Federal Agency Reform - The Clearing · THE CLEARING | EDEL AENCY EOM 3 Transformative Moments In Our History Our system of government was designed to be cumbersome. The founding

Federal Agency Reform: An Opportunity for Transformation

ContentsTransformative Moments In Our History ..................................................... 03

Today’s Transformation Imperative .............................................................. 04

Carpe Diem – Resist Cynicism About The Reform Effort .............................. 06

Eight Critical Steps For Leaders To Transform Their Agencies ...................... 07

Resources To Guide You On Your Journey ..................................................... 11

Developing a Communications Plan ...................................................... 12

Business Process Redesign (BPR) Worksheet ......................................... 15

Customer Journey Map Template .......................................................... 19

3THE CLEARING | FEDERAL AGENCY REFORM

Transformative Moments In Our History

Our system of government was designed to be cumbersome. The founding fathers intended that each branch of government – co-dependent as they are – check any tendency of the other to move quickly on extreme positions and actions. Even within each estate, countervailing policy and political and fiscal considerations can sometimes slow progress to an imperceptible pace.

Our government was not designed for agility, not designed to innovate.There are moments, however, when an opportunity arises for fundamental transformations to occur and take root in what feels like lightning speed. Often those moments result from circumstances that we would rather have avoided.

1947

World War IINational Security Act altered US military and intelligence agencies. It established the

National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.

1975

WatergateCongress imposed restrictions on

intelligence agencies' activities. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance

Court were established to review executive branch wiretapping and

surveillance activities.

1958

Sputnik LaunchedThe Eisenhower administration

established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA),

which laid the foundation for computer networks, the Internet, graphical user interfaces, and led

to the establishment of NASA.

2001

9/11 AttackLed to the establishment of new

federal civilian, military, and intelligence agencies and the

consolidation and/or reorganization of functions to better meet

homeland security imperatives.


Whether one agrees with the right or the left on what size the government should be, we should all be clear-eyed about the imperatives facing the nation that require real transformation.

These include the public’s increasingly vocal demand for a government that works for us; the global, interconnected communications, energy, and logistics networks that present at once immense opportunities and immense vulnerabilities from the personal to the international levels; environmental factors certain to impact our lives in ways predictable and unpredict-able; a government infrastructure and acquisitions approach that makes agility difficult; and a workforce ill-equipped to meet these imperatives successfully. Join these with the need to more effectively counter threats such as cyber attacks, terrorism, nuclear proliferation and the like posed by state and non-state actors, and the case for real transformation across our government is compelling.

Today’s Transformation Imperative


Our Transforming MomentThe current administration and Congress have presented the federal government with a new opportunity for transformation. President Trump’s Executive Order on a Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch, issued March 2017, directs OMB to issue a plan to “improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability of federal agencies.” In April, OMB memo M-17-22 outlined the elements of the plans for reform, which include enhancing the customer experience and reducing workforces. Draft plans were developed in June and federal agencies must complete and submit their final plans to OMB by fall 2017.

These executive actions coincide with a bipartisan bill, the Federal Agency Customer Experience Act, focusing on enhancing customer service for the American citizen interacting with the U.S. government – also a priority in the Obama administration. The government’s focus on customer experience reflects a broader trend. Across sectors, high performing organizations have learned that, to achieve their mission, it is critical to not just meet the needs of customers, but to anticipate them. The success of Apple, Amazon, Google, Zappos, and Trader Joe’s, among others, demonstrates the value that flows from a strategy with customer focus as its core.

High performing organizations have learned that, to achieve their mission, it is critical to not just meet the needs of customers, but to anticipate them.


It is likely that a significant number of agency leaders view the Executive direction as a move to reduce the size of the federal government and deliver cost savings. However, the charge should not be viewed as simply a cost-cutting and redundancy-eliminating exercise or a reduction in force. The administration and Congress are sending clear signals to agencies charged with advising and devising these reform plans to think differently and think big.

Agency reform planning presents an opportunity for agencies to transform, not merely to change. Change implies an improved version of the past, but this charge is about creating something new. A butterfly is a transformation, not a better caterpillar.

The administration and Congress are asking agencies to conceive of a state in which they are mission- and customer-focused; agile in operations; innovative and results-focused in organizational design planning; agile in programming and operations; and future-focused in workforce alignment and development.

