Unitad States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 5
77 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago, Illinois 60604
905R95020
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UNITED SWES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENOS1
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sustainabi« environment wh«re aii; vvater, and land resources are restored
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Oar mission is to:
Protect human health and preserve natural resources
Prevent and abate pollution to improve the environment
Serve the public with education, innovation, action, and results
Lead the way in restoring and protecting the Great Lakes
and all Midwestern ecosystems
VflLUES
Region 5 aspires to be a Region which r«p«tts all...
£9&MSii(^^
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\
United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604
March 31, 1995
To: Carol Browner, Administrator
Fred Hansen, Deputy Administrator
I am pleased to transmit to you Region 5's Reinvention Implementation Plan.
It represents the hard work of numerous staff and managers, particularly those
on our reinvention implementation team and its various subcommittees,
and those who took time to offer comments.
I'm proud that this Region took a fresh, unblinking look at our operations and
organization, and has proposed an ambitious reinvention plan.
look forward to your comments.
Valdas V, Adamki/s, Regional Administrator
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To: Valdas V. Adamkus
Regional Administrator
We a^ce pleased to present to you the Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan.
A,/ c
Ws**. c»f
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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5
Reinvention Implementation Plan
March 1995
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Contents
Introduction 1
Reinvention Goals 7
A. Shared Vision and Values 7
B. Customer Focus 8
C. Diversity 11
D. Working Collaboratively
1. Empowerment 14
2. Teams 17
3. Management Behavior 21
E. Organizational Design 24
1. Reduced Layers 26
2. 1:11 Supervisor Ratio 27
3. Redeployment of "Headquarters" Positions . . 30
4. Flexibility 31
5. Attributes 32
Evaluation 36
Composite Milestone Chart 37
Conclusion 39
Figures
Appendix A. Work Processes
Appendix B. Organizational Description
Appendix C. Workforce Development
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Introduction
Need for Change
Region 5 is committed to the Agency's reinvention effort because
environmental protection in the United States is at a crossroads. The effectiveness
and the relevancy of the federal government's efforts to protect the environment
and improve the quality of life for its citizens are being questioned. There are
several compelling reasons for changing the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the Region 5 Office. Discussing these reasons is not intended to
discourage or dishearten, but rather to energize and motivate every employee to
meet the challenges that lie ahead.
The nature of the egregious environmental problems confronting the nation
25 years ago has changed. Today's more subtle problems combined with
socio-economic impacts occurring across the nation and around the globe
will require different strategies, different measures of success, greater
flexibility, and new partnerships.
Our key partners in environmental protection, the States, the Tribes and
local governments, are critical of our methods and dissatisfied with our
delivery of services, and are calling for fundamental change in our respective
roles and responsibilities.
Major segments of the public, our essential customers, view the Agency as
a detached bureaucracy, whose actions are defined solely by laws and
regulations that appear to be disconnected from the economic and social
conditions that often frame the environmental issues we attempt to resolve.
Our employees, our most valuable resource, increasingly grow frustrated and
cynical in the face of seemingly intractable inefficiencies in their everyday
work. In addition, the work they have been called on to perform has
changed over the years to the point that they often feel isolated and out of
touch with the very environment and people they are trying to protect.
We have many past successes to be proud of and many opportunities for
future success. To seize those opportunities and realize those successes,
fundamental change is necessary; not only changes to the organizational structures
and the administrative and management processes of the Agency, but changes to
the very culture of the organization.
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Region 5 Re ntion Implementation Pfan March 1995
In Region 5, we do not believe that the kind of change necessary to
effectively respond to the above challenges can or will be accomplished overnight.
Rather, we believe that a reasoned and sustained effort to change the culture of
the Agency is needed. This Reinvention Implementation Plan (hereafter, the Plan)
is our first important step in effecting this transformation in Region 5. We believe
that it positions us to undertake further changes in the future as the entire Agency
continues to evolve in order to meet the environmental challenges of today and
tomorrow. We began our reinvention efforts in 1992 in response to the challenges
listed above. However, it is clear that the pace and urgency of our efforts must be
accelerated.
Goals of the Region 5 Reinvention Plan
In undertaking this organizational and workforce transformation, we will
achieve the following goals:
First and foremost, Region 5 will make a significant contribution to ensuring
a future where air, water, and land resources are restored and protected to
benefit all life. We strive to be an organization that is more flexible,
innovative, customer focused and responsive to the needs of the
environment and the people of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes region;
Region 5 will be an organization that respects all people, personally and
professionally, and which demonstrates integrity and honesty in all our
dealings;
Region 5 employees will communicate effectively in our work and listen to
the people we serve, with a preference for action to solve problems and
achieve results;
Region 5 will provide effective leadership and build strong partnerships with
States, Tribes, and local governments, and with other agencies and non-
governmental organizations in protecting human health and the environment;
and
Region 5 will create a working atmosphere that supports and rewards its
highly motivated and well trained staff as we pursue our common vision and
share responsibility for accomplishing our mission.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Results to be Achieved
The results we expect to achieve over the next 18 months through
implementation of this Plan are:
a more flexible organization that can bring a broader range of services and
resources to bear on high priority environmental issues in an effective and
efficient manner;
a Senior Leadership Team (SLT) that works in partnership to steer the
Region towards its environmental and organizational goals and that
continues to move Region 5 from the sole use of media-specific regulation to
an integrated approach that employs flexibility, innovation and common
sense;
a greater emphasis on increasing the diversity within our workforce and
celebrating the benefits this will garner;
more effective implementation of community-based environmental protection
to achieve significant improvements in areas of federal interest;
a workforce that fosters teamwork and entrusts responsibility to the lowest
levels of the organization;
effective use of cross-Regional teams to facilitate multi-media coordination
and best use our collective tools;
greater efficiencies through shorter approval chains, faster process times on
routine actions, and higher quality products, information, and decisions;
a streamlined organization that meets the Agency's supervisor to staff ratio
of 1:11; and
improved relationships with our partners and the public through open and
honest involvement in formulating and implementing actions to protect the
Midwest environment.
Measuring progress and success is always a challenge. We intend to use
the full spectrum of indicators from programmatic to environmental and human
health measures. We will track and report the key environmental indicators and
pursue the goals adopted by the Agency under the National Environmental Goals
Project. We will use customer and employee feedback to gauge progress in our
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
cultural changes, and we will attempt to quantify concrete cost-savings and
benefits of our internal process changes.
Barriers Ahead
The barriers to change confronting us are many, but several are paramount:
We must work with employees that are cynical that significant change can
occur. Over the past 10 years, employees have experienced numerous
management tools and techniques, each promising a fundamental change in
the Agency's culture. Many are reticent to invest time and energy in what is
viewed as a distraction from "the mission" of the Agency.
We must break old habits, behaviors, and lines of authority that result in
separations within the Region, fragmented responses to environmental
problems, and redundancy in the efforts and actions taken within the
Region.
We must garner the resources, time, and expertise needed to train
management and staff to undertake a new way of doing business and to
equip them with the skills needed to be successful outside a command and
control environment.
We must manage the pace of change in a manner that is sensitive to the
needs of our workforce and that does not compromise our values.
We need to redefine our value-added role as the States assume more of the
routine media-specific activities, as we absorb potential budget cuts and as
Congress and the Administration direct changes.
Finally, we must maintain diversity in our supervisory ranks and workforce in
general as the number of supervisory positions and overall number of
employees are reduced.
We believe the approach we are taking with this Plan is the most effective
step we can take at this time to position the Region to confront these immediate
barriers.
Region 5's Approach to Reinvention
in the Fall of 1993, the Regional Administrator chartered a Region-wide
Streamlining Task Force to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of our work
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
processes, to recommend specific steps to implement the principles of the National
Performance Review (NPR), and to comply with the Executive Orders related to the
NPR. The product of that Task Force, which was submitted to the Administrator
in February 19941, has been the basis for all of Region 5's reinvention activities
over the past year.
Reinventing is everyone's job; it does not belong solely to those who
participate in task forces and workgroups. Accordingly, each Division and Office
prepared draft Workforce Management Plans that outlined specific steps to meet
the requirement of the Executive Orders, such as meeting the 1:11 supervisory
ratio and building and maintaining a diverse workforce. A number of pilot projects
and process changes were undertaken and are described generally in the following
pages and in greater detail in Appendix A - Work Processes.
In June 1994, the Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Team (RIT) was
convened to serve as a forum for steering the reinvention efforts, as an
accountability center for progress, and as a conduit for communicating between
the senior management and the 1350 employees of the Region as the reinvention
work progressed. To implement the February 1994 Streamlining Plan, the RIT
focused on two important areas to achieve immediate results: the Performance
Management Process and the Regional Delegations. Joint management and staff
workgroups for those topics were chartered to rethink the processes from the
ground up. Work continues on these and other topics, under the auspices of the
RIT.
In August 1994, again as a response to specific recommendations in the
February 1994 Streamlining Report, the Regional Administrator convened the
Optimization Task Force (OTF) to study and recommend a set of operational and
organizational changes needed to prepare Region 5 for its future environmental
challenges. The work of the OTF is described in general in the following pages of
the Plan and in greater detail in Appendix B - Organization Design. The
organizational design will be further detailed in a reorganization proposal that will
be submitted before June 30, 1995.
