From electronic libraries and online membership renewal to improving the IEEE’s finances, executive director Dan Senese reflects on his accomplishments with The Institute as he prepares to retire at the end of 2004 after nine years with the IEEE.

As the chief staff officer, he oversees the daily operations of the IEEE and its more than 800 employees. The IEEE Board of Directors sets the policies of the organization, and the executive director’s job is to implement them and to provide input about how best to plan the association’s future.

Executive director Dan Senese is set to retire at the end of this month.

Senese might be remembered most for the array of electronic services and products created during his tenure—which was his primary mandate when he took on his job.

“We’ve really focused on doing business electronically. It’s one of the things that I’m very proud of,” he says. “We looked at where it was cost-effective, where we thought there were useful services, and we now are delivering very efficient and effective electronic products.”

Those include what he calls membership administrative tools. Members can renew, add services, join a society, update their contact information, purchase a product, or subscribe to a publication—all over the Web, totally without human intervention.

We expect people to demonstrate INNOVATION and CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT. We strive for open, honest COMMUNICATION and feedback

But that doesn’t begin to cover the spectrum of offerings that the IEEE rolled out during his tenure. Senese points to an expanding line of electronic libraries, from the IEEE Member Digital Library for individuals and the IEEE Enterprise library for small- and medium-size businesses to the IEEE/IEE Electronic Library for large organizations. The three collections make more than one million articles (some dating back to 1950) available through the IEEE Xplore document delivery system.

“These libraries are helping our members and customers around the world conduct their R&D efforts more efficiently because information is readily available to them anytime, anywhere,” he says.

He also points with satisfaction to the host of new online e-publishing tools for authors and editors. Journal, transactions, and magazine editors can create articles, format them using templates, proofread the work, and submit annotations, all online. But the publications are only as good as their content, he notes, so there’s also the Manuscript Central online peer-review system developed for editors and reviewers.

Senese also made note of several other online programs introduced in the last several years, including the e-mail alias service with virus protection, secure access for volunteers to members’ personal data, and a more efficient way for developing IEEE Standards.

CULTURAL CHANGES None of the electronic services developed during his tenure would have been possible without changing the corporate culture that Senese found in 1995. He joined the IEEE staff after nearly a decade with Bellcore, now Telecordia Technologies, in Piscataway, N.J., USA, where he held a number of positions, including his last as vice president of quality. When he came on board, he encountered a newly installed member database system fraught with problems, few automated processes, and inadequately trained staff using outdated computers.

“The IEEE was a reactive organization back then—the culture wasn’t to propose new and innovative ideas,” he says. “And the company wasn’t investing in its future. Budgeting for information technology systems was modest and relatively flat until the new membership system was put into place. Spending money to train staff on the latest technology was low, too. Some of the computers our employees were using were castoffs donated by other companies.”

Senese is proud of the IEEE’s Data Center, which supports myriad electronic services for members.

Senese changed all that by implementing process and project management techniques, introducing the Malcolm Baldrige quality approach to IEEE activities, and putting a priority on employee training.

“We’ve deployed many educational programs for the staff,” he says. “That’s important because these training tools help us provide better service.”

The IEEE also started surveying its members, customers, and volunteers annually to gauge their satisfaction with the institute’s activities. The findings are used in a variety of ways.

“We established metrics based on these survey results and other information, and we use them to monitor our performance,” Senese explains. “And we tie staff compensation to these metrics. That’s something that has really helped the organization improve.”

Senese says another change that has served the IEEE well was to alter the staff’s work culture. “Our culture now includes things like putting the member and customer first and respect for employees and volunteers; it’s helped us become more responsive to our members, our customers, and our volunteer partners,” he says.

“We in management try to lead by example,” he continues. “We try to get people involved in decisions of the organization that affect them—which we call participatory management. We hold people accountable, and we expect that their word’s going to be their bond. We also expect people to demonstrate innovation and continuous improvement as part of our culture. And we strive for open, honest communication and feedback.”

One of the hallmarks of the IEEE today  is that cross-organizational teamwork is much improved, he says.

“We now have teamwork across the entire organization,” he says. “Not too many things of any significance get done by one group alone. There are usually partnerships between various parts of the IEEE. I’m very proud to say that’s part of the culture we changed.”

FINANCES All the new programs and services came with a hefty price tag, which meant the IEEE had to get its financial house in order.

“We’ve grown to become a US$240 million organization, yet until recently, the financial model we used for budgeting was designed for an organization that was very centralized,” Senese says. “That meant costs were not being charged to the units that used those services; today the model is consistent with the highly decentralized organization that we are.”

He says revamping the IEEE’s budgeting process was difficult “because it changed the total underpinnings of how we did our finances. But it’s really made a big difference because it created much better business behavior. These changes led to better decisions being made throughout the organization relative to setting priorities and the prices for products and how we deal with expenses.”

He notes that a comparison of the net operating budget results from 2002 to those from 2001—after the new financial model was implemented—showed an improvement of more than US$17.5 million.

There were tough economic times shortly after the new financial model was put into place in 2001, but “we didn’t sacrifice service,” he says. “And we didn’t eliminate many of the altruistic, good things that we do for the public that makes the IEEE the great organization that it is.”

He also notes that the IEEE did well during recent difficult financial times. “We weathered the SARS outbreaks in 2003 that affected our conference attendance and the economic downturn that occurred worldwide,” he says. “And we’ve continued to be a very viable organization financially.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD Senese says he feels he is leaving a financially healthy, well-run organization positioned favorably for the future, but he sees challenges ahead for his successor. These include competitive threats from for-profit publishers, open access to information, and getting more young professionals to join.

“There’s a movement in the publishing arena of open—or free—access to information, which could have a significant financial impact on the IEEE,” he says. “Also, people coming out of school today aren’t as apt to join professional associations as a way to give back to their profession. They are looking more, as they should, at what’s in it for them; what’s the value added?”

Senese reports that the IEEE Board of Directors is getting much more engaged in strategic issues. As it becomes clearer how the IEEE should respond, “we can turn these issues and threats into opportunities,” he notes. “I believe the organization that’s in place today is well positioned to respond with the right types of talent, skill, and mind-set. It’s the right time for a new person to come in and, partnering with the volunteers, take the IEEE to the next level.”

Senese has made no firm plans about what activities he’ll take up in retirement, other than to spend more time with his wife and two daughters. He also looks forward to enjoying his hobbies, which include model railroading and flying radio-controlled airplanes.

“I’m just going to do some reflecting before moving forward,” he says. “But I will be keeping a close eye on the IEEE as a member.”