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News & Events
September
22, 2004
Bend the Curve Update From Commissioner
Fortman
I would like to take a moment to update you
on the status of the Bend the Curve (BTC) initiative. As you know, Bend
the Curve is an initiative to help us stay focused on the people we serve
- both internally and externally, and to look at how we deliver services
and figure out how to do it better. By now, most of you will have participated
in one of the BTC "Road Shows". Thank you for your enthusiastic
participation, comments, concerns and questions! All of the information
sessions will be completed by the end of the week and we are using that
data to inform our planning process. Below are several key next steps
of the BTC initiative:
• 360 Culture Survey-- Within the next few days, you will receive
an email asking you to fill out a 60 question on-line "culture of
MDOL" survey. The purpose of the survey is to find out how you view
the leadership culture of MDOL. The survey is anonymous and it allows
you to record how you view the culture currently as well as what your
vision of the ideal would look like.
• 1 Day Regional Training-- All employees are asked to participate
in one day long training session to become familiar with the processes
and tools MDOL will be using as part of the BTC initiative. There will
be 3 training sites. Augusta --Oct. 13, Bangor--Oct. 15 and Portland--Oct.
19 (the Portland date is tentative). You will receive the results of the
360 culture survey at the 1 day training and you will have the opportunity
to sign up for a BTC "project team". The agenda and specifics
about the day will be sent to you as soon as they are finalized.
• 2 Day Value Stream Mapping -- Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is one
of the tools we will be using during the BTC initiative. Those of you
who are actively participating in the first round of BTC project teams
will spend 2 days in early November (either Nov. 1-2 or 2-3) doing VSM.
We have done 2 pilot projects using VSM. Below is a short summary of one
of them.
• A cross agency team of 15 folks representing Employment Services,
Labor Standards, Unemployment Compensation, Rehab Services, Labor Market
Information Services, and two service providers (Coastal Economic Development
and Aroostook Community Action) began the value stream mapping process
of Job Orders during a two day event on September 14th and 15th. During
the VSM event, the team determined that the job order function currently
takes approximately 262 minutes each to list and refer to. Streamlining
possibilities were explored resulting is a proposal that is estimated
to drop the job order process time-- including the applicant referral--
to 73 minutes.
• Website-- One of the requests that we heard during the Road Show
was---give us information but keep the emails short! In an effort to comply,
we have a website "under construction". The website will allow
those of you who want more in-depth information about BTC to access it
without inundating everyone else with unwanted detail. The website should
be operational by the middle of next week.
Well, that's a quick summary of what's coming up
in the next few weeks. In an effort to be brief, I haven't included everything
we are doing. However, I hope it gives you an overview of what is happening.
Please don't hesitate to ask questions and make suggestions. I want your
input, ideas, and participation. I am very excited about the steps we
have already taken and look forward to our next steps. We are in this
together and together we will shape the future of MDOL.
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