From its beginning in November 1993, the streamlining/reinventing
processes have been characterized by a high level of stakeholder participation,
especially among Region 5 Employees. The first Streamlining Task Force, which
met during December 1993 and January 1994, involved 35 employees,
representative of the Regional workforce in all respects. The Streamlining Task
1 Reinventing Region 5: A Plan for Streamlining and Continuously Improving
Regional Operations. February 7, 1994. USEPA - Region 5, Chicago, Illinois.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Force implemented a full-scale communications strategy, in which
stakeholders were sources of key information, as well as recipients. This involved
"town meetings," availability sessions, several surveys, fact sheets, LAN-based
updates, a document repository in the library, and written comments from about
400 employees.
Since work began in May 1994, the Reinvention Implementation Team, the
Optimization Task Force, and a series of related workgroups have involved more
than 100 employees. Workgroups developed specific surveys on Performance
Management, Awards, and the Optimization Task Force draft proposal, and
distributed them via LAN-based survey software, that provides instantaneous
tabulation and analysis of responses.
The draft proposal from the Optimization Task Force (OTF), released in
November 1994, generated the most interest. Approximately 300 employees
attended two "town meetings" on the proposal; many voiced specific concerns and
questions. More than 120 Region 5 staff members submitted written comments
(some 450 pages) to the OTF. Some 155 employees responded to a LAN-based
survey on the proposal in December 1994.
The OTF sought feedback from external stakeholders, as well. We received
comments from seven other EPA offices, 12 state and local environmental, public
health and agriculture departments, and seven private parties (regulated companies
and environmental groups). We received written comments from ten tribes, plus a
position paper from a four-state tribal consortium (19 tribes). We met with
representatives of one regulated industry, and obtained feedback on reinventing
initiatives from states during our series of strategic planning meetings in the past
three months.
The written comments and survey data were reviewed by each member of
the OTF; the comments were summarized in a separate database, as well. We
have prepared responsiveness summaries for both staff and stakeholders; copies of
all written comments, LAN survey results, the database, and this document will be
made available in each Division and Office.
Region 5 has one collective bargaining unit, which has been notified of key
events and invited to review documents. Participation has been minimal, however,
and the union is considered inactive for most purposes.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Reinvention Goals
A. Shared Vision and Values
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
Region 5 has a long tradition of excellence in supporting the Agency's
fundamental mission of protecting human health and the environment. Prior to the
late 1980's the vision, mission, and values of the Region were largely defined by
the individual Divisions and Offices in relation to the primary statutes they were
charged with implementing. Then in the late 1980s, Regional Administrator Valdas
V. Adamkus signed the Region 5 Visions for Excellence, a set of visionary
statements that the Region 5 workforce strives to meet in its daily work. Region
5's Visions for Excellence emphasize: employee pride; environmental results;
career growth; open, environmentally beneficial decision-making; and, effective
governmental partnerships.
Building on the earlier effort, the senior management began revisions to the
Region's vision statement in order to clarify our mission and articulate the key
values that would serve as our foundation during times of change. This process
began at a senior management retreat in June of 1992 where cultural change was
the focus of discussion. Over the next six months, senior management developed
a draft, vision, mission and values statement. To build a broad base of support
across the Region, we implemented a two-step cascading process. First, senior
management in each organization met with its management team to explain and
support the process and the drafts developed. All managers and supervisors then
provided recommendations for revisions which were incorporated into the
statement. Second, a revised draft was provided to all employees to get their
feedback. After considerable rework, the Region 5 Vision/Mission/Values
Statement was published in final form in December, 1993.
Accomplishments
The full text of the Region 5 Vision/Mission/Values Statement is provided on
the inside cover of this document. It has been adopted by all staff in Region 5,
and individual Divisions and Offices may supplement it with versions tailored to
their unique functions.
The operating principles that are important for Region 5 employees are:
respect for all people, integrity and honesty in our dealings, effective
communication and listening to the people we serve; a bias for action to solve
problems and achieve results; effective leadership and strong partnerships.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The Region 5 vision, mission, and values will serve as our guideposts for the
reinventing work to come. Specifically, the Vision/Mission/Values statement will
be actively-used by the SLT in establishing its yearly priorities, its cross-regional
teams, and its deployment of resources, as well as, being used on a daily basis to
guide important policy and implementation decisions.
B. Customer Focus
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
Prior to initiating reinvention activities in Region 5 there was a conscious
interest in becoming a customer driven organization, but there was not a clear cut
definition of "customer" among all the Divisions and Offices. To further
complicate matters, our multiple customers have differing needs, often times
conflicting. There was a consensus that the Agency and government as a whole
needed to do a better job of communicating and listening to all of those we affect
and who are affected by our actions or inactions. However, customer interaction
was often reactive, i.e., responding to requests from the public, to Congressional
inquiries, or to reporters' calls. Furthermore, there was little recognition of
"internal" customers and the interdependencies among various offices and
programs within the Region. Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM)
principles in the Region through extensive training of management and employees
generally increased our understanding of the importance of customers and our
sensitivity to their needs.
Accomplishments
Since reinvention activities began, there have been a number of
accomplishments and new directions throughout Region 5. Customer focus
committees and teams have been set up in virtually all of the Offices and Divisions
with the charge to develop better methods and activities to communicate with
specific customers and constituents, as well as, with the broader public.
Customer oriented, public involvement efforts initiated by Region 5 in
undertaking the Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative have been heralded by the
Administrator as a model for public participation in Agency rulemakings. In
addition, our continued emphasis on community-based environmental management
through our Great Lakes Program and our special geographic initiatives in
Southeast Chicago and Northwest Indiana, East St. Louis, the Tri-State Area, and
Southeast Michigan, is bringing Regional staff in greater one-on-one contact with
the public we serve and reinforcing our emphasis on customer focus.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The new Senior Leadership Team has included "feedback from constituency
outreach" as one of the guiding principles for its strategic planning process.
Throughout the course of our Optimization meetings, senior staff expressed the
need to go out and meet with the Region's key interest groups so that they can
engage these groups in a two-way dialogue and.incorporate input from these
groups in the Region's strategic planning process.
In addition, the Region completed a joint EPA/State Strategic Plan2 that
established the basis for a streamlined, consensus-based planning process which
eliminates burdensome review and oversight of the States. In 1994, we initiated a
similar strategic planning process with the Region 5 Tribes.
Actions and Processes to Meet the Customer Focus Goal
The first priorities are to complete the strategic planning process with the
Tribes and continue implementation of the revised planning process with the States
under the joint Strategic Plan. We will be focusing over the next year on
integrating this planning process with the Performance Partnerships called for by
this Administration.
The Office of Public Affairs (OPA) has added two new functions that
address the need to communicate more effectively with the Region's customers.
OPA will focus on "constituency outreach" and "compliance outreach" under the
new reorganization plan. OPA will enhance its constituency outreach efforts by
expending more time on identifying and communicating with key Regional interest
groups and educating them about Agency initiatives. In an effort to reach another
key customer, the regulated community, OPA will work in tandem with the
program Offices and Divisions to educate business and industry on new regulations
and policies.
We will continue to survey the broader regional community to understand
their interests and concerns and to use their responses to modify our approaches.
To coordinate the Region's activities, a subcommittee of the RIT will be established
to develop a Region 5 Customer Service Plan for implementation beginning in fiscal
year 1996.
2USEPA - Region 5. 1993. Strategic Directions for the Midwest Environment:
1995-1999. EPA 905-X-93-001. Chicago, Illinois.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Region 5 is committed to implementing community-based environmental
management on an even broader scale than in the past. In 1996, we will commit
20% of our Regional resources to community-based efforts and in doing so we will
work directly with our customers and our partners to address their concerns. We
will provide leadership where appropriate, serve as dedicated partners when
needed, and always seek to enable others through value-added services.
The OTF has identified the major functions and the key processes with
which our organization will connect with its customers. By grouping these
functions according to the customers served, we can respond in ways that assure
alignment with it customers needs. Our key processes are shown on Figure 1 -
Cross Program Processes which is located at the end of this Plan. Where these
processes cross several organizations, the Region will consider whether a Regional
Team is appropriate so that a "process-owner" is identified, again to ensure an
improved connection with our customers.
Further specific steps and activities to meet our reinvention goals are being
developed by the Region 5 Divisions and Offices. For example:
a survey of public knowledge and concerns with regard to environmental
problems in the Great Lakes Basin will be completed by GLNPO during 1995;
additional training is being planned on how to more effectively listen,
facilitate a dialogue and host productive Superfund public meetings;
the Office of Regional Counsel is currently drafting a client relations plan;
the Software Development Unit is tailoring an interactive computer program
. to assist State and local entities in the redevelopment of "brownfield"
properties; and
the Region will consider cross-media teams where common processes are
used to connect with our key customers.
Deadlines and Milestones
Complete the 1996 State/EPA program planning process using the
streamlined procedures envisioned during the strategic planning process
(June 1995).
