Unit 4: Possible Problem / Solution: Cutting Costs by Increasing the Productivity of Administrators and Support Staff

At a time when many colleges and universities are seeking ways in which to cut costs, the Center for College Affordability and Productivity reported that between 1987 and 2007 the total workforce in higher education "increased 48 percent with full-time employment growing by 33 percent and part-time employment by 85 percent" (Bennett, 2009, p. 6). Over 353,500 of the full-time positions were administrative and support staff. This is compared to the 630,000 "part-time" instructor positions. It is easy to see that over the years, colleges and universities have hired a large number of "part-time" instructors and a disproportionate number of full-time administrators and support staff. This seems to be consistent with Hauptman's (as cited in Massy, 2001) report that noted "administration and support costs amount to 30 percent of education and general expenditures at public institutions and 40 percent at private institutions" (p. 317). One may ask is there really a need to hire such a large number of full-time administrative and support staff? How can colleges and universities increase the productivity of their existing administrators and support staff? In his article, Massy (2001) identified strategies that can be used to improve the productivity of administrators and support staff. This posting will summarize Massy's article on how to improve the productivity of administrators and support services.

Productivity: The Factors that Negatively Impact It

In his article, Massy (2001) identified organizational slack, task accretion, and function lust as factors that can negatively impact productivity. Having an understanding of the factors mentioned above provides administrators with information to adequately diagnose productivity issues. The following is a list and description of the factors.

Organizational Slack. Massy (2001) identified organizational slack as a common factor that can negatively impact productivity. Organizational slack occurs if there is not enough attention given to efficiency. Inefficiency can sometimes result in the need for additional staff and resources. Organizational slack also occurs if employees are not given the opportunity and resources to effectively do their jobs. Resource diversion - when an employee's goal replaces those of the institution - is another common form of organizational slack. Resource diversion can take the "form of loafing, appropriating the organization's resources for personal use, and becoming obsessed with one's own rights and privileges" (p. 319).

Task Accretion. Massy (2001) noted that task accretion occurs when an employee's task does not optimally contribute to the institution's mission and strategic plan. An administrator, for example, may lack competence thus creating unnecessary tasks for employees to complete. Completing the unnecessary tasks costs the institution valuable time and money. Massy also cited "escalating spirals of administrative actions as another cause of task accretions" (p. 320). A clerical worker, for example, may be employed to complete a job and while doing so discovers a new problem that requires the need to hire additional personnel. This spiral continues and the institution ends up paying the cost of having too many employees.

Function Lust. Administrators and support staff generally consider their jobs to be important to the institution. Some employees, however, develop a professional delusion in that they think they are the most skillful employee on campus and should be considered for promotion. These employees find it difficult to realistically understand how they fit into the overall scheme of the institution. If not handled correctly, these employees can have turf wars that can result in task accretion and issues with productivity.

Increasing Productivity

The academic culture tends to emphasize improving quality rather than containing costs (Massy, 2001). Referring back to the report published by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, it is easy to see that higher education is willing to continue hiring new full-time administrators and support staff to promote quality rather than cutting costs by utilizing existing employees. Massy (2001), however, maintained that it is possible for colleges and universities to contain costs by increasing the productivity of administrators and support staff. To accomplish such a task, he noted that there are four critical conditions that must be in place and those are: having "resource constraints, individual and group empowerment, incentives, recognition, rewards, and strategic thinking" (p. 327).

Resource Constraints. Having constraints on resources will motivate institutions to improve efficiency and productivity. Massy (2001) made a good point in that "most educational leaders press hard to enhance quality, but without the effect of resource constraints, there is no incentive to consider cost effectiveness in relation to quality" (p. 327). He also noted that there should be a "wide understanding of the reasons why productivity should be high on the institution's agenda" (p. 330). Developing a communication strategy, therefore, is the first step in the process of improving productivity.

Individual and Group Empowerment. Massy (2001) made another excellent point in that "productivity improvement depends on the initiative and skills of the faculty and staff on both the individual and group levels" (p. 327). It is these individuals who will be carrying out any changes that are made. Encouraging individual and group empowerment "provides a powerful force for making things happen - thus providing a new way to think about productivity and change" (p. 328). Massy further noted that "the empowerment strategy should strive for commitment and leadership at every level and stress diversity, innovation, and personal responsibility" (p. 330).

Offering Incentives, Recognition, and Rewards. When offering incentives and rewards, it is important to take into consideration resource constraints (Massy, 2001). There are, for example, nonmonetary rewards that can be just as effective. It is suggested that such recognition process be spontaneous and ongoing with both major and minor achievements being included. Of course, institutions will need to have procedures on how employees are chosen. Massy suggested that the employee evaluation can be a good tool in this type of situation.

Strategic Thinking. Massy (2001) maintained that administration must "define what they mean by gaining productivity and make it clear that it is an important part of their vision for the institution" (p. 327). Plans must be made to develop ways of embedding their vision into the institution's programs and culture. Administration must also "arrange for the right incentives, recognition, and rewards and make sure there is follow-through across the organization" (p. 327).

Conclusion

Historically, colleges and universities have been considered a labor intensive industry (Bennett, 2009). With the advances in today's technology, one must wonder if there is really a need to have a large number of administrators and support staff or is it simply an issue with productivity? Colleges and Unviversities could certainly reduce costs by cutting back on hiring full-time administrators and support staff. Instead, institutions could look at ways in which to make the existing employees more productive. Much of the literature, however, focuses primarily on the productivity of faculty and very little studies have been done with support staff. It is for this reason that the emphasis of this posting was placed on the productivity of administrators and support staff. In his article, Massy (2001) offered an excellent explanation of the factors that can negatively impact productivity as well as suggestions to increase productivity. Given the current state of the economy, institutions will need to learn to do more with less and productivity is more important now than ever.

References

Bennett, D. (2009, April). Trends in the higher education labor force: Identifying changes in worker composition and productivity. Washington, DC: Center for College Affordability and Productivity.

Massy, W. F. (2001). Improvement strategies for administration and support services (p. 317-336) In J. Yeager, G Nelson, A. Potter, C Weidman, & T. Zullo (Eds.) ASHE Reader on Finance in Higher Education. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing.