Rock Hill and the Importance of the Strategic Plan

Transcription

1 Rock Hill and the Importance of the Strategic Plan By David Vehaun and Monica Croskey

2 Acomprehensive strategic plan is one of the most important tools an organization can have in defining its mission and vision. A well-developed plan incorporates performance measures that permeate the goals of each department and division, laying a blueprint for success. Very few jurisdictions are able to develop an outstanding strategic plan on their first attempt; more often, a plan will evolve as components are refined and improved. The process requires a balance of planning and hard work. By aligning resources with initiatives that are well thought out and tasks that are tied to a broader vision, an organization s strategic plan can deliberately and purposefully prioritize its use of limited resources to help it accomplish meaningful goals that contribute to the overall quality of life in the community. The City of Rock Hill, South Carolina, has a rich history of successful strategic planning, and each iteration of the plan has resulted in valuable lessons learned, greater experiences, and opportunities for continuous improvement. FIRST STEPS Rock Hill s strategic planning efforts did not technically begin with a strategic plan. Initially, the city simply featured performance measures in its annual budget document in These measures helped in defining departmental goals and objectives, but without a formal strategic plan in place, they were created in a vacuum, with no buy-in from the city s elected officials and the public. Communication between elected officials and staff wasn t always clear, in part because initiatives weren t mutually agreed to and priorities competed. Further, initiatives were focused on city departments and lacked community input. As a result, the city started enhancing collaboration and communication between city council and the staff in From the outset of this process, clear-cut goals were designed for both the council and staff: n Align limited resources with predetermined initiatives that are tied to a broader vision. n Develop a roadmap that guides the city from vision to reality. Very few jurisdictions are able to develop an outstanding strategic plan on their first attempt; more often, a plan will evolve as components are refined and improved. n Explain why resources are used in certain ways. n Measure and communicate progress to elected officials, the community, and other stakeholders. With these goals in mind, staff started working on the city s first real strategic plan in April Because they had no real exposure to strategic planning, the result was a narrowly focused document that attempted simply to validate initiatives that were currently underway. The plan provided highlevel summaries of budget information, schedule updates, and contact information for lead staff. Each department developed summary data for their respective projects (see Exhibit 1). But while documenting all of the city s major projects for the first time was certainly a valuable undertaking, it did not fulfill the primary goal of improving collaboration and communication. For one thing, there was very little input from the city council. This plan also focused exclusively on current projects, with no regard for future planning. And since departments developed the project lists independently, all project planning described in the document tended to be organized in silos. In summary, the first effort missed most of the important qualities that make a good strategic plan. It had no public input, only cursory council collaboration, and no consideration for developing goals focused on the community. Rather, it relected the initiatives of individual departments. Council and staff realized this almost immediately, and within nine months, the city council decided to set aside the project list and turn their attention to developing a more comprehensive document. FIRST ATTEMPT AT A REAL STRATEGIC PLAN In January 2003, the city council held its first strategic planning retreat and enlisted the services of a consultant who had extensive experience in assisting local governments with developing strategic plans. The consultant worked with city staff to establish the primary emphasis of the new plan, focusing on: 1) developing a collaborative process that would include both city council and cross-departmental engagement; and 2) incorporating initiatives that would help identify priorities and strategies for addressing future endeavors. February 2014 Government Finance Review 27

3 Exhibit 1: Early, Project-Focused Phase of Strategic Plan Another important addition to the process was including the National Citizen Survey, a comprehensive community survey offered by the National Research Center and the International City/County Management Association. The survey was conducted in fall 2002, and the results were presented to the city council at the strategic planning workshop. The survey allowed the city to evaluate itself using benchmarks from other jurisdictions across the United States, gauging citizen satisfaction with services and amenities. Questions are repeated from one survey to the next over a period of years, allowing the city to monitor its progress at creating citizen satisfaction. At this retreat, the city also began a more formalized analysis of strengths The city learned important lessons in its first attempt at a creating a strategic plan, despite its flaws. (characteristics that give a particular initiative an advantage over others), weaknesses (characteristics that place that initiative at a disadvantage relative to others), opportunities (external elements that could be used advantageously), and threats (external elements that could cause problems). SWOT analysis is important to the planning process because it identifies the environment in which an organization will operate while attempting to accomplish its goals. Doing so helps jurisdictions understand weaknesses associated with a given initiative, allowing them to better define the goals and objectives necessary for success. With this framework in place, the city council worked with staff to develop key initiatives for Rock Hill. 28 Government Finance Review February 2014

