Jody Whiteside
Residence manager, Residential Programs and Services, IU Bloomington
It took her a while to come around, but now that Jody Whiteside has learned the benefits of Teams, there’s no going back.
“Microsoft Teams was a little scary at first, but I have to admit, this is one of the best programs I've had to deal with and work with professionally,” she said. “It has made my life so much easier.”
As a residence manager for two of IU Bloomington’s largest residence halls, Briscoe Quadrangle and Foster Quadrangle, Jody handles the living quarters of nearly 2,000 students and staff living and working in the buildings. She also manages a staff of around 80 part-time student workers, their work schedules, their training, and their eventual departures from IU.
“Teams has really helped me keep on top of the sheer amount of work day-to-day, all the little things,” Jody says. “We also have a very transient group of employees at multiple levels, so I’ve told my staff no work should be on your personal device. It needs to be done in Teams. That way, when you leave there's an archive and history, so the next person coming in isn't starting and reinventing the wheel.”
The Teams tool she uses most often is Shifts. She's even developed her own RPS-specific Microsoft training: Welcome to Teams 101 and Welcome to Shifts 101. “I really like Shifts. It took me a while to figure it out but it’s so incredibly versatile and ties in with the Task system.”
