Contributed on behalf of Dr. Timothy Carey, Associate Vice President, Office of Facilities.
The Facilities department is excited to present the rollout of Service Level Agreements (SLA’s) as a means to enhance customer service to and collaborative efforts with campus departments. An SLA is a written agreement – signed by both Facilities and particular departments – relative to the kinds of services, cleaning frequencies, etc. that Facilities provides. Equally important, however, the SLA also details the roles and responsibilities that departments assume in this collaborative and dynamic working relationship. The end result is a common understanding of expectations, replete with built in accountability.
Service Level Agreements are department-specific and, once developed, are revisited at appropriate intervals – typically annually or semi-annually – to incorporate updates or modifications. Essentially, an SLA is truly a living document, with a natural byproduct of continuous quality improvement.
During the past six months, a few departments were selected and agreed to pilot-test SLA’s on the Ithaca College campus. Some examples where signed SLA’s are in effect, or are in draft format include: Gannett Library, Fitness Center, Whalen Center for Music, Office of Admissions and the Athletics and Events Center. In each instance, Facilities staff met with the leadership of the department to discuss the unique needs of their building/facility, students, faculty and staff. (As an example, the needs of the Library – a 24-hour operation which also contains a food venue – are very different from the Admissions Office.) Initial meetings also enabled Facilities to share staffing and cleaning schedules, provide updated contact information and generally explain the tenets of the Service Level Agreement contract. Service Level Agreements detail these differences so that there are a common set of expectations for both Facilities and the department.
Ithaca College is a diverse community of Schools, departments and administrative units. Accordingly, the cleaning and maintenance needs of particular areas vary. Hence, we believe it is wholly appropriate that we implement this more customized approach to our valued customers. All departments/buildings will eventually be contacted to discuss the implementation of a Service Level Agreement. If you would like to be among the initial departments, please feel free to contact Lisa Belokur, Director of Facilities Services or Tim Carey, Associate Vice President, Facilities, at 4-3225.
For additional information about Service Level Agreements, please visit the SLA link on the Facilities Services website.
We look forward to serving you!
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20150203125710332