4 A two-day planning process gave council members the time they needed to refine and clarify the initiatives that were important to them, and then to work with the staff on narrowing this list down to a manageable number. The city council decided to focus on no more than six major initiatives, which were based on both the wishes of the council members and feedback from the National Citizen Survey. After six initiatives were identified, staff members were organized into six strategic planning teams, each comprising senior management and line personnel. The teams were responsible for identifying the strengths and weaknesses associated with each initiative, and then developing goals that would allow the city to achieve each objective. Then, they were to develop specific objectives for reaching each goal, and tasks necessary for achieving each objective. A timeframe and budget were established for completing each task. The city council and staff met once a year to review Incorporating strategic plan priorities into business practices and decision making molds and strengthens a strategic culture within an organization. accomplishments and to make any adjustments needed to the plan. After almost three months of drafting, staff presented the final plan document to the city council, which approved it and asked for a method of reporting back on the progress made. Staff quickly organized a spreadsheet that was intensely focused on dates and achieving deadlines that would allow the goals themselves to be achieved within the three-year timeframe (see Exhibit 2). (The council had agreed that the strategic plan would be valid for three years, since the community would have changed enough over that timeframe to require a new plan.) Staff provided the council with progress updates every six months over the three-year planning period. The city learned several important lessons in this first attempt at a plan, despite its flaws: n A collaborative process that includes both elected officials and cross-departmental engagement is very valuable. Exhibit 2: Strategic Plan Accountability Worksheet February 2014 Government Finance Review 29

5 n Incorporating future initiatives allowed the city council and staff to establish and synchronize priorities. n Identifying strengths and weaknesses helped make all stakeholders more aware. n The National Citizen Survey provided useful information on public perceptions and priorities. n An established process for reporting progress on the strategic goals is crucial. The obvious shortcoming of this iteration of the plan was the absence of specific performance measures. Also, at more than 300 pages, the document s length was problematic. TAKING THE NEXT STEP In January 2006, the council and staff met again to draw up a new strategic plan. They mirrored the previous process, for the most part, since the city council was generally satisfied with the progress the city had made, and only nominal updates were discussed at the planning retreat. In preparation for the meeting, staff again conducted a SWOT analysis and participated in the National Citizen Survey, and crossdepartmental teams refreshed the document. The primary emphasis for the new plan was a continued collaborative process that included city council and engagement across departments, along with identifying priorities and strategies for addressing future endeavors. For the first time, the strategic plan began to look several years into the future albeit in a limited way, since this update to the strategic plan was nothing more than a makeover of the previous document. The strategic initiatives remained the same; goals and objectives were changed only in minor ways, and the tasks and timeframes were simply updated to match the new three-year period. There was one important change, however an attempt to link items on the city council agenda to specific goals, objectives, or tasks in the strategic plan. This was a significant step forward in connecting the staff work program to the city council work program, and it became an important component of future plans. Issues presented at budget workshops over the following three years were also linked back to the strategic plan. For the first time, the council and staff made the connection that strategic planning can help everyone involved make informed decisions about resource allocations by linking resources to the priorities and goals that have been agreed to. Incorporating strategic plan priorities into business practices and decision making molds and strengthens a strategic culture within an organization. FINANCIAL CRISIS UPDATES The financial crisis that preceded the strategic plan update in January 2010 provided a new sense of urgency. The primary emphasis for the new three-year plan was significantly influenced by both transparency and accountability, although the 2010 process still mirrored the previous processes in several ways; the city once again conducted the National Citizen Survey and a SWOT analysis, and cross-departmental teams worked with the city council to develop the new plan. The city s overall strategic initiatives were slightly changed, but the major revision this time around was a wholesale update to the goals, objectives, and tasks. In addition, loose timeframes associated with the tasks in previous plans were replaced with defined and measurable targets across the organization. These newly defined targets increased accountability in all departments and required a new format for reporting this information to the public. Bulky, intensely narrative quarterly reports were replaced with easy-to-browse semi-annual reports that included both quantitative and qualitative data (see Exhibit 3). 30 Government Finance Review February 2014

