Administrative

The organizational structure of your administrative services can impact how services are delivered and managed

While organizational structures do not guarantee operational success, the ability to manage service delivery is impacted by the organizational structure in place. Our evaluations of organizational structure consider many factors including:

• • Adequacy of support staff
• • Grouping of complementary services into a single division
• • Management oversight and protocols
• • Number of reporting levels
• • Span of control
• • Supervisory position utilization.

By evaluating these components of the current structure, we can develop alternative organizational structures and provide analysis of their benefits and detriments, with the goal of ultimately identifying the best configuration for your department.

Determine administrative service staffing needs through an in-depth understanding of service levels, workloads, and alternative ways of managing work

Ensuring that administrative services are appropriately staffed – both in terms of numbers and classifications of staff – is key to providing services. Our analysis will assist your organization in making critical staffing decisions based upon existing and expected workloads, and develop a plan to ensure each position is functioning at its highest potential.

Our consultants have technical expertise in each administrative service function to ensure that the unique demands of your operation are considered in determining staffing requirements.

Case Study: Salt Lake County

Effective performance management systems provide long-term benefits for managing and developing personnel

The use of performance management systems is widespread throughout local government. However, a high percentage of organizations express dissatisfaction with their systems and the results they achieve.

We can assist you in developing a performance management system that meets your organization’s needs. Areas discussed with clients in the process of developing new systems include:

• • Employee development and training plans
• • Frequency of evaluations
• • Inclusion of employee input and feedback
• • Selection of appropriate evaluation criteria
• • Training for supervisors and employees on the new system
• • Whether the system is linked with pay increases

Case Study: Volusia County TPA

Shared service models are often underutilized by communities as an alternative approach to service delivery

As governments continue to look for ways to enhance service delivery while controlling costs, shared services models are increasingly being considered. This approach can be used effectively for a variety of administrative services, including:

• • Finance
• • Human resources
• • Information technology
• • Procurement

Shared services can be provided through joint powers authorities, intergovernmental agreements, contracts, or through informal arrangements.

The Matrix Consulting Group has extensive experience evaluating different models and developing frameworks for communities to be able to meet their objectives. This includes developing service level agreements, reviewing existing contracts, and developing governance models.

Case Study: Avon, CT

An objective assessment of compliance with existing policies and procedures can identify process non-conformance issues

Many organizations have developed strong policies and procedures to guide operations, but fail to ensure compliance with them during day to day work activities. A compliance audit can identify how well your organization is complying with existing policies and procedures, identify gaps in policy, internal control risks, and/or necessary policy modifications for more effective outcomes.

Policies suitable for compliance audits include:

• • Accounts Payables
• • Accounts Receivables
• • Permit Fee
• • Calculations
• • Procurement
• • Revenue Collections
• • Utility Billing

Case Study: Riverside, CA

An evaluation of technology deployment and management practices can identify ways to more effectively provide government services

Ensuring effective technology implementation can drive organizational success. Reviews of technology can be tailored to meet your organization’s unique needs. Prior reviews have included:

• • Capital investment plans and funding
• • Operational assessments
• • RFP development for software selection
• • Software requirements development
• • Staffing analysis
• • Strategic / Long Range Business Plans

Our experience in evaluating all functions of local government, coupled with our IT experience, enables us to provide a highly technical review of IT needs and operations.

A review and redesign of internal processes can identify opportunities to streamline, automate, or reduce internal control risks

In conducting process improvement evaluations, it is important to map existing processes and evaluate how well it is understood and applied by staff. A strong process map is vital for staff training and ensuring application in a consistent manner.

In developing alternative processes, we look for opportunities to:

• • Educate users of the process on the how it operates
• • Enhance technology use
• • Maintain appropriate internal controls
• • Provide online services
• • Reduce the number of steps within the process
• • Require only the appropriate number of approvals or reviews

Our experience with dozens of municipalities provides us with a broad understanding of different approaches to processing administrative actions. Our focus is to provide a process that meets the service goals of your organization.

Organizations with adopted strategic plans experience longer-term a higher level of performance due to the framework it provides for making critical resource decisions

Adopting specific goals and objectives enables managers to link decisions regarding service provision and resource allocation to desired organizational outcomes.

A departmental strategic plan for administrative functions provides a holistic plan for achieving a more efficient, effective, and customer-focused services. With technical experts who have previously worked in administrative services positions, we can assist in developing a strategic plan that appropriately balances service requirements with a focus on customer service.