Executive vision: a forum for Georgia government leaders, Vol. 4, no. 1 (Mar. 2001)

A Publication of the Georgia Merit System

Volume 4, Number 1

March 2001

calendar
THE 18TH ANNUAL EMPLOYMENT LAW AND LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE March 19-21 Washington, D.C. www.shrm.org
EXECUTIVE FORUM Transitioning From GeorgiaGain To PerformancePlus March 28 20th floor, Twin Towers Empire Room 404-371-7371 www.gms.state.ga.us
NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL ERGONOMICS STANDARD April 12 Breakfast Seminar May 31 Full-Day Seminar 770-457-5100 sro@nsf.org
See Calendar, page 3
VIEWPOINT
IN THIS ISSUE
Strategic Planning: A Look into the Proverbial Future

PerformancePlus Moves State

Employees Toward Market Parity

In his FY 2002 budget address to the legislature, Gov. Roy Barnes presented recommendations for salary increases for employees paid on the statewide salary plan. As a result, PerformancePlus, which passed both House and Senate, will be implemented as part of an effort to move state salaries closer to market parity.
Governor Barnes attributed his proposal to the findings of the GeorgiaGain Advisory Committee that assisted the Georgia Merit System (GMS) in reviewing GeorgiaGain. One survey of employee and supervisor opinions, commissioned by the Georgia Merit System, showed that employees are less clear about performance expectations after GeorgiaGain, despite increased communication between employees and supervisors. Over 75 percent of the respondents believed that office politics affected performance ratings more than actual job performance.

Recommended salary adjustments for FY 2002 include:
n A 3.5 percent increase for all employees of the legislative and judicial branches. Employees on the statewide salary plan who at least meet performance expectations will also receive a 3.5 percent increase.
n A four percent increase to the minimum and maximum salary rate for each grade on the statewide salary plan.
n A salary adjustment for any employee on the statewide salary plan below the new minimum salary rate.
n A two percent one time lumpsum payment to employee who receive a performance review that indicates they have exceeded performance expectations.
See PerformancePlus, page 3

New Components Highlight FY2002

Strategic Planning

Entering its seventh year of strategic planning, the State of Georgia has added two new components to its process for fiscal year 2002 workforce planning and technology planning. Gov. Roy Barnes introduced the new components along with the 2001 Strategic Plan for the State of Georgia at the State Strategic Planning Meeting on January 22 to representatives of many of the 100 agencies, boards, and

authorities of the Georgia state government.
"The process is more complex," he stated, "but it is an example of how state government should work," complimenting the three agencies (the Office of Planning and Budget [OPB], the Georgia Technology Authority [GTA] and the Georgia Merit System [GMS]) who partnered in developing the new strategic planning approach.

See Strategic Planning, page 4

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viewpoint
STRATEGIC PLANNING: A
LOOK INTO THE
PROVERBIAL FUTURE
By Bill Tomilinson, Director Governor's Office Of Planning and
Budget
When we are successful in carrying out our strategic plan, the following will be a generally agreed upon description of our department/ agency a few years into the future. _______________________
Fill in the blank. What do you want your agency/department to look like in a year, two years, in five years? That's the essence of strategic planning a look into the proverbial future.
If you've ever had your fortune told via a crystal ball, then you know that the fortuneteller starts with a gaze into the shiny glass orb a vision. Most likely the fortuneteller's "special powers" are only that of astute observation. That's where we start with strategic planning. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration defines a vision in its strategic planning process as an attempt "to reframe the known scene, to reconceptualize the obvious, to connect the previously unconnected dream." A lofty statement, what one might expect from NASA.
Others may prefer the term "mission". Both terms may be seen as goals that unite an organization and help create a plan for the future that can inspire and put all staff members on the same wavelength.
All of us in state government from the Office of the Governor, to the State Forestry Commission, to the Department of Education, to the Examining and Licensing Boards exist have a common vision/mission/goal. That is to serve the public's interest, and we recognize that our principal products are satisfied citizens. We all recognize that the most important means to achieving this success is a well-prepared workforce, supported in its commitment by information technology. This year we introduce a consolidated strategic planning process to guide all state government organizations in ensuring that these two critical elements are

