AMERICAN PUBLIC HUMAN SERVICES ASSOCIATION. Organizational Effectiveness Department; Report prepared by Kathy Jones Kelley

Transcription

1 AMERICAN PUBLIC HUMAN SERVICES ASSOCIATION Organizational Effectiveness Department; Report prepared by Kathy Jones Kelley Case Study: Continuous Improvement Effort March - July

2 Table of Content I. Background and Current Needs II. Organizational Effectiveness and a Continuous Improvement Framework III. Minnesota Training Unit Application of the DAPIM Flywheel IV. Lessons Learned V. Planned Next Steps VI. Attachments Desired Future State Planned Remedies Session agenda Work products 8 month transition plan Priority work task list DAPIM SSIS DAPIM - Organizational Needs Assessment Strengths and Gaps on structure and team culture OE models and tools used during the sessions DAPIM flywheel Organizational System model Pyramid of Influence model Monitoring Tips Communication Plan template OE Readiness model 2

3 Background and Current Need Minnesota Department of Human Services is a state supervised county administered child welfare system. The department has a national reputation for being results-oriented, progressive and responsive to evolving client needs. In recent years the department has implemented practice changes to support program improvements throughout its child welfare system. A major component of the system reform has included implementing practices that empower families and youth in the decision making and planning process for issues facing them. The department recently developed a Practice Model to guide decision making in front line practices with children, youth and families. The department views the training unit (unit) as a key resource for implementation of the Practice Model. Currently the unit is responsible for providing ongoing training and support to child welfare staff in practice issues and would like to expand this scope of responsibility to include technical assistance to county child welfare agencies and tribes on organizational effectiveness (OE) practices. Towards this end, a continuous improvement process was initiated. In November 2008, a strategic readiness assessment was completed. The process was facilitated by the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) in partnership with the National Resource Center for Organizational Improvements (NRCOI). The goal of the session was to assess the current state of the unit, define a desired future state that would allow it to remain of high value to its key stakeholders, and identify the strengths and gaps between the current and desired future state. The results of the assessment were utilized to prepare a plan for continuous improvement. The plan outlined action steps that needed to be taken to support the vision of developing internal capacity to support county child welfare agencies and tribes in Minnesota in the implementation and monitoring of the state s Practice Model via the application of OE principles and practices. The plan was shared with Minnesota state leadership, unit staff, and key stakeholders as a way to obtain buy-in for advancing this effort. Support was obtained within the state for the unit to engage in continuous improvement effort to re-design itself. A second phase of work was completed February June 3

4 2009. Again the process was facilitated by APHSA in partnership with the NRCOI. The following two major bodies of work were completed: Development of a Practice Model (February - March 2009) Development of Desired Future State for the Unit and a Continuous Improvement Plan outlining quick wins and mid range remedies (May June 2009) (Desired Future State and Planned Remedies located in attachments) The following is a high level overview of the goals of the continuous improvement effort. The effort is leading to a redesign of the training system to help support the implementation of the Practice Model, including but not limited to the following: o Assess all curricula (foundation and specialized) to ensure alignment with the Practice Model, o Develop and implement new methods for assessing the technical assistance and training needs of county agencies and tribes to ensure alignment to desired outcomes for children, youth and families, o Develop and implement improved transfer of learning support to sustain the continuous improvement effort at the county agency, tribes and in front-line practice, and o Develop capacity and ability of current unit staff to conduct effective assessment and facilitate OE processes. The unit participated in a phase of work from March to July 2010 to implement its Continuous Improvement Plan. This next phase involved completing quick wins and mid-range remedies. APHSA facilitated the unit using OE models and tools to support them in aligning with the Practice Model and in realigning existing resources to prepare for building OE capacity within the unit. The following documents the work products and results from this phase of work. Organizational Effectiveness and a Continuous Improvement Framework OE is the systematic and systemic approach to continuously improving an organization s performance, performance capacity and client outcomes. APHSA s DAPIM model, when applied in a Learning by Doing format, provides a framework for systematically improving or innovating something within the organization. DAPIM is the following step-by-step approach: 4

5 Step One: Define what that thing is in operational terms, Step Two: Assess the current and desired state or situation, Step Three: Plan both rapid and long-term improvements, Step Four: Implement those plans in detail, and Step Five: Monitor plan progress and impact for accountability and on-going adjustments. DAPIM, in that it is sequential and loops back to assessment and adjustments to initial plans, operates as a flywheel in real time, serving as a constant and continuous process for the organization to engage in when improving or innovating itself or its services. The organization can be in any and/or all phases of the DAPIM flywheel at any given time. The DAPIM Model: A Flywheel Define Monitor Performance & Capacity Assess Implement Plan 11 5

