TRANSFORMING ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS AT THE "U"
Background
President Robert Bruininks has said that the University should be known as much for its service and business innovation as for its high quality research, education, and outreach. He recognizes that for the University’s to be a top public research university, we must transform all segments of our institution, including administrative processes and cultural expectations.
In 2005, the Administrative Strategic Positioning Task Force, under the leadership of Vice President Kathleen O’Brien and Executive Associate Vice President Alfred Sullivan, identified seven primary recommendations for aligning administrative services with the priorities and needs of the academic enterprise. These recommendations were built on a substantial body of continuous improvement work in previous years and in direct alignment with one or more of the University’s strategic positioning action strategies:
- Recognize the University of Minnesota, its campuses, colleges, departments, and units as a single enterprise. Establishing uniform standards and systems will help reduce duplication of administrative processes and their associated support structures.
- Embrace and achieve a culture that is committed to excellence, service, and continuous improvement. A culture which is aligned with and encourages transformational behavior and outcomes is essential for the University to achieve its strategic vision.
- Transform the “centralized vs. decentralized” administrative structure. A new model of how we organize and structure administrative support to the academic enterprise must be created so we can make the best use of all of our resources.
- Adopt best-practice management tools throughout the University. Providing better information will support fact-based decision-making and will demonstrate successes, target areas for improvement and maximize the effective use of resources.
- Focus administrative support on serving students, faculty, and academic units. Strengthening our understanding of the people we serve will allow administrative and support units to provide excellent services in alignment with their needs.
- Maximize opportunities for the people of the University to grow, develop, and contribute. The University of Minnesota must transform its human resource system to foster creativity and innovation while enhancing effective, accountable administration. This means not only recruiting individuals at the top of their disciplines, but also providing individuals the means to develop new skills, once hired.
- Optimize the use of the University’s physical, financial, and technological resources. Strategic resource acquisition, management, and redeployment are essential if the University is to achieve its long-term goals and advance academic quality.
These seven recommendations and associated strategies were recognized to be comprehensive and far-reaching. In addition, it was acknowledged that all seven recommendations are inter-related and therefore must be advanced together in order for transformational change to be possible.
For more information: Administrative Strategic Planning Task Force Report to the President (March 30, 2005) (PDF 740 KB)
In August 2005, the president asked Vice President Kathleen O’Brien to lead the next phase of the administrative transformation. In September 2005, Vice President O’Brien asked seven University leaders to assume responsibility for the administrative action areas by chairing administrative task forces. Each also became a member of the Administrative Service and Productivity Steering Committee. The task forces were made up of working groups that included faculty, collegiate staff, students, and external representatives. Each task force was asked to review and refine the principles and goals for the action area, develop and execute a consultation and communication plan, and develop a portfolio of projects with an associated roadmap for completion.
In January 2006, the administrative task forces reported to the steering committee on their work to date, next steps, and their envisioned products. One of the most important products to come out of this phase of the work was a refined vision for the future of administrative operations at the University of Minnesota:
“In support of the University’s academic mission, we must achieve administrative operations that are the best among our peers; focused on service to faculty, students, staff, units, and the public; and driven by performance objectives and defined results.”
In addition, plans for implementation of the transformative agenda were organized under four primary themes: People, Organization/Structure, Information, and Culture. The steering committee decided that a targeted focus on these four areas would ultimately achieve a premier administrative operation that is integrated, results-based, and nimble.
Using these four areas, the steering committee selected a series of projects from the task force portfolios that would drive the success of the administrative transformation. These projects included:
People
I. Strengthen the leadership skills of our managers, supervisors, and leaders
This project will strengthen managerial and leadership capabilities by identifying, agreeing upon, and implementing key competencies for supervisors, managers, and leaders. These competencies will be used in the selection, training, and performance assessments of individuals.
II. Invest in a “strong start” for all employees
This effort will ensure that all new employees begin their employment at the University with a strong start. All employees must receive appropriate support, assistance, and information to orient them to the university as a community, acquaint them with critical resources, and heighten understanding of what is expected of them in their new positions.