Georgia's Scores B- In

State's Report Card

The states' report cards are out and Georgia received an average grade of B minus for 2001 by the Government Performance Project. Instituted in 1999 by Governing Magazine and the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, the project reviews the states' accomplishments in several areas: financial management, capital management, human resources, managing for results, and information technology.
Improvements were noted in all areas over the 1999 grades. Although information technology earned a C plus, the creation of the Georgia Technology Authority was cited as a major step in improving this vital area.
Earning a B minus, Georgia's financial management was lauded for its ample reserves, responsible use of surpluses and a triple-A bond rating from all three rating agencies. The report also noted an improvement in

procurement practices. Capital management, which also
earned a B minus, was cited for the centralization of planning now under the Office of Planning and Budget and the creation of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority to tackle transportation issues while meeting federal air-quality standards.
Georgia's massive personnel reform earned Human Resources a B minus as well. The below-market salary structure and large use of temporary workers were named by the report as areas for improvement.
Managing for Results, which reviews the use of outcome-based measurements, rounded out the list with a B minus. The report describes Georgia's format as "enviable" with identified programs, long-term goals, and desired results.
Only Washington, Utah and Michigan earned average grades of A minus or better.

appropriately addressed for future needs. Our old crystal ball, the basic strategic
planning process, remains the same. By adding Workforce Planning and Technolog y Planning elements to the process, it now has more power to see, and more important, the resulting plan will more accurately foretell future needs of Georgia's state government. Like the fortuneteller who has trained herself to observe certain factors to obtain her prediction, we must observe the demographic, intellectual, economic, technological, and political factors that will affect our ability to achieve our goals and create value for the citizens of Georgia.
This year, state agencies are asked to build on their strategic planning efforts of prior years, re-visiting their Mission, Vision, and Goals in light of the State Strategic Plan, new legal mandates, and changing opportunities. Each agency should have one Strategic Goal for Technology and one for Workforce planning. These two goals should form the foundation for operational plans in each area. In this way, both technology planning and workforce planning will evolve from common roots the agency's strategic plan and its analysis of business functions.
The technology element of the process involves taking a hard gaze at your agency's

information subject areas and their descriptions; your agency's information needs; their associated business functions; and the degree to which each business function's information needs are being met. In workforce planning agencies are asked to describe demographic characteristics and competencies of the current workforce and predict the same for the workforce needed to fulfill future business functions. Complete instructions for accomplishing these tasks are found in the Guidelines for Georgia's FY2002 Strategic Planning Process available on the OPB web site.
Special thanks to the members of the Inter-agency Planning Team for their efforts in developing the process and these guidelines Office of Planning and Budget: Elaine DeCostanzo, Nancy Mier, Felicia Suit, Judith Brown; Georgia Merit System: Mary Gayle Ulm, Charlie Brooks, Diane Schlacter, Pat Kinard-Boutte, Doris Maye; Georgia Technolog y Authority: Roger Slater, Shawn Whitney, Rick Atkinson, Doris Konneh, Pat Gray.
Each year brings with it new challenges and new opportunities to which organizations must respond anew. Using a sound strategic plan we can respond effectively to these challenges.

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calendar (continue from page 1)

COUNCIL FOR STATE PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION Spring Conference April 4-6 Call Tim Evans at 404-656-3182
2000 MALCOLM BALDRIGE NATIONAL QUALITY AWARD Quest for Excellence XIII Conference April 22-25 Marriott Wardman Park Hotel Washington, D.C. 880-733-3310 or www.aqp.org.

EXECUTIVE FORUM Transitioning From GeorgiaGain To PerformancePlus April 24 DHR Training Center, Macon Call Patricia Williams at 404-371-7371 www.gms.state.ga.us
MANAGING TECHNOLOGY 2001 A Governing Magazine Conference June 6-9 www.governing.com

PerformancePlus (continue from page 1)

Salary adjustments of 4.5 percent for public school teachers, technical college teachers, adult literacy instructors, and public librarians will be effective September 1, 2001. School bus drivers and lunchroom workers will receive a 3.5 percent increase effective July 1, 2001. A 4.5 percent increase will also be effective fall semester 2001 for Board of Regents faculty, and October 1, 2001 for non-academic staff and technical college support staff.

The Governor also recommended special salary adjustments for employees of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the State Forestry Commission, the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Law, the Public Service Commission and those successfully completing the primary accounting series of courses offered through the State Financial Management Certificate Program.