Achieving these requires looking at the agency anew, standing courageously in the face of what can be a traumatic and risky change, and daring to see how the agency can create a new state in service of delivering benefits to its customers – ultimately the American public and our allies and partners who depend on ourstrength and ability to adapt to changing and complex circumstances.

Carpe Diem – Resist Cynicism About The Reform Effort


Eight Critical Steps For Leaders To Transform Their Agencies

PowerCopyright © 2011 The Primes, Inc. All rights reserved.

Power

RightCoordinated

Action

RightShared Intent

RightShared

Perspective1Start With The End In Mind. The end is not about dollars saved, billets reduced, or structure of the organization. The end is about how the world looks in a desired future and the impact the agency must have in that world. It is about how the agency’s team – from those on the front lines to operational support staff– will achieve that impact. All staff must be empowered andmotivated to act by the vision of the ideal future and theagency’s impact on the world.

The first critical step towards the desired future is aligning key stakeholders on how the agency is currently operating and identifying any risks or barriers to success. These key stakeholders should also have a shared understanding of what is at stake if transformation is not achieved, why the transformation is necessary, and a coordinated plan or strategy to make sure transformation is achieved.

8

Know Your Customer Intimately. Again a transformation plan that is not informed by a deep understanding of how the agency serves its customers and how customers experience the agency’s services will miss the opportunity to identify areas for improvement and innovation.

Customers are those who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the agency’s services. This means that internal support functions, such as Human Resources, IT, and Travel, are serving not only agency employee customers, but also the customers of each of those employees by facilitating the employees’ work.

Don’t Jump The Bumpers.The vision and mission of the agency and the voice of the customer should serve as the bumpers or guardrails for the agency’s transformation initiatives.

The strategy, plans, organizational design, and programs should follow from and enable these. Straying too close to these bumpers or jumping them altogether risks mission creep, lack of focus, suboptimal operations, and a misaligned workforce.

Hewing closely to these will generate a tight focus on undertaking the fewest, most important initiatives; operating in the most agile and effective manner; and securing, developing, and retaining the best talent to achieve the agency’s end.

2 3 4Co-Create With Your Teams. High performing leaders resist the temptation to present a fully formed vision to the workforce and other stakeholders. Rather, they set the stage and invite others to contribute to the vision. By doing so, all who participate develop a deep sense of ownership in what they hope to create and own the responsibility for bringing it to life.

This co-creation of the agency’s vision and mission draws on the broad diversity of experiences and ideas across the agency and its stakeholders, and generates the buy-in that will be essential during the implementation of the agency transformation.

THE CLEARING | FEDERAL AGENCY REFORM


Beware Of The Laggards. Transformation is hard. It will be met with resistance throughout the process, so it is prudent to determine who will champion the effort and who will actively resist it. The active resisters, known as laggards, can put any transformation effort at risk.

Focus your efforts on those who will help bring about and adopt new ways of thinking and operating and ignore those who won’t.

Early in the process, some will want to dismiss customers clamoring for more or different as uninformed or unhelpful. Some employees accustomed to the status quo will pull back while leaders try to push forward. Some employees will want to hold on to 20th century ways of working and communicating even as customer expectations and technology development continually leap ahead.

Know these laggards exist. Then ignore them. Push past the resistance, or risk being pushed aside during this era of government transformation.

Mind Culture. Culture matters because, in essence, it is the aggregate of behaviors that are tolerated in the organization.

No matter what one wants or needs to accomplish, culture will determine what actually happens. As agency leaders work to seize this opportunity to transform their agencies, it will be important to ensure that the culture can both support and withstand the transformation.

An agency with a culture of fear, that tolerates victimhood, and operates in closed, opaque loops will fare quite differently in a transformation project than one that encourages smart risk-taking, nurtures leaders, and operates openly and collaboratively. Leaders who are intentional about generating the culture necessary for a high performing organization will see lasting results.

Nothing speaks more clearly about an organization’s culture than how leaders implement and communicate significant changes, especially those that will impact the livelihoods of some segment of the workforce.

5 6


Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. Before any transformation can occur, people must be convinced and enrolled in the vision. Visible engagement and effective communications will be critical to all leaders involved in agency transformation planning and implementation.

Develop a communication plan about the transformation efforts to consistently engage in multi-directional communication with the workforce and stakeholders. Leadership should demonstrate transparency and build a culture of trust and credibility. The workforce will benefit from greater insight into leadership’s vision for the future and how it ties to organizational priorities.

