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Director's Message
July 23, 2004
To: DHS Employees
From: Gary Weeks, Director
1. Recognizing your exceptional work
Many of you are familiar with DHS Director's Excellence Awards, which have been given from time to time to honor outstanding work.
I'd like to continue the tradition of honoring our staff's exceptional achievements — and to begin giving out Director's Excellence Awards at regular intervals throughout the year.
Beginning in September, up to three awards will be given each quarter, to individual DHS staff members or to small work teams.
Who's eligible? In my recent messages to you, I've described five key objectives that shape our work:
- Integrating services so that we can share resources and work collaboratively.
- Maintaining a community focus that acknowledges local needs and the role of local partners.
- Producing and reporting measurable results.
- Pursuing accountability and continuous improvement.
- Investing in our workforce, in areas such as diversity, training and career development.
These objectives provide a definition for excellence — the sort of excellence I'd like to honor with these awards. Accordingly, the awards will recognize:
- Outstanding work that moves DHS toward its vision of better outcomes through integration, collaboration and continuous improvement.
- Innovative sharing of public and private resources to produce positive results.
- Exceptional efforts that make a demonstrable, positive difference in people's lives.
The awards may go to staff at any level, involved in any aspect of our work - from direct service to clients, patients or communities to the many support and administrative tasks that keep DHS moving forward.
We need your help. I plan to give a set of Director's Excellence Awards in late September. So, we are now seeking nominations, which can come from any DHS employee or partner.
There is no formal nomination form. A nomination consists of a few paragraphs explaining why the nominee should receive an award — with concrete examples. The name and phone number of the person who submits the nomination should also be included.
Please submit these to your manager as soon as possible. Managers must review nominations and pass them along to the DHS assistant director for their cluster by August 13. To stay on schedule, managers may set deadlines before this date for you to submit nominations.
The selection process. Assistant directors will each select a few nominees from their clusters for further consideration, and the Cabinet will then help me pick the final, department-wide recipients.
Each recipient will receive an engraved award to display in his or her work area. Award recipients will be featured in my weekly message, in our Staff News online newsletter and in releases to local media.
I'm proud of the creativity, commitment and determination that our employees bring to their work, and I'm looking forward to presenting Director's Excellence Awards to honor our finest achievements.
To learn more. You can find information about the awards on our Web site. Just visit the DHS home page and click on Staff tools, just below the main heading.
2. Reaction to the message about the DHS Leadership Academy
I want to thank those of you who told us of your concern with the way information about the DHS Leadership Academy was communicated in last week's message.
As you may recall, the Academy will be available to employees at or above Salary Range 26. However, this by no means suggests that employees in other classifications are not valued or respected, or that our department doesn't recognize their leadership skill or potential. I apologize for leaving some of you with this impression.
Perhaps some additional information about the Leadership Academy and our training plans will help.
The Academy is intended for employees in mid- or senior-level management or professional positions who are seeking additional training in leadership principles.
In addition, graduates of the first Academy recommended a minimum salary range for participants so there would be a similar level of experience in the class, allowing the training to be more focused.
Although employees below Salary Range 26 are not the target audience for this particular program, I believe that DHS must draw on the leadership interests, skills and potential of employees at all levels.
So, we are developing training for staff who are new to management or who would like to move into management. This is an important part of our training plan, and we expect to roll out those classes in the fall.
As we refine our training programs, we have the opportunity not only to strengthen our department, but also to help employees reach their own career goals. This means offering programs that are useful to our people at all stages of their careers.
I always appreciate your feedback about these messages, and encourage you to let me know how the messages are received.
3. Budget development information for public meetings is on the Web
Two primary pieces of the DHS 2005-07 budget package, Policy Option Packages (POPs) and Budget Reduction Options, are now available on our Web site.
We will be sharing this information at public meetings scheduled to take place in Medford, Bend, Salem, Portland and Newport in the next two weeks.
The POPs are proposed additions to the base budget in areas that we believe are priorities.
As you review the reduction options, remember that these are not included in our proposed budget. But all state agencies are required by law to prepare a list of reductions for the Governor and Legislature if necessary to balance the state budget. These are difficult choices, but our list could provide a guide if this is required.
Our Agency Budget Request for 2005-07 will go to the Governor by Sept. 1. He will then prepare a statewide budget to submit to the 2005 Legislature.
You can find our recently posted information, and a schedule of budget meetings on the DHS budget Web site.
It is important that we get input on our budget from the public, so please remember to spread word about these budget meetings.
4. Consolidation of state data centers and networks
In line with the Governor's initiative to streamline government and save money, the state has announced it will initiate the detailed implementation planning phase for the consolidation of its main data centers and networks.
This is an extremely important milestone for the state. I was the project sponsor for this consolidation while at DAS, and remain very committed to it. I am proud that DHS will be one of the agencies at the forefront of this consolidation.
Compelling business case. A key factor in the decision to begin the detailed planning effort was that a "compelling" business case had been demonstrated from both a financial and operational perspective. It was determined that the consolidation should allow the state to achieve substantial savings, as well as demonstrate a greater level of accountability.
In addition, a consolidated infrastructure will lay the foundation for standardization and increased system and data integration. It will also make technology-enabled business processes possible.
In its recommendation to proceed with detailed planning, the Governing Board also proposed building the new data center in Salem.
The current planning phase is due to be completed in the fall. I will keep you informed of key developments.
5. Food for thought
"You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself."
— Harry Firestone
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This message is intended for all Department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.
If you have a disability and need a document on this Web site to be provided to you in another format, please send an email to dhs.forms@state.or.us or call (503) 945-7021, fax (503) 373-7690 or TTY (503) 947-5080. If you know of others who need this accommodation, please let them know it is available.
Oregon Department of Human Services
Director's Office
500 Summer St. NE E15, Salem, OR 97301-1097
Phone: (503) 945-5944
Fax: (503) 378-2897
TTY: (503) 947-6214
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