Article 12. State Reform Models

Overview Lawrence Rosier's State Reform Models

The General Reform Model uses Enterprise Lean to Right-Size the organization getting the highest efficiency possible while improving the effectiveness of the organization. It uses the Lean study data for Work Measurement to determine the proper staffing and budgeting.  The method trains the organization’s managers in Enterprise Lean forming teams to do high level studies. All Functional employees are trained in Lean forming Self-Managed Lean Teams to study each of their functions.   After the Teams have gained in sufficient skill level the bureaucratic organization is replaced by a Team Management organization.  The Method empowers employees to make continuous improvements to the company’s operations.  The method reforms the company while improving employee morale.

The state of Minnesota with the implementation of its Enterprise Lean teams is right on target for the First Phase of my recommendations for government reform. The Second Phase begins by having a Budget Analyst review the results of each of the Lean teams’ Lean study data and determine the staffing required and the costs incurred by the function. The Third Phase occurs when the high level Lean Teams become the Steering Team Management and the functional Lean teams become the self-Managed Functional Teams at the work place.
Ref. Minnesota's Enterprise Lean website: http://www.lean.state.mn.us/index.htm Enterprise Lean is a coordinated state government initiative for improving the organizational performance and results in Minnesota's state government agencies. 

Comments by the Author
Because Minnesota's Enterprise Lean Program is managed by the state's bureaucratic Administrative offices it does not achieve the highest efficiencies that are possible. The administrators have adopted the policy of not reducing staff when significant improvements in efficiency should warrant it.

Second Model, Streamlining state government Boards and Commissions Reform Model

This Model usually follows the implementation of the General Reform Model.  Start by getting the legislature and executive branches of state government to commit to funding the implementation.  Next a high level lean team made up of managers trained in the lean process is to be appointed to implement the reform.

This is followed by the breakdown of the Boards and Commissions organizations into functions.  A function is identified by the products and services it produces. The personnel working within each function are organized into Functional Lean teams to study the process flows used to produce their product or service and determine the best method. The high level Lean Team will then logically group the boards and Commissions  into about 15 to 25 high level Group organizations.

While all this is going on a separate Customer Relations Management (CRM) team is established to build a State Telephone 311 Portal. The state IT department will develop a Frequently Asked Question Database for each of the new High level Group organizations. This is done to aid the newly trained call takers in answering questions and providing services to the public. The CRM is not intended to supplant the States website services. Once the CRM is up and running further reforms will follow with each high level group organization being managed by a Steering Team. The new group Steering Teams will manage the activities of the new Functional Teams formed from the Functional Lean Teams.
Ref. John Eagle, Government Technology Website http://www.govtech.com/gt/91953 Nov 1, 2004, Hampton Virginia Mission Statement: “To Make Hampton the Most Livable City in Virginia”. 
Note:
The Virginia State Government Reform Commission has recommended that the State’s Drivers License Office duties be expanded to become a State Public Service Center to sell fishing licenses and other documents. This excellent idea would not replace the state’s CRM portal but would provide a direct link by telephone and or computer to the single state CRM portal so that any question a resident might have could be immediately answered.

Third Model, Consolidation Reform Model
Consolidation of State Support Services is a subset of the Consolidation Reform Model.   The idea for states is to combine all support services into a centralized State Shared Services Department (SSD). Within the SSD organization is: Purchasing, Information Technology, Janitorial Services, Waste Management, Travel and expense, and others. There are some pitfalls in making this reform but for the most part the benefits far exceed the current distributed method. 

Fourth Model, State Information Technology Data Center
This Model is for the development and implementation of a State Cloud IT data center.  I recommend that each state government develop their own Centralized Cloud IT systems.  The center would be storm and earth quake proof with battery and generator backup systems.  From this facility the state can provide IT cloud systems for itself and city and county governments within the state including email.


The General Reform Model Details

Step 1. Establish an independent State Reform Commission
A high level State Reform committee is established to oversee the implementation of all reforms.  This must be an independent committee separate from the State's Bureaucratic Administrative offices.  I recommend that it be a part of the State Auditors office.  The first task of the State Reform Committee is to implement Enterprise Lean throughout the state. 

Step 2. Enterprise Lean Training
A Lean training specialist should be brought in to do the Lean training.  I recommend that a university professor who teaches the subject  be contracted to train the trainers usually government trainers.   The first group trained should be the agency’s managers and their training should be with Enterprise Lean and the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool.   After training the managers will form into high level management Enterprise Lean Teams to study high level document flows across various organizations or other studies such as Consolidation services.  This should always be the first step you must always fix the high level systems (processes) first finding the most efficient and effective way of doing the process using VSM.  

The second group trained is the facilitators followed by the remaining public sector employees.   The facilitators job is to meet with the low level Lean Teams each week and help them organize, electing their leader and in getting started with the lean study of their particular function.  The teams should document the present system flow and arrive at a revised flow that is the most efficient and effective. The activity should be completed within three months.  Note that this is a significant culture change within a bureaucracy because you are empowering employees to innovate and continuously improve their jobs.  Some teams may be selected to make a presentation of their findings to the Legislative Reform Team itself.  Up to this point you have followed the standard implementation of Enterprise Lean which has been made in hundreds of manufacturing facilities.

A third group of Budget Analysts receive lean training and also receive training by the implementing Management Consultant.  They will collect the data from each Lean Team and determine the cost savings for each study.  They will also determine the correct staffing required for the function right-sizing the function and with operation costs develop a bottoms-up budget.

Step 3. Lean Data Documentation and Collection
This Step is lead by the Management Consultant who supervises the activities of Budget Analysts.   The Budget Analysts analyze the Lean data from each function comparing the old method with the new method to determine savings and the costs including staffing for the new method.    A daily log kept by each Functional Team documents the number of times that the function is performed each budgeted year. This budget does not include management and other overhead costs but for the first time the cost of actually doing the work of the function is known. This is what I call a bottoms-up budget. Unless there are changes in the functions processes the funding formula with some tweaking can be used for years. 
 
Step 4. Conversion of the bureaucratic Organization to a Team Management Organization
When the studies have been completed and the correct staffing is known you can begin conversion of the high level Enterprise Lean teams into Group steering teams.  All of the functional teams will then convert to functional teams with the Team Leader of each function replacing the supervisor of the function.  The functions can be grouped by various criteria the most likely is by skill level.  Members of the of the Functional Teams will be cross trained eventually to do each of the various jobs done by the Team. This flexibility is one of the main reasons for organizing as a team.  This represents how the bureaucratic organization can be smoothly converted to a Team Managed organization.