Complete the joint EPA/Tribal strategic planning process for the Minnesota
Tribes (April 1995).
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan
March 1995
Complete the joint EPA/Tribal strategic planning process for the Michigan
and Wisconsin Tribes (June 1995).
Deploy .resources (20% at a minimum) to implement our broader community-
based efforts (October 1995).
Complete the Great Lakes Basin public survey (January 1996).
Complete the Office of Regional Counsel client relations plan (May 1995).
Establish a standing subcommittee of the RIT to develop a Region-wide
customer service plan (June 1995).
C. DiversJtv
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
In 1990, Region 5 created a Multi-Cultural Diversity Task Force (MCDTF) as
a special task force of the Human Resources Council. The MCDTF was intended
to provide a forum for development of cultural diversity training for the Region and
to create a cultural diversity information repository in the Regional library. Thus,
Region 5 had instituted a program to promote cultural diversity long before the
advent of the reinvention process.
Civilian Labor Force (1990)
Region 5 Profile: Race/National Origin
February 1994 Data
NOTE:P
4J%
Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action hiring does not
equate with a culturally diverse workforce, but it does provide for a strong starting
point. Our February 1994 Streamlining Plan documented that Region 5 had
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Region S Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
achieved parity in some areas with the 1990 Civilian Labor Force (CLF) goals
established by the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) (as shown in the above charts).
AAPs were developed by each Office and Division, and although some Divisions
and Offices were close to parity in overall workforce statistics; others needed to
move more aggressivelv to reach parity.
Accomplishments
Between 1990 and 1994, the MCDTF retained a contractor to serve as
facilitator for the task force and, later, to conduct focus group sessions within the
Region. Information acquired through these focus groups was used to develop a
Regional cultural diversity concept paper, to design cultural diversity training for
the entire Region, and to serve as a basis for planning events to promote cultural
diversity. One important result of the MCDTF was to develop an operational
definition of a culturally diverse organization which was adopted by the Region:
"A culturally diverse organization consists of everyone within the
organization and everything they bring and contribute to the
workplace. This definition includes, but is not limited to: cultural
background, life roles/styles, gender, age, religions/beliefs, abilities/
disabilities, nationality! race, color, sexual orientation, ethnicity,
values, and life experiences."
At the end of 1994, upon recommendation of the Regional Reinvention
Team, primary responsibility for promoting diversity was returned to the individual
Divisions and Offices. However, an ongoing Region-wide focus on cultural
diversity is provided through a standing committee of the HRC.
Our current workforce profile in . _
comparison with the CLF statistics R*lon 5 Proflte: Race/National Origin
reflects that... FY1995 Data
Actions and Processes to Meet the
Cultural Diversity Goal
Region 5 views commitment to
cultural diversity as a constant and
ongoing process. It is not our intent to
set a diversity goal (numerical or
otherwise) and declare victory once that
goal is reached. We will evaluate our
progress semi-annually through diversity
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
progress reports prepared by each Division/Office, and through an annual report to
examine the Region's progress.
Region 5 is committed to enhancing cultural diversity, but in order to achieve
our goals we must recognize that important barriers exist, barriers which are
imposed by the reinvention process itself, as noted earlier. In particular, as we
streamline and optimize our organization in order to achieve the 1:11 supervisor-to-
staff ratio, we are committed to maintaining the diversity of our current
supervisory structure as it relates to ethnicity and gender and hope to actually
increase it in the future. To build upon this, we are committed to:
take steps to ensure that we create meaningful employment opportunities at
the same grade and pay for those who voluntarily leave or are reassigned
from supervisory and managerial positions;
work toward maintaining parity with the CLF (Civilian Labor Force) in
supervisory and non-supervisory positions by October 1998;
increase diversity in higher-graded (GS-13/14/15), non-supervisory positions,
such as team managers and experts;
ensure diversity on cross-regional and intra-Division/Office teams;
promote diversity in all developmental opportunities, such as rotations,
details, training, and mentoring opportunities;
focus on diversity in the awards process;
continue to pursue affirmative action goals in whatever limited opportunities
exist for hiring and promotion; and
continue to promote cultural awareness through region-wide activities.
As the reinvention process moves ahead, each Division and Office will
continuously review its opportunities to achieve organizational goals and will report
to the RA/DRA annually. The Civil Rights staff and the Special Emphasis Program
Managers (SEPMs) will assist the program offices by providing feedback and by
providing candidates for jobs. The Region will particularly focus its efforts on those
groups that continue to be under-represented in the Regional workforce when
compared to the CLF.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
President Clinton has said that,"The Government does not have one person
to waste." Clearly, the goal of the Region 5 reinvention implementation plan is to
have an organizational culture which understands and values diversity, a culture in
which all employees are valued members of the Region and one in which
employees, supervisors and managers collectively take ownership for achieving and
maintaining a diverse workforce.
Deadlines and Milestones
All Divisions and Offices complete updated Workforce Management Plans
(March 1996).
All Divisions and Offices report to the RA/DRA annually on progress towards
achieving the goal of CLF parity (October of each year).
Achieve parity with the CLF (Civilian Labor Force) in supervisory and non-
supervisory positions in all divisions and offices by October 1998.
D.1. Working Collaboratively Empowerment
State of tha Organization Prior to Reinvention
Historically, Region 5 has operated under a standard chain of command,
with responsibility and accountability increasing from staff up through first line
supervisors, Section Chiefs, Branch Chiefs, Division Directors, and, finally, the
Regional Administrator. The degree of freedom and responsibility given to staff,
particularly at the more senior grades, has varied among the Divisions and Offices.
However, in most programs, high-performing staff have been individually entrusted
by their supervisors and managers with greater responsibility, autonomy, and
authority to make decisions. They have also been recognized and awarded for
their efforts, and, where possible, promoted to higher grade levels, including
Regional and National expert positions, as well as supervisory and management
positions.
Region 5 began moving towards greater empowerment of employees
through the implementation of TQM in 1991 and 1992. Emphasis was placed on
empowering quality action teams to evaluate and modify ongoing processes and to
achieve more efficient business operations.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March J995
Accomplishments
Empowerment-with its variety of definitions and understandings-is a
significant theme in the NPR, and is one of the most effective means to achieving
a reinvented organization. True empowerment requires a significant change in
thinking in the Region's culture, particularly between the first line
supervisor/manager and the staff. Region 5 focused early on this issue in its
February 1994 Streamlining Plan, and proposed the following concept, adapted
from Stephen Covey's book, Principle-Centered Leadership3:
"Empowered individuals have the knowledge skill, desire, and
opportunity to personally succeed in a way that leads to collective
organizational success."
Covey's model includes six conditions for successful empowerment: 1) "Win-win
Agreements" between managers and staff; 2} self-supervision; 3) helpful structures
and systems; 4) accountability; 5) appropriate skills; and 6) appropriate character.
In a survey of Region 5 employees completed in December 1993, more than
two-thirds of those responding agreed with this concept and with the associated
description of accountability. The respondents also clearly articulated the benefits
and disadvantages of empowerment, as well as a series of barriers to it. This
baseline assessment indicated first that existing systems, such as performance
agreements, and awards, did not support clear accountability; and secondly, that
supervisors needed to be willing to explore change and relinquish control.
Region 5 divisions and offices have undertaken several projects to enhance
employee empowerment (Appendix A - Work Processes). Region-wide, a
workgroup has identified and recommended a series of formal redelegations and
requests for redelegation authority in the area of enforcement. Another Region 5
workgroup developed and proposed a performance management pilot that may
enhance employee accountability by streamlining the performance agreement and
adding a "win-win" component to it. The regional awards process is currently
under review, and will be designed to support employees who assume greater
responsibility with successful results.
Several organizational changes, such as a pilot eliminating a layer of
management in the Office of Superfund, increases the supervisor to staff ratio
from the previous 1:8 up to 1:20 and the use of self-directed team approaches,
have forced organizations to shift authority to staff. In these situations, line
3Stephen R. Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership. 1992 Edition, p. 212.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
supervisors have found it impossible to exercise the traditional level of supervision
and have gained some insight as a result which is being used to design the future
organization.
Finally, a number of offices have shortened sign-off and informal authorities,
so that many employees need only the concurrence of their immediate supervisor
to proceed with a given document or decision.
Actions and Processes to Meet the Goal of Empowerment
Region 5 will focus on several areas that are the foundation of successful
empowerment:
Defining the expected changes in the role of the supervisor in an
organization characterized by staff empowerment. The role of supervisors
and managers from technical experts with management responsibilities to
coaches and mentors whose primary responsibilities are leadership, removing
barriers to staff performance, staff development, and financial integrity;
revising performance agreements to ensure that the empowerment and
accountability of all employees is tailored to their specific responsibilities,
' and moving toward "360 degree" performance evaluations;
training supervisors and staff on the concepts of empowerment and
accountability will be conducted, so that those implementing the concepts
have mutual understanding of expectations, consequences, methods used,
and plans for corrective action, if needed. There are several commercially
available programs on this topic, such as "Flight of the Buffalo," or
"Reinventing Management";
preparing managers for a range of empowerment and accountability, as well
as a range of performance, based on staff competence and willingness.
