Process redesign project honors three years of progress

Three years into the Administrative Process Redesign project, the campuswide initiative to create better business practices has built a track record of success and a stronger campus climate.

“The results have been nothing short of spectacular,” Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration told a group of APR participants gathering last week to mark the project’s third anniversary.

“We’ve done it in a way that’s very responsive to faculty and staff in creating efficiencies and adding value. And, along the way, we’ve built a sense of community,” he added.

From a training project changing the way new employees gain access to computer systems to a large-scale, campuswide project aimed at improving the way research grants are administered on campus, APR has built solutions from the ground up — using the knowledge of those who work on the front lines.

Chancellor Biddy Martin congratulated the group on the work done by APR teams across the campus. She also noted the potential of the project to streamline processes, build community and encourage collaboration.

Alice Gustafson, APR project leader, said the initiative challenged people on campus to take risks and think in new ways about improving business practices that are key to the efficient operation of the campus.

“You allowed us a human framework in which to practice,” Gustafson said. “I have been stunned by the loyalty of the people who have worked so hard and have been so committed for three years.”

Gustafson said the administration, governance units and various employee groups embraced the project’s methods, which employ the principles of Lean Six Sigma process improvement. About 240 people across campus have undergone training in Lean Six Sigma, and close to 400 people have taken part in the project.

Because the methods have been deployed campuswide through practice and training, Gustafson said the original process and infrastructure teams have been disbanded. “We’ve outgrown that structure and moved beyond it,” she said. “That’s a sign that APR is becoming an organic part of campus life.”

The hope is that enough people have been trained in the methodology and enough momentum has been built to deploy the techniques when and where they are needed.

So far, 17 projects have been launched or completed and two more — focusing on departmental cashiering and internal billing — are just about to begin, Gustafson said.

APR teams have found solutions to problems across campus.

They’ve worked to reduce the amount of time it takes to set up a research grant from an average for 113 to 20 days; assure that new employees have the ability to have NetID access on or before their first day of work and decrease the amount of time it takes new employees to gain IT access; to make the transfer of nonsalary costs more efficient; and improve the process for requesting and approving overload.

Mary Czynszak-Lyne, office administrator for the Letters & Science Honors Program and vice president for AFSCME Local 2412, says the project has empowered workers to share their expertise and be a critical part of important changes. She served on the project’s leadership team.

Jim Gray, a training officer in the Office of Human Resource Development, helps APR to develop good team leaders and identify ways to deploy the teams’ solutions. Gray also worked as a member of a team that looked at the administration of salary overloads.

“What has amazed me is the people,” he said. “People have invested a significant amount of time looking at processes that were broken or could be improved. It feels to me like it’s a way to break down the walls and silos and get people working together. People have really embraced that.”

Tammy Kuhn Martin, a research administrator in the College of Engineering dean’s office who served on a team examining cost-sharing and commitments in grants administration, said the project builds on employee dedication and talent.

“Everybody came into the team brought in their own wants and needs, but as we worked, it became more about what was good for the university,” she said. “The way it involves people is impressive. It can certainly succeed in the future.”