PerformancePlus Executive Forum
The GeorgiaGain Advisory Committee was formed in July 2000 to evaluate and improve GeorgiaGain. The committee findings and recommendations addressed performance management and pay issues in state government. As a result of the analysis and recommendations of this committee, the Governor's FY 2002 salary recommendations included milestones that will have a positive impact on the state government salary structure and our workforce.
The Georgia Merit System is hosting two Executive Forums to highlight and discuss the key implications and implementation strategies for PerformancePlus. The first forum, scheduled for March 28 in the Empire Room on the 20th floor of the James H. "Sloppy" Floyd Memorial Building (Twin Towers), is closed to additional registrations. The second session is scheduled for April 24 at the Middle Georgia Department of Human Resources Training Center in Macon, Georgia. For additional information, contact Patricia Williams at (404) 371-7371.
PerformancePlus information and updates will also be available online at www.gms.state.ga.us.

newsbriefs
x Most employers have not yet developed
a plan for managing early retirement of baby boomers reaching age 55, according to the results of the Capitalizing on an Aging Workforce survey of 232 large U.S. employers. The survey, released by William M. Mercer, a New York-based human resource consulting firm, found that 50 percent of government organizations have one-quarter or more of their workers over age 50. The results varied greatly by industry: higher education organizations (83 percent), manufacturing (38 percent), nonprofit service organizations (29 percent) and for-profit service organizations (12 percent). More than half of the survey respondents reported no specific goals with regard to the employment of older workers, and 41 percent have no policy with regard to rehiring retirees. Goals cited by the other respondents included: retaining workers with special expertise or hard-to-replace skills, encouraging older workers to remain on the job, enabling early retirement, and targeting early retirees from other companies to fill open positions. The survey report is available at no charge. Contact Shirley Butler at Shirley.butler@us.wmmercer.com to request a copy.
x Dana Corporation-Spicer Driveshaft Division; KARLEE Company, Inc.; Operations Management International, Inc.; and Los Alamos National Bank were the recipients of the 2000 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The work of the recipients will be showcased at the Quest for Excellence XIII Conference. For more information on the Baldrige National Quality Program, visit the web site at www.quality.nist.gov. For more information on the conference, contact the Association for Quality and Participation at 880-733-3310 or www.aqp.org.
x The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a series of technical assistance program (TAP) seminars to be offered in 50 cities over the next year. Seminars include presentations on the latest developments in employment law to help human resource staff, state and local government officials, federal agency EEO staff, employment agency staff and others meet legal requirements and provide equal opportunity in the workplace. Topics differ
See newsbriefs, page 4

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EXECUTIVE VISION
Published quarterly by the Georgia Merit System
Marjorie H. Young Commissioner
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Information in this newsletter can be supplied in alternate formats to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Georgia Merit System is an equal opportunity employer.

FY2002 Strategic Planning (continue from page 1)

Citing people and technology as two of the reasons behind Georgia's economic success (the 2000 Census places Georgia on the list of the country's ten most populous states), Governor Barnes emphasized the importance of planning for workforce and information technology (IT) and the importance of bringing them into the 21st century. "We don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg," Barnes said.
"The business of government is transaction handling; we do this through information technology," explained Larry Singer, CIO and Executive Director of GTA. Last year, agencies were required to develop more comprehensive and detailed IT Strategic Plans.
In FY2000, the first phase of workforce planning was implemented. State law requires that each agency's strategic plan be combined together using a matrix to identify clusters of common need and to develop uniform standards. This year, each agency is asked to expand on their initial plan by incorporating a workforce component.
Moderator for the meeting Ron

Jackson of OPB said that the basic strategic planning process remains the same. Each section of the process, including the new components, contains a definition, rationale, technique, example and deliverable. The OPB, GTA, and GMS will provide technical assistance to support planning. Monthly planner-networking meetings or training sessions are scheduled through early spring. Requests for assistance are preferred via e-mail due to the large volume expected. Contacts include:
OPB: Elaine DeCostanzo doee@mail.opb.state.ga.us
GMS: Charlie Brooks bro@gms.state.ga.us
GTA: Roger Slater rslater@gagta.com
Agency Consolidated Strategic Plans are due on June 30, 2001. Guidelines for Georgia's FY2002 Strategic Planning Process, the 2001 Strategic Plan State of Georgia, and the presentations from this meeting are available on OPB's web site.

newsbriefsr
(continue from page 3)
by seminar and may include sessions on topics such as sexual and racial harassment, Americans with Disabilities Act issues, national origin discrimination and immigration law. Augusta and Savannah will host the seminars on July 26 and July12, respectively. For more information visit the commission's web site at www.eeoc.gov/ taps.
x The Bush administration intends to support states' laws concerning the rights of patients and their HMOs, reports The Employee Benefit Research Institute but a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court may have more immediate effects. The court is considering a review of the Appeals Court decision in which the Texas' independentreview law for health maintenance organizations was struck down.
x Additional guidance on determining whether retirement plan-related expenses can be paid from plan assets or by the employer has been released by the U.S. Department of Labor, according to the American Benefits Council. For more information, contact James Delapane at 202289-6700.