Staff members were divided among divisions equally, with each hub employing a receptionist to handle all incoming calls to any department within the division, an administrative/financial assistant to each divisional associate dean, a social media and webmaster, and a course scheduling/enrollment management/book-order assis- tant. Soon after implementing the change, it became apparent the service needs in all divisions were not the same, so shifting of effort among tasks has been ongoing. Centralizing into hubs was far more cost- and work-efficient, leaving ample savings for the college to add additional advising staff to the college. The co-location of staff required the dean to find the physical space for the hubs within each division. Overall, it took a year from the onset of planning to receive approvals to imple- ment the changes. The reorganization required terminating all staff from their current roles and encouraging them to re-apply to new positions under the hub structure. The dean realized it would be a challenge to keep staff from feeling threatened, so they would not leave preemptively for other employment [Human Resource]. He believes having a pre-commitment for unwavering support from the upper administration prior was crucial in making the shift [Political]. The Process for Reorganizing Your Office Staff We found in our interviews with dozens of deans that almost every single one rec- ommended new deans take their time when planning and implementing the kinds of changes discussed above. This is particularly true for those entering a position from outside the institution. Moving slowly in order to get to know the people, their positions, and the politics and culture of the college is time well spent. The political and symbolic frames of view may be more complex than realized at first glance. And involving others in the conversation is part of a sound shared governance process. Table 5.1 enumerates principles that can guide you through a successful change process for your office. Many of these principles are applicable to other administrative changes a dean might implement. Deans should also understand they have the latitude to make many of the choices about who participates, and how, while understanding that choices have political and symbolic consequences. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ After reading this chapter, you should better understand how to organize the staff and responsibilities within your office. The next chapter explores the various ways deans can organize the work of the faculty, particularly through departments, programs, centers, and schools in their college.