Restructuring the Census Bureau Regional Offices

Restructuring the Census Bureau Regional Offices

Tom MesenbourgDeputy Director

U.S. Census Bureau

COPAFS Quarterly MeetingSeptember 9, 2011

Future Success Demands Innovation

Improving Service to our Clients• Survey cost task forcesResponding to a changing and demanding

environment• Every-ten-year review of regional offices• Increase efficiency, flexibility, and

responsivenessIntegrating the two objectives

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The Need for Change• Budgets will be severely constrained and may well decline over the

coming years, while field challenges increase• Our survey sponsors are demanding lower costs, improved

efficiency, and increased responsiveness • Over time, the Census Bureau’s share of Federally-sponsored survey

work has declined even though reimbursable work accounts for over 20% of our total budget

• Survey organizations increasingly use real-time administrative information to create leaner infrastructures

• Our regional office structure has remained substantially unchanged for 50 years

• Hence, the survival of our survey business requires changes at HQ and in the field

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Decision Process for Restructuring the Regional Offices

• Over the past year the Director, Deputy Director, Associate Director for Field Operations, Chief of Field Division, and all 12 Regional Directors have worked together to build the restructuring plan

• The process was goal and data-driven• Over 20 RO designs were considered, ranging from 4 to 12 regions. • Alternative designs were rated on eight goals, with a focus on

minimizing costs and improving data quality• Costs savings, transition issues, and risks were documented for the

alternative design finalists

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Two Elements of Change

• A Change in the Number of Offices• A Change in the Management of Data

Collection• The two are linked!

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A Change in the Number of Offices

6 Regional Offices Option Selected

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Delineating Regional Office Boundaries

• States within regions were to be contiguous and states were not to be divided

• Evaluative criteria― balance the number of interviewers, workload (number of interview hours, projected 2020 population, and total housing units), and difficulty of data collection (projected non-participation rates, and 2010 Hard to Count scores)

• Chosen state groupings attempted to minimize inter-region variation on these criteria and attain geographic compactness of the region

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Selecting Regional Office Cities• Two prerequisites — existing regional office cities were

preferred over new cities and RO city must be in the region it serves

• Eight criteria for city selection — large population, close proximity to hard to count populations, geographic centrality within the region, population centrality within the region, high percent college educated population, large transportation hub, low locality pay, low lease costs

• Standardized and summed results across criteria for each city — city with the highest score in the new region was selected

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6 Regional Office StructureRegional Offices will be located in the following cities:

• New York, NY• Philadelphia, PA• Atlanta, GA• Chicago, IL• Denver, CO• Los Angeles, CA

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6 Regional Office Structure

These offices stay open

• New York, NY• Philadelphia, PA• Atlanta, GA• Chicago, IL• Denver, CO• Los Angeles, CA

These offices close

• Boston, MA• Charlotte, NC• Detroit, MI• Kansas City, KS• Dallas, TX• Seattle, WA

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Regional Office Boundaries 2013

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A Change in the Management of Data Collection

A Quick Look at How Things are Currently Managed

• Field Representatives work for Survey Statisticians in the office

• Senior Field Representatives work for Program Coordinators in the office, but also serve as “Team Leaders” for Field Representatives

• Survey Statisticians in the office are responsible for all aspects of a specific survey– Supervision of FRs (25 to 100, depending on survey)– Analysis of Data– Management of Budget– Administrative Responsibilities

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Current Regional Office Organizational Chart and Communication Channels

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Program Coordinator

Survey Supervisor (CE)

Field Rep (CE, CPS)

Field Rep (CE, ACS)

Field Rep (CE)

Senior Field Rep (CE, CPS)

Other Survey Supervisors/Senior

Field RepsCEQ/CEDCPSACS

New Regional Office Organization Chart

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Regional Director

Assistant Regional Director

Coordinator A

Survey Statisticians

(Field)4

Field Supervisor

s 50

Field Representativ

es500

Coordinator BSurvey

Statisticians (Office)

13Assigned

to Individual

Survey Programs


Coordinator C


(Field)4

Field Supervisor

s 50

Field Representativ

es500

Coordinator D

Administration

AutomationRecruiting GeographyPartnership

Staffing Changes in the 6 Regional Offices

• Two Assistant Regional Directors to oversee increased workload (in addition to the Regional Director)

• 4 Program Coordinators to manage all surveys, plus all office and field staff

• Survey Statistician (Office) with primary responsibility for managing survey workloads versus field staff

• Support staff increased in the Regional Office to accommodate the increased workload

• Home-based Survey Statisticians (Field) and Field Supervisors manage the field representatives

• SFR and LFR positions will be phased out by December 31, 2014. They are encouraged to apply for FS positions or become FRs

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New RO Organization ChartData Collection

Regional Director


Coordinator A


(Field)

Field Supervisors

Field Representatives

Coordinator B


(Office)


Coordinator C


(Field)

Field Supervisors


Coordinator D

AdministrationAutomationRecruiting GeographyPartnership

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Field Representative Responsibilities

FR responsibilities and staffing levels will remain the same, including:

• Receive assignments via laptop transmissions• Contact sample addresses and establish

relationships with respondents• Conduct interviews and any required listing• Keep track of hours, miles, expenses, and other

administrative duties

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Field Supervisor Responsibilities

• Each FS will be assigned a geographic area with responsibility for approximately 10-12 FRs regardless of survey assignments

• Provide feedback to the SSF on all survey and staff performance

• Manage surveys to meet response, quality and schedule standards

• FRs report to a single supervisor (the FS) regardless of the surveys they work on

• The FS will conduct FR payroll approvals, performance evaluations, and corrective action

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Field Supervisor Training

• Management training in preparation to supervise a group of FRs in the field

• Administrative training in preparation for personnel, payroll, performance evaluation, and other administrative duties

• Focused, program-specific survey training for all surveys

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Survey Statistician (Field) Responsibilities

• Approximately 8 SSFs per region• Each SSF will be responsible for a specific

geographic area• SSFs will work from a “virtual office” in their home

and report to an RO Coordinator• SSFs will manage a staff of approximately 12 FSs• Gives us professional expertise in 48 places instead

of 12

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• Responsible for the data collection process for their area

• Fully trained on all surveys conducted out of that RO• Works closely with statisticians in the Regional Office to

manage the data collection for all surveys, including monitoring quality indicators, response rates, and costs

• Works with the RO to support FR recruitment and training

Survey Statistician (Field) Responsibilities Cont’d.

