Joe Kennedy's Professional Journey

Skills applied: Process improvement, cross-functional coordination, stakeholder communication, records management & compliance, operational follow-through

When I joined the finance team, records management across the school was quietly costing money and attention. Departments continued paying monthly storage fees for records that had been eligible for secure destruction for years, not due to policy gaps, but because ownership was unclear and follow-through had gradually fallen away.

I began by requesting a complete inventory of stored records across more than 50 departments and reviewing files against university retention guidelines. Rather than relying on routine notifications that often went unanswered, I worked directly with department leaders to confirm decisions, document approvals, and coordinate next steps with the university records center.

The work required steady communication, careful tracking, and coordination across multiple stakeholders, along with resolving billing discrepancies, access questions, and delivery issues as they arose. Over several months, this effort led to the secure removal of thousands of boxes and reduced annual storage costs by more than $25,000.

Beyond the cost savings, the project restored clarity around records ownership and turned a neglected administrative function into a repeatable, well-understood process. It reinforced how effective people operations often work in practice: not through authority or enforcement, but through clear accountability, consistent communication, and thoughtful coordination that helps teams do the right thing with less friction.