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The cheese stands alone final
1. The Cheese Stands Alone
Managing Mergers, Reorganizations &
Downsizing in Your Workplace
2. The Cheese Stands Alone
Natalie Hampton
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Communications
N.C. State University
3. CALS Communication Services
Writing Team Editing Team Graphics Team Video Team Photography &
Multimedia Team
Print Shop Customer
Service Team
Then one day…
4. …Somebody moved our cheese!
University
Communication
Services
Video Team Photography
CALS
Communications
(5 writers)
Graphics Team
Editing Team Customer
Service Team
Print Shop
5. And more people moved in…
CALS
Creative Services:
Communications
Now University
Communication Services
Web Services
University
(absorbed CALS
News Services
Multimedia)
6. We felt like…
• We had been torn apart.
• Someone had eaten our
lunch!
• It grated on our nerves.
7. Challenges for NC State
• Services: “If you had it before, you’ll
have it after the merger.” But do we?
• Resources: “Dad, can I borrow the
car? The laptop? Projector?”
• Where do we live?
• Who do we report to now?
8. Opportunities for NC State
• CALS News Center: Rethinking the way we do
web communications
• Chance to involve outside designers, when we
need them
• Chance to work more closely with CALS
Administration – report to Associate Dean
• Chance to cultivate new skills: Designing logos
and publications, photography, some websites
9. More change on the way?
• July 2013: CALS expects to lose
life sciences programs and up
to a third of our students
• New dean in 2012
• College Advancement
proposal: Move
communications here?
• What’s next when we lose
people?
10. The Cheese Stands Alone
Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia
College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
11. UGA CAES
Office of Communications
Public Affairs Team Graphics Team
Then one day…
12. Communications & IT merge into
Office of Communications & Technology
Services
Writers/Editors Application Analysts
Graphic Artists
Web Designers
Administrative Assistants Computer Specialists
14. Come back! Don’t leave me!
Public Affairs writer – Athens
Transferred to Dean’s Office
Faith Peppers
Two Public Affairs writers – Athens
Transferred to UGA Public Affairs
Stephanie Schupska & April Sorrow
Public Affairs writer – Tifton
Accepts job with
Southern Farmer magazine
Brad Haire
15. I felt just a little worried
Like the cheese that stood alone
16. IT departures, too
One web designer took a
position in the college’s
water/soil lab
One server administrator
transferred to the
UGA College of Public Health
One computer specialist left
for a position in private industry
One web designer decided not
to return after maternity
leave/pursue freelance
opportunities
20. The Cheese Stands Alone
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Educational Media
Sandi Karstens
Brandon Schulte
21. Somebody really moved
our cheese!
• 2010 – News about change: layoffs, merger
and A LOT of uncertainty
• January - July 2011 – More changes: name
change from CIT (Communications and
Information Technology) to Educational
Media, or EdMedia, a Service Center (charge
for our services).
• February 2011 – Director changes
22. And we felt …
• How did all this affect EdMedia?
– Physical Changes
– Office Moral, Politics
– Trust
23. The cheese may have moved;
but we are getting there?
• New Director Fall 2012
– Marketing/Business Plan
– Service Center
• Rates
• Finances
– Exciting Future
24. Top 10 Lessons Learned
• Expect the unexpected.
• Stand up for yourself! Document
what you do.
• Ask your clients to advocate for your
services.
• New work arrangements can =
new opportunities.
25. Top 10 Lessons Learned
• Be open to working with new people.
• Ask questions, but don’t expect
answers.
• Focus on the things you can control.
26. Top 10 Lessons Learned
• Learn to work smarter, not harder.
• Build a new skill set to fill in the gaps.
• Change is inevitable -- learn to cope.
27. Thank you for joining us today!
Natalie, Sharon, Sandi, Brandon and Kay
Editor's Notes
Hi, I’m Natalie Hampton, a writer with the College of Ag and Life Science at NC State University. Welcome to “The Cheese Stands Alone: Managing Mergers, Reorganization and Downsizing in Your Workplace? Five of us got together to plan an ACE conference breakout that would focus on how Ag Comm groups had survived mergers, reorganizations and downsizing because so many of us have experienced change in recent years. At lunch, you heard from Kay Ledbetter, Texas AgriLife Research, and Brandon Shulte, Educational Media, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. During this session, you’ll hear from myself, Sharon Dowdy of University of Georgia and Sandi Karstens, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. This breakout isn’t intended to be a gripe session or pity party, although we all have feelings about the change we’ve been through. Change is not always our friend, and nowhere is that more true than on a university campus. So it is our hope that in sharing our experiences, we can leave you with some strategies for managing change and ideas on how change can be a positive experience. After the three of us share our stories, we’ll invite Brandon and Kay to add anything they didn’t include at lunch, then we’ll turn it over to you all for comments and questions. And finally we’ll wrap up with a “top 10” list for managing change, and Sharon has a special giveaway. We owe the title of our session to Sharon Dowdy, who at one time found herself the “sole cheese” in her organization. During our very cheesy session, we invite you to enjoy some cheese and crackers at the back of the room.
My story of change began when the UNC System president began a series of studies looking at service duplications and redundancies within the university system. It was no surprise that the report on our organization found such a large group of communicators serving one college, while the rest of the university actually had fewer positions.
Before the merger, we were a department of 30 plus professionals, serving the College of Ag and Life Sciences. And one, day everything changed…
Our five writers remained with CALS. All our creative and customer service groups were moved under a new unit, University Communication Services. (Two of these, the editing team and customer service, continue to mainly serve CALS.) The print shop was eliminated entirely, though the two employees were both eligible to retire.
The five of us remain in our building where the dept. moved in 1998. NC State’s Creative Services group merged with our employees to become “University Communication Services.” (Biggest adjustment for us: A year ago, the remaining two CALS designers retired.) University News Services – also writers – moved in to offices near ours (a good match). Our multimedia professionals were merged under University Web Services. (Two remaining CALS web designers have since taken other jobs.)
These were some of the challenges and questions we faced after the merger.
Change is the only constant…
We heard about these lurking changes in 2010. We heard we were merging with the ALEC Dept. There was a lot of ups and downs. Didn’t know how to feel. ALEC was excited because they got us and our resources and more people, etc. We were just plain scared because we knew people were going to loose their jobs. Then, it happened one day in March, 8 people lost their jobs and were gone by June. We merged. 10 Ed Media staff got faculty appointments (which some of you may of came to yesterday at 3:30). And we became a Service Center, which Brandon will talk more about. Have to track our time. Then even more changes. Director stepped down and became a full-time ag journalism faculty member. Intern Director. More layoffs in IS due to universitywide changes.
Rumors of offices moves. A lot of people taking sides, taking behind backs. Didn’t know who to trust.
Finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Brandon was hired summer of 2012. Started in fall of 2012. Brandon will take it from here.
