and procedures are inconsistently applied and, often, non-existent performance evaluation process inconsistently applied: classified involves completing a form and reviewing the job description; managers involves standard yearly and comprehensive every third year; faculty/counselors have another process

PEOPLE/ ORGANIZATION	CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORKFLOW	TECHNOLOGY	PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE	POLICIES/ PROCEDURES
develop cross-functional team approach to service delivery create an organizational structure that enables re-allocation of resources establish comprehensive and specific training programs that address skill development in the following: technical knowledge, team interaction, customer service examine job classifications and descriptions to identify changes needed to support team approach to service delivery establish evaluation process incorporating individual team performance and completion of applicable training	establish individual and work unit training programs that include: 1. technical knowledge: retrieving information, explanation of complete processes, on-going changes - both internal and external, technology, telephone use 2. team interaction (to deal with internal dynamics): conflict resolution, communication, establishing and monitoring purpose and values, decision-making, problem-solving 3. customer service (to deal with external dynamics): conflict resolution, negotiation, decision-making, telephone, setting boundaries, problem-solving training for all employees on transition from hierarchical manager/supervisor to team-based team leader organizational structure	develop strategic technology plan for services to students (including equipment maintenance) and coordinate with current planning effort 1. programming requirements for service to students recommendations 2. training 3. documentation establish team-based approach to development, maintenance, and support. present data in user-friendly self-explanatory, integrated format develop training tools and documentation that will enable users to troubleshoot and solve system problems	co-locate core administrative services to student units by process (i.e., enrollment, financial, information dissemination, advising, testing) reallocate equipment resources ensure individual work space arranged in logical, process order improve signage expand service hours	implementation team drafts position statement concerning training to: 1. acknowledge that training is a continuous process, not a one-time event 2. stress the importance of full participation by all services to students employees 3. ensure training is related to individual and team responsibilities 4. support training as integral to employee and team job performance 5. encourage dedicated time in weekly schedules for training and team activities… process owner managers identify and advocate policies and procedures required to develop consistent methods of application across all units so that all employees understand and make decisions based on the same policies and procedures process owner managers develop philosophy of how services will be delivered to students… coordinated implementation of students first! recommendations and reallocation of services to students resources using the budget process