Unified Support Model Update

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By Colin Burke and Ciarán Bryan, USM Project Team

Greetings colleagues,

   I hope this message from Unified Support Model finds you well. USM has gone though a transition period as a unit this year, with staff moving onto other positions in the University and new staff coming in to take up the mantle. The USM mission is still the same though, to drive a unified high quality support service experience for students and academics, through supporting a unified approach from staff.

 Goodbyes and Hellos

There has been a big change since the last WST Newsletter. Eimear Kelly has changed roles, moving to the School of Psychology and the USM Team welcomed a new Project Administrator, Ciarán Bryan, previously a Senior Administrator in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems. Ciarán graduated with a PhD in history from Maynooth University in 2015 where he also worked in a variety of roles from 2009-2019 including project based, administrative, technical and teaching positions. Ciarán will thus draw on his varied experiences to help deliver the goals of the USM. Welcome Ciarán!

I would like to extend a huge thanks to Eimear and all of the USM Project Team members that have gone before us, for all they have done over the past three years in developing and rolling out the USM. If it were not for them, the USM would not be where it is today.

We wish them all the best in their new roles!

USM Rollout Continues – Phase 3 USM Teams:

The USM Project Team has been developing tools to support our hard working frontline College Office and School Teams across the University with the day-to-day jobs they need to get done.

“Team Leads, if you’d like…

…to have business information to hand with a real time snapshot of where your resources are being concentrated?

…a reduction in mundane tasks with more time available to engage in more complex and interesting tasks?

…to plug gaps in service, and to have a motivated team performing well while providing a greater quality of service to your staff and students?

Then USM for Teams is for you!”

USM for Teams Rollout has begun, so please expect a cheerful visit from Colin and Ciarán in the not too distant future. However, if you’re too excited and just cannot wait, email us at usm@ucd.ie and we’ll get started immediately!

The Remote Working Group (RWG)

Following the initial period last year of uncertainty around working remotely, to everyone doing their best and making it work, to now getting familiar with hybrid working, we as a community have demonstrated our resilience. An excellent resource born out of this experience is the USM Remote Working Group. This community is a collection of staff from operational roles across the University who meet weekly to share information  and plug into an information flow that might be useful to them. Whether it’s a query you need support with, a work process you’d like to share, an idea you think might help better support others, a demonstration of new technology or just to check in and see your colleagues and stay connected with the community, the RWG is the place to go. If you’re working from home, in your office or a shared work space, just drop into our standing Zoom meeting every Thursday for 45 minutes from 10:30am. If you are unable to join, don’t worry, our detailed notes are shared with the entire community following each meeting so all members are kept informed.

 RWG is growing and continues to be a valuable resource for operational staff and internal services.

  • USM Community Hub has grown to 221 members consisting of staff from College and School Offices and Internal Services, with average weekly Zoom attendance of approximately 35.
  • The RWG is a safe space where colleagues can connect to support each other, raise issues they might be facing and have vibrant and insightful conversations about the work they do.
  • The internal services contributor member list is growing also, with areas such as Assessment, Curriculum, Registry, IT Services, HR, Research and Estates attending regularly, providing very welcome updates, with demonstrations being favourites of the group.

Want to join? Simply click on the link and “Ask To Join” on the left hand side. More information about the RWG can be found here.

Looking forward

As we prepare to move into a new year, operating with a new team and beginning a new phase of the USM, we’re excited to continue working with staff across the University. We’re looking forward to building on the work that you have already done to support the frontline College Office and School Teams. See you soon. Let’s keep up the momentum!