Month: April 2016

Average turnaround on many contracts reduced from 44 days to two days

Thanks to recent changes in the way SMU handles contracts, projects are moving forward more quickly than ever before.

Prior to the new process, nearly all contracts – whether for $100 or $10 million – had to be examined by Legal Affairs. Given their workload for not only contracts but also other legal matters, turnaround time for an average contract often took more than a month.

Now, a team of 28 contract leads led by Senior Contracts Administrator Melanie Bailey processes nearly all contracts, reducing the turnaround time for an average contract from 44 days to two days.

The contract leads are appointed by deans or vice presidents from each SMU school and major department.

Bailey helped manage contracts in Legal Affairs for seven years before taking her new position in SMU’s Business and Finance department in March 2015. The switchover took place one year ago at the suggestion of the Contract Administration initiative. On April 15, 2015, contracts stopped going to the Office of Legal Affairs and started going to their designated contract leads, who would then feed them to Bailey.

At first, she manually handled everything. But in September 2015, SMU added Selectica contract management software, which helps filter the contracts, thereby raising the efficiency of the process.

When the contract lead members need help with the new software, they call Bailey. “We provide training to the contract leads, but Selectica is almost like a software that, if you don’t use it all the time, you can forget the steps,” says Bailey. “All they have to do is call me, and since we can screen-share the Selectica contracts, we can get things rolling pretty quickly.” Bailey emphasizes that she and George Finney, SMU’s chief security officer who also has administrator status for Selectica, can only see Selectica, nothing else on the caller’s computer.

Bailey continues to review every contract, and can route them to various departments – typically Legal Affairs, Risk Management, Research Administration or OIT — when needed. “Some are long or complex contracts that still do take a good while, with a lot of legal language in there,” she says. “We have to make sure that the contract provides reasonable legal protection for SMU.”

Selectica’s DocuSign feature (electronic signature) also helps move projects along faster. “We’re not passing pieces of paper around or having to deliver documents across campus anymore,” Bailey says. “Everyone with signature authority now uses DocuSign on our contracts. For example, President Turner can provide his signature using DocuSign in an email, all done through Selectica.”

Other departments are taking notice of how using electronic signatures can speed things along, and Bailey is working with them on adopting DocuSign. “We have two schools that are going to start using it for their students, and Purchasing is looking into it as well,” she says.

“All of these steps create a more direct flow. People are getting normal business done more quickly.”

Read more about the SMU Contracts Policy, which was recently updated in December 2015.

The Operational Excellence team sat down with Facilities leader Philip Jabour to talk the shared services transition, challenges and priorities. 

Where is your organization in the Shared Services transition process?

A: I would say that we are complete in our transition. Our process was very straightforward in that we took a group of about 16 people and they all became facilities managers, so they all had the same functions, titles and responsibilities for their respective areas. Now we are in the process of refining it, improving it, learning from what was expected of us, what is to be expected of us. The facilities managers are also beginning to get intimately involved in the new facility agreement that we are negotiating with Aramark, because they are ultimately going to be the day-to-day administrators of that contract.

What has been the biggest surprise you have encountered during the transition?

A: The biggest surprise and reward that has come from the Shared Services transition in Facilities is that we got a group of people who are so passionate and driven and focused and really wanting to do a good job. Even though they recognize they still have areas where they need to learn more technically, or more about the department or the position, they are all so driven and they really want to be here. That’s what has been so nice. I have not heard a complaint from anybody saying, you know, “Why did you do this? I don’t get this.” Some of them even said, “You know, I am so happy to be here. I feel honored that I was chosen or picked to be here.” So I think that is a real success story, especially since we anticipated that there might be negativity about Shared Services. I think we are fortunate that we got a group of people who have embraced their new roles, and they are taking off. This group has a wonderful director of facilities management, Alison Day. She has done a great job in bringing them together, keeping them focused and being their champion.

What has been the most challenging aspect of the transition?

A: The most challenging aspect of the transition has been the pace at which the individual units have embraced the Shared Services changes and getting buy-in from everyone. Ultimately, we are all working toward the same result, and our goal in Facilities is to free up the time of other areas by focusing on our specialization and letting them focus on their core business. When we celebrate the anniversary of Shared Services in August, I think we will have successfully navigated this aspect of the transition. We will be in a position to manage our areas of expertise so we can all come together to make a better product as a University.

What are the top priorities for your organization right now?

A: We are in the midst of renegotiating the new Aramark agreement, which was a part of the OE2C Facilities initiative. This is a very large recurring contract for the University, and we are still tracking for a June 1 execution. Once the contract has been negotiated, it will be important to train the facilities managers to understand the agreement in order to best administer the services Aramark will provide under the new agreement. . Another priority for me is to continue working to be one single cohesive collaborative Facilities group, and this is the first time we have ever had that opportunity. Now we are responsible for building, maintenance, operations, grounds and more, so we must take what traditionally has been very disjointed on our campus and bring it all together. Creating a cohesive department is very important to me and to SMU.

