BPI Design Charters - Examples

The two examples provided below represent the charters given to the design teams for looking into 'pay and benefits' and 'procurement/expenditure' on behalf of a number of medium-sized government departments.

PAY AND BENEFITS DESIGN TEAM CHARTER

BACKGROUND AND CASE FOR CHANGE

The purpose of the process is to pay employees and maintain their benefits.

• Process owners are the Department of Finance and the Government Services Commission.
• Primary process customers are the employees; secondary customers are the employees’ manager(s).
• The current process is overly complex, fragmented, costly, excessively paper - and labour-intensive, and does not fully satisfy the needs of employees and their managers. Employees would like better service, particularly in respect to benefits information and advice. Managers want greater accessibility to the employee accrual information required to support operational requirements (e.g. vacation earnings and balances, sick leave usage, etc.)

DESIGN TEAM OBJECTIVES

To develop a comprehensively redesigned pay and benefits process which balances customer requirements and those of the process owners, and pledges dramatic improvements in cost, quality and cycle time.

• Anticipated outputs are:
• a process design report
• process models

IMPROVEMENT GOALS/TARGETS

• Expand the range of options for employees to gain access to their pay information, benefit balances and benefit advice as well as expanding the options for managers to gain access to necessary accrual employee information.
• A 75% reduction in the volume of paper payroll records stored annually.
• A 30% reduction per annum in the costs of the pay and benefits process equivalent to $10 million.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• Pay and benefits for all employees should be as current as possible, preferably within one pay period.
• Move authority as close as possible to the point of customer contact. Equip process employees and stakeholders with the tools to make informed, competent decisions and appropriate responses to customer requirements.
• Make it as easy/flexible as possible for the customer/client to have their needs met (e.g. on-line or kiosk access to information, additional pay info, etc.). Ensure that customer/client feedback opportunities are built into the process.
• Design service and performance standards into the process; ensure that measurement, assessment, reporting and continuing improvement are integral component (build in feedback channels).
• Build in controls as early as possible in the process to minimize errors and eliminate re-work.
• Capture information once, as close to source as possible, and make it accessible to all who need it. Eliminate paper wherever possible.
• Challenge allexisting assumptions and ways of doing business, e.g. existing policy, practices, technology, organizational and regulatory frameworks. Design new processes through work simplification/elimination, the application of new technologies, and other appropriate re-engineering enablers.
• Design the major process for the majority of situations that are relatively non-complex; separate processes may be required to accommodate exceptions.

PROCESS SCOPE

Pay and benefits process begins when employee attendance and benefit usage information is captured, and is completed when pay is deposited, related reports and payroll deductions are distributed, and information is distributed to benefit carriers. Process scope includes the registration of new employees and all changes to existing employees’ record. Process scope does not include other HR functions such as staffing, training administration, workplace health and safety, and career and succession planning. All functions incorporated within the three existing automated systems are within the scope of the redesign.

TEAM MEMBERSHIP AND LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT

• Team Leader   

• Process Owners

• Process Customers

• Human Resources Specialist

• Information Technology Specialist

• Scribe

The Design Team will commence their work on October 16 and anticipates a completed process design by December 23.

APPROACH

Process redesign will be conducted by the team through a series of intensive design workshops, supplemented by additional research, site visits, consultation with customers and stakeholders, etc. and concluding when the team is satisfied the process targets have been met and the process description is reflected in appropriate detail.

PROCUREMENT/EXPENDITURE DESIGN TEAM CHARTER

BACKGROUND AND CASE FOR CHANGE

The purpose of the integrated procurement/expenditure process is to supply seamless support to program operations.

Program operations require a process that

• Is easy to use.
• Accurately pays suppliers and other clients on a timely basis.
• Provides dependable, reliable and timely management information.
• Automates time consuming manual tasks.
• Is linked to other relevant processes.    
• Consolidates payments to suppliers and other clients.    
• Places emphasis on quality and value.
• Increases discretion and flexibility coupled with accountability for results.    
• Streamlines paperwork and processes.    
• Decentralises procurement processes and decisions.
• Results in a service-oriented approach with a focus on customer support.

