The responses to my last Dateline article -- in which I launched a new acronym "Do-Only-Useful-Basic-Things," or "DOUBT" -- were interesting and varied. I also think they raise some important issues about how we choose what are useful basic things to do and how we go about implementing our choices.

The article suggested that, in times of increased demand and reduced resources, we needed to find ways to lessen our workload. "DOUBT" was recommended as a technique. One of the questions a reader raised was: "Well, what about the managers? I am willing to say I cannot do a certain task or that this task is not useful or basic. But if management wants it done, I still need to have it done."

This is true. But the statement of the problem suggests its own solution. Decisions about what are useful basic things for a department or for a specific job must come out of communication and consultation between staff and management, and, if applicable, faculty.

Another issue raised by readers was: "OK, if our whole office agrees that something doesn't need to be done and is not useful, what about our customers who may still want it done?"

This is a critical question and the success of reducing workload may well depend on how you answer it. It is necessary to involve your customers in this decision in the planning stages. When you are deciding what new information, knowledge, attitudes, etc., will be needed for doing things the new way, you'll need to figure that out not only for your own staff but for your customers as well.

An excellent example is a large department that decided several years ago it could no longer remain open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. because its staff needed down time to do actual work when clients were not there.

They began to look at what customer needs would be upset. They did such things as adding drop boxes, notifying customers and surveying customers and built their customers into the change process. They made the changes and followed up at six months and a year with surveys to make sure that the customer's needs were being met even though they were now only open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As staffs and managers get together to decide what jobs or processes they can either stop doing or change and simplify, two points should be kept in mind. First, while we want to make these decisions carefully and think them through, the task of deciding on change should not become a new workload all on its own. I have been in too many situations where we have meetings to plan meetings for more meetings. Also, once changes are made, be careful to remain flexible. If a task needs to be done and it is not on your list of useful basic things, consider what other resources a customer might access to get a job done.

As we go along, we seem to be developing a process for DOUBTing. One: Identify those things that are useful and basic to your operation. Two: Decide which you can eliminate and which you can streamline. Three: Identify what changes in knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and information are needed for the staff to do things a new way and what new attitudes you will have to facilitate in your customers. Four: Include your customers, your staff and your managers in the change process. And five: as always, once the new process is in place, reevaluate. If you need help with this process, please, as usual, give us a call at 752-2727, come in and talk, or e-mail me at shharvey@ucdavis.edu.

Sally Harvey is the director of the Academic and Staff Assistance Program. Her columns appear quarterly in Dateline.