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Bureau/Division Director’s Meeting

March 2, 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, March 2, 2005.

 

  • Kim Smith will schedule VSM teams, two at a time, to present their implementation plans to the Steering Committee. 
  • Kim distributed a paper listing the purpose of the Steering Committee reviewing the implementation plans:
    • To Provide support to the Teams,
    • To facilitate trust building,
    • To find a way to say yes to suggestions for change, and
    • To continue creating a climate of learning, engagement and accountability.
  • A request was made to have a brief outline of the presentations in order to allow time for reactions.
  • A request was made to post the presentation on the Web, so all employees could react to them.
  • John Rioux explained there are many BTC projects going on that are outside the VSM field, such as:
    • Taxilla
    • Enterprise
    • Physical move
    • PWC – BDMP (the accounting piece)
    • UIC move.
    • State consolidation of services
  • John will make a list of all the projects for the next meeting.
  • The Commissioner will send a letter to all employees listing the new VSM Projects asking for volunteers for the Teams.
  • The Commissioner will also try to visit as many sites as possible again this Spring.
  • A Reporter from the Portland Press Herald wants to do an article on the BTC Initiative and will talk to front line staff for input.  The Commissioner suggested he wait until early April.
  • The Commissioner will ask the Governor to visit the BTC Fair scheduled for March 17.
  • Arthur Davis presented an Overview of the BTC Initiative and led a discussion on whether or not to continue with Consultants.
  • A partnership with DHHS was proposed and will be explored.
  • FAME is also doing the same kind of work
  • A further discussion on savings and attrition was held.  The eight positions eliminated so far this year is not included in the $2M potential savings realized so far.  The topic needs further discussion including how to keep adjusting as the figures keep changing.
  • Kim will do a more in-depth presentation on the potential and actual savings at the next meeting.
  • VSM is only one part of the BTC savings.
  • Non-VSM projects will also affect dollars and staff.
  • Phase II Chartering will happen on March 3, with the VSM Teams starting on March 24 and 25.
  • Each current project will be scrutinized to see where we need help so to have continuous improvement.
  • Jill Duson will let the Steering Committee know what she needs to facilitate cultural change in BRS.