There are two primary process owners - Company Services (Purchasing Branch) and the Finance Department. Stakeholders that have an interest in these processes include taxpayers, government financial administrators and current and potential suppliers.

The process has the following key customers: the users of the goods and services obtained through the procurement process (e.g.. front line staff, program managers, etc.) and the government departments and staff that use the expenditure process to pay suppliers and manage cash flow.

The current process was selected for redesign because it is paper intensive, control-oriented, not linked to other processes in the supply chain, using old legacy technologies, costly to administer and does not maximize value-added, not user-friendly, inflexible and not customer-focused, slow and not responsive to customer needs.

This re-engineering initiative is primarily focused on high-volume, common departmental procurement and expenditure transactions. Additionally, the redesigned process must accommodate, for accounting purposes, integration/linkage to other financial systems/processes for recording and information management purposes (e.g.. annual estimates, government financial statements, public accounts, commitment accounting, cash flow forecasting, cash management).

DESIGN TEAM OBJECTIVE

The objective is to re-engineer the process to more efficiently acquire goods and services at the lowest cost, to efficiently pay suppliers for goods and services provided to government, to efficiently process employee travel expenses, grants and other payments, and to ensure that the government supply chain is working to support strategic goals and to provide value-added support to program operations. A process design report, complete with process models, will be the output generated.

IMPROVEMENT GOALS/TARGETS

The success of the redesigned processes will be measured on the basis of the following improvement goals/targets:

• The per annum cost of performing the procurement/expenditure process will be reduced by not less than $50 million.
• Total cycle time, between ordering goods/services to having the invoice payment ready (excludes goods/services delivery time), will not exceed 15 working days.
• The re-engineered process will focus greater attention on the strategic importance of procurement resulting in the potential per annum saving of up to $25 million (to be negotiated with vendors).
• Improved management information for both departmental and central government purposes (e.g. real-time access, linked to other processes, etc.).

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

• Design the process to balance the critical needs of process owners, stakeholders and customers.
• Move decision-making capability as close as possible to the point of customer contact. Equip process employees and stakeholders with the tools to make informed, competent decisions and appropriate responses to customer requirements.
• Make it as easy/flexible as possible for the customer/client to have their needs met. Ensure that customer/client feedback opportunities are built in.
• Design service and performance standards into the process; ensure that measurement,     assessment, reporting and continuing improvement are integral components (build in feedback channels).   
• Build in controls as early as possible in the process to minimize errors and eliminate re-work.
• Capture information once, as close to the source as possible, and make it accessible to all who need it. Eliminate paper wherever possible.
• All existing assumptions and ways of doing business are challenged, e.g. existing policy, practices, technology and regulatory frameworks. New, integrated processes are designed through work simplification/elimination, the application of new technologies, and other appropriate re-engineering enablers.

PROCESS SCOPE

The scope encompasses the procurement process and the payment of suppliers (both external and internal to government including, Materials Distribution Commission, Fleet Vehicle Commission, Property Management Office, Telecommunications and Technology Procurement), payment for other non-procurement goods and services, employee expenses/reimbursement, grants and other transfer payments (from the point at which the grant enters the payment process).

TEAM MEMBERSHIP AND LEVEL OF INVOLVEMENT

• Team Leader

• Process Owners        
• Process Customers

• Human Resources
• Specialist Information Technology

• Specialist Scribe

• Team Facilitator

APPROACH

Process redesign will be conducted by the team through a series of intensive design workshops, supplemented by additional research, site visits, consultation with customers and stakeholders, and concluding when the team is satisfied the process targets have been met and the process description is reflected in appropriate detail.

The Design Team will commence its activities on October 16 with completion by December 20.