Using Business Lines to Manage Technical Publishing at PNNL

1
Using Business Lines to Manage Technical
Publishing at PNNL

• Pam Novak,
• Manager, Electronic Communications
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
• InterLab 99
• November 2-5, 1999

2
Who Is Electronic Communications?

• Part of Communications Directorate
• 21 staff in 7 buildings
• Services
• Web publishing
• Online writing
• Multimedia
• Electronic surveys
• Website assessment
• 100 cost-recovered

3
Who Are E-Comms Customers?

• 90 internal to PNNL
• Scientists, engineers, project managers
• Line managers
• Support staff (HR, Facilities, Quality, Comm)
• All PNNL staff, indirectly
• Other 10 - DOE and contractors, health care
  industry, other private work

4
In the Beginning...

• Manager was the senior technical contributor
• Manager made most decisions with minimal staff
  input
• Staff worked primarily as individual contributors
• Work divided between staff into sequential tasks
• Majority of tasks followed standard
  processes/procedures
• Job shop mentality
• Skills often viewed as clerical by customers

5
Technology Drives Business Change

• Computer hardware/software changes
• Customers doing some traditional work themselves
• Need for standards, templates, etc.
• Internet technologies change business strategies
  and needs
• IT staff became our competitors
• Specialized Communications expertise needed

6
The Managers Challenge

• Manager was no longer the strongest technical
  contributor
• Breadth and depth of field were expanding very
  rapidly
• How to make decisions about training, equipment,
  and business directions
• How to create an organizational culture that
  thrives on being out of the comfort zone

7
A New Approach Was Needed

• Most projects required several experts to
  complete
• Training was needed in teaming/project management
• Responsibility for success belonged to group
  rather than manager
• Needed to focus resources
• Technical leads needed

8
Preparing for Change

• Shared information and the big picture
• Delegated more management tasks
• Gave staff members increasing responsibility
• Encouraged teaming
• Recruiting focused on leadership/teaming skills
• Positioned staff physically near key customers
• Accepted strategic assignments
• Implemented incrementally over five years

9
Staff Reactions to Preparation

• A few staff members elected to leave group rather
  than embrace change
• Majority of staff energized
• Enjoyed increased autonomy
• Felt more ownership

10
Business Lines

• Focused on key investment areas
• What do we want to do?
• How do we do it better?
• How do we spot and act on business opportunities?
• How do we receive recognition as experts in that
  business area?
• How can we be seen as process owners?
• Each line has a technical lead
• Team with other departments to leverage needed
  expertise and resources

11
E-Comms Business Lines

• Web publishing
• Online procedures
• Semi-immersive technologies
• Electronic surveys
• Website assessment

12
How Did the Managers Job Change?

• Personnel stuff - orientation and training,
  performance appraisal, mentoring and coaching
• Co-manage operating budget
• Maintain an area of technical expertise and
  customer base
• Work with staff on project teams

13
Meanwhile, in Our Department...

• Three stove-piped organizations
• E-Comm
• Tech Comm
• Text Processing
• Poor understanding of capabilities
• Competition and resentment
• Customer confusion

14
Adoption of E-Comms Model

• Department-wide task teams
• Four-month process
• Business Line model expanded
• Cross-cutting
• Focused on emerging areas
• Position descriptions for business line leads
• Leads report to department manager

15
Our Departments Business Lines

• Advanced Publishing Technologies
• Design and Usability
• Multimedia
• Proposal Management
• Writing

16
Benefits of the Model

• Growth in technical expertise and leadership
  skills
• Growth in business volume
• Increased respect from customers
• Better communication within the group
• Problems identified, resolved early
• More opportunity for mentoring
• Ability to adapt to continual change
• Ability to do the work we love

17
DO Try This at Home, But Remember...

• Focus on the process, not the finished model
• The process cant be hurried
• Change cant be imposed by management
• Enthusiasm is contagious, but fragile