Subject: Fall Continuous Improvement Newsletter
From: Wisconsin DOA Strategic Management & Planning <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 6 Nov 2024 15:02:17 +0000

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the organization.
Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.

Continuous Improvement Newsletter Fall Header 

 

A warm greeting to our CI Newsletter subscribers this Fall Season!

Fall is the season of harvest, and this harvest season Wisconsin celebrated the crowning of our state's* heaviest-ever giant pumpkin [ https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/fond-du-lac-county-man-grows-2551-pound-giant-pumpkin-setting-the-record-for-wisconsins-heaviest/ar-AA1svKhf?ocid=BingNewsSerp ]!* Jim Ford’s 2,551-pound Atlantic Giant pumpkin, grown in Eldorado, shattered the state's record, improving his previous record by 374 pounds. With nearly 25 years of experience, Ford attributes his success to continuous learning, refining his growing practices, and consistently tracking his results.

Likewise, Wisconsin public servants have made their own improvements this year, and you can see the fruits of our continuous improvement efforts in the FY24 Program Report [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Documents/FY%202024%20Enterprise%20Continuous%20Improvement%20%28ECI%29%20Program%20Report.docx ], highlighting the benefits our community brings to state service. This report showcases our training numbers, engagement reach, and project metrics—many of which come from projects submitted through our CI Project Form [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/ProjectForms.aspx ]. However, many impactful improvements go unreported due to missing metrics. We often hear the question: *What metrics are needed for a project?*

Just as Ford tracks the growth of his pumpkin and refines his approach year after year, we need to measure our project outcomes to capture their full impact. Ford’s record-breaking pumpkin offers a simple, yet powerful example: 2,177 lbs. – 2,551 lbs. = an improvement of 374 lbs. and a prize-winning pumpkin! This highlights how a straightforward formula—*Before-After=Improvement*—can help us better understand the difference we're making. Whether it’s growing a record-setting pumpkin or turning ideas into measurable achievements, metrics are key.

To help simplify the process of capturing key metrics, the CI Network has developed a new *Metrics Guide*, which you’ll find in our Tools Spotlight section. We encourage you to review the guide, explore our highlighted projects, and gather inspiration from the *outstanding work* happening across Wisconsin!

"p.s. Did you know pumpkins are fruits [ https://secure-web.cisco.com/17kQkS3cnfvUgIKP3VAa0zWcmmexvFNMtjj3dFk0mFg0RCNru-iwTaI3LCOkpzlWRhnxCiF9PJ-gz0_ca97XBvlKTO2gXcx_IYlAapdSt5veHkVORWascOs_G8t_U3TExdJxrSe12NKIjVHGXosarMZFNhqpztS1-ZtZxQeY742l6wlQHmdtWhKnJZ_5KIvjkaeZ1vaEZti99NWWxnh9jik8q0n0ICJqjlMs44h8Us2qVr6TNAcOmHQgoQx-4_G1O18Cj61L3At4MavbLdWxygRBz4zXWRRhOgltXPTF1aPe9diWArDT3NkGYXzzMYmE2rlfaWX6ui9rI1BF94wiJDGTlUYhbAPxppGUkI8Hj7-E/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.goodhousekeeping.com%2Ffood-recipes%2Fa21246075%2Fis-pumpkin-a-fruit%2F ]? "

 

Project Highlights

 

 

DHS Project data 
DHS: Improving Organizational Change

DHS completed an impactful improvement project titled Improving Organizational Change Process at Central Wisconsin Center (CWC). The project focused on identifying gaps and addressing inefficiencies in the CWC change process. Using tools such as a fishbone diagram for root cause analysis and a process map to visualize the current and future state, the team implemented several changes like shortening the administrative team meetings, refining the agenda for more accountability, and enhancing the accessibility to foster more engagement. These adjustments improved the change management process effectiveness and streamlined internal communication.

This resulted in repurposing 432 annual staff hours, and significant improvement from the pulse surveys! By being able to track the amount of time spent before and after the improvement was implemented, we are able to see the real impact this organizational change effort had.

 

 

DATCP: Using VLOOKUP to Clean-Up Data

Within the Pesticide Unit at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), they were able to repurpose staff hours by taking a cumbersome data clean-up effort and developing a new, streamlining Excel tool!

One duty of the Pesticide unit is to contact numerous customers each year to remind them to complete their required certifications and licenses. Before they complete this outreach, DATCP employees must finish data clean-up to ensure the right people are receiving the right contacts. This data clean-up can take a considerable amount of time and manual work with various databases. 

The solution to this problem was a standard Microsoft Excel function known as VLOOKUP. VLOOKUP is a tool that can assist with looking up, cross-referencing, confirming presence of, and returning values in Excel. By using VLOOKUP, DATCP employees will be able to repurpose more than nine hours annually. 

Thank you to these DATCP employees for learning a new tool to improve this process and to use for other purposes in the unit!

