Princeton Weekly Bulletin April 27, 1998
Administrative reviews begin with Facilities
President Harold T. Shapiro has initiated a process for the periodic review of all administrative activities, as part of an effort to create budgetary savings by redesigning administrative organizations and processes. The University is undertaking a review of the Facilities Department as the first in a series that will encompass all aspects of the University administration over the course of the next three or four years, Shapiro said.
"We have long had mechanisms in place for periodically reviewing the effectiveness of academic departments and programs," said Shapiro. "We believe we should extend this principle to administrative units. While we strongly believe that the University's administrative offices work hard to maintain efficient operations, we also believe that it will benefit everyone to periodically reassess the needs of constituent groups--particularly faculty and students--and analyze our methods for the delivery of service to them, to ensure that they are cost-effective."
No foregone conclusions
The Facilities review will occur over the next six to eight months. Vice President for Finance and Administration Richard Spies will lead the review, with the assistance of a steering committee comprised of staff from Facilities and other offices across the University. Vikki Ridge, Human Resources region manager and manager of labor relations, will provide administrative support during the review. The University has engaged the consulting firm Coopers and Lybrand to provide advice about the review process.
The review will assess the array of services Facilities provides to faculty, students and staff and identify services that may no longer be cost-effective; it will consider in the light of best practices elsewhere changes to the department's organizational structure, staffing or processes that would enable it to meet the needs of its constituents more efficiently or effectively; and it will identify opportunities to reduce costs or provide enhanced services for the same cost. Spies emphasized that, while no specific savings targets exist going into the review, the overall expectation is that such a review will produce both some cost savings and some service enhancements. Spies also stressed that the views of Facilities Department staff will be considered alongside those of the office's constituent groups in assessing the future direction of the organization.
"There are no foregone conclusions here," said Spies. "We want to make a thorough assessment of how Facilities can best serve the University community in the future. We need the best ideas of all concerned, and so we will create as many opportunities as we can for participation both by the groups Facilities is intended to serve and by staff in Facilities itself."
Three phases
The review is expected to occur in three phases. In the first phase, the steering committee will gather and analyze data about current operations in Facilities and elsewhere, and conduct surveys, focus groups and interviews with client groups and Facilities staff, with an eye toward identifying specific areas for further investigation. In the second phase, the committee will conduct more detailed studies of specific functional areas within Facilities, in order to develop and assess possible recommendations concerning changes in policy, organization, processes and technology. In the third phase, specific recommendations will be tested and implemented.
Members of the steering committee include Kathleen Deignan of Student Life, Justin Harmon of Communications, Michael McKay of Facilities, J.P. Plaksa of Housing, and Garth Walters of Environmental Health and Safety. Vice President for Facilities Gene McPartland will work along- side Spies, Ridge and the steering committee.