Turning Staff Loss Into Strategic Clarity

Context

After losing nearly half of its staff, Penn's State's OAR team faced mounting complaints, missed deadlines, quality erosion, and burnout. The team was overextended, morale was low and leadership pressure was escalating. 

What Changed

Using the VALUE Formula, the team clarified why they mattered to the university, realigned effort around the highest-value customers, and formally let go of work that could no longer be sustained. Focus time was protected, non-value activities removed, and external leverage was introduced to offset staffing loses. Two wildly important goals anchored execution, with visible scorecards and peer accountability.

Impact

Customer complaints declined sharply. Stakeholders began treating OAR as a critical institutional resource rather than a bottleneck. The team stabilized, rebuilt confidence, and created a durable operating model that enabled internal advancement and long-term growth.