 

DOA: Digital Lobby Display Workflow

The Digital Lobby Displays, installed at Department of Administration (DOA)-owned locations, provide content for tenants and employees to learn about events, affinity groups updates, and other happenings within the department. However, the process to submit, review, approve, and post content was inefficient, relying on numerous emails between submitters, approvers, and posters. This created inconsistent results, was time-consuming, and made it difficult to track submissions.

The solution to this challenge was the implementation of Microsoft Forms and Power Automate. Submitters now use a Microsoft Form to send in their requests, which are automatically summarized and sent to approvers via email. The system also sends a link to requestors for file uploads, simplifying the process and making it accessible even to external users. The approval workflow is tracked in Microsoft Teams, and automatic notifications are sent to both requestors and approvers once a decision is made.

Thanks to this new process, what used to take approximately 150 staff hours annually, now only takes 25! These before and after metrics equal a total of 125 hours DOA employees have been able to repurpose!

 

CI Community of Practice

The CI CoP is a community made up of practitioners of CI, both new and senior. We come together every other month to share improvement success stories, ask questions, and benefit from the shared learning space. 

Our next meeting is November 26 where we will hear from both DATCP and DFI on two projects they've found success in! We will also be sharing more on our CI Metrics Guide and learning quick tips on how to capture metrics for your improvement project!

Click to learn more about Continuous Improvement Community of Practice (CI COP) [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/CoP.aspx ]

 

Tool Spotlight: CI Metrics Guide

The CI Network, our enterprise-wide community of Agency CI Contacts, recently finalized the CI Metrics Summary Guide [ https://improvement.wi.gov/PublishingImages/Pages/Resources/Templates/CI%20Metrics%20Summary.docx ]. Check out and download this document as a quick reference for the types of metrics you can use for your projects. 

Tip: make sure to identify your metrics before you start implementing your improvement!

CI data outcomes 

Total Statewide CI Outcomes (FY17-FY25)

 

Upcoming Training

White Belt Trainings

  * New training schedule coming soon  

Yellow Belt Trainings

  * November 6  
  * 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (Virtual) 

 

What's Happening Across the State

DATCP Showcase 

DATCP held a CI Showcase for employees on September 26, 2024. The showcase included an introduction to continuous improvement, three project presentations, and tips on how to become involved in continuous improvement!

 

DWD True Colors 

DWD had two CI in services this fall! Their first meeting was September 30, where they discussed CI resources, collaboration, and took a true colors assessment! During the November 4 meeting, they discussed metrics and best practices for collecting project data. During a previous survey, the topic of metrics had been identified by attendees as the most needed.

 

 

Continuous Improvement Newsletter Signup [ https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/subscriber/new?topic_id=WIGOV_185 ] 
 
Continuous Improvement Feedback Form [ https://secure-web.cisco.com/1q1qkHj5WT2ipwmJuMTx8pQjEyJCJbmB49WA20f_aJ0gamE-aMlSfqdWzFrRIPHcqRN_2oCcoAPASHu2NGno5u3i-qQQDf2oroukey7lh4Yhw-f_b8O9eMioQChNxQQzjmAdAS286jjzC8X3K6dVtRtSrsgWlZ3K1ahQlx9XLN8S2sscSgGEY6QYHX0GhXrgY2Qf-tQ6bTt9hGJLZ5I0PDFNVI75xQujA3qP9IiAz6krYMaFZ20wcJBW66Xy74UgXL3jo3vhykxUiddwpGM0qHipBaVJezrzqli9sTjDWU3rsPup1YvbtziD-QBdIekAMJ8kNq4wzcYukPNG1ppCg_xX5uB5iEgQjiF96A7r-jQs/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.office.com%2FPages%2FResponsePage.aspx%3Fid%3DHNHi9OT6O0W2wClkZjd5qs-na-rvgpZFstw8FeaQU3hUMVkzWVlDUjVIOU5OWlcxNlJSS1hTT0pENiQlQCN0PWcu ] 

 

CI Resource Center

Agency CI Contacts [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/Resources/AgencyRepresentatives.aspx ]

  
CI Project Forms [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/GetInvolved/ProjectForms.aspx ]

  
Improvement Templates [ https://improvement.wi.gov/Pages/Resources/Templates.aspx ]

 

Continuous Improvement Helping One Another Up Stairs 

 

 

________________________________________________________________________

 Wisconsin Department of Administration Logo [ https://doa.wi.gov ] 

*STATE OF WISCONSIN*

*DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION*

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES: Manage Subscriptions [ https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/subscriber/edit?preferences=true#tab1 ]  |  Unsubscribe [ https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/subscriber/edit?preferences=true#tab1 ] |  Subscriber Help [ https://subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com/ ]

Questions? Contact us <[email-masked]>

 
 
________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email-masked] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of the State of Wisconsin · 115 East, State Capitol · Madison, WI 53702