Operational Excellence Structural Framework FAQ

The university needs a much stronger operational infrastructure in place to better support our faculty, staff and students. It will position us to be successful in moving forward with a bold strategic plan to achieve our vision of becoming a leader as a next-generation land-grant university. A new organizational framework is needed to:

• Drive operational excellence for the institution.
• Enable greater coordination among our administrative and operational units.
• Strengthen day-to-day operational efficiency.
• Streamline the President's Cabinet.

More information regarding the new organizational framework can be found in the April 19 letter from the President and Provost.

The new reporting structure will go into effect on June 11 when payroll begins for the new fiscal year.

The national searches for all three positions will be launched by early May with anticipated start dates early in the fall semester.

A small transition project team will coordinate the staffing work necessary to implement the new reporting structure by June 11. The project team is being coordinated by Shanna Legleiter from human capital services and Lynn Carlin from the provost's office. Also included are Becca Zecha, budget office, Kelly Moon, information technology, Marci Ritter, human capital services, Heather Mills, campus planning, Ashley Martin and Cindy Hollingsworth, communications and marketing, and Sandra Brase, provost's office. The team reports to Senior Vice President Marshall Stewart, Provost and Executive Vice President Chuck Taber, and Vice President Ethan Erickson.

The transition project team is charged to focus on the budget (general, restricted and Foundation accounts) and staffing work, space planning, communications, issues identification, and project management for the transition.

The updated organizational charts for the President and for the Vice President for Administration and Finance are now available (pdf). Updated charts for division of information technology, division of human capital services, and the office of institutional research and assessment will be shared once the transition planning is completed.

It is not anticipated that there will be additional changes prior to the June 11 implementation of the new operational excellence restructure. As new leadership is brought on board, our strategic plan is completed, and our Emergent Method consulting partner continues its organizational review, other changes may need to be implemented to elevate priorities within the plan.

There are no immediate plans to physically move units or employees as part of the current transition. The transition team will look at future space needs for these units as part of our ongoing efforts to co-locate related units, services, functions, and teams to enable greater coordination, efficiency, and teamwork. Any future moves would be consistent with university directions as we create a new Manhattan campus master plan and proceed with universitywide space planning.

The restructure is being funded with existing resources.

As we emerge from strategic planning in the fall, we know it will be critical to invest in areas like these that drive operational excellence for the entire institution. Specific budgetary changes are yet to be determined but will be focused on providing value-added, efficient and effective services for the university.

Of utmost importance is continuing to provide services to our faculty, staff and students while managing the change that comes with any transition. With an emphasis on operational excellence and efficiency, departments can examine customer service practices and prepare to work with new leadership. In addition, it is important to continue to check on your colleagues and communicate concerns and questions anytime by emailing nextgen@k-state.edu.

The transition team will review staffing as part of their charge. Prior to June 11, any new requests for filling vacancies in human capital services or information technology must approved by Senior Vice President Marshall Stewart after review by the transition team. Vacancies that are currently in the process of being filled will be reviewed by the transition team and unit leadership and must also be approved by Senior Vice President Stewart. After the reorganization is completed, staffing decisions will be made by unit leaders and the appropriate vice president.

These functions include enterprise data management, BI development, and certain data ETL and architecting functions that are required to provide seamless support to current and future data management, analytics, and data warehouse development, maintenance, and enhancement activities.

There are no immediate plans for "centralization" that would affect payroll processing.

Employee contracts for the next fiscal year will be modified to reflect the new reporting structure of their units. Employees may experience a change in their direct supervisor as well as their colleagues. Through this restructure, we expect the enhanced alignment of resources and staff will help employees identify synergies and ways to do their work more efficiently and effectively.

• Will everyone have to apply for new jobs?
  No. It will not be necessary for employees to reapply for positions they currently hold.
  
  
• Are other position eliminations being discussed? Is there a possibility of salary reductions?
  No positions have been eliminated in the announced restructure; however, the vice president positions have been redefined in a different reporting structure. The intent is not to eliminate positions or reduce salaries, but to build the staffing capacity needed to drive operational excellence and provide efficient and effective services.

All current remote work arrangements will remain in place at this time. Employees may expect that remote work arrangements may be evaluated by new leaders and that any changed expectations regarding remote work will be discussed with them. More information about the university's remote work policy may be found in PPM Chapter 4045.

As HCS begins reporting to the vice president of administration and finance, or VPAF, a review of current staffing will be undertaken with a focus on opportunities for efficiencies, improved operations, and services across the units, as well as staff resources needed to advance the university's new strategic plan and priorities. This may result in some realignment of staff and functions, either in the short-term or after the chief human resources officer is hired.

Decisions about the realignment of staff and budget from IT to OIRA will be no later than May 19. We expect to notify employees who will be reassigned no later than May 12. More information will be forthcoming as the transition team undertakes its work.

The restructure does not affect currently pending NNRs.

There will be increased involvement and coordination of HCS and IT services along with the other units within the new VPAF portfolio. One of the future-state goals of administration and finance will be to have highly engaged, cross-collaborative, effective teams delivering operational excellence for the university.

Decisions and changes will be communicated through updates to the operational excellence restructure website and through emails directly to IT, HCS, and OIRA staff. In addition, the university community will receive updates through articles in K-State Today.

We encourage you to submit ideas, suggestions or thoughts about this restructure or the future of our university to nextgen@k-state.edu.

The current structure for all of these services continues to be in place. Please visit their respective websites if you have any questions. Their websites will be updated if and when there are changes.

• Human Capital Services
• Division of Information Technology
• Office of Risk and Compliance

Work on projects should continue unless told otherwise. During the transition period, meetings will be held with unit leaders and with teams to understand the work in progress and determine if any changes are needed.

The current structure of IT project governance and the project governance group will remain in place at this time. In the spirit of continuous improvement, we expect this structure to continue to evolve to meet the needs of the university and the goals of a new strategic plan.

All units will be asked to create plans with associated performance/success indicators following completion of the Next-Gen K-State strategic plan in September. Specific measures will be determined through the planning process undertaken by the units after the university plan is complete and new leaders for these functions are onboard.

This structure continues a dotted-line reporting relationship for IT to the Provost and Executive Vice President. It will be important as we evolve the university's IT governance structure to ensure the academic needs of the institution are well represented.

Outstanding, results-oriented HR services will be key to building the workforce we need to become a next-generation land-grant university. It is critical that our central HR unit be viewed as a strategic partner if we are to be successful. We are committed to building a proactive, operationally excellent, collaborative, supportive, efficient and innovative HR team.