SHIFT Project Status - June, 2022

The SHIFT project will purchase and implement a system that supports all Facilities Management operations on campus including the Division of Student Affairs (Department of Residential Facilities, Dining Services, RecWell and Stamp) and the department of Facilities Management. SHIFT represents a unique and innovative project that involved the collaboration of facilities groups across campus for the first time.

Transition Teams

I first would like to offer a heartfelt thank you to those of you who joined us for Transition Team sessions. Over the course of three months, we held 10 sessions with over 100 staff representing all facilities groups across campus. While we await a signed contract with our finalist vendor, the Transition Teams have continued to advance our goals. UMD’s facilities teams:

• Met to better understand similarities and differences in our current business processes
• Developed a better understanding of the challenges in current state processes faced by all facilities professionals
• Discussed opportunities to improve collaboration and work flows in the future
• Appreciated common facility roles on campus and built trust with our partner organizations.
• Grew our lists of subject matter experts and key collaborators

Once we finalize our vendor contract, the work of implementation will begin. All of the work we have focused on during the procurement phase has laid the foundation for a successful implementation. Upon contract award, UMD will present the vendor with:

• A list of current state processes
• Workstreams with their leads and subject matter experts
• An ongoing project team that is set up for success. 

This important pre-work will save us time and money. 

Change & Transition

Transition Team members spent time talking about change and transition. While these two words are related, they have different meanings:

• Change is something that happens to us and is external to us. In the case of SHIFT, our change is the adoption of new technology tools. 
• Transition is a choice we make about how we experience and process the change. In the case of SHIFT, it is how we feel about letting go of previous technologies and thinking about learning new ones. 

We will all go through the transition process but we won’t all go through it at the same pace. People who study transition tell us that we must begin by letting go or saying goodbye to the old. This can be hard, frustrating and worrying. Over time, we reach what is called a “neutral zone” where we may appreciate that the old system is going away but we don’t yet know what the new system will do for us. Not knowing can leave us with anxiety - AND it can also lead us to curiosity and creativity. We begin thinking of opportunities that a new system can provide. And finally, we all reach a new beginning. At this stage of transition, we are excited to embrace and learn our new tools and we can’t wait to get to work. Remember, regardless of where you are in the process, it’s okay. 

Transition Teams discussed both fears and opportunities that this change provides. And you know what? Overwhelmingly, what we feared were also the things that presented the greatest opportunities:

• Staff feared the loss of data but were excited about the opportunity for better and more useful data
• Staff were worried about learning a new technology but were also looking forward to receiving training 
• Staff shared concerns that the new technology wouldn’t do what they needed it to do but were also excited about functionality they never had before

The results: the greatest challenges are also our greatest opportunities! Your SHIFT project team is working hard to ensure that we get the best solution for the University of Maryland and for all facilities professionals. 

As we ramp up to implementation, we will also be ramping up our staff involvement in SHIFT. Upcoming opportunities include: 

• Participate as a subject matter expert on one of 6 workstreams
• Review and test future business processes
• Participate in training and become a trainer  
• Visit the SHIFT website 
• Share your thoughts with us at the SHIFT email address.

Thank you for taking the time to contribute to SHIFT!