III. Improve performance management systems for staff
This effort will improve performance management systems so that every employee receives regular feedback on their performance and understands the expectation to continuously upgrade their skills and knowledge. This project will promote the idea that all University supervisors should reward and recognize achievement, actively support the development of their staff, and deal appropriately with underachieving employees.
IV. Enhance classification and compensation systems across all job families
In order to continue enhancing the competitiveness of the University, classifications and compensation systems will be updated to ensure that pay philosophies for each employee group are clearly articulated, internal and external market compensation information is up-to-date and accessible, and job classifications for each employee group are simplified and current. All managers will be trained to use these systems as designed.
Information
V. Single enterprise / best practice identification and advancement process
This project is creating a process to nimbly and systematically identify, analyze, and advance single enterprise and best practice tools, techniques, and systems. In addition, a review process will be put in place to assess the ongoing effectiveness of these systems.
VI. Internal budget model
This project is building a transparent and responsive budget model that supports the stated values of the institution, allows for long-term financial investments, and addresses the overhead needs of the University, while providing reliable, stable and predictable incentives for sound financial planning and strong fiscal management. The model creates appropriate incentives and disincentives to enhance the University’s excellence and optimize the use of resources.
VII. Enterprise financial system
The new financial system replaces aged technology as well as overhauls many University financial processes and reporting mechanisms. Improvements in processes, quality, and quantity of information will occur through uniformity, consistency, automation, and ease of use. One key objective of the project is to provide the University more data gathering flexibility in an increasingly complex and demanding internal and external reporting environment. An overarching goal is to ensure that each financial business process, and by extension the financial system as a whole, supports a strong and transparent control environment.
VIII. Strengthen compact process to integrate planning, performance, and budgets
This effort will strengthen the existing Compact process to integrate planning, decision making, resource allocation, and performance metrics into a comprehensive system for all colleges, campuses, and units. It will place accountability at the appropriate leadership levels throughout the University and reward improved performance.
IX. Reliable management data support
In order to standardize definitions and promote accessibility, this project will review management and operational performance data needs of University decision-makers and implement necessary changes. In addition, the functions of the offices that provide this data will be assessed to determine how these units might be best optimized to provide better information for planning and decision-making.
Organization/Structure
X: New administrative services model
This effort is developing a new model for administrative services that (1) clearly defines the responsibilities and authorities of central units, colleges, and departments; (2) identifies areas for sharing and clustering administrative services to support multiple units; (3) integrates the delivery of administrative services from central to colleges to departments; and (4) delineates system roles and responsibilities.
XI. Administrative policy review and simplification
In order to reduce over-regulation and complexity, increase consistency and compliance, and empower individuals to make decisions, administrative policies and process will be overhauled. This will include clarifying delegations of authority, eliminating conflicts between internal policies or with external regulatory requirements, redrafting administrative policies in a consistent and easily accessible format, and communicating them clearly and understandably to faculty, staff, students, and the public.
XII. Facilities management transformation
To achieve the University’s strategic goal, space and services must genuinely meet the needs of faculty, staff, students, and academic units. Facilities Management will move from managing buildings to providing services and facilities to serve the faculty, staff, students, and academic programs that utilize those facilities.
Culture
XIII: Define and foster a culture that propels and reflects the University’s aspiration
This effort will define, communicate, and foster a culture that propels and reflects the University’s aspiration to be a top three public research university by: (1) creating a clear statement of the University’s desired culture; and (2) developing a comprehensive plan to transform the University’s culture. Next steps include executing strategies and developing appropriate measures to gauge culture change.
For more information:
Administrative Service and Productivity Steering Committee
– Progress and Implementation Priorities Report
(February 6, 2006 / March 24, 2006)
Administrative Service and Productivity Steering Committee
and Task Forces – Final Report to the University Community
(August 7, 2006)
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