How Do We Get There from Here?
Where Our Strategy Map is Leading Us

by Kate Riley

In the 2003 EIT retreat, senior leaders decided to launch an ambitious strategy map this year. The purpose of this map is to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction, effective cash management, internal efficiency, and a more knowledge-driven staff. Is that ambitious enough? Here’s our progress in moving ahead with these initiatives:

• The Customer Relationship Team is doing fact finding on several fronts to see how we can better deliver customer service. The team so far has contacted other universities, local businesses, and reviewed the literature for new ideas. The team is also exploring how to support customers’ information needs once the financial desktop is operational. One idea the team has brought forward is to create and staff a “Decision Support Unit.” This unit would provide high-level data mining and could build data warehouses. Contact Ann Anderson or Sue Camber, co-team leaders, for more information about this initiative.

• The Cash Management Team is charged with creating a measure of cash management efficiency to assess how well we are handling the University’s money and to identify where we can do a better job. As a first step, the team has charted how the money flows into the University and how, in turn, it goes out. Did you know the annual budget is close to $3 billion dollars? The next step for the team is to inventory the various measures of cash management we have and see what more we need to develop. Talk to Frank Montgomery for more information about this team’s work.

• The Graduate Student Appointment Process team is working with several FM departments and campus units to streamline and standardize this important process. The appointment process, forms, web information, and grant interpretation are all up for a close look to see where we can make improvements. The two FM departments most effected are SFS and GCA. Pam Luther is the team leader and can provide more details if you’re interested.

• The Lead Team continues to help FM move toward being a knowledge-driven organization. By knowledge-driven we mean being able to anticipate customers’ needs and then do problem solving and consultation to resolve them. The Lead Team has been making presentations throughout FM about this initiative. In case you missed it, you can see the presentation on-line at (URL). Kate Riley is leading this initiative—call her for more details.

Coming up later in 2004 is the launch of initiatives related to financial reporting and risk management. Stay tuned.