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Weekly UpdatesAccording to a recent report on state government management, "Utah has been a clear leader in sound government based on smart planning and effective performance management that emphasizes long-term results ... Utah manages all facets of state government well, emphasizing long-term goals and performance outcomes. The executive and legislative branches work together effectively to align expenditures with the strategic direction of the state." (1) Like other state governments, Utah has developed a performance culture that focuses on outcomes and uses tools that allow state's limited resources to be managed more effectively. Such sound management is facilitated by Utah's comprehensive performance measurement and management initiative, Performance Elevated.
Utah's Performance Elevated, which began in 2005 as an executive branch initiative, is a management tool for improving performance and efficiency in state agencies.
The program consists of four central elements for "creating a culture of quality governance"--strategic planning, performance management, collaboration and training, and enterprise innovation. Each element will be addressed in turn below.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
All of Utah's state agencies develop and annually review and revise a strategic plan that answers three critical questions:
1) What is your mission?
2) What is your strategy for accomplishing your mission?
3) How do you know when you are successful?
The strategic plan helps the agency rationalize and justify the performance metrics it is tracking. Each plan contains the following elements:
* Scope statement--an explanation of the role of the strategic plan in managing operations.
* Current environment--an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and a discussion of critical short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term issues.
* Strategic focus--the agency's key objectives, with an explanation of how each one is tied to the governor's four broad priority policy areas: economic development, education, quality of life, and governance.
* Implementation--description of the process, roles, and responsibilities necessary for carrying out the plan, and how the strategies and key objectives are represented in performance metrics.
Agency strategic plans "communicate a cross-boundary vision" that feeds into the statewide long-term planning document, which is called Emerging Issues and Strategies (EIS). With guidance provided by their own strategic plans and the governor's four statewide priorities--education, economic development, quality of life, and governance--agencies develop emerging issues narratives and strategic focuses for each priority area, which are compiled into Utah's full EIS document.
The EIS document "provides a framework to assist agencies in identifying enterprise-wide, current and emerging issues, determine priorities and coordinate resources, and most importantly, assure the effective use of taxpayer dollars." (2) The executive branch uses this information to assess upcoming challenges and to identify the best way of adapting so it can address the challenges.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Utah follows a balanced scorecard approach to performance measurement. All executive agencies develop outcome, output, and efficiency measures which are placed into the balanced scorecard categories of customer, finance, internal process, and learning and growth. Each agency's outputs and outcomes align with its strategic focus, as established in the statewide EIS document.
The balanced scorecard initiative is not meant to micromanage agencies; rather, it is designed as a communication and problem-solving tool. Taking a balanced approach to choosing performance measures ensures that agencies continue to focus on the quality of service rather than only quantity or speed of service. Agencies must articulate the rationale behind each measure and justify performance goals and targets. As performance data is gathered, results are reported on the Performance Elevated Web site; the information on the Web site is updated as frequently as agencies desire, often monthly
The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB) reviews the balanced scorecard measures and performance results with the governor's senior staff on a monthly basis. These reviews facilitate implementation of strategies and course corrections if a negative trend is uncovered. The scorecard provides a high-level snapshot of results for the month, and over time, budget analysts and the governor's staff can identify trends and address any recurring issues. For example, if an agency is continually failing to meet certain targets, the budget analyst would contact the agency to discuss the problem and learn the story behind the numbers. If a staffing shortage or weakness exists, the Human Resources Department might be brought in to help find a solution.
In addition to monitoring trends, the monthly meetings help the executive office and the GOPB avoid surprises during budget development, since staff should already know which agencies will need and request more resources. The meetings create an open and ongoing channel of communication and foster a sense of partnership among agencies, the GOPB, and the governor's staff. When agencies communicate their plans and performance metrics, the executive office and the GOPB start to view agency budget requests as strategic investments.
COLLABORATION AND TRAINING
In addition to promoting Certified Public Manager training and executive development through the forthcoming Utah Leadership Institute, a major component of collaboration and training is the Performance Elevated meetings. Department leadership meets quarterly with the governor's senior staff, including the budget director, the state planning coordinator, and the deputy chief of staff.
These meetings are designed to offer a venue for sharing of information and data about how the activities of Utah's agencies lead to results. Each agency uses this time to present its mission, desired outcomes, and strategies as well as performance metrics, balanced scorecards, and performance results. The meetings also provide an opportunity to discuss expectations, obstacles, and strategies for improvement and problem solving.
ENTERPRISE INNOVATION
The primary component of enterprise innovation in Utah is called enterprise planning, which centers on efficiency and optimization of business process at the macro level. "Enterprise planning is based on the core principle that performance must be planned and continuously managed." (3) Strategic planning identifies what will be done in state agencies, while enterprise planning defines how it will be done. Common outcomes of this planning and analysis effort include fewer redundancies, automation of processes, and continual performance monitoring.
For example, Utah has separate departments of Administrative Services, Human Resource Management, and Technology Services that maximize efficiencies by offering services to all state agencies so the agencies do not have to support these functions internally. Staff members from these departments are assigned to each state agency, helping the agencies acquire and recruit the resources needed to meet goals.
Consolidation of duplicate operations requires assessing government processes from an enterprise perspective. In Utah, four fundamental governmental service areas (public services, social services, regulatory services, and government operations) are being reviewed to identify opportunities for improvements in service delivery, government efficiency, and employee productivity across agencies. For example, in the area of public services, Utah's Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice, departments of Corrections and Public Safes and the Judicial Branch have used the principles of enterprise planning to create common access to information on offenders, which has resulted in better service and efficiency and has also played a role in increasing safety in the state.
Recently, Utah began an innovative approach to implementing enterprise planning initiatives and projects that have an enterprise-wide impact. Rather than delegating these initiatives to an agency (where it might fall through the cracks and not be carried out), the state is contracting with individuals outside of state government to manage both the project and an internal project team. In short, the governor sets the vision, while the third-party champion looks for a solution and carries it out. The third-party project managers are able to work closely with both legislative and executive branches, take ownership of the project, gather stakeholder buy-in, and use an entrepreneurial approach to solving problems and implementing enterprise-wide initiatives.
This approach is new in Utah and is currently being used for a small number of initiatives including health-care systems reform, energy efficiency, and automation of the balanced scorecard. A representative from the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget says the state feels like it is on the "right track" with enterprise planning and that the projects underway are going well. (4)
RESULTS
Performance Elevated has realized a number of notable successes since its inception in 2005. Importantly, performance measurement is becoming a part of Utah's organizational culture.
* Once agencies began tracking performance data, they began to recognize areas for improvement. Monthly performance reviews and meetings have uncovered many positive trends. For instance, the state crime lab greatly increased turnaround time on its projects once it began measuring performance.
* Agencies have made great strides despite initial reluctance. For example, the Department of Agriculture resisted the balanced scorecard system at first, but it now has a high-quality scorecard that is used for internal management as well as for reporting monthly results to the GOPB and the executive office. The department is constantly raising the bar, tweaking measures, and adjusting targets. They "measure like crazy" (5) and have even instituted performance measurement retreats within the department.
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