Process Improvement Edition

A Note From Our HR Director

Merry December,

We are 27 days from 2024. 2023 has undoubtedly been a year full of economic uncertainty, global unrest, personal and professional growth, labor shortages and organizational challenges, but despite it all we made it through. And guess what, if you did not get to accomplish all that you set out to do in 2023, don’t worry, 2024 is right around the corner. You will have an opportunity to reset and start fresh. Tomorrow is gone so no need to fret over missed opportunities. Instead refocus, re-engage and reignite whatever flame burns your passion.

In the January newsletter I wrote that “Throughout 2023 we will be reintroducing ourselves, our staff and our services. This inaugural e-newsletter will be published monthly and feature a different HR functional area in each issue. We…look forward to (re)engaging you and your teams.” Hopefully we accomplished that task, but that is only the beginning. This December edition of our newsletter marks the final monthly copy as we will move to a quarterly publication in 2024 - Jan/April/July/Oct. Don’t worry, there will continue to be plenty of opportunities for you to stay fully engaged with HR not only through this newsletter, but also our Wellness and MindMatters publications because we want to ensure that you not only know what we do but that you have available to you all the resources needed for a healthy mind and body as well. Missed an issue in 2023 or want to re-read a particular topic? All prior issues can be found on OrangeNet.ocfl.net.

Next year Human Resources will remains committed to making Orange County Government the Central Florida employer of choice. Our focus continues to be on changing or eliminating what is not working, further enhancing things we do well and ongoing process improvement. As part of our ongoing efforts to meet your needs we are asking all employees to complete an HR Client Satisfaction survey. We cannot fix what we do not know about, so your feedback is critically important to the long-term success of our service delivery model.

In December we celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Last month we spent time reflecting on all things for which we are thankful and this month we do the same with our gifts – whether tangible or just being there. Many tend to forget the reason for the season, but let’s not lose sight of why we celebrate. This is the perfect time of year to reflect and reset.

Each of you has the ability to make the needed changes to org culture and stagnant processes, but may be afraid to do so. Be fearless instead of fearful. If you are around negativity on the job or in your personal life, distance yourself from that energy and surround yourself with positivity and good energy. By doing so, watch how things shift in your favor. This month’s newsletter highlights your HR Process Improvement (PI) team. While primarily internal facing to HR, in 2024 the PI team will begin doing client facing consultations to assist with process evaluation and documentation to improve operational efficiencies and customer service across the organization. Take a few moments to explore by clicking the links and reading more.

Thank you for an amazing 2023 and as always thank you for all you do. The BEST is yet to come 😊

Happy Holidays and see you next year!

Regards,

Yvette M. Best, EdD, CCP, SPHR/SHRM-SCP

Human Resources Client Satisfaction Survey

The HR Division takes great care to provide you with outstanding support and guidance. The quality of our service is a top priority, and we welcome your feedback on how well we are serving you - our employees / internal customers. We would greatly appreciate it if you would take the time to complete this survey. Please feel free to suggest improvements in any area.

Meet Process Improvement

The Process Improvement team is the newest member of the Human Resources family and became operational Fiscal Year 22-23. The Process Improvement team is responsible for collaborating with all sections of Human Resources, and at times external stakeholders, to properly document all Human Resources (HR) Processes. In addition to documenting the HR Processes, we provide process maps to illustrate workflows, evaluate/monitor the processes to determine if improvements are necessary and/or that Key Performance Indicators are met, offer training to HR Staff on the various processes and programs, provide recommendations based on current policies and practices, and partner with HR Leadership to discuss possible strategies to aid in improved customer service and operational efficiencies.

This is a two-person team which consists of the HR Advisor, Addie Soto who is pictured above and a Senior HR Analyst. We are currently seeking our Sr. HR Analyst.

All areas have either Department Operating Procedures (DOPs), Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and/or Administrative Orders. It is important to review these items on a regular basis to ensure the process is up to date and determine if improvements are necessary.

Check out this list of questions you can consider when beginning your review of an existing process or the documentation of a process.

Audits Conducted by the Team

Process Improvement implemented its auditing process and audited two processes within fiscal year 22-23. We audited our Probationary Extension Process and the Exit Interview Process.

The purpose of a business process audit is to determine what is going right and what needs improvement. During the audit we review documentation, analyze the data, determine if any redundancies or inefficiencies exist, identify if there are roadblocks that need to be addressed, evaluate process outputs and results, and determine if any areas of improvement exist.

Some benefits of performing process audits are:

Improved process efficiency.
Improved compliance.
Improved customer satisfaction.

During the audit of the Probationary Extension Process we identified an area of opportunity to give a reminder of our County policy which indicates: requests for extension of probationary and supporting documentation should normally be submitted at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to the end of the existing probation period. This time frame falls in line with the five (5) month evaluation.

It was also determined during the Probationary Period Extension audit that a process checklist would be helpful. Check out the Probationary Extension process checklist for managers.

Process Improvement Streamlines Referral Incentive

The Process Improvement team collaborated with County Administration and various HR partners to streamline the referral incentive process from two payments to one payment.

Eligible Referring Employees who refer new applicants to the County who are successfully employed for a specific requisition can earn a $400 Referral Incentive. Remember to advise your referral to include your name and your Orange County email address as their referral source. Once this is done the Referring Employee will need to go into their self-service account and confirm the referral. Please refer to the Referral Step by Step Guide on how the full referral process works.

There are certain classifications of employees such as Human Resources and Appointed positions (not full list) that are not eligible for the Referral Incentive. Click here to learn more.

Strive for Process Improvement

Process Improvement created a Strive for Process Improvement initiative to assist with the cross-training of Human Resources (HR) staff. We conducted two trainings in fiscal year 22-23. We held a training on processing Benefits – Qualifying Life Events in May 2023 and a training on the processing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requests presented by employees in July 2023.

The overall average participation from Human Resources staff was 71%!

These sessions allow all HR staff to learn processes that may not be part of their regular workload. This program allows HR employees to see and understand what happens in other areas and may even help them determine a career path within HR.

This program was also designed to help break down silos and show how multiple areas may need to work together to ensure the success of the process and meet the needs of our customers.

In FY 23-24 process improvement will continue this initiative taking into consideration employee survey feedback and ensuring we cover processes across multiple HR areas to give a full view to our team of all that we do.

Tip for Storing Department Process Documents

Microsoft Teams is a great tool that can be used to store easily accessible process documents for your department/division. As an example, HR Staff can locate all available HR Processes in the HR Marketplace folder titled Human Resources Processes located within Microsoft Teams.

Trivia Time

The first employee to email [email protected] with the correct answer to the following trivia question will receive a prize.

Which two HR Processes have been covered during Strive for Process Improvement?

Need More Information?

Do you need help improving a process within your department? Process Improvement is available to discuss process questions and support you. Contact the Process Improvement team to setup a consultation today at [email protected].

To reach myOCHR, email [email protected], call 407-836-5661, or visit www.ocfl.net/HR.

We highly recommend that you do NOT unsubscribe from Orange County Government Human Resources emails as this will also unsubscribe you from important information about benefits enrollment, required training, etc.