Category: News

Faculty and staff received a survey the week of September 26 asking for candid and confidential feedback regarding their awareness of and satisfaction with the three Shared Service areas – Finance, Facilities and OIT – and how the new workflows in those areas impact all SMU employees. The results will be used to identify priority areas for improvement. The survey will be open until 6pm CST on Tuesday, October 4.

Numerous stories over the past two months have focused on savings and improvements resulting from OE2C.  Twelve 12 SMU doctoral students received the first University Ph.D. fellowships created from funds that were saved through OE2C in 2015, and examples of their research were highlighted. Eight additional Ph.D. students will also be supported by the funds.

The Payroll, Accounts Payable and Grant and Contract Accounting areas of the Finance Department are now offering more personalized service and new electronic solutions. These include electronic authorization payment forms, more frequent processing of direct deposits, and designating grant/contract accountants for each school and area.

Key performance measurements have been identified to track progress in administrative cost savings in numerous areas, including the OIT Help Desk and Support area, Facilities, Finance, Contracts, Graduate Application Processing and Purchasing.  Leaders in each area were interviewed about the measurements – why they chose those particular metrics to evaluate progress, what findings most interested them, and what their main areas of focus will be as they move forward. Extensive charts and graphs were provided with detailed information about savings and progress in each area. 

In addition, faculty and staff were notified that they can now opt out of receiving promotional brochures, flyers, invitations and other printed mail from campus departments, although they would continue to receive mail considered mandatory for all employees.

To learn about developments in Operational Excellence as they are announced, be sure to subscribe to the OpEx Blog.

Featured News

OE2C Savings Fund New University Fellowships

Time Savers and Improved Customer Service

Assessing Our Metrics: New Data Shows Progress Towards Operational Excellence’s Mission

Metrics – OIT Help Desk and Support

Metrics – Facilities

Metrics – Finance

Metrics – Contracts

Metrics – Graduate Application Processing

Metrics – Purchasing

Ability to Opt Out of Campus Mailings

Announcing the Shared Services User Satisfaction Survey

Save the Date: Roundtable Discussion with the IT Leaders

Join us for an open forum discussion with the leadership from OIT. We’ll begin with a brief overview of each area and highlight several of the key projects or initiatives underway. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussions.

We want to hear from you regarding technology concerns, needs, and opportunities.

October 5, 2016
1:00pm-2:30pm
Hughes-Trigg Forum

Approximately one year ago, with the unanimous support of the Executive Committee, SMU implemented Shared Services in Finance, Facilities and OIT  based on recommendations of the OE2C initiative teams in each of these areas. The past 12 months have been a time of change and development for faculty and staff in all areas of the University, as many individuals transitioned into new roles and others worked to adopt new ways of working. 

With major transitions complete, the next step in our pursuit of operational excellence is to understand more about how the new workflows impact all employees. To that end, you will receive a survey the week of September 26 asking for your candid and confidential feedback regarding your awareness of and satisfaction with these three functional areas.  The Shared Services satisfaction survey will be sent to you via email from the Office of Operational Excellence.

Depending on the number and depth of comments you provide, the survey should take 10-20 minutes to complete. Each Shared Services area will use the information provided to identify priority areas for improvement, so your contributions are critical to our further success as a University. Please take time to provide this important assessment. 

Executive Committee

SMU Office of Operational Excellence

After receiving several comments through the Operational Excellence website regarding the desire to reduce the volume of printed materials in campus mailboxes, OIT, Human Resources and SMU Mail Direct worked together to devise a new opt out solution.

SMU faculty and staff can choose to stop receiving promotional brochures, flyers, invitations and other printed mail from campus departments. Log into my.smu.edu and go to “Announcements”> Check the box “Opt Out of Campus Hard Mailings”> Click “Save”. Once you hit “Save”, you elect to receive only campus mail that is mandatory.

Faculty and staff will continue to receive printed mail that is considered mandatory for all SMU employees. This would include notices from Human Resources about benefits, policy updates from Risk Management, etc. (Note: SMU cannot control the mail received from off-campus.)

 For questions, please contact the Help Desk at 84357 or help@smu.edu

 

 

You are invited to attend a Facilities Information Session conducted by SMU’s Office of Facilities Planning and Management.

The Office of Facilities Planning and Management supports the University’s mission through the planning, management, operation, and maintenance of efficient, functional, state-of-the-art, safe, environmentally sustainable, and inviting environments that foster educational instruction, learning, research, and service to the community.

Come join us to learn more about what your Facilities team is doing for SMU.

There will be two times on September 21, 2016, which you can attend. Please join us for one of the Sessions by clicking the “RSVP” button below.

Hughes-Trigg Student Center – Forum

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

RSVP

or

Hughes-Trigg Student Center – Forum

1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

RSVP

Learn more about SMU’s Office of Facilities Planning and Management