| Plexus Consulting Group | Success Stories | ||
| ABA Develops Corporate Intranet to Improve Administrative and HR Functions |
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| American Bankers Association (ABA) |
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Plexus Consulting Group, LLC |
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Vital Stats The Challenge | The Solution | The Process |Unforseen Benefits | Measurements & Results | Lessons Learned How to meet daily operational challenges in a direct, relevant and efficient manner? ABA's corporate intranet is only three years old. The initial goal
for developing the intranet was to provide easy access to the Human
Resource manual and associated policies. However, once an intranet
goes live, it can either become a mere repository of accessible information,
or it can do much more. ABA's management information team concluded
that employees were suffering from an information glut and information
famine at the same time. Web-based intranet technology is not a panacea
in itself. The challenge is not just to "pour content out there."
People need to learn to productively use it in a manner that is directly
relevant to help meet their daily challenges. "The Inside.ABA.com mission is to provide near-instant access to the details that streamline ABA's internal business activities. Inside.ABA.com strives to make the internal workings of ABA quick, accessible and accurate, freeing us to meet the performance expectations of our members." ABA has long been committed to using technology efficiently. While
the intranet is not "mission critical" in that it doesn't
directly affect members, it helps to ensure that every new employee
becomes productive on "day one." As a result of the new
and improved intranet, Inside.ABA.com, employees no longer waste precious
time and energy "tracking someone in facilities management to
find a red garbage can." "It's all about setting the right expectations." To streamline its human resource processes, ABA took "the manual" and transferred it onto the corporate intranet. In and of itself, placing the manual online is not particularly innovative. The key is not only to make human resource policies more accessible, but more useful in day-to-day situations, by providing real-time access to the contacts and step-by-step procedures needed to accomplish inside business in a timely and efficient manner. Timing The challenge was two-fold, as the intranet development team focused on two different and highly interdependent client groups:
The New Hire page, formulated to streamline HR processes, leverages the corporate intranet to provide unprecedented service to hiring managers. Anytime that a manager is authorized to hire a new employee, several points of contact within Operations and Finance must be consulted to provide various services ranging from access to computer hardware and software, to delivery of keys, special passes and office furniture. On the one hand, the New Hire page was designed to help hiring managers keep these basic tasks from "slipping through the cracks." On the other hand, Operations and Finance staff also need essential information from hiring managers to smoothly process these essentials for new hires. The intranet has completely streamlined the new hire process by allowing these two groups to communicate in real time. In the past, there was no effective way to discourage having someone call the help desk after a new employee arrived, which meant, in effect, the help desk and other support staff would "drop everything" for immediate new hire set-up and processing. For a support staff that's already tightly choreographed and scheduled, this was problematic, as it would delay other work. In addition, this lack of planning meant that follow-up details dribbled in over the week - or two weeks - asking for this or that setup in e-mail, computers, office furniture, keys, etc. ABA's objective was to streamline this process to enable in-house service providers to respond to requests in a world-class manner: when the new employee arrives, that person will be equipped to start work Day One. Here's how ABA's MIS team implemented the program:
The formula enables hiring managers to log onto the intranet, check the appropriate boxes corresponding to their needs, and e-mail one request to all relevant Operations and Finance staff responsible for delivering the various new hire services. Before the development of the New Hire site, hiring managers and
their assistants would be responsible for digging through "the
manual" to determine which of a dozen possible steps were needed
(and in what order) to bring new employees on board. "It was
all out there but it wasn't user-friendly." While it is common
for associations to toss the information out there, hiring managers
"shouldn't have to go hunting" to identify and assimilate
routine policies to meet practical needs. Also, new ABA employees
can now go to one intranet address to access practical, step-by-step
information about and instructions for orientation and training. Beyond New Hire Orientation Tracking staff expertise - - Expert's Database
"Low-tech" colored checklists labeled "Learn 50 New Things - Win 50 Dollars!" were distributed to employees to record their progress. This method was chosen to "meet people where they were" and charge them to validate this record throughout the 90-day campaign with their department's technology coordinator. Each card contained 10 entries under the following technology headings:
Participants were by no means limited to learning 50 new things. A few learned up to 100 and even 150 new technology applications. Those employees who participated were showered with "goodies" from special campaign T-shirts to distinctive coffee mugs that displayed ABA's logo and slogan "World-class Solutions, Leadership and Advocacy," and "Embrace Technology." Another measurement was a qualitative, subjective survey ABA staff completed in October at the start of the campaign and again in January, upon its completion. The survey sought to measure how technically proficient ABA staff felt they were with a variety of technologies, and how frequently they used web technologies. At the close of the campaign, ABA's MIS staff determined not to "get bogged down" in post hoc measurement and skills testing, primarily due to the overall high caliber of ABA employees and high levels of confidence in their capabilities. Overall, ABA achieved:
"This works like a dream." Key results to date of Inside.ABA.com are:
The entire new hire "life cycle" can be traced from step
one and all parties involved in the hiring process are provided with
step-by-step instructions and links to the relevant policies governing
each aspect of it.
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