Lost Time Management

“Managing Lost Time”. June 12, 2007. Seminar by Ford and Harrison.

Lost time is “any time not doing the job” including waiting time, visiting, sick leave abuse, personal phone calls etc.

Benefit plans may drive lost time and encourage abuse. (Employee isn’t to blame for taking advantage of poorly designed benefit plans.)

Loss due to “Lost time” is normally 15-20% of time. This is reduced productivity.

Reduce Lost time as an ORGANIZATION endeavor.

1. Manage the Causes (Absenteeism, Operational Inefficiencies, Structural Issues (benefit contracts), and Managerial Issues (employee motivation and training.)

2. Keys to success

-Create interdepartmental teams to address lost time

-Assess the causes of Lost Time (Evaluate data from Absenteeism Reports, Operational Analysis, Labor Agreements, Benefit Plans and Employee Surveys)

-Set goals and objectives to improve

-Measure and monitor results on a daily, weekly and monthly basis

BUILD A CULTURE OF MANAGING TIME EFFECTIVELY

CHANGE MANAGEMENT-HOW TO CHANGE VALUE SET. (Change yourself first, each person individually)

3. Managing Absenteeism:

-Engage personnel in improvement

-Identify and enforce uses of best practices

-Communicate policies clearly to employees.

4. Managing Operational Issues

-Involve supervisory and line personnel in accessment of operation challenges that cause lost time.

-Develop Best Practices

-Communicate Practices to all and train for implementation.

5. Managing Benefit Plan Contract Issues

-Identify parts of Benefit Plans that encourage lost time.

-Calculate costs

-Involve personnel in practices to reduce lost time.

6. Addressing Management Issues

-Take survey to determine key concerns of employees regarding management and change

-Create Change Teams, identifying goals and objectives, with emphasis on positive reinforcement.

-Build incentives (frequently start with safety)

-Use positive feedback

Key thoughts out of this Seminar:

1. If you want an Organization to change, change yourself first. If a Supervisor MODEL what you want.

2. Change is made one person at a time

3. BUILD A SIMPLE AND Efficient Model of tasks to avoid mistakes, lost time etc.

Probably the last thought (build a simple model) is the really key idea I got from this seminar. The “change” items 1 and 2 were reinforced, but I think if we can simplify many of our tasks to “efficient and simple” procedures we can provide much better service to our residents.

Unconscious Bias

Session on “Unconscious Bias Theory in Employment Litigation”. March 15, 2007. Session sponsored main speaker was Charles Kennedy.

This session concerned the growing use of the Theory of Unconscious Bias” by plaintiff Attorneys in race, gender and age discrimination cases.

The basic theory is that any person unconsciously discriminates against any other group, so they must be “guilty” of discrimination and use of stereotypes.

Regardless of what I think of this, it is something that I need to prepare for.

Some means of dealing with “Unconscious Bias Theory” area:

A. Conduct an Internal Audit

1. Conduct an Internal Audit by analyzing decision making processes in eight key areas of an employment career path to find possible problem areas. These include recruitment, hiring, compensation, training, performance evaluations, promotions, discipline and terminations.

2. Analyze your organizational structure to identify the potential for systemic bias in any of the decision making problems

3. Analyze employment practices and procedures to identify any possible different treatment with regard to woman, minorities etc.

ACTION TAKEN: I discussed this with our personnel consultant. She prepared an amendment to the Personnel Policy to include “unconscious bias” on stereotypes and is looking at our personnel system.

Even though we are small, I will also insure representatives of all groups are included as much as possible in employee interviews etc.

She is also starting an outside audit of our procedures.

B. Develop Opportunities for Inclusion

1. Expand EEO and antidiscrimination policies and practices to prohibit discrimination/adverse actions based on STEREOTYPES in addition to other prohibited practices.

2. Encourage high employment involvement by coaching, mentoring and team-based work arrangements to include participation of all employee groups.

3. Implement a peer-review system to establish accountability and review of employment related decisions.

As noted previously, this has started.

C. Recruitment and Hiring

1. Establish objective hiring standards and criteria for each position.

(This has been completed although we will review it and consider under the “unconscious bias” concept.)

2. Set up a “blind applicant” review system where names and addresses of applicants are removed etc.

(This may be a good idea, but we are too small to make this realistic.)

D. Performance Reviews

1. Make sure all jobs have specific duties, functions and competences relevant to each position and create objective, job-related qualifications and job descriptions for each position. Skills, experience and qualifications necessary to perform the specific job related responsibilities and functions should be identified.

