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Bureau/Division Director’s Meeting

February 9, 2005

Commissioner’s Conference Room

 

The following are points of interest that were discussed at the Bend the Curve portion of the Bureau/Division Director’s meeting on Wednesday, February 9, 2005:

 

  • Steve Campana explained the conference room scheduling schedule.  He will need the name of the contact person and the properties for each conference room listed on Outlook.  Training is the most common item mentioned and at the last ELT meeting, employees from OIP offered to do the training.  The project will be operational on or before March 15.
  • Kim distributed a list of Phase II BTC Projects.
  • Criteria for Phase I was listed: 
    • Improve interdepartmental coordination
    • Improve efficiency
    • Number of customers impacted
    • Does it save money
    • Does it improve services.
  • Also need to ask:  Where are the shortfalls (General Funds), where is greatest attrition expected, how do projects fit with the MDOL goals and is the solution interdepartmental?
  • Compliance with Audit findings should be on the list.
  • The Empowerment and Decision project showed that VSM is not necessary.  Need to use whatever works.
  • Does it address solutions for problems caused by attrition?
  • Display different components of entire project.
  • Focus on what services we provide and how we will provide them after attrition.
  • If attrition is managed well, there will be no layoffs.
  • Minimize the impact of attrition on service quality.
  • Need department-wide criteria on service quality.
  • What we want from BTC over the next three months:
    • Save money in necessary places
    • Organized way of filling vacancies
    • Better utilization of existing staff
    • Better understanding of what we all do and how it is all interrelated
    • More precise documentation of relationship between inputs and outputs
    • All staff understand and deliver services following established process with little variation
    • BTC philosophy is reemphasized
    • Get ahead of the curve – be creative
    • Staff training/cross training
    • Recognition of staff
    • Reward people who cross train to encourage change
    • Improve service to public
    • Ascertain at what level we can no longer provide quality service
    • Financial accountability
    • Financial platform
    • Financial systems coordinated approach
    • Other comments:  to what degree will state consolidation of services impact services.  IT Systems consolidation will reflect new vision of the department.  Historical listing of projects listing what worked and what didn’t work. Be clear about what the outcomes are and how we express them.
  • New Criteria for Phase II Projects:
    • Save money
    • Creates Departmental service
    • Not creating more efficient Bureaus, but creating a new DOL
    • Better utilization of staff
    • Measurable
    • Impact on customers
  • How can we get information on real savings in addition to potential savings?
  • Must save $84K in General Fund money in the ’06 Budget.
  • Jane’s team will present potential savings and how to turn potential savings into General Fund savings.
  • Project chartering will be on March 3, 2005.
  • OIP has automated the hiring process and will do travel next.
  • Arthur requested a VSM team for travel, which would be used for all State Government. Dennis Corliss will be the Sponsor.
  • What are core competencies expected of a DOL employee? 
  • Do employees have transferable skills between Bureaus?
  • Projects chosen for mapping in the next Phase:
    • Employer contacts
    • Statistical Data Collection and Analysis
    • Payment of Unemployment Benefits
    • Profiling/Reemployment
    • Service Integration
    • Travel
    • Financial Management
  • Kim asked Managers to rethink these seven projects and bring any changes to the next meeting.