Motion Regarding Registration Photos

["John Jones" <jijones@usjoneses.com>]

>From Anner Whithead

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: For AIS Discuss, Please
From:    chatowhitehall@aol.com
Date:    Thu, March 17, 2011 10:30 am
To:      jijones@usjoneses.com
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Greetings.

I want to offer some observations about optimal timing on instituting
significant changes in a critically important AIS department, in this case
the AIS Registrar's office.

As I understand it, you anticipate a change of personnel in that office in
the not distant future. This means a person or persons will have an
intricate, demanding, and critically important function to learn. The
office will need to remain open and functioning well during the learning
period. I have been there, and I have the tattered tee shirt to prove it,
so that I feel I should offer some insights into how not to make the job
more difficult---and the system more stressed and unstable--than it need
be during transitional periods.

Bluntly, while time may be perceived to be of the essence in getting this
photo project up and running, your first priority must be to effect a
solid transition in the Registrar's office and not freight the incoming
Registrar with duties involving uncharted waters and copious minute detail
while said Registrar is trying to learn the ropes, and simultaneously keep
the little boat afloat.

As I have mentioned before, I took over a department on short notice from
a highly competent long term incumbent who had her preferred established
procedures, policies, and philosophy, but who never wrote down any
directions for how to do the job. The initial several months were a
pluperfect nightmare, but my little boat stayed afloat. Amazingly,
however, notwithstanding the fact that many were appraised of the
situation, I still had people thinking this was just the time to push for
major changes. Data management changes, data sharing changes, changes of
policy on this or that, and especially changes involving personal agendas
which they had been unable successfully to get past my predecessor, people
started trying to push these forward. Just between ourselves, I felt like
I needed to stand at the door of my study with a whip and chair just to
preserve enough space in which to learn to do the job.

In other words, I am suggesting that the time in which you are breaking in
a new Registrar is not also the optimal time to be substantially
restructuring office policies or registration procedures, especially in
ways that can wait a while.

My experience suggests that new Registrar should be pretty comfortable in
the job at about the six months point. I'd consider waiting one year
before implementing any mandatory changes in the registration processes.
This would give AIS as ICRA time to figure out where it wanted to go and
how best to get there; it would give the AIS as ICRA time to legally to
publish the changes, which is not a step that should be given short
shrift; it would give those most impacted time to position themselves to
comply. Not incidentally,  it would also ensure that the new AIS Registrar
is accorded the courtesy of opportunity to gain a solid grounding in the
established processes of the Office, before tackling what is obviously
going to be a heavier workload involving interacting with more people, and
departments.

Happy Spring, all. Keep them blooming.

Cordially,

Anner M. Whitehead

 

Greetings.

 

I want to offer some observations about optimal timing on instituting significant changes in a critically important AIS department, in this case the AIS Registrar's office.

 

As I understand it, you anticipate a change of personnel in that office in the not distant future. This means a person or persons will have an intricate, demanding, and critically important function to learn. The office will need to remain open and functioning well during the learning period. I have been there, and I have the tattered tee shirt to prove it, so that I feel I should offer some insights into how not to make the job more difficult---and the system more stressed and unstable--than it need be during transitional periods.

 

Bluntly, while time may be perceived to be of the essence in getting this photo project up and running, your first priority must be to effect a solid transition in the Registrar's office and not freight the incoming Registrar with duties involving uncharted waters and copious minute detail while said Registrar is trying to learn the ropes, and simultaneously keep the little boat afloat.

 

As I have mentioned before, I took over a department on short notice from a highly competent long term incumbent who had her preferred established procedures, policies, and philosophy, but who never wrote down any directions for how to do the job. The initial several months were a pluperfect nightmare, but my little boat stayed afloat. Amazingly, however, notwithstanding the fact that many were appraised of the situation, I still had people thinking this was just the time to push for major changes. Data management changes, data sharing changes, changes of policy on this or that, and especially changes involving personal agendas which they had been unable successfully to get past my predecessor, people started trying to push these forward. Just between ourselves, I felt like I needed to stand at the door of my study with a whip and chair just to preserve enough space in which to learn to do the job.

 

In other words, I am suggesting that the time in which you are breaking in a new Registrar is not also the optimal time to be substantially restructuring office policies or registration procedures, especially in ways that can wait a while.

 

My experience suggests that new Registrar should be pretty comfortable in the job at about the six months point. I'd consider waiting one year before implementing any mandatory changes in the registration processes. This would give AIS as ICRA time to figure out where it wanted to go and how best to get there; it would give the AIS as ICRA time to legally to publish the changes, which is not a step that should be given short shrift; it would give those most impacted time to position themselves to comply. Not incidentally,  it would also ensure that the new AIS Registrar is accorded the courtesy of opportunity to gain a solid grounding in the established processes of the Office, before tackling what is obviously going to be a heavier workload involving interacting with more people, and departments.

 

Happy Spring, all. Keep them blooming.

 

Cordially,

 

Anner M. Whitehead