6 Exhibit 3: Progress Report Sample Page In short, including defined targets increased accountability and transparency; the new plan clearly stated how the city s success would be defined. Whether the goal was to add 125 new jobs in three years or to reduce violent crime in downtown by 2 percent annually, the standards by which the city would be judged were explicitly outlined in the new plan. And the report provided more information to the public in just 48 pages, down from 300. Staff developed a reporting process that measured progress on each goal, objective, and task. Using a reporting system that color codes each goal, staff reviewed progress reports with the council during an annual workshop. Green indicated that everything was on target for achieving the performance metric. Yellow meant that performance still might be achievable, but that certain conditions had brought the metric into question. Red signaled that the metric would not be achieved; in these cases, department directors were asked to explain to the city council why the task couldn t be accomplished. To complement the semi-annual reports, the city debuted a performance dashboard that was updated monthly. Prominently featured on the city s website, this interactive tool uses graphs and narrative timelines to communicate and track progress on addressing goals, objectives, and tasks in the strategic plan (see Exhibit 4). These changes were intended to make the 2010 strategic plan easy to understand and to promote accountability for outcomes, in keeping with the concepts of accountability and transparency. February 2014 Government Finance Review 31

7 Exhibit 4: Performance Dashboard The city s strategic planning successes began to attract local and national attention for the first time. The local newspaper became interested in the plan and published a full-page article in a Sunday edition. The city won the GFOA s Award for Excellence in Government Finance in 2011; the Alliance for Innovation Outstanding Achievement in Local Government Innovation award in 2010; the ICMA Center for Performance Management Certificate of Distinction in 2010; and the ICMA Performance Management Certificate of Excellence in 2011 and It also participated in the National Center for Civic Innovation s government Trailblazer program, The city s successes were featured in the National Performance Management Advisory Commission s A Performance Management Framework, and in the National League of Cities weekly print publication and its website. Several important lessons came out of the 2010 plan update. For one, including measurable, defined targets requires a change in culture; it also increases the organization s accountability. In addition, user-friendly reporting tools increase transparency. And finally, accountability and transparency allow the organization to better communicate its successes, and to have more constructive conversations about how challenges can be addressed to achieve desirable outcomes. 32 Government Finance Review February 2014

