University Business - April 2007 - (Page 61)

customer satisfaction level. CHRISTENSEN: We really define ourselves in two areas—one is a support role, meaning there are —Tony Valenzuela, San José State University certain funds given to us to support certain standards; those are held and delivered by the administration. We see ourselves in a support and Operations here at SJSU and have made significant investment in employee development over the last two years. [It’s] the ultimate role; they become the customers. The second area covers services leverage of a successful organization, since employees are the only we can perform for departments that can pay for the services, such nondepreciating asset that needs cultivation, encouragement, chal- as if they want to remodel their space [before it becomes a univerlenge, and a sense of accomplishment. We also strive to foster em- sity priority]. That’s where we build a lot of customer relationships ployees and leaders who can forge collaborative decisions through a in how well we do our work. honed set of listening skills and continuous relationships building. We are on a track to develop leaders who can clearly direct and sub- What role does outsourcing play in the facilities departsequently measure the progress of the organization and individuals ment at your institution? as we strive to reach the critical mission goals. CHRISTENSEN: Some of the basic skills we have in-house, but RUBERTONE: We haven’t got a formal succession plan, but I we do outsource almost all of our construction and all of our deam conscious that the department is going to go through some sign and maintenance things that need to have specialists in. We retirements within the next three to eight years, me included. We also do a lot of our own maintenance. I think we’re pretty satisfied hire people with an eye to the future and [try] to allow people to with our standard and our costs. work across the width and breadth of the department. The need for outsourcing has changed a lot over the years. Money is tight, plus you can’t have the same expertise on your staff There’s a heightened sense of the need to provide good cus- at all times. You have to export certain expertise in order to have it. tomer service to higher education constituents. In what That’s where outsourcing’s really grown. Some issues have been driving outsourcing, such as costs and ways has your department changed to reflect this? lack of labor. In some cases it’s easier to get that kind of money, to RUBERTONE: There’s great focus on the customer being faculty/ staff as well as the student. Most of my counterparts are measuring outsource, rather than to get money to hire people. their customer service at some point during the year. We’ve never PIFER: My charge from trustees and senior administration is to exdone a formal survey; we do informal stuff, just talking to other tract the best value from the marketplace. Outsourcing is not a dirty colleagues. We’re active on committees within the university, so we word and not something to be feared. In many instances we outdo have contact with the academic side. We do many things with source a task that is seasonal or that has wildly fluctuating requirestudent organizations, too, so we have a lot of day-to-day contact. ments. In other instances it makes economic sense to outsource. Outsourcing creates competition, and competition is good. Finding a way to voice a complaint is not an issue. Of course, if students don’t think they’re getting listened to, you very soon hear Outsourcing is simply another tool to help get things done effifrom parents. We have very educated consumers that go to college ciently and effectively. However, you can’t overlook the need to be open and honest with in-house staff about the realities of outsourctoday who expect and demand service. PIFER: Fortunately, I inherited an organization that has a long ing. For a large institution, I believe it is critical to have a welland well-deserved reputation of attention to customer service. At trained, dedicated, satisfied in-house staff supplemented approprithe University of Rochester, the entire Administration and Finance ately with contracted support from the marketplace. group focuses on our dual role of customer service and steward- VALENZUELA: The challenge of hiring and retaining employees ship. Each year we report on successes enjoyed, areas where we can due to the high cost of living and relatively low employment rate improve, and new initiatives that we will implement. It is a topic here in the Silicon Valley has driven us to outsource various aspects of our services. We currently outsource a percentage of our custoof emphasis and discussion throughout the year. VALENZUELA: We have integrated the customer focus element dial service, fire/life safety device testing, and elevator maintenance, into our Quality Improvement program by having strategic goals, and we contract out many of our minor tenant improvements and measurements, targets, and initiatives for the customer service el- building repairs. ement of a five-element balanced scorecard. We also have point- RUBERTONE: We are reasonably self-sufficient, except for shortof-service feedback mechanisms and surveys for us to gauge our term peaks of work and specialized areas. We’ll outsource “Employees are the only nondepreciating asset that needs cultivation, encouragement, challenge, and a sense of accomplishment.” universitybusiness.com April 2007 | 61 http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Admissions
Independent Outlook
On The Hill
Future Shock
Spellings Lessons
Identity Mangaement
Getting A Bigger Picture
Facility Directors Speak Out
Internet Technology
Working the Web
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - April 2007