EPDP Exempt Professional Development Program

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Department of Administrative ServicesEPDP
Kaizen Event

• EPDP Exempt Professional Development Program
• October 6-9, 2008

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Team Members

• Lena Mullins
• Latasha Phillips
• Mugsy Reynolds
• Robert Robinson
• Tammy McNew
• Donna Diggs

• Mitch Bailey
• Mouhamadou Toure
• Maddy Weisz
• Facilitators
• Cathy Herron
• Steve Wall

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Exempt Professional Development Program (EPDP)

• Educational funds set aside for exempt employees
  to be used for college credit towards a degree,
  professional development training/programs.
• Tuition reimbursement 3000/fiscal year for full
  time employees.
• Professional Development events 1500/fiscal
  year for full time employees

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Why EPDP?

• Alignment with part of Directors Flexible
  Performance Agreement- to provide a robust
  voluntary benefits program
• Significant number of complaints from exempt
  employees regarding EPDP and ability to use the
  funds.
• Increased need for program due to changes to the
  economy.
• We wanted to save time, money and continuously
  improve services to our customers

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EPDP Fiscal Year Volumes
2720 total
2773 total
1295 total
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Mugsy Reynolds
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Kaizen ??? Kai To Break? Zen For the Better
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Approach
Schedule 30, 60, and 90 day follow-ups
TEAM people who do the work customers outsider
s with no knowledge but fresh perspective
At the end of the event, each Kaizen team has
achieved dramatic operational improvements and
results that are implemented immediately.
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Identify and eliminate waste

• Defects and loop-backs
• Hand-offs
• Unnecessary processing
• Decisions in process
• Excess transportation
• Waiting

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• Tammy McNew

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What is the scope of our Kaizen event?

• Improve the EPDP process from when a customer
  submits an application, through paying for the
  education that was received

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Out of Scope

• No more people
• No more resources/money/budget
• Fix process before I.T. solution
• Federal requirements such as retention
• Issues in other agencies such as OBM

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Objectives

• To reduce the cycle time from receiving an
  application to notifying the customer that they
  have been approved.
• Reduce the cycle time from completing the
  education to payment being made.
• Reduce the variation in cycle time for both
  processes
• To make it simpler and easier for the customers
  to use the process and increase customer
  satisfaction.
• To save money and reduce the amount of staff time
  spent in the EPDP process

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(No Transcript)
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Donna Diggs
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Current State Flow Map
100 Steps, 25 Decisions, 15 Handoffs
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Brainstormed Ideas for Improvement

• Create checklist letter of what is missing
• Educate the customer
• Consistently make exceptions all have the same
  points of view
• Payment will go direct deposit If application is
  not complete send it back to the employee
• Cut down on the number of 7 day reminder letters
• Program requirements 1st page of application form
  to last page
• Eliminate sorting
• Reduce timeline of 14 days to ?
• Create request for reimbursement form
• Educate employees on completion of forms
• Create automated OBM reporting system
• Automate processing for EPDP
• Combine everything to one application/clearly
  state the approval process
• Timelines for approval or confirmation
• Reduction of letters
• Improve Visa payment for direct voucher pay
• Review banishment for 1 year
• Review rationale for due dates in process
• Email notification of receipt of the application

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Impact Matrix

• Direct deposit on application
• Redesign application
• Change Policy
• FAQ list
• No sorting
• Revise website
• Create packet for New Employee Orientation
• Regular meeting with 48 advocates

• Develop on-line system
• Electronic storage of files
• Attach info to OAKS

IMPACT

• Develop recommendations for OBM to reduce paper
  process
• Change prepay process when employee does not go
• Reduce number of letters
• Change grade policy

COSTS
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The New Process
Eliminated almost 50 steps!Eliminated 2/3 of the
delays in the old process
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Website
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Mitchell Bailey
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Improvements Made

• Increased maximum individual request from 1000
  to 1,500
• Clarified directions to customers with more
  clearly written letters, instructions, forms and
  applications
• Created a system to quickly identify and process
  emergency requests
• Provide training to agency liaisons and for use
  by agencies in new employee orientation
• Dramatically reduced steps, delays and cycle time

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Results
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Lessons Learned

• Thinking more systemically outside my part of
  the process
• Effective process everyone that is part of the
  process are at the table
• High level people are at the table to remove
  barriers
• Those outside the process contribute greatly
  bring salad
• Letting go of old processes are not always
  painful.
• Latasha has tons of work
• Better understanding of individual work loads
• Rob can survive without a tie (clip on even)
• Every Kaizen event needs chocolate
• I have been Kaizened and I think I like it
• Liked how we worked in the big group and in
  smaller groups
• We all really worked hard together, no down time
• Slackers would never survive
• I need a nap
• Courage is important

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Implementation Schedule
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Lena Mullins
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Latashas thoughts
Maddys thoughts

• More effective than I thought it would be
• It worked out very well
• I have been on other teams and this really worked
• I really enjoyed the group

• Originally I was fearful am I under a firing
  squad once in the Kaizen it was therapeutic
• It helped me to think outside the box. I was able
  to give input from beginning to end.
• I like being Kaizened

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So you think you might want to be on a Kaizen
event team?
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Team EZ EPDP
THANKS! Any questions?