Region 5 will adapt the "Empowerment Tool" originated in OPPTS, or
implement an equivalent document on a pilot basis to facilitate this process.
adopting a team management philosophy more broadly across the Region
based on the successful implementation of this approach in several pilot
organizations (e.g., WMD, PAB and GLNPO);
reducing management review and approval of the work products of fully
trained staff that are functioning at a quality performance level;
16
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
promoting empowerment methods, monitoring their progress, and sharing
successes across programs; and
pursuing redelegations to the lowest level feasible in the organization.
Milestones/Evaluation
Complete Regional Training Plan (July 1995).
Complete delegation review and implement revised delegations (September
1995).
Implement cross-Regional teams (October 1995).
Implement revised performance appraisal process (February 1995).
Complete revisions to the awards process (August 1995).
Re-assess progress through an employee survey (March 1996).
D.2. Working Coliaboratively - Teams
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
Prior to our reinvention activities in FY94, a number of cross-Regional teams
had been formed to implement new strategies, such as environmental justice, or to
address multi-media environmental issues at key geographic locations, such as
Northwest Indiana. In some instances, implementation was not as effective as it
could have been for a number of reasons:
Teams received little direction from managers with respect to desired
results;
supervisors and staff did not always clearly establish roles and
responsibilities;
»
teams were not adequately staffed and provided with the resources to
effectively carry out their mission;
team Managers were GS-12 or GS-13 level employees with limited authority;
and
17
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March J995
issues being addressed by teams were considered marginal or beyond the
scope of "base program" activities and no formal framework for
accountability existed.
In spite of these problems, some notable successes were achieved,
particularly in the areas of multi-media enforcement, pollution prevention, the Great
Lakes Program, and specific place-based initiatives such as the Waukegan Harbor
remediation project.
Accomplishments
The Region has come closer to achieving a 1:11 supervisor to staff ratio,
and to minimizing duplication, by encouraging divisions and offices to pilot the use
of teams within their organizations. Some divisions and offices within the Region
are already using teams, or plan to implement the team concept in the near future.
A few notable examples include:
The Planning and Management Division (PMO) has used the team concept
successfully to deal with special projects (computer upgrades, etc.) and to
flatten their organization to achieve a 1:11 supervisor to staff ratio.
GLNPO operates under a team management approach. Ten permanent
operating teams have been formed around three key areas: policy
development and resource management; technical assistance; and
information management and distribution.
WMD formed teams to address environmental justice and tribal issues.
Membership on those teams included persons from all programs within the
Division. Each group was called upon to prepare a major planning document
on behalf of the Division.
The Office of Superfund piloted self-directed, cross-office management
teams during FY94 which became permanent teams for FY95, including:
Changing Role of the Secretary, Role of States in Superfund, Human
Resources Management, Contracts Management, and several others. Teams
are now formed routinely to assess new Superfund sites and develop
comprehensive response strategies.
The Water Division (WD) has formed cross-program project teams and is
conducting team training for staff. During 1994 an internal team worked
collaboratively to develop the Region 5 Watershed Strategy.
18
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The Region uses a team concept in planning and conducting multi-media
inspections at facilities throughout the Region. Team members from the Divisions
and Offices and ORC work together throughout the enforcement process, taking an
inspection from the planning stage through the conclusion of any resulting
enforcement action.
Those organizations piloting the team management approach have
experienced a number of positive changes to the work "culture", including:
improved Staff abilities to identify common goals and share responsibility for
implementation across divisions and offices and with organizations outside
of the Agency.
broader staff involvement in and understanding of key support processes,
such as, budget development, communication and reporting, health and
safety;
more open communication on important issues and problems and the
development of joint solutions from diverse groups in a faster time-frame;
a greater degree of certainty and understanding of expectations when team
performance agreements are used; and
an improved system of accountability when team performance agreements
are coordinated with individual performance agreements.
Those divisions and offices that are relying on team-based decision making
have found that employees accept more authority, take more risks, cultivate a
variety of skills, and are more creative. We have become more aware of the
benefits to completing our work in a collaborative fashion and we believe that
working in teams creates employee ownership in the product and helps to increase
morale, productivity, flexibility, quality, commitment, and customer satisfaction.
Actions and Processes to Meet the Team Goal
During its deliberations on organizational redesign, the OTF recognized that
for the Region to meet its environmental goals there needed to be significantly
greater multi-media coordination and improved collaboration among Divisions and
Offices at all levels. To achieve this goal, the OTF decided to move to broader
implementation of a formal team management approach to address the major
environmental issues (e.g., Tribal assistance, enforcement coordination, pollution
prevention) and to continue implementation of community-based environmental
19
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
protection. The Region's commitment to cross-Regional teams was further
reinforced by the decision to maintain media divisions, rather than reorganizing
purely by function or ecosystem.
The OTF has developed a framework for the cross-Regional team concept
and consistent operating principles which build upon successes already
experienced in a number of programs. Highly skilled team managers will be
selected and will report directly to a SLT "sponsor". Teams reporting to the SLT
will be reviewed on at least an annual basis to determine if a continuing need for
the team exists or if other needs are more important. Yearly budgeting and
resource allocation by the SLT will encourage changes in the mission and
composition of teams reporting to them. The SLT sponsor for each team will be
responsible for assisting with changes in team composition as the demands of the
project change. The Divisions and Offices will recognize the priority work of the
teams, due to the Division/Office Director's participation on the SLT, and wiU
accommodate the resource needs through redirection of program resources.
To implement this approach successfully, team training is essential. As
noted above, the Region has committed to developing a Training Plan by July 31,
1995, which will emphasize team building and team implementation skills for
managers, team managers, and employees.
Deadlines and Milestones
Evaluate existing teams, determine which cross-Regional teams to establish
and define their priorities, expected results, arc SLT sponsors (April 1995).
Draft and classify Position Descriptions for team managers, prepare job
analysis and rating plan; post positions (May 1995).
Conduct interviews and make final selections for team manager positions
(June 1995).
Determine team membership (July 1995).
Provide training for managers and team managers in accordance with the
Regional Training Plan (July 1995).
Team performance agreements and budgets finalized (October 1995).
20
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
D.3. Working Coliaboratively - Management Behavior
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
In the past, Region 5 has operated primarily with a divisional or program
focus which conformed with the Agency's program planning and budgeting
processes. The senior managers of the Region often operated independently
because their responsibilities were defined by statute and regulation. As a result,
staff focus and accountability was often bounded by programmatic and regulatory
responsibilities. There was limited communication among programs and, at times,
among offices within a single program. This resulted in a "stove pipe"
organizational design, with communication occurring from Headquarters to the
Region to the State along programmatic lines. This design, with its clear lines of
authority and accountability, was effective in dealing with some of the worst
pollution problems in the nation.
Accomplishments
As the environmental issues have changed, as our understanding of the
inter-relatedness of the issues has improved, and as our analytical tools and
technologies have advanced, the requirement for integrated, cross-program
solutions for complex environmental problems has become quite clear. Since
1990, Region 5 has been supporting TQM. This initiative has brought about some
changes in management behavior, such as, increased use of facilitators and more
consultation and joint problem-solving on,process issues of common concern.
The Region's successes in a number of program and community-based
initiatives, such as, multi-media enforcement, the Great Lakes Water Quality
Initiative, and our geographic initiatives, has stimulated a change in behavior at the
management and staff levels. These endeavors have often fostered greater
communication and cooperation among those involved.
Those divisions and offices piloting team approaches have also experienced
some success in redefining the roles and skills of their managers as coaches and
facilitators responsible for removing barriers to employee productivity and
creativity.
However, the Region as a whole has not gone far enough. The senior
management of Region 5 believes that a broader cultural change is essential if we
are to be successful in our reinvention efforts and, most importantly, if we are
going to meet the environmental challenges ahead and serve the public better.
21
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Specific Actions and Processes to Meet the Management Behavior Goal
Re-inventing an organization must begin at the top. The Region 5 senior
managers recognize the need for a unified leadership team with a shared vision for
the future and a sense of shared responsibility for achieving it, especially during
these times of change. As a result, they have committed to forming the Senior
Leadership Team (SLT). The SLT will focus on the strategic environmental and
organizational issues confronting Region 5, and building relationships with all of our
constituencies. .
The SLT will be guided by the principles and goals in the EPA Strategic Plan,
the Great Lakes Five Year Strategy, the Strategic Directions for the Midwest
Environment, the Tribal Operations Action Memorandum and feedback from
listening and learning from our constituents.
The Senior Leadership Team will:
engage in strategic planning which aligns annual priorities with regional and
national strategic goals;
deploy resources consistent with strategic goals;
form, authorize, and empower region-wide teams, select team managers,
and establish performance agreements between region-wide teams and the
SLT to carry out strategic priorities;
establish expectations and measures of success for strategic goals, and
measure progress;
initiate cultural change and continually assess the effectiveness of the
organization and identify areas of improvement;
actively build relationships with constituencies; and
rotate senior management assignments, beginning with 2 or 3 positions in
April, 1995 and consider periodic moves in the future.
