Questions to Guide you in Transforming your Agency
As an agency leader, ask yourself the following questions to guide your modernization efforts. Then use your answers to help pave the way towards the transformation of your agency.
- What is the purpose of your agency?
The purpose of your agency represents the heart of your agency, fueling your mission and your vision. Consider the purpose of your agency whenever you face an important decision; your purpose helps you align your agency’s ideals with your agency’s objectives. - How engaged are agency employees?
The effectiveness and efficiency of your agency depends on employees that care about your agency’s purpose—and feel involved in the workings of your agency. Engaged front line workers provide valuable insight into what the public thinks. - What is the most time consuming, manual work your agency does?
Evaluating the efficiency of your processes—and addressing any inefficiencies—keeps your agency humming and employees smiling. IT advancements help you automate any of your cumbersome and time-consuming processes. - How long does it take from the time a licensee begins a renewal or application until a license is issued?
Users expect an expedited licensing process, like the simple and quick online ordering they experience from companies like Amazon. In comparison, the licensing process seems antiquated to users, especially if still relegated to paper applications. Modernize your user experience to meet your customers’ expectations. - What reports and other tools are produced that allow you to know whether the agency is meeting statutory requirements?
Your agency must know whether you meet statutory mandates. Tools, like business intelligence reports, help you analyze whether your agency meets those requirements. Use these tools to ensure your agency follows all the rules—and pass audits with ease.
Answers to Support you with Strategic Planning
Beyond simply answering these questions, agency leaders must harness their answers to support strategic thinking, like planning and budgetary decisions, along with their vision and objectives. Posing these questions to leaders helps your agency keep up, instead of scrambling to catch up at a price. Agency leaders, like executive directors, state CIOs, department heads, IT managers, along with commissioners, must tackle these questions.
Leaders must engage their staff too as they explore answers to the questions; your staff offers valuable insight into process improvements.
More Questions to Build your Optimal Regulatory Agency
Curious to know the other crucial questions to ask? Take our Operational Excellence Survey, created to help agencies understand and build the optimal regulatory agency.