How has your organization changed with the addition of the new team members?

A: We now have 16 facilities managers that are spread out across the entire University because they office and work in their respective buildings. So, part of the challenge is making sure that everybody feels a part of the department. That is always a challenge. We have resolved that with Alison really taking an active role in making sure she is being seen and traveling to their respective areas. I think it is making them feel a part of a department when they are not sitting as a department in the same building. We also encourage them to remain connected to the people and the culture of the areas in which they continue to work. But now that our department has a larger scope, we work to be on the same page and ensure that we eliminate redundancies and maximize efficiencies.

What key improvements have you seen so far?

A: To me, the biggest improvement we have seen is in the careers of the individuals who have embraced their new roles. Some of our facilities managers have been at SMU for two years and others have been here for almost 20, but it is amazing to me that no matter how long they have been here, or how long they were associated with the same school or department, they are pleased with their career prospects as a result of this change. Everyone seems to understand that they serve all areas of campus in order to improve the University as a whole. And their positivity is opening doors for their growth as they leverage themselves and share information in ways that have not been explored before. Now we have a consolidated group of individuals committed to being effective and efficient, who are passionate about what they do and looking out for the interests of the University by making sure that our facilities are being take care of.

As you may be aware, SMU Facilities is in the process of recalibrating thermostat settings in many campus buildings through May 1 as part of an Operational Excellence initiative. We would like to clarify that the University’s updated protocol on temperature set point ranges will not impact residence halls. 

Some residents may have experienced temperature swings during the last week as SMU Facilities continues to calibrate settings. We apologize for this inconvenience. 

The temperature set point range in the residence halls will remain 68°F to 74°F year-round. Residents are asked to be aware that during the seasonal changes between winter and spring and between summer and fall, swings in external daytime and nighttime temperatures may at times affect room temperatures. However, room temperatures will adjust to remain in the range of 68°F to 74°F. 

Students are reminded not to tamper with thermostats and to please direct any questions or concerns about room temperatures to the SMU Service Response Center, 214-768-3494.

In most other Main Campus buildings that are under the University’s central air control system, the temperature set point range is 72°F to 76°F for cooling and 69°F to 72°F for heating, with adjustments when these buildings are unoccupied late nights and weekends.

See more information on the temperature set point protocol

Thank you to campus community members for their input and feedback throughout this process. In determining the settings, the staff and faculty members who served on this Operational Excellence initiative took into account industry standards on recommended temperature ranges, as well as ranges at other Texas universities. The goal is not only to reduce costs, with savings reinvested in the University’s academic mission, but also to save energy as part of our commitment to environmentally responsible practices.

Over the past two months, SMU continued to streamline and implement processes and cost-saving measures in different areas:

• Facilities has initiated new thermostat settings – 72-76 degrees in summer and 68-72 degrees in winter – to conserve energy.
• Procurement reported that in ongoing comparisons, prices for hotels and flights available through Concur continue to be equal to or cheaper than rates for those same hotels and flights on other websites.
• The Admissions Office has streamlined operations by using a Shared Services system for graduate application processing, greatly cutting down on the processing time for applicants and allowing them to receive decisions electronically.
• Human Resources is undertaking improvements in five key areas – payroll workflow, recruitment, compensation, classification and performance reviews – that will include simplifying and automating a number of processes, and introducing contemporary work tools and more useful reporting measures. Also, training was provided for managers about the transition to the new performance review process, which will be online beginning in 2017.
• Finance and OIT leaders shared their thoughts in a Q&A about their transition to a Shared Services model.

The Office of Operational Excellence also answered questions about new roles under the Finance Shared Services initiative of personnel who are centralized compared to those within individual schools, and addressed the difference between Building Liaisons and Facilities Managers within the Facilities Shared Services initiative.

Featured News

Ways to Save: A Message about SMU Thermostat Settings

Travel and Entertainment: An Airline Cost Comparison Update

Streamlining Admissions Operations Using Shared Services 

Human Resources Initiative Begins Process Improvements 

Human Resources Provided Training for New Performance Review Process

A Q&A about Finance Shared Services with Associate Vice President Ernie Barry 

An Interview with OIT: How Leadership Made the Shared Services Transition 

FAQs

FAQ: What are the differences in the roles & responsibilities of the Finance Shared Services Unit Liaisons, formerly Assistant Financial Officers, in relation to Academic Financial Officers? 

FAQ: I understand Building Managers will now be called Building Liaisons, but am confused about their role in relation to Facilities Managers. Can you explain who does what?