Ray Chambers Made Me a Better Manager

In May of 2005, I stepped away from 17 years in commercial printing and accepted a position as the director for print and mail at Messiah College in central Pennsylvania. Two years later, I met Ray Chambers.

In 2007, I was tasked by senior administrators to find a consultant and complete something called an “Institutional Effectiveness Review.” The review was to include three broad areas of interest for study:

• Purpose: an evaluation of the purpose of the print and mail department and how that purpose relates to the purpose of the College.
• Process: an assessment of work processes, changes in demand, changes in types of work performed, facilities and resources used – including equipment and technology, and financial performance.
• Personnel: an assessment of staff skills and the relevance of those skills to the current portfolio of products and services.

Ray Chambers

At the time, I had no idea how to locate a qualified consultant, and so I plead for help on a listserv for higher-ed in-plants. I received precisely 13 responses. One response was a recommendation to reach out to a man named Ray Chambers and the other 12 were supporting testimonials of Ray’s qualifications and experience.

Today, I am so thankful I saved all those emails. I cannot think of a better tribute to a man who meant so much to me and to countless others. Here are a few of those testimonials:

“Ray has more than 30 years of experience managing and directing in-plants across multiple industry segments. He often consults with leaders in higher education across the country. You will not find a better man for the job than Ray.”

“In the mountains of amazing things that Ray has done for me over the years, the one thing that still resonates with me to this day (and will do so for the rest of my life) is that he gave me all the tools I needed to succeed as an in-plant manager. I owe all I have accomplished to him.”

Ray Chambers gives a presentation at an in-plant conference.

“Ray is more than a consultant. He will come to you with years of experience doing exactly what you do. He possesses a graduate-level understanding of all the complexities and unique challenges that come with managing an in-plant at a college or university. Many of us have benefitted from his efforts.”

“The only thing you need to know about Ray that will convince you to hire him is that he is married to someone who will come to the table with him. He and Catherine have a great desire to help others and they have done research centered on developing and using tools that will help you with your review.”

“No one knows more about measuring and assessing an organization than Ray Chambers. His method of including clients (or as we call them: customers) in his approach to assessment is probably what saved our in-plant.”

“If you were to fast forward to three years from now, and you find yourself thinking back on your review, you will thank your lucky stars you hired Ray. He will not just generate a report and check boxes on a check list. He will alter the course of your department.”

“When you hire Ray, you are not just hiring a consultant. You will make a friend for life.”

I did, Ray. I truly did.