Operations Management at Manhattan Jewish Experience

Problem
When I first came to the organization all bills went directly to the bookkeeper without any backup documentation. Then it was the bookkeeper’s responsibility to verify the bill, which they did only some of the time. She would cut a check, which would then go to the director, who would inevitably question the charge and send it back. This caused major delays in payables, disgruntled vendors, and conflicts. It also took a great deal of the directors valuable time. And there was no accountability by the staff members who actually incurred the payable.

Solution
After analyzing the situation implemented a system. Each stakeholder would need to fill out a check request and attach it to the bill. The check request would have an explanation of the charge and be signed by the stakeholder.

The check request would then be submitted to the operations manager (me), who would then sign-off on the request after confirming that it was valid. The OM would review the request with the stakeholder if there were questions. On many occasions the OM would return the CR to the stakeholder and require them to clarify the charge or dispute it.

After the OM was satisfied that the charge was valid he would sign off on the CR and route it to the bookkeeper who would then enter it into the system and cut the check and attach it to the respective CR. She would then bring the package to the OM.

The OM would then present the CR’s to the director, who would then sign them with confidence in the process and the accountability.

Bottom Line
Stakeholders were now more careful and diligent in making sure that every expenditure they made was justified and that they negotiated the best price possible — because they were directly accountable.

Skills I used:

• Strategic planning and organization in setting up the workflow
• Management skills in getting buy-in from all stakeholders and assuring follow thru
• Selling plan to director

Problem

Fulfilling one of the primary missions of the organization required personal interaction with participants to nurture them individually through something akin to a marketing funnel. There were several team members responsible for this personal nurturing.

Solution

• Create a master spreadsheet of all relevant participants.
• Label each participant with a number from 1 to 5 reflecting their position within the funnel, with 1 being the lowest (top of funnel).
• Assigning participants to team members based on the particular strengths of each team member.
• Leading weekly meetings to review progress of each team member.
• Hold one on one sessions with each team member to review and guide.

Skilled I Used:

• Project management
• Strategic Planning