This change will create greater accountability with the SLT for implementing
our stated strategic goals and defining common measures of success. Moreover,
by deploying resources consistent with shared strategic goals and through a wen-
understood collaborative process, this change will move the Region from the
22
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1395
annual, divisive, competition for resources, to sharing resources for a common
cause.
Senior management will begin operation as the SLT in April 1995 with the
possible assistance of an outside consultant to foster significant cultural change.
One of the early tasks will be crafting an operating procedure which will assure
continuing contact with Regional issues and regular reporting to the employees on
SLT accomplishments.
Cross-Region teams will be created after consideration of strategic plans,
resources and emerging issues. The teams wil.l receive a budget and a specific
sponsor from the SLT. The first business of a new team will be to create a
performance agreement with their sponsor. The negotiation of this agreement will
assist in coalescing the team and clarifying expectations.
We will shift the focus of all managers from command and control to
guiding, coaching, delegation, leadership and facilitation. This shift is supported by
the Region 5 performance evaluation pilot (Appendix A - Work Processes). This
pilot has supervisory standards that explicitly support different management
behavior as well as a 360 degree review for everyone, including managers.
Deadlines and Milestones
Begin implementation of the Senior Leadership Team (April 1995).
Evaluate existing teams and determine which cross-Regional teams to
establish, their priorities, expected results, and SLT sponsor (May 1995).
Provide training for managers and team managers in accordance with the
Regional Training Plan (July 1995).
Finalize cross-Region team performance agreements and budgets (October
1995).
Implement revised performance appraisal process with 360 degree
evaluations (October 1995).
Implement revised awards process which fosters cultural change and the
redefined roles of managers and staff (October 1995).
Rotate 2 or 3 Division/Office Directors (April 1995)
23
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Region "invention Implementation Plan March 1995
E. Organizational Design
In August of 1994, Region 5 formed an optimization task force made up of
Division and Office Directors as well as supervisors and staff level employees to
embark on the task of optimizing the Region's operations. With significant input
from Regional employees, the States environmental offices, and key external
stakeholders, the Task Force designed the framework of an organizational structure
to meet its reinvention goals. Further elaboration of the Region 5 structure is
provided in Appendix B Organization Design.
The SLT will commission a Design Team which will develop and recommend
all the details and resource levels for the new organization. The fundamental
characteristics of the proposed organization include:
The formation of the SLT made up of the Division and Office Directors, as
already discussed: the SLT will provide a long term vision for Region 5,
focusing on strategic planning and policy issues as well as providing
direction and resources for the multi-media and region-wide teams. The SLT
will also facilitate cultural change within the Region, including management
behavior and transitions to new roles as streamlining takes place. The new
SLT will devote a great amount of time to constituency outreach in order to
gain constant feedback from the Region's customers as well as educate
them about Agency actions.
The formation of region-wide teams to focus on Agency priorities and cross-
program, community-based efforts: team managers will report directly to
the SLT. Team members will be made up of representatives from across the
Region. Some teams, such as the Tribal Team, will be permanent; most will
be reviewed every year as to the need for them and the appropriate funding
level. The non-supervisory GS-14/15 team manager positions will support a
dual career path option in Region 5 and are likely to accommodate some
former supervisory staff as the Region achieves its goal of a 1:11 supervisor
to staff ratio.
Organizational changes include the creation of an Office of Strategic
Environmental Analysis (OSEA). The decision to create OSEA is directly
related to re-inventing the senior management into a strategic, forward-
looking, decision-making body, occupied with the strategic environmental
and organizational issues facing the region. The primary function of OSEA
will be to provide the SLT with information and analysis concerning the state
of the environment, and to respond to requests from the SLT to provide a
range of strategic planning support. Specific support activities will include
24
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
CIS and integrated data analysis, risk assessment, peer review, developing
environmental goals and indicators, National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) analysis, principle contact with ORD and policy and analytical
support to region-wide priorities.
A new Resources Management Division (RMD) will be created, consisting of
most of the existing PMD (minus the strategic planning and analysis
function), the Central Regional Laboratory, the Cleveland field office, and
"core" quality assurance, monitoring and inspection functions. Most
project-level QA, monitoring and inspection functions will be decentralized to
the media divisions; however, a core of Region-wide support and expertise
will be located in RMD. The focus of the RMD will be its service
responsibilities. Activities relating to routine classification functions will
also be decentralized to media divisions over time. A contingency of staff
experts will remain in the RMD to provide assistance to the Divisions and
Offices.
The Waste Management Division will be separated into two Divisions, with
Superfund and Chemical Emergency Preparedness in one and the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Pesticides and Toxics, and
Underground Storage Tanks programs in the other. This creates two
Divisions of comparable size to the other media Divisions as well as removes
a layer of management which covered a significant part of the Region.
The current Environmental Sciences Division (ESD) will no longer exist, since
all of its functions will be incorporated in one of the other Divisions or
Offices.
The Air and Radiation Division and the Water Division will both establish
Enforcement Branches, consistent with the Enforcement Branches in the
other Divisions, as required by the Administrator's decision on enforcement.
A small Regional Enforcement Office will be created and report to the
Deputy Regional Administrators to coordinate the regional enforcement
programs. .
All Divisions, plus ORC and GLNPO, will be working on internal changes to
address streamlining and meeting the 1:11 supervisor to staff ratio directive.
As noted in the Introduction to this Plan, Region 5 does not believe that the
kind of change necessary to effectively respond to the challenges confronting the
Agency can or will be accomplished overnight. Rather, we believe that a reasoned
and sustained effort to change the culture of the Agency is needed. These
25
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
organizational changes are our first important step in effecting a cultural and
organizational transformation in Region 5. We believe that these changes position
the Regional Office to undertake further changes in the future, as the entire
Agency continues to evolve to meet the environmental challenges of the nation.
E.1. Organizational Design - Reduced Organizational Layers
State of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
The current organization is characterized by eight Senior Executive Service
(SES) positions (not including ORC) at the Division and Office Director level (three
SES positions for the WMD alone) and a vertical structure with up to four layers of
management below the Division Director level (ie; Unit, Section, Branch and
Associate or Deputy Division Directors. This structure has advantages in that it
provides a high degree of control over outputs and clear lines of responsibility.
However, it also has significant disadvantages, including the tendency to isolate
and restrict cross-program communication, reduced empowerment of front line
staff, and slow response times due to excessive and redundant reviews and
approvals at each level.
Accomplishments
Many Divisions and Offices have begun to shift away from the traditional
vertical structure by eliminating layers and moving to team organizations (see
discussion in Section D of this Plan). In addition, significant process changes are
underway in accordance with our February 1994 Streamlining Plan which will
shorten approval chains and functionally reduce the layers between the people
doing the. work and the decision-makers (Appendix A - Work Processes).
Actions and Processes to Meet the Reduced Organizational Layer Goal
The proposed organization design (depicted in Appendix B) when
implemented will result in a number of significant changes. The maximum number
of management layers will be three, starting with Division/Office Director, then
Branch and Section levels. Deputies may not be prevalent and those that do exist,
may not be suoervisors. More program management will be performed by non-
supervisory r agers. To accomplish these objectives, the following will be done:
create an attractive dual career track through the establishment of a number
of highly visible, influential team manager, senior program manager and
26
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Regional "expert" positions, which will create non-supervisory alternatives as
we achieve our 1:11 goal;
enhance flexibility and responsiveness of the Region to address new
initiatives and emerging priorities through the creation and staffing of cross-
regional teams with lengths of assignment and resource allocations
reconsidered on an annual basis;
organize each Division/Office to have no more than 2 sub-units below the
Division/Office Director level, i.e. Branch, Section.
Deadlines and Milestones
See key deadlines and milestones under Section D.
Submission of a formal Region 5 Reorganization Proposal (June 1995).
Anticipated approval of the Reorganization Proposal by Headquarters
(August 1995).
Approval of Division/Office Reorganization Plans (October 1995)
E.2. Organizational Design -1:11 Supervisor to Employee Ratio
Status of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
On the following page is a profile of the existing non-SES permanent
supervisory staff in Region 5 as of March 17, 1995 compared to the Civilian Labor
Force (CLF) using 1990 census data. It is subdivided into Administrative and
Professional categories, ethnicity and gender (in terms of percentage). The target
number of non-SES supervisors at 93 is arrived at by achieving the 1:11 ratio of
93 supervisors (plus 10 SES positions) and 1127 staff for a total existing
workforce of 1230 (excluding ORC).
27
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan
March 1995
Profile of Region 5 Supervisors Compared to 1990 Civilian Labor Force (CLF)
Whit.
MalM
Whit*
Females
White
Total
African
American
Mates
African
American
Females
African
American
Total
Hispanic
Males
Hispanic
Fern.
Hispanic
Total
Asian
Males
Asian
Females
Asian
Total
TOTALS
Admintttralive
Of %
42.1%
40.5%
82.5%
3.6%
5.3%
8.9%
2.6%
2.6%
5.2%
1.4%
1.4%
2.8%
KB*
46.1%
38.5%
84.6%
4.6%
9.2%
13.8%
0.0%
.1.5%
1.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
MB
No.
