USM Remote Working Group Update
By Amy McDonald, USM Rollout Team
In previous WST Newsletters we wrote about how we had started using Microsoft Teams to support service delivery continuity across the offices operating the Unified Support Model, and gave you an introduction to the Remote Working Group.
After almost 24 weeks of working from our kitchens, bedrooms and living rooms, we have a pretty clear picture of what remote working in UCD looks like. Our survey gave us a practical overview of how the ‘distributed office’ works – of what tools and applications are being used to help us transition our tasks and processes.
During this time, the Microsoft Team has been a useful resource for those working in College, School and Central offices to share information and plan for continued service delivery, bridging potential gaps in sharing information effectively and connecting with colleagues outside of the day-to-day & ensuring the flow of information in a rapidly changing environment.
However, our most helpful insight into remote working has been the Remote Working Group which has continued to grow since our last update.
Back in March when we were finalising our contingency plans we wanted to support the staff who would be ‘doing the doing at a distance’; we were guided by the principle of the “3 Unified’s” – Unified for the Student, Unified for the Team and Unified for the University. Our goal was driving a unified experience for students through supporting a unified approach from staff.
This group has proven to be a really effective platform for sharing information, ideas, and instilling a sense of community during a challenging time. From the USM perspective, with this group we coordinated the unified delivery of student-centred processes by bringing together over 90 staff from Schools, Colleges & Central units with a common purpose.
As well as coordinating on how tasks and processes work at a distance we have found that this group is a good way for us, the USM Team, to act as a broker of sorts between the School and College based administrative layer and distributed units like IT Services, HR and units in Registry, supporting alignment and collaboration on new processes and identifying and arranging needs for training.
As the new academic year begins we hope that the Remote Working Group will continue to be a useful forum for staff to continue to coordinate on supporting students remotely and on campus.
If you work in a School or College Office and are interested in coming along, you can send us a mail at usm@ucd.ie.