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Regional Director


Coordinator A


(Field)

Field Supervisors


Coordinator B


(Office)


Coordinator C


(Field)

Field Supervisors


Coordinator D


New RO Organization ChartProgram Management and Analysis

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Survey Statistician (Office) Responsibilities

• Located in the Regional Office• Program Manager for a specific survey– A “CE SSO”, for example

• The “expert” that’s responsible for the data that’s being collected on the survey

• Primary Point of Contact between Region and HQ for that survey

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Survey Statistician (Office)

• Analyzes data results and survey paradata• Assists the SSFs in identifying patterns, trends

or inconsistencies that might need attention• Manages the budget and resources• Trains FRs throughout the region• Works closely with HQ and sponsors to ensure

that the most accurate data are collected within the survey budget

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Program Coordinator Responsibilities

• Four per Regional Office• Reports to an Assistant Regional Director• Manages field operations (SSFs), survey operations

(SSOs), or support functions (Administration, Geography, Partnership, Recruiting, Automation) on a rotating basis to gain experience and depth

• Ensures and enforces information sharing between data collection and program management and analysis

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New RO Organization ChartSurvey Support

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Regional Director


Coordinator A


(Field)

Field Supervisors


Coordinator B


(Office)


Coordinator C


(Field)

Field Supervisors


Coordinator D


Transition Timeline and Key Milestones

This process is happening now• Posting for new positions began in July 2011• Training related to new duties and responsibilities

begins in October 2011• SSF/FS/FR teams will transition to new supervisory

structure in 7 waves between January and November 2012• The entire transition will be complete no later than

January 2013

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Implementation Teams are Multi-Divisional and Include Regional Staff

• Administration• Automation• Budget• Communications• Consistency• Data Dissemination• Data Quality

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• Geography• Human Resources• Knowledge Transfer• Risk Review Board• Space and Logistics• Survey

Implementation

Transition to New Field Structurein 7 Waves

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Jan-12

Feb-12

Mar-12

Apr-12

May-12

Jun-12Jul-1

2

Aug-12

Sep-12

Oct-12

Nov-12

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Field Staff Transition to 6 Region Structure Waves 1 – 6

One SSF, 12 FSs, and 132 FRs in each of the 6 new regions (one data collection team per region) transition to new structure by wave between January and October 2012 (870 field staff nation-wide per wave)

Wave 7Two SSFs, 24 FSs, and 264 FRs per region (two data collection teams per region) transition to new structure in November 2012

Field staff transition to new management

structure in 7 waves

Cum

ulati

ve N

umbe

r of F

ield

Sta

ff (S

SFs,

FSs

, FRs

)

Specific Geographies by Wave

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Implementation Schedule

Wave 1 January 2012Wave 2 April 2012Wave 3 June 2012Wave 4 August 2012Wave 5 September 2012Wave 6 October 2012Wave 7 November 2012

Wave Data Analysis• Demographic characteristics were analyzed to determine if any anomalies

existed between wave. Variables included:• Weighted tract average Hard to Count score• Total population in each wave• Total housing units in each wave• Weighted average % not completing high school• Weighted average unemployment rate• Weighted average rate below poverty level• Weighted average rate of renters• Weighted average percent Hispanic• Weighted average percent white• Weighted average rate of 65+

• Variances and confidence limits for the mean per wave were calculated. These limits are consistent across all waves.

• Overall there are no obvious problems with the designated wave sequence.

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Communications with Sponsors

• Director has briefed all sponsor agency directors• Director and Deputy will meet quarterly with

counterparts and key project managers from Census and the sponsor

• Closely Monitoring Cost & Quality during the transition!• Key performance and cost metrics will be used to

ensure transition is meeting customers requirements

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Monitoring the Transition

1. Client identifies set of key survey variables 2. Client identifies key predictors of these

variables3. Census staff estimates predictive models on

those variables, together with a dummy variable indicating new vs. old supervision design

4. Together we examine these to guide next steps

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Office Staff in Closing ROs

• Six offices will close January 1, 2013, through a Reduction in Force (RIF) process

• Office staff in closing ROs can apply and will be considered for vacancies in the remaining ROs and elsewhere in the Census Bureau

• Staff apply for local positions as FRs, FSs, or SSFs• Some will be eligible for retirement or “early”

retirement opportunities

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Assistance to Staff in Closing ROs Employees in closing offices will be provided with a tailored set of options and assistance that includes:

• Preference hiring with other Federal Agencies within the competitive area• Individualized information about retirement, early

retirement, or separation incentives, severance pay and/or unemployment benefits• Resumé preparation and job-search assistance

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Assistance for Staff in Closing ROs(continued)

Additional benefits in Closing ROs:• Career Counseling• Interviewing Skills training• Job Placement services• Financial Planning • Other Services

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Questions?

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Documents

Restructuring the Census Bureau Regional Offices