(The City of Lakeland has basically completed this and it is under constant review.)

2. Develop mult-rater evaluation systems and methodologies for Performance Reviews and consider 360 degree rating systems.

(This is something we need to consider. It will be difficult and expensive to implement, but may be worth it. I have tried rudimentary such evaluations in the past and found them helpful, but there would not have met criteria as valid evaluations.)

E. Job Assignments, Promotions and Compensation

1. Develop specific criteria for each position (skills, experience and qualifications) and specific criteria for advancement and/or promotion.

(This has been completed, but needs to be developed for pay raises.)

2. The City should clearly state how wage and salary adjustments are made, the specific objective criteria that must be met to receive a merit wage increase.

Experience for the position, and what procedures employees must follow to be considered.

(I noted our current postings do not include specific procedures on how to apply! We wil change this.)

E. Discipline and/or Discharge Decisions

1. Train Managers and Supervisors who discipline on the risks of bias and stereotypes and make sure decisions are consistent and based on objectives facts.

(Basically, we do this on an on-going basis.)

2. Monitor all decisions and discharge decisions to insure consistent objective decisions.

3. Use a checks and balance system (discipline and discharge decisions are made and then reviewed by another person.)

(We do this now, since I review all decisions. However, my decisions are not reviewed, although I do use a human resource person to review such decisions with for consistency etc. before they are implemented.)

4. Use peer review for discharge and discipline decisions.

F. Training

. 1. Train Managers in implementation of consistent decisions.

2. Incorporate the theory of “Unconscious bias” into all train so all personnel understand the potential impact of this subtle form of discrimination.

(We have started including this in all training.)

The presenter also emphasized the following:

1. Write down the steps of hiring and promotion process.

2. Utilize written tests. Written tests “are your friend” if the tests are relevant to the job and validated.

-Some tests are: (1) Skill tests; (2) Tests of “emotional intelligence”

3. Keep a “wide funnel” (Maximize opportunity, don’t unnecessarily screen people out.

I really like these thoughts and plan on implementing them as much as I can.

Overall, this seminar was very thought provoking and has a lot of action items.

The Innocent Man

Books Read:

John Grisham, The Innocent Man

This book illustrates what I consider the horrible example of Police Officers and Prosecutors and how some of them can develop mindsets of “win at any cost”. The book documents lying, framing, setup, the “good old boy/girl” network (including the residents) that allowed innocent persons to go to jail and almost be put to death.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder about some of the Police Officers working for me and if they had the same mindset.

This book probably affected my actual view of City Management as much as any book or session. I consider one of a City Managers’ primary objectives is to insure that services are provided consistently and fairly and that the “power” of the City not be misused.

The book documents gross, gross abuse of office by Police Officers, Judges, Prosecutors, and even the residents. What is REALLY frightening is that some of them are still in office, even after documentation of gross misconduct!

I had to ask myself numerous times throughout the book-Where was the City Manager?

Why did he/she allow this gross abuse of power? What controls can I use to insure this doesn’t happen in “my” city?

Pulling Your Own Strings

“Pulling Your Own Strings”, Dr. William Halbert Jr., April 4, 2007. Institute for Public Service, Local Government Leadership Program

Overall Strength is also your weakness.

New environment is “no preparation time” anymore. Always in “white water”, no “calm”.

BALANCE is the way to handle this environment.

Gyroscope” is a symbol of balance:

-Not affected by pressure

-Used for navigation

-Used as a stabilizer

Seven Areas to keep you in Balance

I. Attitude.

You can “act into” a good attitude. (Pretend you are happy, more likely to be happy).

Attitude is a “choice” Avoid negative thoughts. (Believe in yourself, set high standards, your attitude determines success!)

Emphasize positive.

Self-image. This is how you see yourself. Can visualize positive results and behavior.

Attitude is contagious and will affect your behavior.

Attitude skills include positive outlook, listening, responding, asking for other opinions.

Also, emphasize areas of agreement when in an “explosive” situation.

Use illustrative example or incident as a persuasive technique

(COMMENT): I decided to try this and even wrote it on my “to do” list every day. (This is approximately two weeks later. While I have always emphasized the positive, I think I have become, or at least am improving, in having a positive attitude and “looking” for the positive.

The looking for areas of agreement and using illustrative examples (or stories) also seem to work, I am emphasizing doing this.)

II. Quality Time

Psychic Energy and expanding awareness.

Energy put into a relationship.

