1 Vision/2 Approaches: Customer Expectations - University & Research Institute Perspectives

1. Region VI/VII Spring Meeting 2011 1 Vision/2 Approaches: Customer Expectations - University & Research Institute Perspectives Allison Weber Director, Gov’t & Non-Profit Grants/Contracts, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute Office of Research Administration Patti Manheim Director University of California, Los Angeles Office of Research Administration

2. Who are the customers of Research Administrators? • What are the expectations of these customers ? • How have those expectations changed in the last 5-10 years? Customers/Clients

3. IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO MEET CUSTOMER EXPECTATION???

4. What is the purpose of customer service? • Is it really necessary? • What skills are necessary? • The “standard skill set” • The “new and improved” skill set Customer Service

5. Environment • How does environment influence customer expectation? • The University Environment • The Research Institute Environment

6. University Environment UCLA Elements affecting Customer Service • An institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees… Research Universities (RU/VH) 96 in the US Research Universities (RU/H) 103 Doctoral Research Universities (DRU) 83

7. Customer Service Challenge / Solution • Communication – Developed defined procedures • Contract Negotiation Challenges – develop alternative • Streamlining a procedure University

8. Research Institute Environment Elements affecting Customer Service • An establishment endowed for doing research

9. Customer Service Challenge / Solution • Communication • Facilitating procedure – dividing responsibilities • Subcontracting Research Institute

11. General Guidelines: (Adapted from J M 51 business errors) • Focus: Pay more attention to your service model, office organization and pay less attention to the external factors – lack of federal funding, state resources, campus politics. Keep your eyes on the road, and not the landscape. Meeting Customer Expectation

12. Don’t throw the Hail Mary: Don’t make dramatic changes in haste. Work on the service tactics already in front of you. Keep moving and keep working at the tasks that have worked in your office. Don’t count on one change/element as a source of instant salvation. • Don’t Fret: tune up systems, make investments in training and education programs – investments that pay over time. Meeting Customer Expectation

13. Check your model – what can you learn from your internal and external customers/clients: What is working and what can be improved. (e.g. Can you simplify what has become too complex?) Meeting Customer Expectation

14. Jim Muelhausen, CPA, JD The 51 Fatal Business Errors, and how to avoid them, 2008 Mulekick Publishing 3rd Ed • Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 2007 References

15. Allison Weber Director, Gov’t/Non-Profit Grant& Contracts, Office of Research Administration Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute Research Administration Office 301-222-3621 aweber@labiomed.org http://www.labiomed.org • Patti Manheim Director Office of Contract and Grant Administration (OCGA) University of California, Los Angeles 11000 Kinross Avenue, Suite 102 Los Angeles CA 90024 310-794-2644 patti.manheim@research.ucla.edu http://www.research.ucla.edu/ocga/ Thank you!