By the year 2020, UB plans to achieve a university-wide plan for expansion and improvement of every major academic department on campus. One aspect of this long-term plan is to improve the way the university's human resources (HR) are delivered, with specialized task groups developing new techniques for improvement in the New Year.
The Human Resources Strategic Transformation Committee, which dates back to March of 2005, was organized to analyze current HR policies, compare them to other universities' HR departments and figure out ways to improve on them.
With strategies for improvement in hand, the plan is now being put into action. A series of major changes is set to affect the school's infrastructure, with a primary focus on minimizing inefficiencies regarding faculty and personnel paperwork.
James Jarvis, director of State Human Resources Services, explained "Service Mapping," one of the major research methods used in the process.
Research groups were able to split the campus up into 61 main points where human resources are delivered. The points consisted mostly of "operating units and academic departments," according to Jarvis, such as the Athletics and Dean's Offices.
Efficiency, Jarvis explained, is nearly impossible with such a large amount of disconnected points. The university is beginning the process of condensing these points into three separate but very connected departments.
The three divisions, known as business services, student affairs and academic enterprise, will soon be implemented throughout the campus.
The most major changes will be geared towards faculty. The recent development of the Organizational Development and Training unit should prove to have a very positive effect on UB's faculty, Jarvis said.
A major flaw of HR has always been the inefficiency of all of the schools' Personnel Transaction Forms, which are, according to Jarvis, basically any documentation regarding employees. The previous processes resulted in a 70 percent error rate and 20 percent payroll error rate, with errors being quite costly for the university.
A new system for personnel documentation called PeopleAdmin should be "going live this spring," Jarvis said, who added that training is currently ongoing for the new personnel procedures. The computerized system will automate all employee processes including attendance, training, recruiting and personal information.
"There are a number of students who, as employees for the university, will be affected by the changes," he said.
As far as the common student, Jarvis said, the impact will be far from direct.
A director of the department will appointed soon, as on campus interviews will take place this February. Jarvis also predicted that the department should be up and running by the spring semester.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