30
25
55
3
6
9
0
1
1
0
0
0
65
Professional
CLF%
54.7%
30.3%
85.0%
2.4%
3.2%
5.6%
2.1%
1.4%
3.5%
3.5%
1.9%
5.4%
Kfi%
69.1%
14.7%
83.8%
2.9%
2.9%
5.8%
1.4%
0.0%
1.4%
8.8%
0.0%
8.8%
KB
No.
47
10
57
2
2
4
1
0
1
6
0
6
68
Target
number to
reach 93
supervisors at
current R5
percentages
ajtnJi
21.0
18.0
39.0
2.1
4.2
6.3
0.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
46.0
mf
32.0
7.0
39.0
1.4
1.4
-.8
1.0
0.0
1.0
4.0
0.0
4.0
47.0
Target
number to
reach 93
supervisors
at CLF
percentages
AjtuJL.
19.0
18.0
37.0
1.6
2.4
4.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
Dmf
26.0
14.0
40.0
1.1
1.5
2.6
1.0
1.0
1.0
2.0
1.0
1.0
28
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Accomplishments
The Region fully expects to meet or exceed our 1:11 supervisory ratio goal
as we move to a flattened, reinvented, streamlined organization. The Region has
undertaken a number of steps to help achieve these results:
Standardized Supervisory Position Descriptions - The Region has fully
developed a standardized approach to classifying all supervisory and
managerial position descriptions utilizing the new 0PM Classification
standards for grading supervisory positions. This new generic format
approach will help correct grade level imbalances that currently exist in the
organization as we move to a new configuration. This approach substantially
reduces the amount of time it takes to set up a new supervisory structure.
Delegation of Classification Authority - The Region has undertaken an
aggressive training schedule to train supervisors and managers in the basics
of position classification. This decentralization of the classification process
from RMD to the other Divisions and Offices will enable the Region to move
ahead with establishing new jobs as we reorganize to establish enforcement
branches and make the organizational changes outlined in this plan. This also
empowers the supervisors who are, close to the work to become involved in
not only the budget process but also the compensation process as it relates
to their employees. The Region is seeking the redelegation of authority for
this process from HQ, and in the meantime, HRB will perform expedited
approvals following the program Division/Office reviews.
Position Classification Software - In an effort to assist our managers and
supervisors in classifying their positions, the Region is working toward
acquiring software systems (e.g., PD writer, Proclass) which will greatly
enhance the ability of supervisors to create and classify positions from their
desks. This effort will enhance the ability to set up dual career path
positions.
Dual Career Paths - Region 5 is aggressively exploring options for
development of higher graded non-supervisory positions commonly known
as "Dual Career Path" positions. A more complete discussion of this plan is
included in Appendix C - Workforce Development. We have been successful
in attempts to establish dual career path positions at the grade 13 and 14
levels and will be establishing grade 14 and grade 15 non-supervisory
positions as a means to accommodate supervisors who will be leaving
supervision.
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Region S Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Workforce Management Plans - The Region has established, and will update,
workforce management plans which will describe specific steps to achieving
1:11, help each Division and Office decide which positions they need to
establish, describe how they need to staff them, give them a basis to
monitor attrition and diversity, and help them work through the mechanics
of the movement of employees from supervisory to non-supervisory
positions.
Reductions and Freeze on Permanent Promotions to Supervisory Positions -
A quick review of the Region's records will show that we have 149
supervisory and managerial positions of which 10 are SES, 6 are temporary
promotions to supervisory positions from non- supervisory positions, and
133 are permanent supervisors. These numbers are exclusive of our Office
of Regional Counsel. This number is down from 161 on 9/18/93, however,
the Region has not filled a supervisory position permanently in over a year.
Of the 133 permanent supervisors, 2 have been offered and have accepted
second round buyout offers under the delayed departure provisions, one has
applied for early-out retirement effective the end of March, and another is
being reassigned out of supervision shortly. To meet our 1:11 supervisory
ratio, our non-SES target is 93 supervisors. Assuming that those 6 who are
now on temporary promotions to supervisory positions will not remain
supervisors, our Region will have to place approximately 36 permanent
supervisors into non-supervisory positions to reach the target of 93. To get
to this number, the Region will establish a number of non-supervisory
Regional and National Expert positions, Regional Team Manager positions,
and Team Leader positions, and will ask supervisors to consider voluntary
reassignments. The Region will attempt to match supervisors interests with
the Regional and National Expert positions, and Team Manager and Team
Leader positions. If not all of the 36 supervisors are placed through
voluntary reassignments, the Region will direct reassignments to
non-supervisory positions.
Actions and Processes to Meet the 1:11 Goal
The SLT will provide overall guidance and leadership to achieve the 1:11
goal within the Region. If a particular organization has difficulty in meeting the
goal due to its small size or other factors, the SLT will work collaboratively to
reach an acceptable solution. Specific actions will include:
v
establishing the cross-Region teams by the SLT to provide opportunities for
some current supervisors;
30
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
identifying Regional expert and other "dual-career path" positions at the GS-
13/14/15 levels;
opening available positions for Team Manager and Program Manager for
competition;
evaluating the need for Deputy positions and, where they are filled, decide if
they are to be part of the supervisory chain;
advertising vacant supervisory positions;
making some management-directed reassignments if voluntary moves and
competitive selections have not achieved the goal;
assessing diversity goals as the process advances.
Deadlines and Milestones
Establish cross-Region teams (May 1995)
Select team managers (June 1995)
Organizational design submitted to HQ (June 1995)
Achieve 1:11 supervisor ratio (October 1995)
E.3. Organizational Design - Redeployment of
"Headquarters"/Administrative Positions
Status of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
The Region does not anticipate any redeployment of Headquarters staff to
Region 5 at this point in time, nor does the Region anticipate any transfer of
functions currently housed in Headquarters to be coming to the Region.
Specific Actions and Processes to Meet the Redeployment Goal
The Region is considering the impacts of the proposed reorganization and
the effect of the change in the supervisory ratios on the support staff, as well as
31
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
the technical and administrative staff elements. The elimination of supervisory
positions and the possible consolidation of Units or Sections as we move toward a
1:11 ratio may require realignment or movement of some of the supporting staff
elements. In this regard, each Division and Office will be examining the
infrastructure within their support elements to make decision about realignment of
functions and staff. This may lead to consideration of realigning staff from one
type of position to another, or to a different career field entirely. These decisions
will be made as plans are finalized for the detailed design of each organization.
E.4. Organizational Design - Flexibility
Status of the Organization Prior to Reinvention
As noted earlier, the Region's organizational structure was highly
compartmentalized in vertical hierarchies with parallel communication channels that
extended from Headquarters' program offices through the Region to the states.
Although the majority of staff in Region 5 were "program" oriented, the Region has
a relatively long history of cross-program coordination in such areas as the Great
Lakes Program, the Contaminated Sediments workgroup, the Pollution Prevention
Roundtable, the Data integration Workgroup, and specific geographic initiatives. In
addition, quality action teams have been used over the past four years to
accomplish specific process improvements. However, these "teams", with the
exception of the
Great Lakes Program, were poorly resourced, the work was considered "extra",
there was limited management support, and clear lines of accountability and
responsibility did not exist.
Perhaps most significantly, the Agency's planning and budgeting process did
not (and still does not) lend itself to flexible implementation. The Region viewed
itself as having limited capability to work outside the bounds of National Program
Manager directives and priorities or to shift resources among program elements to
accomplish Regional priorities. This inflexibility was transferred to the states
through the annual program planning process which resulted in significant tension
when the states requested flexibility in federal funding to address local priorities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Accomplishments
Over the past three or four years, the degree of flexibility afforded the
Region by Headquarters has increased to some degree. However, progress has not
been uniform, varying across programs and seemingly dependent on the personal
management styles of the senior managers'involved (at both the Headquarters and
Regional level). One example of success is the Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Program experience with the Memorandum o' Agreement approach to the annual
planning process with Headquarters. It was then used to negotiate agreements at
the State level, resulting in a very effective and result-oriented workplan.
Furthermore, Region 5 is making significant progress in increasing flexibility
with the States through the strategic planning process. We are in the midst of
achieving significant streamlining and reduced oversight of State actions by
negotiating the FY 1996 program plans with a focus on mutually agreed upon high
priority environmental issues and greatly reducing the Regional guidance to States.
A key barrier to flexibility in the Region continues to be the Agency's
fundamental budget process which relies on often narrowly defined program
elements. The Region has demonstrated some ability to shift resources into
priority areas, but this has largely been "at the margins." Some relief has been
provided at the national level through the Administrator's "taps" and the
redistribution of these resources for priority activities.
Specific Actions and Processes to Meet the Flexibility Goal
Region 5 is committed to continuing the more flexible strategic planning
approach with the States that was initiated in FY 1994 and to expanding this
approach to Tribal Operations. In addition, the Region will work closely with
Headquarters to define and implement the Performance Partnership process as a
complement to our strategic planning approach.
