Instead of a formal recommendation, the team charged with developing an implementation plan for improved service delivery in human resources and finance submitted a report to President Wendy Wintersteen this week. It's the first of what may be several status updates during a phased process.
In a Nov. 14 email to employees, co-chairs Sarah Nusser and Beate Schmittmann said the Institutional Effectiveness Leadership Team (IELT) and its extended "super group," are seeking Wintersteen's endorsement to proceed in "incremental phases."
The proposed service delivery models introduced last month change responsibilities and reporting lines for staff working with human resources and finance transactions, creating teams with new specialist positions that no longer handle duties in both areas. On Oct. 31, the Professional and Scientific Council passed a motion asking Wintersteen to delay approving the models until more details are provided.
In its report, the IELT proposed a phased approach that keeps the needle moving on service delivery while helping to clarify specifics related to the models. Service delivery also is an integral part of Workday, the new campuswide software system Iowa State will use for finance and human resources transactions as of July 1, 2019. The report states that "critical features" of the models must be determined by Nov. 26 to keep Workday on track for its go-live date.
Work already underway as part of phase 1 includes:
- Drafting job profiles for specialist positions
- Defining units
- Providing specifics about responsibilities -- what stays in the unit, what moves to the model
- Coordinating with the Workday go-live schedule
Examples of phase 2 work include:
- Hiring associate vice presidents in university human resources and finance to help with service delivery development and implementation
- Finalizing specialist position descriptions
- Clarifying responsibilities assigned to specialist teams and unit staff
- Establishing HR and finance teams, in terms of size and numbers needed
A second status update is expected early next year.
