OHIO Ready Staff gears up for third year

Photo courtesy of: Ohio UniversityJared Jeffers

OHIO Ready Staff welcomed two new employees in October. Maritta Walker and Jared Jeffers are the newest members of the program, run by the Finance and Administration Business Service Center, which provides temporary office and accounting staffing assistance to departments across campus.

In December 2016, Ohio University launched the OHIO Ready Staff program to help fill staffing gaps. Staffing assignments vary in duration and may be part-time to full-time in the host departments. The program is open to all departments on the Athens campus.

All staff hired into, or placed through, the OHIO Ready Staff program are trained full-time Ohio University employees. Those employees receive training in software and systems including BobCatBUY, OnBase, Peoplesoft, Cashnet, Concur, Microsoft Office, Oracle and more. OHIO Ready Staff employees will be equipped to perform duties around travel itineraries, calendar management, customer service, clerical support, journal entries, procurement, business and accounting, and more. Mindy Colburn coordinates the program and April Butterworth leads the training for OHIO Ready Staff members. They usually hire a new cohort of employees in the spring and fall depending on demand from campus departments.

OHIO Ready Staff has placed close to 10 employees in part-time or full-time short-term assignments across campus since the program kicked off nearly three years ago. The program launched with three employees and five OHIO Ready Staff members have moved on to promotional opportunities at the University. OHIO Ready Staff now employs five full-time staff members. In October, the program welcomed its fourth cohort with the two new staff members.

Maritta Walker, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio University, brings expertise in accounts payable and procurement, along with customer service and records management experience. Jared Jeffers is a graduate of Hocking College and Franklin University, and has experience in customer service and accounting. 

OHIO Ready Staff has placed employees in nearly 30 academic and administrative departments including Culinary Services, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Division of Student Affairs, Legal Affairs, and the Office of the President. Hosting department have enthusiastically received the temporary staff, according to Division of Finance and Administration Business Service Center Assistant Director Mindy Colburn. “Each OHIO Ready Staff employee is thoroughly-trained and well-prepared to step in to a department and fulfill staffing needs without a steep learning curve,” Colburn said.

Departments wishing to utilize the OHIO Ready Staff program may complete a staffing request form on the OHIO Ready Staff web page, or contact Mindy Colburn, at 740-597-3269. Departments are billed at an hourly rate for the staff service.

Photo courtesy of: Ohio UniversityMaritta Walker