CUnet – Customer and Vendor Task Management

JobTraQ case study on CUnet


Background:

CUnet delivers industry-leading technology, media, and marketing services to more than 1,000 colleges and higher education institutions across the US and Canada to help reach, recruit and enroll the right students.  Driven by a commitment to technology leadership, regulatory compliance, and exceptional customer service, CUnet’s higher education experts partner with schools to improve marketing performance and deliver qualified inquiries that meet enrollment and retention goals.  With over 8 years’ experience in overseeing online marketing initiatives, CUnet offers one of the most experienced teams of interactive marketers in the higher education space.

CUnet is a subsidiary of Nelnet which is one of the leading education and finance companies in the US.  Nelnet provides quality student loan products and services to students, as well as a full range of student-lending services and technology-based products to schools nationwide. This includes student loan origination and lending, holding, student loan and guarantee servicing, and software solutions.

Nelnet (NYSE: NNI), based in Lincoln, Nebraska, ranks among the nation’s leaders in terms of total student loan assets under management with $26.3 billion in net student loan assets as of March 31, 2008.

Nelnet is well positioned to capitalize on industry growth. Its sophisticated technology and software products allow the company to service loans both internally and for third parties, which facilitates the company’s position as a preferred originator and holder of loans for schools and borrowers.
 
Business Need:

With CUnet managing campaigns for so many different colleges and institutions, processing and handling requests and changes to their information and requirements created an ongoing challenge.  In an average week, CUnet receives more than 1,100 requests from 65 different clients.  In addition, with numerous combinations of secondary vendors being engaged for fulfillment of campaigns for each client, the number of modifications to track grew exponentially.  As this continued to scale, it was often difficult for the office managers to determine whether each vendor had made all of the required changes for every client request timely, or at all.  CUnet utilized numerous copies of local spreadsheets to manage this process, which led to confusion about which was the most recent version and who was working on or managing which request.  In addition, this process provided almost no visibility for management and no metrics by which to measure success or failure.

CUnet needed a solution that was easy to use, centralized, and would provide both a comprehensive view for the customer management and vendor management teams so they could both quickly see what tasks were requested and completed by the clients/vendors.
 
The Solution:

CUnet engaged JobTraQ’s Professional Services team to design a solution based on the JobTraQ Task Management System.  The goals were an easy to use, consistent, and automated solution providing a unified account management system for two related organizations with distinct tracking needs.  JobTraQ now manages the assignment of the appropriate internal and external resources automatically and simultaneously, and immediately notifies them of the steps required to complete customer requests when those requests are received.  The JobTraQ system now makes these open requests highly visible, manageable and accountable.  Utilizing this centralized solution, CUnet has subsequently able to implement and tightly integrate a relational matrix which allows JobTraQ to assign internal resources to manage specific Schools or clients as well as specific Vendors.  The total solution now dynamically recognizes which Schools and Vendors are associated to a request and assigns the necessary tasks to the appropriate internal resources to ensure that the Customer or Vendor is interacting with the right people for all requests and increasing the strength of the relationship.  JobTraQ core functionality is leveraged to manage each request from beginning to completion, and the solution dynamically creates follow up audit requests to ensure the Vendors are in compliance to the School’s requests.

Overall, user training and adoption has been successful, with existing associates taking 2 to 3 months to fully adopt the system and begin to realize the true value of JobTraQ.  On average, new associates are able to acclimate and adapt within a week, as they have no previous experience to adjust from.

