Individual Leadership Development

Application of Organizational Tools

Carl Harris

Northcentral University

Dr. J Klein

MSOL 5110-4 Capstone Professional Project

Due November 7, 2021

To assess the health of an organization, change agents often need organizational assessment tools to aid in the process (Langdon et, al, 2019). An example of an organizational assessment tool is the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat (SWOT) analysis. A SWOT analysis is a planning and brainstorming tool that helps people evaluate an idea or project for an organization (Harmon, 2020). To determine the overall health of the Financial Aid Department, a SWOT analysis was conducted. Key performance indicators (KPI) were identified to assess the problems that were discovered as a result of the SWOT analysis. These same KPIs will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented changes.

Figure 1. A SWOT Analysis Matrix

STRENGTHS 1. In-house subject experts to facilitate training. 2. Funding Resources 3. Highly Motivated Staff 4. Resource tools	WEAKNESSES 1. No formal training processes 2. Poor communication with internal and external customers 3. Over 50% of department staff is new
OPPORTUNITIES 1. Increased enrollment of non-traditional students Due to the pandemic many employers have implemented furloughs, layoffs, and terminations. 2. Enhanced staff skill levels	THREATS 1. Many available institutions in the area with the same resources 2. Changes in federal and state policies 3. Disgruntled parents and students social media blasts; cancel culture

Currently, the Financial Aid Department at Southern Crescent Technical College is comprised of eleven employees. Three employees are serving in management roles, two employees are at remote campuses, and six of the employees are new hires. There is no time allowed for formal training before the new employees are expected to fully assume their tasks and begin serving customers in a fast-paced setting. Because the new employees have not received formal training, they tend to provide misinformation to students, seek help from management which pulls them away from their required tasks and ask repetitive questions. Many resources are available for their reference, but the new employees either do not know how to access them, have not been granted access, or are unaware of the resources.

To address the weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified by the SWOT analysis, a formal training program is being implemented. Three financial and three non-financial key performance indicators (KPI) were identified to be used to assess the problem to be solved.

The table below outlines the KPIs identified.

	Financial KPI	Non-Financial KPI
	Tuition/Fee income	Repeat Students
	Overtime wages	Service Duration
	Funds awarded	Work Readiness

The three financial KPIs are tuition and fee income, overtime wages, and funds awarded. The services provided by the Financial Aid Department are directly related to student enrollment. If students are not aware of the financial aid resources available or can not complete the financial aid process, they can not enroll in school. As a result, the school suffers a financial loss of potential income from student tuition and fees.

The average workday for employees in the Financial Aid Department is ten hours. However, when the new employee must seek assistance from one of the leaders, the employee is not able to complete the daily required tasks within the ten-hour timeframe. Often, the employee must remain at work beyond ten hours to complete all duties. When the new employees become better skilled in job performance, they will be able to complete all the day’s requirements within the ten-hour workday, and no overtime wages will be paid. Finally, the Financial Aid Department receives federal and state funding based on student enrollment. When customer service improves and employees become more knowledgeable, the needs of more students will be met (Gremler et, al,2020). Not only will this increase enrollment, but it is also hopeful that students will share their positive experiences with others who will, conversely, apply for admission to the school. Likewise, the number of dollars awarded to students for financial aid will be evaluated. When employees complete the formal training, they will be aware of the various funding resources. They can share this information with the students, and students can then apply for more available funding.

The non-financial KPIs are repeat students, service duration, and work readiness. These KPIs are directly related to student satisfaction. Repeat students in financial aid are not necessarily a positive KPI. Students that repeatedly contact financial aid do so because their award packages are not available, or they do not understand their award packages. If these students are returning frequently with questions, this could indicate poor communication or misinformation between staff and students. It could also indicate issues with the student’s financial aid file. In either case, these are issues that can be mitigated by ensuring that staff is properly trained and prepared. Also, service duration indicates the time staff spends working with a student to provide information or assistance with getting to complete financial aid processing. This metric is important because it directly affects how many students we can help daily. The longer we spend with a student, the less time we have for helping other students and processing the awards. While we want to ensure that each student receives superior customer service, we also want to be able to aid as quickly and efficiently as possible. Finally, work readiness indicates the employee’s ability to perform his or her duties. The more prepared employees are at performing their duties, the more efficient they will be. This translates into more satisfied students and increased enrollment because students are aware and have access to the resources to attend school (Gremler et.al, 2020).

The SWOT analysis indicates future barriers that will need to be overcome for change to be successful. For example, an unavoidable threat is the ever-changing federal and state regulations that directly affect the funding sources of the various financial aid programs. In some cases, these regulations will reduce funding to financial aid programs which will, in turn, affect the funding available to low-income students. If these reductions in funds limit the funding available to low-income students, these students may resort to postponing their education or giving up altogether. In either case, it results in reduced enrollment overall. The financial aid department can prepare to deal with these potential barriers by implementing an internal scholarship program that can be used to assist students if funding sources are cut. In addition, a continuous improvement training component should be built into the training program to provide uptraining necessary to ensure staff is aware of any changes that may result from changing policies and regulations (Slavkovic et.al, 2019).

The tools used include SWOT analysis, internal software systems, and surveys to determine the effectiveness of the training being implemented. The KPIs identified will be used to evaluate qualitative and quantitative data that will be used as measurements of performance. This will allow effective implementation of the training program and foster continuous improvement (Slavkovic et.al, 2019).

References

Harmon, A. (2020). SWOT analysis. Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Langdon, D. G., & Langdon, K. M. (2019). Work Analytic Tools: Needs Assessment Tools for HPT Professionals. Performance Improvement, 58(2), 6–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21841

Ana Slavković, & Vukan Slavković. (2019). The importance of training in contemporary organizations. Mенаџмент у Хотелијерству и Туризму, 7(2), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur1902115S

Gremler, D. D., Van Vaerenbergh, Y., Bruggen, E. C., & Gwinner, K. P. (2020). Understanding and managing customer relational benefits in services: a meta-analysis. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(3), 565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-019-00701-6