In so doing, leadership will have a management tool to implement change. Messaging should include the “why, what, and how” of the transformation, as well as what’s at stake for the organization and each individual if the agency doesn’t change.

Celebrate Successes.Any change or transformation initiative should incorporate mechanisms to celebrate successes at key milestones and at the effort’s culmination.

Celebration not only helps to communicate to stakeholders that the initiative is on track, but it also recognizes those involved.

Recognition of a job well done is key to maintaining momentum and buy-in and enrolling people in the future.

7 8

123

We have included three tools to guide you on your journey:

Guidelines for an effective communications plan

Business process redesign worksheet

Customer journey map worksheet

Resources To Guide You On Your Journey

The federal government is operating within a dynamic environment. Though many agencies have adapted over time, the current administration has tasked agency leaders with making transformational changes.Transformation may seem like an impossible goal, but it is more attainable than one may think. A small rudder can turn even the largest boat – the federal government is no different.

The key is to start with the end in mind and focus on the fewest, most important initiatives that will make the greatest impact (to your agency and its internal and external customers).



• Begin with the vision of the desired future agency: First,share the “Why” messaging, and then the more detailed“What” and “How” context.

• Identify multiple sources of perspective across the agencyto inform communication.

• Establish regular leadership communication cadence.

• Use managers as a key channel for communication withtheir teams.

• Provide transparency around decision-making processes,milestones, challenges, and ambiguity.

• Establish multi-directional communication.

• Use communication as a tool to build culture and trust;where possible “tell the story” using anecdotes and realemployee and customer experiences.

• Link the initiative to the agency’s business results as oftenas possible.

• Focus on the early adopters and early majority (thosewho are most eager to see the transformation succeed) tocreate a groundswell.

Guiding Principles For Your Communication Plan:

The goal of any communication effort is to change a behavior, modify a way of thinking, or cause action in the message receiver. However, communication is not just about spoken or written word – it is about behaviors and cognitive processes as well. The success of any communication effort lies in whether your messages compel others to change.

Developing A Communications Plan


Anticipated Workforce Perceptions And Communication StrategiesSince change is difficult, you will likely encounter a variety of challenges. The table below highlights a sample of potential challenges and perceptions that your agency may face in the transformation initiative and recommended communication strategies to address the challenges.

Anticipated Communication Challenges Communication Strategies

Employees and supervisors are uncertain, unclear, uninspired, apathetic, and/or fearful about the vision and impacts of the transformation.

Provide logical, clear, and concise communications messaging that includes a case for change and the “why, what, and how” for the initiative.

Employees do not feel prepared. They are confused about what is changing, when changes will begin, and how it will work.

Develop and deliver clear messages and guidance to prepare and forewarn employees, and provide specific examples of expected changes in behaviors, tools, or processes leading up to and throughout the process. Prepare managers with messaging to proactively address anticipated questions and concerns.

Employees have questions about how they will operate within the changes to the agency’s business model. Many have concerns about how they will accomplish work with introduction of new technologies, processes, or policies. Leadership wants to minimize day-to-day operational disruptions.

Design and deliver facilitated information sessions and design information products and training materials to regularly engage, enroll, and educate the workforce about the new tools, expectations, or policies. This might also include best practices, guidance documents, and tip sheets collected into an employee toolkit.

Stakeholders don’t see the value in the process, policy, and technology investments in the absence of a strong, consistent narrative about the “agency’s success story.”

Capture stories about progress and results from the transformation and share progress communications with agency leadership, partners, customers, and the workforce.


WORKSHEETS


Business Process Redesign (BPR)Worksheet

Using business process redesign (BPR), agencies can create efficient, high impact processes, products, and services and uncover duplicative processes to better serve customers and meet market demands. The development of the new business processes and supporting roles, policies, and resources will reinforce alignment of priorities and key mission goals and ensure better delivery to customers. Your agency also has the opportunity through BPR to align the internal workforce and enroll key decision-makers and partners in your success.

Guiding Principles For The Worksheet:

• Information does not need to be perfect; it willevolve as the effort matures.

• Focus on high-level operational, tactical, andmeasurable information.

• The sections are guidelines.- Add or remove them based on what makessense for your effort.

• If possible, avoid large, uninterrupted blocks

of text.

- The goal is to be able to read and absorbthe information quickly.

- White space can help make the informationmore readable.

