Continually improving processesgovernmentfor citizens

The Quarterly Pulse Survey (QPS) asks the workforce of the 16 executive departments of the State of Missouri to answer the same questions at the same time. This allows us to hear candid perspectives from all of our teammates on how we are working together, how we are moving on major initiatives, and where we can improve. During this session we will discuss the history of the QPS, why it is important, and how we have used the data to improve our organization.

From the author of Government That Works, John introduces an operating maturity model for state government beginning with Level One, where a state’s operations are reaction driven — crisis, problem, or the issue of the day. With the governor’s goals and measurable targets, states move to Level Two, results driven. A state has in place broadly Lean, business reviews, cross-agency breakthroughs, next-generation leadership development, and comprehensive efforts to engage all employees in improving their processes. Level Two maturity makes Level Three possible. Level Three, social-good driven, applies the disciplines, methods, and tools of Level Two to address such complex social challenges as teenage suicide, opioid overdose deaths, child maltreatment, homelessness, racial inequality, and global warming.

Concepts like Design Thinking, Empathy Mapping, and the Customer Journey intersect in the area of Innovation Management, but they are often regarded as the job of somebody else who is uniquely qualified. Use these accessible tool sets to uncover your organization’s hidden strengths and build the next generation of solutions.

Please complete the self-assessment prior to the event. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Then, record your scores, and bring them with you to the session.

5S is a methodology of how to create and maintain a clean and orderly workplace (applicable to your desk, your office, your shared work locations and your home!). The application of the 5S principles is more than a method of cleaning, it exposes waste and makes defects more visible providing a space that can make you more productive.

Learn about the Show Me Excellence in Missouri and how you can get involved.

Prior to the pandemic, over 2000 State of Missouri team members were fortunate to experience a three day, best-in-class advanced management and leadership training – The Missouri Way. In this breakout session, we are excited to share with you the details of what the next generation of this training looks like. This edutainment model leverages videos from a variety of experts, templates, exercises and supplemental resources. The design of this series is flexible enabling teams to learn together or individuals to brush up on skills just in time.

Having great conversations is the key to advanced team performance. It is key because great conversations allow all of us to offer our thoughts, ideas, and opinions in a way that results in the level of organizational health necessary to sustainably drive toward operational excellence.

The Missouri Office of Workforce Development has worked since 2019 to fundamentally redesign the process by which public workforce system resources are accessed by citizens. Recently this included a nine month process of developing citizen journey maps to understand current state, restructure and transform processes, and standardize and scale across each of Missouri’s 27 Job Centers and 14 Local Workforce Development Boards. Dr. Mardy Leathers will discuss this initiative and provide a roadmap for other state agencies to consider when seeking innovative and efficient ways to improve citizen experience.

Tune in to learn the what, why, and how of process mapping. This session will also discuss the different formats of mapping (in-person vs. virtual) and the challenges with each.

This session will provide an overview of the Show Me Challenge – the state’s platform that provides team members the opportunity to pitch their solutions to improve how we serve citizens, and a chance to win a cash award and public recognition their ideas. You will also get to hear from the Show Me Challenge Cycle 5 winners as they discuss their ideas and experience in participating in the Challenge.

As a manager or improvement practitioner, you’ve developed solid problem-solving skills. Yet organizationally, problem solving tends to be isolated to certain people, roles, departments, or events. Improvement is not yet “everybody, everywhere, everyday”. To build an improvement culture, you have to move from doing problem solving to coaching problem solving. The thing is, these are two distinctly different skills.

An After Action Review (AAR) is a structured review or de-briefing through a guided process, where participants of the project or event analyze:
– What happened;
– Why it happened; and
– Was the outcome what was intended?

In this session, we will look at why AARs matter, and when and how to conduct an AAR.