To foster greater cross-program integration, flexibility and nimble response
to high priority or emerging issues, the Region is committed to a cross-Regional
team approach as described earlier Section D.2. As previously stated, the SLT
team sponsor will assure that the team function remains relevant and will foster
changes to meet priority needs.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Also flexibility in our Division/Office Director staff should be enhanced
through the occasional position rotations. This was discussed earlier in Section
D.3.
Deadlines and Milestones
Complete the FY 1996 annual planning process with the States and Tribes
by (June 1995).
Implement cross-Region teams and team management (October 1995).
E.5. Organizational Design - Attributes
The Region 5 Optimization Task Force discussed and agreed upon seventeen
criteria for measuring various organizational and operational options. Two
subgroups of the OTF then independently utilized these criteria while developing,
analyzing and evaluating various organizational options. The criteria describe
important areas of consideration for measuring the impact of the proposed
changes. These criteria were:
utilize employees' talents
promote teamwork
prevent duplication
flexible resource
management
foster communication
alignment with strategic
directions
media program
implementation
flexibility to adapt
productive
multi-media approaches
clear accountability
accommodate unknowns
sound decision making
responsive to the public
well-defined relationships
supports partnerships
international activities
Individuals in subgroups rated options using these criteria. Each option had
advantages and disadvantages and all were compared using these criteria.
After the national list of attributes was developed and made available in
November 1995, Region 5 compared it's criteria to the attributes for consideration
and found that the intention of many were similar. The Allowing section
addresses the attributes which are present in our current organization or will be
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
developed in the proposed Region 5 Plan. Further analytic rigor will be reflected in
our reorganization proposal which will be forthcoming in June 1995.
Accountability
One of our goals in designing our new organization was to build on our
strengths. Region 5 is the largest of the EPA Regions, and makes a substantial
contribution to the national media programs. The Directors of our current media
programs are held accountable for results in those areas. We evaluated several
alternative structural options which would combine Air, Water, and Waste. We
found that it is very difficult to combine media programs in a Region this size
without creating one or two mega-Divisions, and we were concerned about a loss
of accountability. For this reason, we decided to maintain our media program
organizations.
The accountability in media Divisions will be further broadened by becoming
responsible for review and approval of Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs),
routine data quality management, ambient monitoring and inspections. These
functions are presently managed by the Environmental Sciences Division and have
resulted in annual resource arguments among Divisions and dissatisfaction with
relationships. The media Divisions will also ensure program consistency, in
conjunction with the Regional Enforcement Management Team and Office of
Regional Counsel where enforcement policies are concerned.
The Task Force, RA and DRAs agreed that how we operate is more
important than how we are structured. We believe that our Senior Leadership
Team (SLT), with the support of the Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis,
and our redesigned cross-Regional teams, will ensure shared vision, values and
strategic goals, and multi-media coordination. Accountability problems which will
be corrected through the SLT function are:
Our present staff supporting strategic planning will receive more
direction from Senior Staff;
Senior Staff meetings will become a better environment for
strategic problem solving and consensus building;
teams will receive more strategic direction and clearer
connections to Senior Staff, and will be held accountable to
produce results;
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
the Regional programs will become a cohesive organization that
directs all available resources toward Regional priorities and will
cease operating as a number of independent entities.
Regional reporting and accountability systems, including Congressional
reporting, will not be affected by the new organization. Our Congressional liaisons
and State Coordinators report directly to the RA. In the new structure the Tribal
Team will also report to the RA to ensure accountability. As the name suggests,
the PMD will now be the Resources Management Division (RMO), and will be held
accountable for providing high quality service to internal customers. The
Resources Management Division Director will serve as the Senior Resource Official,
and will ensure that all requirements of delegated CFO and related authorities are
met. The SLT and RMD will ensure that the Region has a consistent, concise, and
customer driven process for grants and contracts management, while authorities
for approving many of these documents will be delegated to lower management
levels.
Communication and Coordination
We believe that the new organization will significantly enhance
communications and coordination, internally and externally. Flattening of Division
and Office structures will provide employees greater access to decision makers and
will facilitate the flow of information vertically. The formation of the Senior
Leadership Team and cross-Regional implementation teams will result in improved
lateral communications and multi-media coordination.
One of our criteria in designing the new organization was that it be intuitive
to the public and any stakeholder should be able to look at the organizational chart
and immediately determine the responsible organization or manager for a program
or an initiative. We have strengthened our customer focus by combining
responsibilities for development of environmental software with our Office of
Public Affairs. The Senior Leadership Team will direct the development of the
software, providing the resources to do so, sucr that our high priorities are
communicated to the public (eg; brownfields redevelopment).
Region 5 already has an effective structure to provide coordinated responses
to Congress, OMB, GAO, the IG and States, as individuals with those specific
responsibilities report directly to the Regional Administrator. Our decision to retain
these reporting and accountability lines was reinforced by feedback received from
our States and other customers. Based on input from our Tribes, we are
establishing a Tribal team, which will also report directly to the RA.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan : March 1995
Customer Focus
Many aspects of customer focus have already been discussed. By
maintaining a largely media-oriented structure, Region 5 will ensure that the needs
of the RA, National Program Managers and Congress are met. Our Senior
Leadership Team and cross-regional teams will provide an effective customer-
supplier interface for the Tribes, Statas, local governments, communities and the
private sector as we move to more place-based environmental protection
approaches. The SLT will utilize the Quality Blue Print and FADE process in
decision making, which ensures customer-supplier alignment. Customer feedback,
through the 360 degree feedback process, open forums, town meetings, Regional
summits, and Industry Day outreach conferences will be a routine part of our
operations. We will demonstrate a sensitivity to our customer's needs by
becoming more flexible in our grants process, and involving communities in our
decision making.
Integrity, Efficiency and Effectiveness
Integrity is one of Region 5's values, which provides a foundation for its
mission and vision. We have an opportunity to improve our efficiency and
effectiveness in a number of areas: multi-media work, strategic planning. State
partnerships, data integration, grants processing, human resources management,
and Regional services.
The Planning and Management Division (PMD) currently has the primary
responsibility for human resources management, including classification of position
descriptions. The other Divisions and Offices have not had a major role in this
activity. In order to increase the timeliness and efficiency of the many actions, we
propose to involve all supervisors across the Region. Managers are currently being
trained to classify PDs, and the Region will request that approval authority be
redelegated. This change will place the responsibility for developing positions with
those that best know the duties. The new Resources Management Division, will
focus on services, and will maintain a core of expertise to ensure quality and
consistency across the Region, not only for personnel matters, but also certain
technical areas like QA/QC.
Region 5 has established a Reinvention Implementation Team (RIT) to
facilitate the improvement of processes and systems that accompany our new
organization. Regional workgroups are now tackling the awards and grants
processes. Feedback from our internal customers will help to improve these
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
processes, ensuring alignment with our vision and values, and providing maximum
flexibility. Additional workgroups are examining the procurement process,
information management and the use of bankcards. Resource management has
been improved through the formation of a Deputies Council (may be replaced by
senior program managers) which participates in resource allocation decisions and
makes recommendations to the SLT. Responsibility for the day-to-day
management of FTE and dollars has been delegated to the Divisions and Offices for
added efficiency.
Measurement and Evaluation
At the present, programmatic success is measured largely by the STARS
system. While Region 5 consistently meets or exceeds program commitments,
these measures are often not effective in documenting real environmental
protection. Region 5 has already taken steps to develop environmental indicators,
and will continue in these efforts. We most recently established environmental
priorities, goals and measures of success with our six State Agencies, in a plan
entitled "Strategic Directions for a Mid-West Environment". Efforts are underway
to fully implement this Plan within every program. The Senior Leadership Team,
and implementation of cross-Regional teams, will help to facilitate the
development and measurement of broad or multi-media goals. The SLT will clearly
define expectations and desired results for our teams, and each team will develop
measures of success as part of their performance agreement.
Region 5 has not been as effective in measuring management effectiveness.
The FAME criteria are now utilized in selecting supervisors, but in the present
organization, performance appraisals are the primary tool for evaluating
effectiveness. To improve in this area, Region 5 established a Regional workgroup,
which led the way in reinventing our Performance Management process. The new
streamlined Agreements include management effectiveness characteristics, which
will be assessed in addition to program accomplishments. The concept of 360
degree feedback has been incorporated, which will enhance employee development
at all levels of the organization. Some Divisions have piloted systems in which
employees evaluate their supervisors, and have had very positive results.
When the Optimization Task Force began its effort to assess the present
Region 5 structure, the criteria identified at the beginning of this Section were
developed to help characterize the "optimal" organization. They will be indicators
to gage our success in achieving the desired results. Additionally, we plan to
request feedback from our customers as we move into the future, especially our
States, communities, Tribes and the private sector.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Reinventing and Streamlining
Our present organization includes some Divisions and Offices with 4-5 layers
of management: Units, Sections, Branches, a Deputy and Director. Our new
organization will ensure that only two layers of management exist between
employees and the Division or office Director. Units, where they exist, are being
eliminated and we will also examine the number of Deputy Division Director
positions to assure they add value in the new organization. The Section, Branch,
Director structure is appropriate for our Region, and will provide employees with
greater access to decision makers. Some of our Divisions have been creative in
developing new GS-15 non-supervisory management positions These managers
will focus their efforts on program implementation and complex technical issues,
while Supervisors manage the people. Our Waste Management Division presently
includes the Office of RCRA and Office of Superfund; because of the size and
impact of these programs, all three Directors are in the SES. In our new
organization, the Waste Management Division is being split into the Division of
RCRA/TSCA/FIFRA and Division of Superfund, which will eliminate a layer of
management, as well as one SES position.