- Bold key words to draw the reader’sattention to specific topics within blocksof text.

• The content should fit on no more than twopages (one page front and back).

The first step is deciding on the key focus areas.


Business Process Redesign (BPR) Worksheet

Functions/Capabilities This Project Will Enable

Function OneShort Description

Function Two Short Description

Function Three Short Description

2-3 bullets describingthe Customer,Employee, andAgency Function“As a Customer/ Provider/, I can …”

“As an Employee, I will be able to …”

“The Agency will be enabled to…”

PurposeInput the purpose of the initiative.

VisionInput the vision of the initiative and what the task force aims to solve.

GoalsInput the 2-3 high level goals the initiative aims to complete.

The Strategy

How will you move towards meeting this goal?Short description (if needed)

Tactical Actions for FY18

The Strategy and Milestones To Get There


Key Benefits & Results

How Will The Process Change? What Are The Benefits? What’s The

Expected Results?

Describe the plan and the dif-ference between current state and future state. Point out key changes including what is eliminated.

Describe who [key stakehold-ers] and what seeks to benefit from change.

Point out waste and what stands to be eliminated and why.

DependenciesWhat Is In Your Agency’s Control:

Risk #1:

Description

What Is NOT In Your Agency’s Control:Risk #2:

Description

Costs

Investment Average Yearly Cost ROI / Anticipated Value

Describe total cost of this effort.

[$XX Mil over XX years]

Breakdown the yearly cost by major expense areas if possi-ble. (e.g. Systems, Staff, Con-tractors, Hardware/Software Costs, Other Resources, Special Expense Items).

Detail the projected Return on Investment (ROI) (if possible) OR Anticipated Value to cus-tomers, costs, or employees of the effort.

Business Process Redesign (BPR) Worksheet


Customer journey maps aren’t based on systems or business process perspectives. They’re based on what the customer does, what they think, and how they feel as they interact with your agency at various stages.

Customer journey maps can help agencies create a shared vision, a broad enterprise view, and an awareness of how to re-engineer and build systems in a modern way with a customer-centric view. As you create your own customer journey map, keep in mind how customer service (an inward focus) differs from the customer experience (an outward focus). Consider where customer service could improve to create a better customer experience.

Customer Journey Map Template

Create Your Own Customer Journey Map with these Guiding Principles:• Identify a specific customer segment

and persona. This customer segment should bethe least complex customer segment.

• Identify stages of the journey. Write the stagesfrom the customer’s perspective along the top ofthe grid. You may have more or less than sevenstages depending on your services and yourcustomers. It’s important to remember to keepit detailed enough to recognize the key stages,but not so detailed that you get bogged down.Develop a story from start to finish. We oftenname our customer segment or persona to bringthis to life.

• Imagine the customer experience. Considerwhat your customers are thinking, feeling, andactually doing at each stage. What actions arethey taking to move to the next stage?

• Identify pain points and opportunities. Whatprocesses, structures, costs, or other barriers areinhibiting the desired customer experience orpreventing customers from moving on to thenext stage?

Customer journey maps are powerful tools that put the customer front and center in the agency’s thinking.


Customer Journey Map Template

Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4

Stages of the Journey Identify each

key stage of the

customer’s journey

from the customer’s

perspective. Focus on

the high level view.

Create a story from

start to finish.

Customer Experience

In each stage, fill in

what are customers

thinking, feeling,

and what are they

doing each stage of

interaction.

Paint Points & Opportunities Identify what is

possible for these

customers moving

forward. Are there

any pain points they

might experience or

any opportunities

to improve the

experience?

First identify a specific customer segment, ideally the least complex customer.

20

Contact The Clearing, Inc. to speak with an expert about your goals and strategy, and the tools and training your agency needs to complete a successful transformation.

Contact Us Nick [email protected] 202.558.6499

The Clearing, Inc.1250 Connecticut Ave. NW, #625 Washington, DC 20036

The Clearing, Inc. is a management consulting firm based in Washington, DC, specializing in strategy, change management, program design and implementation, and culture transformation. We help public and private sector organizations anticipate, respond to, and adapt to changing environments.

To learn more about The Clearing, Inc. and how we can help, visit us at http://theclearing.com/

Follow us on social media

T L F

Documents

Federal Agency Reform - The Clearing · THE CLEARING | EDEL AENCY EOM 3 Transformative Moments In Our History Our system of government was designed to be cumbersome. The founding