Results:

CUnet has been utilizing their JobTraQ solution for approximately one year, and today they have brought their vendor completion rate from under 70% to over 96% and are now completing more than 75% of their tasks in less than two days.  JobTraQ has enabled CUnet to record metrics such as the number of tasks (both open and completed) per client or vendor, the time spent to complete tasks by different vendors and internal resources, and other measures of business value.  The most valuable reports provided by this solution are those that display the overall throughput of the organization.  By analyzing all of the data at once, CUnet is able to identify trends by team members, clients, and vendors that would have been impossible to understand prior to having the data aggregated into one system and each task systematically tracked through the entire workflow.  In addition, utilizing JobTraQ and having a well-defined task management structure in place has allowed for the rapid addition of a new team into the business process which ensures that each vendor is compliant with and remains in compliance with the School’s requests and performance expectations.  This in turn has created the opportunity for CUnet to expand the list of services provided to their customers.  Jeff Herz, Director, Internal Operations, said “We are much more adaptable now, able to identify business problems and then build a process around that problem and automate it very quickly.  Thanks to JobTraQ, the automation is probably now the fastest piece of that puzzle.”
 
About Swift Software:

Swift Software Inc is an innovative developer of Task Management Software for the Enterprise.  JobTraQ, which is Swift Software’s flagship product, provides organizations of all kinds with the ability to quickly design, configure, and deploy effective, scalable, and extensible Task-Centric Business Process, Project, Program and Workflow Management Solutions.

For more information, please contact sales@JobTraQ.com

Video - "I Have A Dream" Marth Luther King Jr

I Have A Dream - Martin Luther King Jr.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Source: http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

How not to Interview for a Job

This is from a friend and I could not help but sharing

(not) Me: I noticed on your resume you have assisted with editing manuscripts, can you walk me through your process of doing that?
Her: I didn’t actually edit anything, my boss did the editing and changes, I just looked over those changes.

(not) Me: What type of management style  do you like best?
Her: What do you mean?

(not) Me: What qualities would you like your boss to have?
Her: Qualities like my boss at (previous job)

(not) Me: Ok, and what qualities are those?
Her: He’s a friend……………(long pause)……. But he still make sure my work gets done.

(not) Me: Tell me about a time you were on a team project and it failed, what can you do next time to avoid that?
Her: Like I said, I was an English major, we don’t have “team” projects.

Her questions for (not) me: Tell me about the gym membership reimbursement and how does the parking garage reimbursement work. 

She didn’t seem nervous and that’s what made the situation so weird.

Bring Trader Joe's to Stamford

I am on a new crusade to bring Trader Joe's to the old Borders Book Store location on High Ridge Road in Stamford.

If you would like to see this store here, please click the like on the facebook page and tell us why you would like to see it here in Stamford. 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Trader-Joes-to-Borders-Location-in-Stamford/218778924870674

CUnet Team Adopts a Family

By Kate Noontz - With the holidays fast approaching, CUnet’s Compliance Team (known as MOQC) sought a hands-on activity to give back for the holidays . In Lincoln, NE, where much of the team is based, there are several “Giving Trees” which have tags on them, with each tag showing a child’s age, gender, and a few items they would like for the holidays. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for the group to “adopt” a family in need and help make sure that a few deserving kids would have a reason to smile on Christmas Day. So we went ahead, chose a few of those tags and hung them on our own little Christmas tree.

We chose four trees, representing four kids: a 12 year old girl who wanted a jewelry making kit, board games, and a bath and lotion set, a 12 year old boy who wanted C.D.’s, hat and gloves, and a basketball, a little 4 year old boy who wanted a helicopter, blanket, and Pixar Cars, and a little 6 year old girl who wanted a Leapster, board games, and a back pack.

Jeff Herz, based in the Paramus  NJ office, decided to tackle the younger children and their wish list with the help of his family, and the rest of the MOQC team in Lincoln took the two older children. After pooling our donations together we set off to buy our gifts. We trolled the toy aisles and were able to find everything on their list, and even more! We took our gifts to the office and when Jeff’s gifts arrived we picked up all the bags and toys and carried them back to the Giving Tree.

We were all in high spirits after our adventures and glad to be able to give back to children who may have not had gifts for the holidays. We are excited to participate with this charity next year!

