Whitehall Senior Project Manager
Bureau of Sociological Research
“Nikki is a Senior Project Manager at BOSR and oversees the day-to-day operation of BOSR’s Whitehall location. Among other projects, Nikki manages BOSR’s largest project, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). BRFSS is the primary health survey in Nebraska and the United States, and the largest health survey in the world. It is through Nikki’s leadership that Whitehall and BRFSS have seen continued success and innovation. Whether it is figuring out how to quickly transition nearly 50 people to 100% remote work during a pandemic or developing new ways to support and engage staff members, Nikki is always up for the challenge. Nikki has developed strategic ways to best utilize and grow staff members’ knowledge and skills, and continues to build upon her own professional development. Nikki uses this knowledge and skills to continually improve the work that BOSR does, while bringing to light this innovative work that is happening at BOSR with the survey research and public health community. Nikki is a dedicated hard-working employee, that manages a lot of tasks simultaneously and is very effective and efficient in all that she does, and she does a lot. She is a hard worker and an incredible asset here at BOSR.”
• • •
“I am nominating Nikki because she is a hard worker. A lot goes into what she does and a lot of behind the scenes work. She is very knowledgeable and does a very good job explaining step by step how to do something, she makes it easy to understand. She has a welcoming personality and easy to talk to.”
• • •
“Nikki Gohring has managed the Bureau of Sociological Research’s (BOSR) State-owned, UNL-employee-operated calling center since it opened over ten years ago. Here, she oversees three large, year-round telephone interviewing projects. In addition, she oversees three project staff, four supervisors, and about 75 interviewers. She keeps the projects on schedule and within budget, and manages hiring and training of all her staff. This process is normally smooth sailing, but with the shutdowns due to COVID, Nikki led the charge to switch everyone to working remotely. This involved communicating with the State to get usernames and passwords for each employee; ordering cell phones for everyone; ordering laptops and personal internet hotspots for those who needed it; and helping everyone do this. It also meant the need to develop procedures for new situations – i.e., do you answer the cell phone if the interviewee calls back? Within two weeks of sending everyone home when the University went to Level 4, the majority of interviewers were able to interview remotely. While the University was shut down, productivity rates and completed interview targets did not suffer. Because of her great work, BOSR now has hybrid work environments for interviewers. This innovation allows BOSR to keep employees for longer (thus reducing training costs of new employees and hiring paperwork processing), effectively utilize the limited space BOSR has, and complete more projects than in pre-COVID times. It is through Nikki’s great management, especially with the shift to remote work, that BOSR has found this new way to grow. Outside of her excellent management that led to BOSR's innovative ways of working, Nikki is kind and helpful to all. Nikki is always looking for ways to further staff knowledge and skills through their work. Despite knowing that many student worker supervisors will move on after graduation, she takes the time to understand each supervisor’s strengths and what they would like to learn from the position. She challenges them with additional responsibilities when appropriate and possible that can help make the position more engaging and give them experience that will benefit them in their future career. Nikki has made herself indispensable in the operation of BOSR and we would be lost without her. Nikki deserves a round of Applause and Kudos!”
• • •
“Nikki is very deserving of the Applause Award. She is a great Senior Project Manager who not only is excellent at her job but also a great team member. She provides support at all levels of the program, constantly going above and beyond in making a cohesive work environment. Nikki is very knowledgeable and has taught me many things that has helped me become efficient with my role here at BOSR.”
• • •
“Nikki is an amazing asset to our department. She efficiently runs our telephone interview lab of 70+ staff members both in office and remote. I have worked with Nikki over 10 years and I have never known her to miss a beat. She is steady, reliable and a hard worker.”
• • •
“Nikki is an instrumental member of the BOSR team, who manages the most labor-intensive research that this office does. She is a reliable, insightful resource for her coworkers. Managing the calling arm of research is often an unforgiving task, but it’s also a methodology that performs best only under a great deal of persistence. Nikki has this persistence in spades.”