8 THE LATEST VERSION By January 2012, the city council and staff were ready to move to the next level in strategic planning. Once again, the city conducted the National Citizen Survey and a SWOT analysis, and cross-departmental teams worked with the council to develop goals and measures. This time, however, the city added three citizen focus groups to complement the quantitative data from the National Citizen Survey. Staff from the National Research Center conducted the focus group sessions and reported on the information received. During the retreat, the council reviewed both the survey results and focus group feedback, and a city staff representative offered highlights on how well departments were meeting established benchmarks. This format allowed for meaningful comparisons of actual performance to public satisfaction and perception for example, citizen safety perception ratings and actual crime data trends. The city s survey results showed a strong perception of safety from violent crimes, which correlated with actual crime data showing that violent crime rates were steeply declining. Focus group feedback and survey results also revealed that citizen perception of safety was lowest in the downtown area after dark, even though the actual crime rates in this area were very low. Consequently, one strategic plan called for focus groups to consider how the city could improve the perception of safety in the downtown area. In this iteration, the city council consolidated the six strategic initiatives into three focus areas: quality services, quality places, and quality community. The quality services focus area covers some of the city s most fundamental responsibilities, as the local provider of essential services such as police and fire protection, water, sewer, electricity, sanitation, and so on. The quality places focus area involves ensuring that the city offers quality development and venues for both business and community life to flourish. This ranges from providing a vibrant downtown to managing transformative projects throughout the community. For the first time, the council and staff made the connection that strategic planning can help everyone involved make informed decisions about resource allocations by linking resources to the priorities and goals that have been agreed to. And the quality community focus area addresses initiatives related to supporting neighborhoods within the city, building public trust, and encouraging public engagement. Although the strategic initiatives associated with the plan changed significantly this time around, the city continued its accountability and transparency efforts with semi-annual reports and a performance dashboard. And this update to the plan reinforced several important lessons. First, it is important to engage the community and compare citizen satisfaction and perception with actual performance, and address any disconnects. It is not acceptable for the city to make assumptions about citizen satisfaction some effort must be made to actually ask. Second, sharing and educating both internal and external stakeholders about the strategic plan contributes to its value. Unless people can see that the plan has a direct influence on their quality of life, it won t seem relevant to them. Finally, staff members need to be challenged to use their talent and creativity to improve strategic planning. Staff can often find the best ways to communicate the plan both within the organization and to the community at large. February 2014 Government Finance Review 33

9 A QUICK HOW-TO Goals are generally developed at the governing body s retreat but refined and developed by the staff in a day-long retreat for department heads, immediately following the city council retreat. Goals are broad statements that explain the desired result. For example, in the quality community focus area, a goal might be strengthening neighborhoods through partnerships. A quality places supporting goal might be creating a vibrant downtown. Objectives are simply statements of what the organization is setting out to do that have been further refined for greater specificity. In keeping with the previous examples, an objective related to strengthening neighborhoods could be engaging them to promote community building and safety. A supporting objective for creating a vibrant downtown could be increasing the success of downtown events. Tasks are the specific activities the city plans to undertake in order to meet its defined objectives. These are best developed during cross-departmental team meetings and correspondence, since the more specific tasks will typically affect departments across the organization. In the neighborhoods example, a task might be increasing the number of neighborhood associations. For creating a vibrant downtown, a task might be using social media to advertise downtown events. Finally, each task requires a single supporting performance measure to ensure accountability. This is how the organization will gauge success. A performance measure for the neighborhood association task might be establishing ten new associations in one year. A measure for using social media to advertise downtown events might be getting at least 300 Twitter followers within six months or increasing attendance at downtown events by 10 percent in one year. It is important to engage the community and compare citizen satisfaction and perception with actual performance, and address any disconnects. It is not acceptable for the city to make assumptions about citizen satisfaction some effort must be made to actually ask. CONCLUSIONS After ten years of increasingly better plans, the City of Rock Hill has learned a number of lessons. First, there is real value in a collaborative process that includes both elected officials and cross-departmental engagement; however, including measurable and defined targets that both groups can agree on requires a change in organizational culture, since this type of plan measurably increases the organization s accountability. Second, strategic planning can help organizations in making informed decisions about resource allocations by linking resources to agreed-upon priorities and goals. As such, the strategic planning process must be properly sequenced within an organization s budget cycle. Third, user-friendly reporting tools increases accountability and transparency. Fourth, educating both internal and external stakeholders about the strategic plan makes the plan even more valuable. Jurisdictions need to engage the community and compare citizens perceptions and levels of satisfaction with actual performance, and take action when there are disparities. Finally, incorporating the strategic plan priorities into business practices and decision making strengthens a strategic culture within an organization. y DAVID VEHAUN is the city manager for the City of Rock Hill, South Carolina. He has been a member of the GFOA Executive Board and chair of the GFOA s Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy. Vehaun is past president of the GFOA of South Carolina and past president of the Municipal Finance Officers Association of South Carolina. MONICA CROSKEY is the strategy and performance manager for the City of Rock Hill. She oversees the city s strategic planning and performance management efforts. Croskey holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 34 Government Finance Review February 2014