Happy Holidays! From CUnet

CUnet MOQC Compliance Team Adopts a Family

The Dash

Nancy went to a funeral today and this poem was read. She came home and read it to me, and I think it is worth remembering what you do with your dash is what is important

The Dash - by Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Letter to Stamford Advocate: November 6, 2011

Dear Advocate:

I was appalled when I received a call from the city of Stamford on Saturday afternoon.  I naturally assumed it was a message from the mayor or the schools or something else of general public interest.  It was in fact a political robocall promoting the board of finance candidates Tarzia, Kolenberg and Reeder.  The message asked me to vote for this slate of candidates  and made it  appear as if the city wanted me to vote for these candidates. 

As this robocall came from the City of Stamford I would assume a city employee had to approve this activity to use the city's  assets and resources which were being used for inappropriate (political) purposes.  The city now has a responsibility to find out who approved this action and determine what costs were incurred so that reprimands can be handed out and all costs are reimbursed by the (ir)responsible campaigns.

Finally, you would think two candidates who have spent a significant portion of their time in front of the Board of Ethics over the past two years would avoid any hint of impropriety before the election.  However, getting elected at any cost would appear to be more important to Tarzia, Kolenberg and Reeder, rather than following the rules.  How can we expect them to be the watchdogs of our community, when they are already misappropriating city resources before they are even elected?

Jeff Herz
47 Cascade Court
Stamford, CT 06903
(917) 913 5019 (cell)
LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffherz

Letter to Delta Airlines - Regarding Travel on July 31, 2011

On July 31, I received a call from Delta at 1:36 pm informing me that flight #6269 from LGA to OMA was delayed by approximately 2 hours. As my final destination that evening was to be Lincoln NE, I was planning on driving from Omaha to Lincoln; I went online to check to see if there were other options available that might get me into Omaha/Lincoln earlier, so I went onto the delta.com website to investigate.

Once I signed in, the site showed that this flight was delayed and asked if I wanted to review other flights. I chose to review a flight from LGA --> MSP (DL 2019) and MSP --> to LNK (DL 3999), and before I knew it, I had been rerouted onto those flights without even being asked. Getting immediately rebooked onto those flights was not my original intent, as I believed I was just reviewing what other flight options were available.

Now without me authorizing this change, I was now booked on a flight that was leaving LGA an hour earlier, which means I needed to rearrange my transportation to the airport as I had reserved a car service to pick me up at my house in CT at 4:30. I now needed to leave at 3:15 pm in order to make the earlier flight. As my car service was unable to accommodate my last minute request and did not have a car available earlier, I was forced to drive to the airport myself and leave my car in long term parking, not my preferred method when going to LGA.

Upon arrival, I checked in and was given a boarding pass for both flights. As the time to board the initial flight (DL 2019) came, there was a mechanical issue with the jetway at the gate that prevented us from boarding. As chance would have it, I glanced at the departure board and noticed that the original flight (DL 6269) was listed as being on time, now an hour plus before scheduled departure of 7:35 pm. I then picked up a courtesy phone and spoke with a customer service representative to inquire about the original flights status.

The customer service representative was unaware of any scheduled delay of flight #6269, she suggested that maybe new equipment had arrived and the flight was now back on schedule. I asked her if she had any additional information about my original flight (6269) or the flight I was now booked on (2019), which was now late because of issues at the gate. She told me both flights showed up on her system as being on time. I asked her what would happen if I had delayed my travels for 2 hours per the phone call I had received and wound up the flight was on time, and she said I would probably have missed my flight. By this time, I told her I did not have time at that moment to continue the discussion, as I wanted to check back to see if my flight to MSP (2019) was boarding yet, but I was very upset since it appeared my original flight was now actually on time.

After checking and seeing we were still not boarding, I walked over to the gate where the original Omaha flight (6269) was scheduled to depart from in about an hour, and asked the woman at the gate there if she had any additional information about this flight. She said this flight was still showing up as being on time. There was no indication that the flight was going to be delayed and appeared that everything was on time. She asked if I would like to get onto that flight instead. I chose to decline and stay on the flight to MSP, since I was not very confident in that flight’s status.

