Process Team guides university partners through organizational change

With the University of Utah’s Strategy 2030 and Operational Excellence initiatives, as well as state legislative mandates, many U organizations are experiencing or preparing for change. But they don’t have to face it alone.

The UIT Strategic Planning and Process Team works with colleges, departments, and other university units to manage organizational change. It provides strategic planning, process alignment, organizational design, and organizational change management services.

“We improve business processes,” said Jeff Shuckra, associate director for the Process Team. “We have U teams focus on and visualize shared goals and take ownership over their workflows.”

The Process Team serves all University of Utah organizations, including academic units, research labs, information technology groups, and business support teams. Past partners include Facilities, School of Medicine, and Student Affairs. Its members, who are Prosci certified, use the Alec Sharp methodology for process analysis and Strategy 2030 “as a north star” for conversations with U organizations.

“As internal consultants, we have the luxury of building long-term relationships with our partners. We thrive in working with teams to establish programs of continuous improvement. Deep organizational change takes time and trust. Our facilitators work with team members to set a shared goal and reorient workflows to meet that goal. They own the results and often drive the changes. Sometimes, years into an organizational change effort, our partners will still refer to the process documentation and call us in for refreshers,” he said.

The alignment proposals come from facilitated discussions, during which the Process Team asks questions to elicit the unit’s goals, strategies, and solutions. The process results in shared goals, aligned processes, staff ownership, measurable results, and cost savings.

“Partners see our services as high value. As internal consultants, we bring measured results with minimal expense compared to external resources,” Shuckra said. “Our engagements have a high adoption rate because our processes drive ownership.”

The conversations also reveal opportunities to connect and collaborate with another U organizations.

“When we encounter a team that is missing a critical service, we put them in touch with university groups that offer that service,” he said.

He also encourages U staff who deal with strategic planning, process alignment, and organizational change to join the Organizational Change Community of Practice, which he and Operational Excellence Operations Program Manager Laura Stevens formed in April 2025.

Ultimately, the Process Team’s goal is to help U organizations move forward and fulfill the university’s vision.

 

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