ThackerCreating Sustainable Business Practices to Propel Your Department10.26.2020

Creating Sustainable Business Practices to Propel Your Department Dr Kelly L Thacker ACUHOI Business Operations Conference October 26, 2020 Overview • Why this Topic? • Business Sustainability • • • Relative to Housing Life Today on Campus & COVID Pandemic Campus Impact • Document Creation Best Practices • ACUHO-I Standards • SOP Activity • Top • Goal Setting Goals • Understand and be able to explain tenants of sustainable business practices • Identify practices in housing that can benefit from documenting processes and procedures • Explain to colleagues rationale and approach to housing processes • Identify key characteristics and steps of the documentation process Road Less Traveled… Started graduate program in I/O Psych Worked in Apartment Housing in Grad School Left graduate school ABD to work full time Worked at Same Large Public for 12 years before moving Oversaw split academic/residence hall different positions; assignments, residence life, building management, technology, desk operations, dining meal plans • Oversaw technology systems for residence hall program • Embraced my love for organization and affinity for operations work • Currently Director Housing & Dining Services (budget, finance, contracts, marketing, assignments/dining, billing) • • • • • • Let’s Talk Sustainability • • What is it? Triple Bottom Line= • • • • • • Environment = Natural Social = Human Economic= $$$$ Reducing, Reusing, Recycling?? Managing/Anticipating Change More than just about the environment… Business Sustainability • Creating practices/systems that ensure conservation of resources; • Human • Financial • Environmental Impact of Business Sustainability • • • • • Reducing wait times for students Reducing confusion or frustration of campus processes Reusing a process to ensure consistency and dependability Recycle ideas and information Recycle successful programs or interview questions to reduce staff time Reacting v Responding • Reacting- Trying to determine the process to utilize in order to address the situation Not much thought is utilized Leaves people feeling frantic and has an emotional toll • Responding- Having a thought out approach and action Can give staff direction easily Staff are aware of the general outline of the process Tenants of Sustainable Businesses • • • • • • Documentation of Information & Systems Interconnectedness- “Safety Nets” Create Routines, Processes & Tasks Processes Independent of People Cross Training Empowering Staff When you create business sustainability… to spend time with the people and things important to us Relative to Housing Environmental • • • • • • Providing basic needs (Maslow) 24/7/365 Response Social • People are more connected now than ever Ways of connecting also changing • Who is telling your story and how are they doing this? • • Language is key Work with humans-unpredicatable Burnout/ Balance/Health & Safety Future of Profession? Remote Environment How does this change now when people aren’t meeting in person? • • • • • • Economic Housing = Auxiliary Need to make $$ Redundancies Responsibility & Transparency Additional Health & Safety Costs Technology/Infrastructure Costs • • • • • Market Off-Campus Competition Ensure Value to Campus Virtual Classes Impact Live On Requirement? Job/Staff Reduction & Resources Life Today Documentation= Key Document Creation-Goals • • • • • Develop System Thinking Create Flexibility Provide Insight into Decision Making Process Guide Change Provide the W’s • What is a housing practice that would be important to document? • What purpose does the process serve? • Why is it important? • What other areas of campus depend upon this process? SOP & Document Creation-Best Practices 10 11 Identify Goal of Task Identify the Audience (internal v external) Identify Steps in Process Identify Who Does Each Step Create Responses for Different Scenarios Connect Steps to other Documents/Information/Online Resources Test out SOP’s- Use in Training Ensure Comprehension Understand Fluidity Review Annually Continue to Use, Edit, Review Top 5 Sustainability is not just about the environment Housing is a business, treat it like one Environmental pressures impact our work Documentation is the key to success Practice: Write, Review, Edit, Utilize Activity: SOP Creation • Think of an important task you complete on a regular basis • Would someone else be able to this task if you weren’t in the office? • Write down the process for completing this task • Goal/Process/Role/Other Resources • Share this information with your neighbor • What don’t they understand? Document Review Goal Setting • Before the end of the year, identify business practice and the following: • Create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the process • Gather feedback from colleagues about the document • Implement the and evaluate use of the SOP Dr Kelly Thacker kellythacker@wayne.edu Director Housing & Dining Services Wayne State University ... this Topic? • Business Sustainability • • • Relative to Housing Life Today on Campus & COVID Pandemic Campus Impact • Document Creation Best Practices • ACUHO-I Standards • SOP Activity • Top... Understand and be able to explain tenants of sustainable business practices • Identify practices in housing that can benefit from documenting processes and procedures • Explain to colleagues rationale... People Cross Training Empowering Staff When you create business sustainability… to spend time with the people and things important to us Relative to Housing Environmental • • • • • • Providing basic