Providing Great Service

While this is a new key initiative beginning with this strategic planning cycle, service is certainly not new to Finance & Business or to its strategic thinking. The F&B organization, in its current form, was essentially assembled in 1995 when the Finance and Business & Operations groups were merged. This combination formed F&B, which has grown and prospered since that time. Significant improvements in service (helped along by related process/organizational structure changes) have occurred that have positioned F&B as a significant asset to the University. However, with changes in our senior leadership ranks, resources becoming more constrained, and customer expectations continuing to grow, it is an appropriate time to focus on strategies to move the organization, and F&B service capabilities, forward.

Vision
The Providing Great Service Key Initiative strives to identify opportunities to improve F&B’s success at meeting and exceeding customer expectations. This may be achieved through reengineering of processes, enhancements to customer outreach and communication, organizational changes designed to create efficiencies or better align services, and through training and skill development designed to enhance our employees’ service proficiency.

The Initial Charge for this New Key Initiative Team is as Follows:

1. Develop and implement ongoing assessment processes for all F&B units and functions.
2. Encourage innovation and develop strategies for implementation and support of creative approaches designed to improve service delivery.
3. Search for ways to increase customer contact and channels of feedback.
4. Evaluate the current allocation of resources across F&B to determine if resource allocation is adequate or if changes are needed.

Goals

1. Implement a series of peer reviews (or reviews employing other types of expertise) for each unit that will provide input to the evaluation of services and organizational structure. Larger, more complex units may need to break these evaluations into multiple steps/reviews.
2. Produce an inventory of the functions and services that are provided by F&B. Evaluate their continued relevance, quality of service, and opportunities for improvement or effectiveness.
3. Develop an inventory of critical customer service skills for employees and develop training programs designed to enhance both individual and team abilities to perform jobs with high quality and excellence.
4. Evaluate the current budget and financial structure of F&B. Consider alternatives to annual recycling and explore opportunities for more systematic or holistic approaches to budget reductions.
5. Oversee the progress and achievement of goals by each key initiative team. Ensure that each team has appropriate staffing, leadership, and sufficient resources to be successful.

Metrics and Timeline

1. Peer reviews
• Complete initial cycle of peer reviews for all units by June 30, 2009.
• Establish ongoing expectations for frequency of subsequent reviews.
• Maintain an inventory of recommendations/implementation timeframes and monitor regularly.
2. Establish and produce quarterly operations/service dashboard.
• Set standards/targets, review progress, and implement actions to improve performance as appropriate.
• Develop employee/team service skills.
• Establish inventory of desired skills.
• Develop and monitor training against skills inventory.
3. Conduct periodic customer service surveys, measure progress, problem solve areas of concern.

Key Initiative Manager
Al Horvath — Finance & Business Central Office
814-865-6574 - agh12@psu.edu

Team Members
The team will be composed initially of members of the F&B Leadership Team.
Lydia Abdullah — University Budget Office - lpa1@psu.edu
Kim Belcher — Finance & Business Central Office - kjb30@psu.edu
Dave Branigan — Office of Investment Management - deb7@psu.edu
Steve Curley — University Budget Office - src2@psu.edu
Joe Doncsecz — Office of Corporate Controller - jjd7@psu.edu
Holly Gumke — Commonwealth Operations - hlg4@psu.edu
Dan Heist — Office of Internal Audit - dph3@psu.edu
Gail Hurley — Auxiliary & Business Services - gah5@psu.edu
Wendy Jones — Auxiliary & Business Services - wxj6@psu.edu
Gary Langsdale — Risk Management Office - gwl3@psu.edu
Steve Maruszewski — Office of Physical Plant - sxm37@psu.edu
Kofi Ofori — Finance & Business Central Office - kno101@psu.edu
Rich Pearce — Auxiliary & Business Services - rhp1@psu.edu
Dave Rose — Finance & Business Central Office - dar1@psu.edu
Steve Shelow — University Police - pdsshelow@psu.edu
Dan Sieminski — Commonwealth Operations - dws8@psu.edu
Ford Stryker — Office of Physical Plant - hfs2@psu.edu
Billie Willits — Office of Human Resources - bsw2@psu.edu
Wayne Zolko — The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center - wwz1@psu.edu

The Pennsylvania State University

Office of Senior Vice President for Finance and Business/Treasurer
208 Old Main • University Park PA • 16802-1503 • 814-865-6574

For questions about Finance and Business,
please contact Kimberly Belcher at
814-865-6574 or kjb30@psu.edu.

For questions about the Web site, please contact:
Wendy Jones at 814-863-8277 or wxj6@psu.edu

Design and development provided by the Marketing Office
for Auxiliary and Business Services (absmarketing@psu.edu).

Nondiscrimination Statement | Equal Opportunity Policy | Copyright | Privacy

This page was last updated on Thursday, November 19, 2009.