Ken Burton describes the Manatee County Tax Collector journey on using the software to drive consistent process throughout their organization.
In the mid 2000’s, my Senior Team and I were looking for a “scorecard software system.” While attending the Florida Sterling Conference (affiliated with the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award), we learned about Competitive Solutions (CSI). What CSI presented was a more robust opportunity that would include all of our staff with a much needed meeting structure to streamline our operation and drive accountability. While we were not really sure what we were getting ourselves into, in August 2007 when we started our journey.
The onsite training was invaluable. Although painful, in a good way, it forced the Senior Team to take corrective actions on perceived personality conflicts so that we would be unified in this fresh start. We also changed our “open to the public” time from 8:30 to 9 a.m. to ensure there were 30 minutes dedicated to daily enhanced training and a Friday morning front line staff meeting. Our office-wide introductory training was completed in January 2008.
PBL (now Visuant®) has since become the backbone of our organization. It has allowed us to become more agile and systematic. Our 13 weekly staff meetings are clearly defined, integrated, have set expectations, use the same agenda, and use metrics to drive engagement and accountability. Every employee knows whether the organization is winning or losing on what is most important. Communication that was once our biggest weakness has become our strongest strength.
Over the years, it is easy to forget how far we have progressed as an organization and to take PBL for granted. It is so much a part of our culture that I just assume everyone else outside the office operates the same way. Not true. All it takes is attending a meeting, and at some point the lack of structure, processes and accountability will kick in; and I am thankful we chose Competitive Solutions. – Ken Burton, Manatee County Tax Collector
