Survey Highlights

Who responded:
424 of 1,200 faculty/staff

1,278 of 2,200 resident students

324 commuter students

What they said:
53 percent of faculty/staff agree: "When the Physical Plant staff is called to move items or set up rooms, I am satisfied with their service."

57 percent of resident students agree: "The common living areas of my building are clean and well maintained."

71 percent of commuter students agree:
"The campus is well maintained by the Physical Plant Dept."

78 percent of Physical Plant employees agree: "I am treated well by customers outside Physical Plant."

Committee Members:

Co-chairs
Susan Weston
Robert Kidd

Julie Adams
Tim Carey
Margaree Coleman-Carter
John Dennis
Larry Lemley
Melinda O'Brien
Frank Pasquino
Steve Smith
Kim White
Kiki Williams

Action is already being taken in response to results from a survey about the performance of Physical Plant staff and the services they perform. "Data from the surveys have been tabulated and we are beginning to implement improvements to a host of processes," said Tim Carey, director of Continuous Quality Improvement and a member of the Physical Plant Customer Service Committee.

Four surveys were created and distributed last spring to faculty and staff, resident students, commuter students and the 175 employees of the Physical Plant Department. The campus community fully cooperated with the initiative, evidenced by the high percentage of surveys that were completed. "We were pleasantly surprised by the response rate," Carey said, noting that 35 percent of the faculty/staff surveys and more than half of the resident student surveys were returned. Results also were encouraging, Carey said, noting, "Positive responses outnumbered concerns." (Click here to view the complete survey.)

For example, 65 percent of faculty/staff respondents said they were satisfied with the maintenance of their work areas by Housekeeping Services, and 73 percent agreed that the grounds are clean and well maintained.

The results of the survey were shared over the summer with Physical Plant employees, who had the opportunity to review the comments specific to their areas -- Housekeeping, Grounds, Trades, Shuttle Bus Service and Support Staff -- and provide feedback. Employees worked in teams to complete reports that outlined their ideas for short- and long-term improvements, and list resources they believe they need to work more efficiently and effectively. Those reports were then shared with the Physical Plant Customer Service Committee.

Pictured, Physical Plant Customer Service Committee members (clockwise from far left) Kim White, Tim Carey, Larry Lemley, Sue Weston and Kiki Williams discuss the results of the recent survey.

"Right now we're examining all the documents and seeing where we need to go from here," said Sue Weston of HP/PERLS, who co-chairs the Customer Service Committee along with Bob Kidd of Housekeeping (pictured below at right with committee member Frank Pasquino of Trades). "But we've already begun to address some issues we're calling 'quick wins,' areas that can be improved quickly with little or no cost."

For example, many faculty/staff respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the work order process. Kiki Williams, director of Physical Plant, said the process has been automated and 50 customers already are using the Web-based system. Since its implementation in September, more than 2,000 work orders have been processed online. The new system allows users to see the date that the work has been scheduled and, if there is a delay, the reason why, such as a part is on order. "Now people won't feel their work order is in a black hole," Williams said, adding that another survey is being developed for users of the system to see what they like about it and what can be improved.

Employees can get a quick 15-minute lesson in their own office on how to use the system by calling Joe Marzullo at 5246 or e-mailing him at Marzulloj@mail.montclair.edu to set up an appointment.

Another "quick win" is being implemented for the shuttle buses. Students who expressed concern about knowing the times buses run will be happy to learn that schedules will be posted on the buses themselves as well as at each stop. "Before the schedules were just available in information areas like the Student Center and Drop-in Center," Williams said. "It just makes sense to put them on the buses and at the stops, and make sure they are replaced in a timely manner if for some reason they are removed."

Williams said immediate attention also will be given to the restrooms. A form is being created that will hang in every restroom indicating when it was last cleaned and an inspection report will be issued for each restroom twice a month. This initiative will begin with the restrooms in the Residence Halls and eventually be implemented in all restrooms throughout campus.

The survey also reinforced the need to better educate the campus community about the Physical Plant Department. "Not everyone understands what the workers do," Weston said. "We'd like to give more visibility to the employees and the work involved.

A new Physical Plant Web site will be a useful tool in communicating information about the staff and the Physical Plant services. Users will be able to download information, view photographs and link directly to the automated work order system and other related sites. In addition, Williams said the department occasionally will distribute e-mails to inform the campus about progress during emergencies such as snow removal during storms. "This is one way of letting everyone know what's been done, the number of workers on the job, information like how many bags of salt we've used and a contact number so people can tell us if there are areas on campus that need more attention," Williams said.

Weston agreed that University employees are not always fully aware of all Physical Plant does. "It would be impossible for any of us to get our work done without them," Weston said. "They make it easy for us to come and get through the day without running into barriers along the way. They are enthusiastic about the results of this survey because they want to see things better for everyone."

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