TEAM Timeline

TEAM occurred in several phases, starting in December 2012.

Phase One: Assessment (December 2012 – April 2013)
TEAM began with a comprehensive assessment of all administrative services at Tufts, excluding labs, classrooms, and hospitals and clinics. Our assessment included comparisons to best practices among our peers and incorporated feedback received through the Excellence at Work survey, in which many employees told us that we should reduce red tape and streamline administrative workflow. Information gathered through interviews, focus groups, surveys, town hall meetings, online forms and other feedback channels confirmed that the dispersed and overly complex nature of administrative processes were straining valuable faculty and staff time. Reducing the demands of administrative tasks could help make more time available for strategic thinking and innovation.

Phases Two and Three: Design and Planning (May 2013 – June 2014)
The subsequent design and planning stages focused on restructuring administrative processes in a way that would make sense for Tufts, its resources efficiently and reduce red tape. Working groups were formed to address inefficiencies and make recommendations for improvement in Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, Web Services, Sourcing and Procurement, Advancement, Research Administration and Operations.

Phase Four: Implementation (July 2014 – June 2016)
Implementation, started in July 2014. During this phase, we introduced new processes and organizations in a deliberate, phased approach.

Phase Four: Continuous Improvement (July 2016 – Ongoing)
Tufts now has the systems and structures in place to make fundamental changes to ineffective processes and continually enhance efficiency and effectiveness.