6 Minnesota Training Unit Application of the DAPIM Flywheel The unit engaged in a learning by doing institute with the goal of implementing the quick-wins and mid-range remedies from their Continuous Improvement Plan. The team participated in four sessions over a five month period. The sessions occurred on the following dates (agenda and work products from sessions are located in the appendix): Session One - March 2 & 3, 2010 Session Two April 20 & 21, 2010 Session Three June 2 & 3, 2010 Session Four July 20 & 21, 2010 The unit prioritized work to be completed from the Continuous Improvement Plan and then engaged in sessions to implement quick wins and remedies. The following work products were completed: Prioritization of curriculum for development and revision. Development and implementation of an 8 month time line for reallocation of resources from Century College to the state. Development and implementation of a priority work task list during the 8 month transition of resources from Century College to the state. Development of position descriptions for new position within the unit. Completed a DAPIM session with the SSIS section to work on improving communication and collaboration efforts between the unit and SSIS section. Session resulted in a quick win list to address root causes for gaps. Defined the elements of the new organizational needs assessment tool and process. Identified strengths and gaps within the unit to develop and implement the new tool and process. Defined a new structure for the unit. The new structure will be implemented once a new supervisor and staff are hired. The unit started to identify strengths and gaps with in the unit to support the new structure. Development of a plan to support the building of OE capacity for identified internal staff. The unit monitored commitments during each session to ensure progress was being made in their redesign efforts and capture lessons learned. The unit did recognize communication, decision making and trust issues were preventing 6

7 them from being the high performing team they desired to be. In order to improve communication the unit meets weekly to review commitments and share results of commitments. Decisions are made during the meeting so that everyone is aware of decisions. This weekly meeting has started to show improvements in communication and follow through on decisions. The unit will start to participate in session with a facilitator from the department to work on trust issues. Throughout the facilitated sessions both the facilitator and participants remained flexible in order to address emerging issues due to the transition of resources from Century College to the state. This transition has resulted in additional workload responsibilities for current unit staff reducing their capacity to move forward with planned activities from their continuous improvement plan. These decisions resulted in staff not feeling as overwhelmed with work load while they strive to align to the Practice Model and build OE capacity. Lessons Learned It continues to be beneficial for all unit staff to participate in DAPIM sessions. This allows all unit members to understand the vision for practice model alignment and building OE capacity. Members are provided with an opportunity to have input into decisions that are being made about the redesign of the unit, increasing their buy-in and commitment to planned changes. It continues to be beneficial for the leadership of the department and unit to participate in DAPIM sessions. Their presences in the room has assist unit staff in feeling supported in their change effort. Engaging staff from other departments such as quality assurance, SSIS, program and policy has proven to be successful. Participation from other units with in the department has broaden the thinking that goes into the planning process, improved communication and collaboration between units, and has model Practice Model alignment and OE efforts throughout the department. Maintaining flexibility in implementing planned changes has resulted in unit staff not feeling as overwhelmed and having a sense of input into work load priorities. It is important to monitor commitments for lessons learned. Using lessons learned to plan for capacity and future phases of work. 7

8 Planned Next Steps Currently, the department is experiencing lay-offs due to economic conditions within the state. The lay-offs have impacted the unit s ability to move forward as planned with hiring new staff. Positions will still be posted and filled; however, the timeline for this will be extended into In the meantime, the department and unit leadership plan to build internal OE capacity. The unit will start initial capacity building with internal staff identified as needing to develop OE facilitation skills. The work effort will introduce and reinforce the approach to OE using the APHSA OE models and tools. The effort will introduce staff to the APHSA OE Handbook and support staff in understanding the content of the Handbook and effective application of the OE models and tools. The effort will continue to support the re-design of the unit and impact performance and staff capacity in the unit, based on learning by doing, continuous improvement, strategic alignment and empowerment. By building OE capacity, the unit will have internal capacity to facilitate the remaining planned changes from their Continuous Improvement Plan resulting in Practice Model alignment and OE products and services for county agencies and tribes. Areas of work will include needs assessment, curriculum and trainer development, training delivery, and evaluation. In addition, the unit will charter a cross department work team to support them in ensuring all products and services developed by the unit are aligned to the Practice Model. These planned next steps will take place November 2010 through February Attachments Desired Future State Planned Remedies Session agenda Work products 8 month transition plan Priority work task list DAPIM SSIS DAPIM - Organizational Needs Assessment 8

9 Strengths and Gaps on structure and team culture OE models and tools used during the sessions DAPIM flywheel Organizational System model Pyramid of Influence model Monitoring Tips Communication Plan template OE Readiness model 9