As the delay boarding my new flight was getting longer and longer, I was growing concerned about missing my connection in MSP to LNK. Little did I know at that time it did not matter? After an hour delay, we were finally able to board the flight to MSP through another jet way, and I was told by the representatives at the gate, that I would still have sufficient time to make my connecting flight to LNK.

Upon landing in MSP, I checked the board in MSP to see what gate I would need to get to make my connection, and next to the LNK 3999 it said cancelled. So now I was told I needed to walk the length of the MSP airport to get to the nearest customer service station, pick up a phone, see what was available, and then make accommodations for the evening. Luckily, I got there before a few other passengers, as they had to wait to speak to the Customer Service Representatives since all four phones were currently in use. I was told the next available flight to LNK was at 10:15 p.m. the next day (8/1), which would have wasted my entire effort of travelling on Sunday to get to my office in Lincoln NE on Monday. It would have been better for me to drive the 7 hours at that point, rather than to continue my travels with Delta. I then inquired about a flight to Omaha, figuring a one hour drive better than seven. The agent was able to book me on a flight in the morning from MSP to OMA (DL 2707) and then I could drive to Lincoln. What bothered me was that the agent I spoke with was not proactive in offering other alternatives to help me get where I was going. She essentially said “Lincoln, nothing during the day, only the same flight at 10:15 pm that you were scheduled on tonight.” If I had not known the geography, I would have been stuck all day, and my company would have lost an entire day of productivity.

I also don’t know why there were not more live people made available to help all the stranded travelers when other flights had apparently been cancelled. The people on the ground did a fine job of printing my boarding pass (assuring me I would get a seat in the morning) and giving me vouchers for a hotel and meals. I wound up staying at the Days Inn Bloomington MN that seemed very far from the airport, and was not very welcoming.

Upon arriving back at the airport and checking in at the gate and requesting my seat assignment, the gate attendant told me the flight was overbooked and she could not assign me my seat yet. She then began asking if anyone would be interested in flying at a later time. Now needless to say, this is not exactly what I was expecting to hear, since the representative from the night before had assured me that I would have a seat available for me the next morning.

I am currently flying between NYC and LNK every other week from now until at least the end of the year as my company has asked me to build a team in Lincoln NE. I have chosen to fly Delta over United because I can avoid Chicago and the inevitable delays that come with going through that airport. However this experience has made me question whether that was a sound decision. The fact that you were proactive about the original flight should have been a great experience, and is commendable for you alerting me. However, your website while updated with the correct information immediately redirected me to another flight before I could even verify that is what I wanted to do. Thankfully I did not pick a flight that was leaving (at 4:25?) via Memphis, since I would never had made it to the airport for that flight. I should have been asked if this was the flight I wanted before I was rebooked. What if I was willing to go later and wanted to stay on the original flight? I had no option, it was just done.

At the airport, the people on the ground (and at your call center) had no idea that flight was in fact delayed, in fact I did check the website and it was not showing as being on time again when it was actually delayed (I subsequently received text messages from my travel agency confirming the delay after landing in MSP). Had the departure board at LGA shown this delay, my frustration would have been significantly less, and the cancelled flight from MSP to LNK would have just been a routine event that happens when you travel, but instead neither your website, your customer service representatives on the phone, nor the representatives in the airport knew anything about the delay and were therefore not able to help me make an informed decision about my travel plans. You started with something very good and positive, though stressful, and then exponentially compounded it by not informing the rest of your organization on this event.

I would like to know why I should choose to keep flying Delta over the next 6 months, and what you can do to keep me as a loyal customer based upon this experience.

Nanny's Gefilte Fish Recipe

2.5 pounds of Pike 2.5 pounds of Whitefish Grind the fish Keep the Bones Wash Bones Boil Bones w Onion/Carrot salt and pepper – 30 S Strain the veggies, keep the water Grind 3 large onions finely Put fish in a bowl Add 3 ground onions Add some salt and pepper Add about 4 eggs Add matzah meal Form fish patties Cook fish balls for about 60 minutes on a low simmering boil