SECTION 13.10  INPUTS

Last Update:  3/06

To some, restructuring after workforce changes is an intuitive process. They know who has left. They know what impact that will have on the remaining workforce and how they plan to shift duties and responsibilities.

If that isn’t you, or even if you do fall into this group, you might want to first back up and consider the basic question:

·         What work has to be done?

That isn’t something you can decide for yourself. It is dictated by other external parameters and influences, Inputs, which relate directly to Accountable Government. For more information on this, see http://www.resultsiowa.org.

Statutory requirements

·         Is a particular result/output specifically required by the Iowa Code?

·         Does the Code refer instead to outcomes, thus leaving a certain degree of interpretation to the department?

·         Has your department inventoried its outputs and outcomes? This is the starting point for work to be done.

Constituent expectations (Public demands)

·         What do your constituents expect from you? How do you know? Do you have recent data or other types of input identifying customer expectations?

·         Do you have a rationale/method for distinguishing customers’ needs from desires?

Strategic Plan

·         Is it still current?

·         What underlying priorities and organizational values must be part of it?

·         What is the most likely future for the department?

·         What are the department’s mission, vision, and values? Are these current? If so, are they clear?

·         Do your employees know and understand the department’s mission, vision and values and how they relate to their own jobs and responsibilities?

·         Do your mission, vision, and values relate to the new realities of your department?

·         Do you measure progress toward meeting your strategic goals?

Annual Performance Plan/Business Plan

·         What are your department’s priorities for this fiscal year? Next fiscal year?

·         What modifications are necessary to still accomplish them?

·         Do the priorities themselves need to be modified? If so, what is involved in that process?

·         What customer requirements still must be met?

·         What other conditions/pressures must be considered?

Can you answer the above questions? Your responses provide the foundation for organizational redesign and workforce planning.