Talking Stick - January/February 2009 - 25

soliCit iDeas From staFF The process of making up for a serious budget shortfall should be open and transparent and should involve staff from the very beginning. As PoudrierAaronson notes, “The employees and students working/living in the halls each day often have some realistic and creative ideas for cost-saving techniques.” Budgets should be reviewed both from the student and the staff perspectives; for example, Giles says, one solution may be to “reduce professional development funding, such as travel, and keep the programs that affect the students.” Kathy Hobgood, director of residential life at Clemson University in South Carolina, finds it useful to “think less about ‘what can we afford’ and more about ‘what is the best use of the dollars we have available.’” The approach taken by Student Affairs at Clemson was to evaluate “all of the programs and services that Student Affairs was providing to our constituencies,” Hobgood recounts. “We then cross-referenced those with our departmental and student affairs missions and ranked those processes and services by how close they fell to our core purpose. This activity allowed us to look at the big picture and be objective about what things we might be able to stop doing as opposed to thinking about people. Once you have this list of best programs, you can re-assign current staff to other tasks. The savings on stopping doing some programs may help you keep all your people.” can add up to a significant reduction in expenses. If this approach fails, then – and only then – is it time to start the arduous task of determining how to save money on personnel. PoudrierAaronson and Mills reiterate that it is absolutely critical to involve as many staff and students as possible in these discussions. “Your staff might bring up aspects you didn’t think of for the budget process,” Mills states. “If you can give them some decision-making authority, they will understand the process and results much better than being shut out of the conversation. If your staff can see the entire budget, understand the cuts that need to be made, and provide input, it will be easier for all to understand.” secrets.” One of the keys to successful budget-cutting is to maintain the transparency of the process with the staff. Determine essential staFF If it comes to the point where staff need to be cut, it’s important to take the time to determine who the essential staff are in a consistent and deliberate manner. “Some of the factors an organization might consider in defining essential [staff are] impact on physical structure and life safety issues, assumed risk and liability assessment, and then impact on individual and community growth and development,” says PoudrierAaronson. Giles believes that the meaning of the word “essential” should be defined in part by the position’s direct impact on students. “One does not eliminate positions that directly affect the students on a daily basis; instead, middle management positions get reviewed and/or reduced and you re-align the responsibilities that are being asked of the middle managers.” In addition to gauging the impact on students, consider other factors: When push comes to shove, who could the department not survive without? What might the impact be on other staff members? On supervisors? re-evaluate positions One strategy commonly utilized prior to cutting positions is to institute either a permanent or temporary hiring freeze. If an opening occurs naturally (from resignation or retirement, for example), Poudrier-Aaronson recommends that an organization take advantage of this as an opportunity to consider how critical the position is. This may also motivate the organization to assess the entire staffing structure – is it working well as it is, or could it be more effective or more efficient? “A hiring freeze allows the organization to review positions and introduce the concept of ‘essential [staff ],’” PoudrierAaronson notes. “If a position is vacant when this review occurs, then there may be a bit less emotion involved in the discussion because a person is not part of the equation.” This kind of review may simply confirm that the position is essential and thus the funding must be secured to fill the opening; or the review can result in a permanent organizational change because the department has found a more efficient and affordable way to operate successfully. Regardless of the outcome, Mills believes in full disclosure: “There should be no look outsiDe First Before making any job cuts, Hobgood recommends “enlisting the advice of your departmental HR person, as your campus may have specific rules and procedures that you must follow and that provide guidance.” In reality, the decision to cut personnel may not even be one made solely by your organization. There are several possible external influences, notes PoudrierAaronson. “The organizational climate or culture on a specific campus also impacts the decision-making process. Growing or shrinking enrollment, union contracts, research-focused January + February 2009 pinCH pennies Separating the essential from the nonessential may be difficult in some cases, but it’s usually fairly easy to spot obvious examples of waste or excess, no matter how small. Can you eliminate the t-shirts for a program? Do you need to provide food at student programming events? A series of small and relatively insignificant cuts 25

Talking Stick - January/February 2009

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