Look at everything as if the ‘first time”, keep fascination and enthusiasm.

Expand awareness-

Think of one thing at a time-focus on one thing

Listen without interruption, concentrate.

(COMMENT: This is an item I am working on. Focusing on one thing is more difficult than I realized, I hadn’t realized how many times I do not actually focus on what someone is saying. Listening without interruption (or planning my response while the other is talking) is difficult!

III. Knowledge

He states there are four stages:

-Unconscious incompetent

-Conscious incompetent

-Unconscious competent

-Conscious competent.

Conscious competent is stage you want to be in “Know what you know-Know why you are good at something.

Memory-Improving Memory

-Remember things that happened first

-Remember the most recent things

-Remember things that are linked

-Remember things that are outstanding

Increase Skills:

-Ask Questions

-Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” or “I’ll find out”

-Learn from mistakes vs. blaming someone.

-Best learning from lowest level of organization

IV. Creativity

-Not always recognized-it is to see what everyone else “sees”, but to think what no one else “thinks”.

-Creativity is not always recognized.

-Don’t have “failures”, have “learning opportunities”

Any job can be done better, in some more creative way.

What needs stifle Creativity?

-Need for the familiar

-Need for excessive order

-Need to conform

Creativity is a Process:

Preparation-Pause

Absorption-Chaos to Form

Incubation-Encounter

Illumination-Ecstasy-Actualizing

Elimination and Verification-Emergence

How to you provide for a Creative Climate?

-Allow individuals to have some space alone

-Encourage some unstructured time

-Rule out judgment and criticism

-Insure a combination of alertness and discipline.

V. Change

How React to Change?

1. Denial-tend to put down the need for change (alternative is transformation, Experience, then transforms pain, conflict and fear)

2. Avoidance-settle for dull chronic pain, rather than the brief, acute confrontation

Stages in Transformation:

1. Awareness: The entry point

2. Interest: The Exploration point

3. Evaluation and Trial: The integration level

4. Adoption: The acceptance

How Change happens:

-Will to encounter

-Self-talk-the art of coping

-Visualization

-Coaches and mentors

-Skill-power, not just will-power

-Personal selling

-Commitment

-Practice and results

-Ownership

-After Care

VI. Courage

Courage influences effectiveness

1. Fear Limits

-Worry drains energy

-Fear limits ability to contribute

-Fear prevents positive confrontation

2. Courage to be yourself

-Be yourself so others like you for who you are

-Self acceptance is prerequisite to others accepting.

VII: Motivation

Motive is that impels or incites you to act.

Primary reason “do what we do”

-Hope of getting what we want

-Fear of getting something we don’t want

-Combination of both

How Create Positive Motivation?

-Decide specifically what you want to achieve

-If need to do unpleasant tasks to achieve a goal, tell yourself “I’m choosing to do this because I want “______________________”

-Picture yourself achieving your goal

-Develop a definite plan of action

-Recognize progress towards goals

-Praise your efforts

-reward yourself

-Modify your self image.

This seminar has a lot of items to work on. I am taking the course outline and using it as an outline to review with some key City personnel at our monthly goal meetings. I will have different personnel take different sections and facilitate a group discussion of the items..

This will keep me working on these items over a period of time.

Leonard Martin, Managed Competition

Tennessee City Managers Association, “Turning up the Heat to Create Competitive Government”. (April 18, 2007), Leonard Martin.

This session presented innovative methods of paying for services without the “cut and cut more” mentality.

He proposed that that there are actually three choices in dealing with revenue/expenditures problems. The two traditional methods are (1) cut services or programs or (2) raise taxes. He proposes a third alternative which is to “Transform culture to a competitive service business-reduce costs, adopt best practices and increase employee productivity.

Areas of focus for all communities to reach the goal of “faster, better cheaper and friendlier services” include:

-transforming the Organization (Productivity)

-Essential vs. non-essential services

-Cost Reduction Opportunities

-Revenue Growth opportunities

Goal is faster, better, cheaper and friendlier service

Management initiatives should include Controlling expenses, Preserving City revenues and Providing competitive services.

Management Plan should be to focus on:

-Situation/condition assessment

-Developing a strategy and set priorities (get low hanging fruit first)

-Installing a sense of urgency

-Identifying “public enemy # 1”

-Rallying around the Crisis

-Changing the culture

The standard “Paradigm” needs to be changed from “Traditional Government” to “Service Business”. For example:

Entitlement Attitude to Productivity/results

Professional driven to market driven

Special interest driven to customer focused

Monopoly to competition

Morale-obsessed (make them happy!) to Performance driven

Process oriented to results oriented

“Wanting to be liked” to Managing the bottom line.

