Higher Education Consulting
Hibret Solutions specializes in providing comprehensive administrative support, HR operations, financial management, and coaching services tailored to the unique needs of higher education institutions. With principle consultants who bring extensive experience in higher education administration in private, public, and R1 institutions, we focus on optimizing departmental operations and providing critical support for administrative personnel reporting to academic leaders such as Chairs, Deans, and Directors. Often, these academic leaders do not have the capacity to offer operational technical guidance for administrative duties, and our services fill that gap with targeted coaching and strategic consulting. In addition to traditional consulting services, we specialize in automating high-volume tasks to streamline operations, reduce administrative overhead, and enhance efficiency across departments. Our expertise in automation, Workday ERP optimization, and coaching ensures that higher education institutions can streamline their operations, reduce administrative overhead, and provide better support to their faculty, staff, and students. By automating key tasks, departments can operate more efficiently while maintaining high levels of service and satisfaction.
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Departmental Administrative Support
Our team has decades of experience optimizing administrative processes within academic departments. We have taken this experience and now help institutions align their operations with their strategic goals while ensuring their administrative structures are efficient and scalable. Key services include:
- Process Optimization: Evaluating and refining workflows to enhance the efficiency of daily operations, communication, and service delivery.
- Resource Allocation: Assisting departments with staffing models, ensuring optimal distribution of workload to meet departmental goals without overburdening staff.
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HR and Payroll Operations
We provide expert guidance on HR and payroll functions, ensuring departments adhere to regulatory requirements while optimizing their workforce management practices.
- HR Strategy and Operations: Supporting recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee relations to streamline human resources functions.
- Payroll Management: Ensuring payroll processes are efficient and accurate, reducing administrative burdens and compliance risks.
- Compliance and DEI Initiatives: Offering expertise on employment laws and policies, while integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices into everyday operations.
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Financial Management and Forecasting
Financial stewardship is a cornerstone of our consulting services, ensuring departments have the tools and strategies they need for long-term sustainability.
- Budget Development: Assisting with creating and managing budgets that align with institutional goals and strategic priorities.
- Financial Forecasting: Offering expert advice on financial planning and forecasting to help departments anticipate resource needs and plan for future growth.
- Sponsored Projects Management: Helping departments manage the financial aspects of grants and sponsored research, ensuring compliance with institutional, state, and federal guidelines.
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Automation and Workday ERP Optimization
A major focus of our consulting practice is the automation of high-volume tasks that have traditionally required significant staffing resources. By automating these processes, departments can streamline their operations, reduce the need for large administrative teams, and increase satisfaction among faculty, staff, and students. Our consultants are experts in utilizing Workday ERP software, and we work closely with departments to transition and optimize their operations on this powerful platform. Key automation services include:
- Task Automation: Automating repetitive, labor-intensive tasks such as payroll processing, scheduling, and expense reporting. This reduces the number of staff required to manage day-to-day operations, freeing up resources for more strategic activities.
- Workday Integration: Helping departments seamlessly transition to Workday ERP, ensuring they maximize the platform’s capabilities for managing HR, payroll, financial operations, and more.
- Operational Efficiency: Workday’s powerful automation features help streamline administrative processes, improving response times, accuracy, and overall satisfaction with the services provided to faculty, staff, and students.
By leveraging Workday’s robust suite of automation tools, departments can significantly reduce manual workflows, enhance reporting capabilities, and improve compliance with institutional and regulatory requirements.
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Coaching Services for Administrative Staff
A key component of our consulting services is the coaching and development of administrative personnel who report to academic leaders, such as Chairs, Deans, and Directors. These professionals are often tasked with juggling responsibilities in multiple areas, which can lead to inefficiencies and gaps in their work. Our coaching services are designed to ensure that they can complete their duties in the most efficient way possible, providing them with the tools, strategies, and support they need to succeed while minimizing the risk of tasks falling through the cracks. We offer a comprehensive coaching program that includes:
- One-on-One Coaching: Tailored coaching sessions that focus on enhancing leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Through these personalized sessions, we help administrative staff prioritize their workload, make better decisions, and lead more effectively, ensuring they can manage their responsibilities with confidence and efficiency.
- Professional Development Workshops: Group training sessions designed to help administrative staff navigate the complexities of academic environments. These workshops focus on improving performance across key areas, enabling staff to handle their roles more effectively, even when dealing with competing priorities or responsibilities across multiple areas.
- Conflict Resolution and Performance Improvement: Offering strategies to help administrative personnel handle challenges within their departments, including interpersonal conflicts, staff dynamics, and performance issues. Our consultants provide actionable guidance that improves team cohesion, boosts productivity, and helps departments run more smoothly.
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Benefits of Coaching
We provide administrative leaders with the necessary resources and tools to streamline their workflows, ensuring that they can:
- Prioritize Tasks: We teach staff how to effectively manage their workload by focusing on the most important and time-sensitive duties first, allowing them to meet deadlines and reduce stress.
- Improve Efficiency: We equip administrative personnel with up-to-date strategies, tools, and best practices, helping them complete their responsibilities more efficiently and freeing up time for strategic initiatives.
- Prevent Gaps in Execution: Our support ensures that tasks do not fall through the cracks, a common occurrence when staff have full plates. With our coaching and management strategies, administrative personnel can avoid missing critical deadlines or overlooking key responsibilities.
By providing personalized coaching, professional development, and performance improvement strategies, we empower administrative staff to excel in their roles. Our focus on efficiency and task management ensures they are better equipped to handle the complexities of their work, ultimately leading to a more productive and well-supported academic environment.