Improving employee productivity and efficiency.

• Author: Childs, David
• Position: Management & Careers

Twenty years ago, the Dallas County Tax Office turned itself into a laboratory to study what would happen if quality management principles were applied to help employees meet the organization's goals. The office environment was transformed from one in which employees were unfocused and unmotivated into a "purposeful family" atmosphere, in which employees were made aware of the office's purpose (and their purpose there), were empowered and inspired to "make the mission happen," and were recognized and rewarded for doing so. Today, the Dallas County Tax Office can report that quality management principles work, and they produce dramatic results. The office is more efficient and productive, and customer service has improved. The Dallas County Tax Office has earned four national awards for quality management and, for the past two years, has been the only government entity to be recognized by Quality Texas, patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program.

While numerous books about quality management and leadership argue that there are eight, 11, or 13 "secrets" to quality management, there are really just four core concepts:

1. Have a clear, well-understood mission.

2. Empower staff to individually do what is needed to "make the mission happen."

3. Measure results to determine how successfully the mission is being executed, or not.

4. Adapt, constantly fine-tune, and improve.

   These practices require little in the way of rime and resources, but they generate dramatic benefits in real-life office environments.

   IT'S ABOUT THE MISSION. PERIOD.

   From the moment a job applicant enters the office, the Dallas County Tax Office makes it clear that everything is about the mission: to provide quality citizen service. A large poster of the office mission greets applicants as they enter the front door. During the interview process, applicants are asked if they had noticed the poster as they entered the office, and they are asked to explain what the mission statement means to them. Applicants are also asked to write two essays describing a personal memory of when someone was compassionate to them and when someone went out of their way for them. If hired, they sign a contract that they will "live the mission." They are taken on a "welcome to the office" tour that includes pointing out every poster of the mission that hangs on the walls throughout the office. It is made clear that every decision the office makes regarding promotions, discipline, annual reviews, bonuses, etc., is based on how successfully each employee personifies and promotes the mission.

   An employee receives a "Mission Maker" thank-you letter if he or she gets a verbal or written compliment from a customer; or a "Mission Focus" counseling form if a customer makes a complaint, a manager observes the employee responding to a customer in a less than enthusiastic manner, or if he or she interacts with fellow employees in a less than professional or constructive manner. Usually, employees are...