Providing Competitive Services by:

-Getting elected official buy-in and on-going support

-Eliminating duplication of services (“silo busting”)

-Organizational restructuring

-Use of technology to streamline processes and automate function

Some steps to competitiveness

-Encourage an external vs. and internal focus

-Be proactive vs. reactive

-Educate employees so they shift from entitlement to ownershipment

-Management commitment to make the tough decisions

-increase direct employee communications, empower good employees

-reorganize work teams, drive accountability down to crew leaders and front-line workers

-Understand and learn from your competition

COMMENTS: Overall I feel the concepts are excellent. Right now, I don’t intend to implement a competitive system, although I do feel many of the concepts are worth evaluating. For example, the “entitlement culture” of some city organizations has always disturbed me and I have been working on changing that since I got here. Certainly learning from the competition, employee empowerment etc. is good.

I think basically our organization has been working on many of these concepts (without going the full way of managed competition.

Sustainability as Legacy

ICMA Regional Summit, March 1 & 2, 2007: “Sustainability as Legacy”.

I looked forward to this Workshop since “sustainability” is a personal interest as well as a part of the City of Lakeland Vision Statement.

Sustainability as defined by the Workshop leader is composed of Environmental, Economic, Social and the Organizational Institutional. The Organizational Institutional aspect was the emphasis of this workshop.

Making organizations sustainable involves (1) Making sure the right people are on the bus (2) Calibrate and measure success (3) Build a leadership pipeline and (4) Build a culture or adaptability.

RIGHT PEOPLE ON THE BUS

To “get the right people on the bus”, he emphasized (1) Participation in the early selection by the leaders to insure that the right persons are selected and (2) Build on peoples strengths, not try to “fix” their weaknesses.

I obtained some really valuable information at this point. While I have been participating (as the Manager) in the early selection stage (which some success), I learned that my “job ads” were probably not interesting the type of person I wanted. While I may have known it in some manner, I need to change my job ads to emphasize what I want in my team-Basically what he stated as the person who wants to have a meaningnful position where they can make a difference, solve peoples problems, build a community and change the community. This depends somewhat on what job it is, but those are characteristics are at all levels.

The actual items he mentioned were:

-Making a difference that is visible and has meaning

-Adding meaning to work

-Creating passion, commitment, and emotional investment (I liked the phrase “local government is a calling”.

-Ability leave a legacy

Also, it made me think if I am allowing my “best and brightest” workers to work on these areas and away from “regulations”. I had recently lost one of my best (although due to a desire to return “home”), but it still made me reconsider what contribution I was allowing personnel to make.

MEASUREMENT

The Second Component is “Measurement” or “Evidence Based Management”. (“What does Success really look like?)

The Instructor emphasized the need to connect facts with a story, to add an emotional impact to the facts. (He mentioned the way the “story” frequently overrides all of the “evidence”.)

“Facts” are subjective. In today’s world, a Manager must include all sources of information and not “filter out” date which conflicts with conventional wisdom. As discussed at the session, there are many “experts”, with conflicting recommendations and this turns into a challenge of determining the right decision based on an complex rainbow of “information” .

LEADERSHIP LESSONS

The Key “Leadership Lessons” cited in this Work shop are:

-Hire Well

-Build (and maintain) strong relationships

-Develop and focus on strengths (don’t try to fix weaknesses)

-Develop, expect, encourage leadership at all levels (emphasize shared responsibility, recognize contributions.)

This summarizes a major lesson I learned from this workshop. While I feel I do try to use the “leadership lessons”, I need to especially emphasize developing strengths and try to fix weaknesses so much.

This ties into another section of the Workshop, an adaptation of Stephen Covey’s matrix of the I, II, III and IV matrix. Most people end up spending most of their time in I or IV (crises, putting out fires, trivia, busy work etc.) instead of II, which includes preparation, planning and relationship. As the City Manager, one of my jobs is to have an environment where personnel can operate in “Phase II”.

VISION MODEL

Another aspect of this Workshop I found especially useful is the vision model. I can use this immediately as a model for an appointed Commission I am working with as well as some personnel. This was the concept of “Vision”. While I am familiar with this, the procedure reviewed at the Workshop provided me with a good set of operational measures I can take. This included:

-VISION: What do we want to accomplish, What is our/my unique mission or niche and What is the desired future.

-VALUES: What are the “end values” we/I are seeking?, What is out/my ultimate reason for being, “our Higher Moral Purpose?

UNDERSTANDING THE ENVIRONMENT

I found this a good model for decision making by Boards and Commissions and Employee Teams and individuals. I am going to review these with City personnel and some Boards and Commissions

This includes:

-Who are our customers and stakeholders?

-What are they value (wants/needs/expectations) now and in the future?

-What conflicting wants/needs/expectations exist?

-Do we/I have effective and appropriate methods for setting priorities when necessary?

-Do we/I understand the politics of the environment?

-What other environmental changes/conditions are important to us?

I feel this is a “stand alone” concept I can use to assist Boards and Commissions as well as personnel make decisions.

One final thought I found I need to remind myself of and others of: “Do our day to day actions support our culture (and vision)?

(Books to review: Freakocomics and Small Giants.

BUILDING CAPACITY AND PRESONAL SUSTAINABILTY (Part of the “Sustainability as Legacy” Workshop

I found this part especially valuable for both myself and also to present to City personnel. Recently I was listening to a “podcast” when a sentence I have probably heard many times suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning-“To change an organizations culture, you change each individuals behavior one by one”. This is may primary action to change the culture of my city organization.

In keeping with this, I need to temper this with the traits discussed in the Workshop and the needs of each person. This included Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional; Spiritural, Family and Financial. I think it is important to discuss this with all personnel and not allow overemphasis on work.

Physical: sufficient exercise, quality food, avoiding excess, taking time to “sharpen the saw”.

Mental: keeping the mine alert by learning something new, reading a variety of ideas, keeping up etc.

Spiritual: Taking time for thought, reviewing and renewing spiritual beliefs and needs,.

Social/Emotional: Get away from work; involve yourself in areas of interest and passion

Family: Talk time for your family, maintain sufficient contact

Financial: Do the financial things you are always planning to do and keep it up! (Current will, build savings, avoid excessive debt etc.)

One phrase I liked was that this is “building capacity”. I have certainly found my exercise, breaks etc. are a primary way of keeping myself sharp for both work and personal life.

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals and T. Harry Williams, Lincoln and his Generals

Doris Kearns Goodwin, Team of Rivals and T. Harry Williams, Lincoln and his Generals

It was interesting to read these two books, with similar themes, but considering Lincoln from different perspectives. Lincoln and his Generals was written in 1952, and Team of Rivals was written in 2007.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is my favorite writer and she didn’t disappoint in this one. I had not read any books by Williams before, and I greatly enjoyed his book.

The overlying theme of the books was that the “no action” Generals was Lincoln’s biggest problem in the war between the states.

This theme was a major them several years ago with Peters and his “bias for action” being the mark of a successful Manager or Leader.

The war between the states actually developed the first modern Command Structure in the military and this also strongly influenced management.

Lincoln was involved in the strategy, but he listened to the experts (sometimes to a fault). He let them decide up to a point, but he learned he had to make the final decision.

I think the books also pointed out the importance of knowing your objectives. It was pointed out that the Generals’ wanted to “occupy territory” while Lincoln knew the actual objective was to destroy the Confederate Army. I think that is a sign of a leader that I have tried to be much more conscious of since reading the books-KNOW YOUR OBJECTIVE!

Lincoln also successfully used blame lightly and praise greatly.

Lincoln realized that his rivals for the Presidency were also the “best and the brightest”, and he appointed them as his Team (generally he co-opted them and made them part of a Team, although he continually had to use a lot of energy and good-will to calm the turf-wars.)

He didn’t hold a grudge, and used his appointments (both of his Team and his Generals) for Political support as well as good administration. He was very aware of the politics of his decisions.

I was amazed at the persistence of Lincoln in resolving problems and how long he stood by his Team and the Generals.

Lincoln measured the success of his Generals by action and “winning battles”. I think any City Manager can look at that as criteria, in the sense that “battles” are problems or completion of project. It was interesting to learn that some of the worst Generals were the most eloquent letter writers.

Lincoln learned from his mistakes. He listened to his experts, but in the end, he made his own decision, even if at times he probably waited too long.

Both of these books had a major impact for me. I made notes to review daily on some of the lessons, ahave repeated the examples, most which have been very effective

Explanation

The International City Managers Association has credential certification program which I have found very valuable, in that I need to review what I learned/didn't learn from my reading, training etc.

I decided to post these on this Blog primarily as a backup, but also to seek any comments or opinions on my observations.

This is not easy reading.