Region 5 believes that the most needed change is in how we operate - a
cultural change that will promote teamwork, shared vision and values, and shared
resources. We feel that a Senior Leadership Team, working together to
strategically plan and direct resources, combined with cross-Regional teams that
ensure multi-media coordination, will provide the most flexible, adaptable
organization for future change and emerging priorities.
Region 5 will achieve, at a minimum, a 1:11 supervisor to staff ratio,
hopefully by the beginning of FY96. This, in conjunction with intensive use of
teams, will bring more people to the "front line" and should result in a more
nimble, less bureaucratic organization. Additionally, Region 5 formed a workgroup
to examine and revise our delegations, beginning with the enforcement program.
Where possible, delegations have already been pushed to the lowest level. Where
HQs approval is required, a proposal will be forthcoming. Some of our Offices
have facilitated employee empowerment by incorporating the Win-Win agreement
concept into our streamlined performance agreements.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Evaluation
We recognize that an important component of facilitating and managing
change is measuring success. Measurement is one of the five pillars of Total
Quality Management, and we. have been striving to make it a part of our Region 5
culture over the past few years. Just as core organizational values provide the
foundation for the Pillars of Quality, they will provide a firm base upon which to
build our new organization. We have taken some initial steps by soliciting
feedback from our internal customers and key stakeholders, by gathering data on
our current supervisor to staff ratios; we have profiled our workforce to evaluate
our progress in achieving parity with the Civilian Labor Force, and to ensure that
we maintain or increase the diversity in our management team. We have
established some challenging goals that will help keep us focused as we begin our
journey, and we have agreed on the attributes that we feel describe the
organization that we want to be. Achieving an optimal organization will be a
dynamic process, in which we continually reassess our progress, reexamine our
vision and goals, and modify our course accordingly.
One of the first tasks for our Senior Leadership Team will be to develop
specific measures of success, of both a quantitative and qualitative nature. While
measuring process improvements and progress in meeting targets is
straightforward, measuring cultural change is much more difficult. Specifically, we
will need to measure our success in the following areas:
empowering employees to achieve their full potential;
providing more effective leadership;
achieving partnerships with States, Tribes and local governments and
fostering trust;
demonstrating flexibility, innovation and responsiveness;
respecting all people, personally and professionally, and demonstrating
integrity and honesty in our dealings; and
facilitating teamwork and building consensus.
Baseline data does not exist for most of these cultural measures of success, so it
will have to be gathered. We will utilize a number of tools, such as an
organizational assessment, 360 degree feedback, focus groups, town meetings
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
and customer surveys. We have already aligned our performance management
system to support our cultural change, and will further align our awards, planning
and budget processes to achieve success.
Composite Milestone Chart
April 1995
Begin implementation of the Senior Leadership Team
Determine time frame and consultant to assist Senior Leadership Team with
cultural change
Create Design Team to facilitate Reorganization Proposal
preparation
Rotate 2 or 3 Division/Office Directors
Establish a standing subcommittee of the RIT to develop a Region-Wide
Customer Service Plan
May 1995
Draft and classify Position Descriptions for team managers prepare job
analysis and rating plan; post positions
Complete comprehensive inventory of knowledge skills, and abilities of
current workforce and required by future workforce and workplace needs.
Core curricula of training programs prepared based on information obtained
through needs assessment.
Complete 1996 Minnesota Tribes/EPA Strategic Planning Process
Evaluate existing teams, determine which Cross-Region Teams to establish
and define their priorities, expected results, and SLT sponsors
Establish Cross-Region Teams
Complete Office of Regional Counsel Client Relations Plan
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan ___ March 1395
June 1995
Reorganization Proposal submitted to HQ
tt
Complete 1996 State/EPA Program Planning Process
Complete 1996 Wisconsin and Michigan Tribes/EPA Strategic Planning
Process
Conduct interviews and make final selections for Team Manager positions
July 1995
Complete Regional Training Plan
Determine team membership
Provide training for managers and team managers in accordance with
Regional Training Plan
August 1995
Complete revisions to the awards process
Receive approval of Reorganization Proposal by HQ
Consolidated report prepared from divisional input indicating multiple career
path opportunities depicted on flow charts for Regional use.
September 1995
Complete delegation review and implement revised delegations
Complete Regional Career Development Plan
October 1995
Deploy resources (20% minimum) to implement our broader community-
based efforts
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Implement Cross-Region Teams
Team Performance Agreements and budgets finalized
Implement revised performance appraisal process with 360 degree
evaluations
Receive approval of Division/Office Reorganization
Plans
Supervisors and staff are trained on concepts of empowerment and
accountability and adapt "Empowerment Tool" or implement an equivalent
document on a pilot basis to facilitate the empowerment process.
Implement revised awards process which fosters cultural change and the
redefined roles of managers and staff.
Complete of Regional Career Development Plan Orientation Sessions
Achieve 1:11 ratio
January 1996
Complete survey of public knowledge and concerns with regard to
environmental problems in the Great Lakes Basin (GLNPO)
March 1996
All Divisions and Offices complete updated Workforce Management Plans
Re-assess empowerment progress through employee
survey
October 1998
Achieve parity with the CLF (Civilian Labor Force) in supervisory and non-
supervisory positions in all Divisions and Offices
ONGOING
Ensure that all positions that open are competed and are available to the
broadest range of applicants possible
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
All Divisions and Offices report to the RA/DRA annually on progress towards
achieving the goal of CLF parity (October each year)
Update collection of all Career Development-related Documents
Conclusion
Region 5 has obviously set out an exceedingly ambitious agenda for itself in
its Reinvention Implementation Plan. It is designed to change the Region more
rapidly, more extensively, and in more ways than ever in the history of the
Agency. Given the challenges we face as an Agency as a whole, both in terms of
environmental issues and institutional tensions, nothing short of an outstanding
effort by every person in every part of the entire organization must be mobilized at
this time. We must not fear or resist the changes that are needed, but rather
embrace the opportunity to deal with the things that have frustrated our efforts for
years and remake them in a way that is more suited to the times.
Region 5 is totally committed to the success of this effort and the success
of the Agency. We are proud of the contributions we have made over the past 25
years to protecting the environment in this country and in the world, and we plan
to build on the strengths and values that brought us this far. At the same time,
we recognize the need to make significant changes in order to more fully develop
the talents of all our people, and organize and manage them in a way that results
in much more quality and effectiveness than we ever dreamed possible. We will
be much more flexible, adaptable, and responsive in the future. The Agency can
count on every person in Region 5 to bring about a more sustainable environment
where air, water, and land resources are restored and protected to benefit all life.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Appendix A: Work Processes
The Backdrop: Total Quality Management
Before Streamlining and Reinventing began, Region 5 was reviewing work process-
es at all levels using Total Quality Management (TQM) principles. Continuous
improvement programs began in 1991 and have grown through staff awareness
and training efforts, designated facilitators, and numerous Quality Action Teams.
Customer-oriented approaches are now characteristic of Region 5 meetings, work-
groups, and new initiatives. The quality ethic is embedded in Region 5; we are
well-equipped to streamline and reinvent, using TQM techniques to transform our
work.
In our original Streamlining Plan (February 1994), the Streamlining Task Force
targeted a number of processes for reinventing. In June 1994, the Reinvention
Implementation Team spearheaded major ventures in specific areasthose within
our influence and those with the greatest impact. Listed below are brief descrip-
tions of the targeted practices and how innovations are being designed and
implemented to better serve all our customers.
Pilot Performance Management System
In July 1994, a subgroup of our Reinvention Implementation Team was chartered
with instructions to rethink the performance management system from top to
bottom, doing only what was mandated by law or regulation. The workgroup
sought a way to provide more effective feedback to employees and seek a better
link between individual performance and organizational goals.
In November 1994, the subgroup delivered a pilot proposal with a three-level
adjectival rating structure with staggered appraisals and 360-degree reviews. The
system was originally proposed as a pass/fail system, but three rating levels are
required under current regulations. Highlights of the system include:
Reduced emphasis on performance scores/rating levels; more mean-
ingful discussion of day-to-day performance.
Promotion of continuous performance enhancement and professional
development.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Clarification and communication of organizational goals in the context
of individual and team performance expectations.
Shift awards process from overall yearly performance to recognition
based on specific accomplishments.
Incorporating accountability for unsatisfactory performance.
Employee consideration of feedback from multiple sources.
Simplicity-no more resource-intensive and complex than necessary to
provide feedback and identify performance expectations and desired
results.
Staggered supervisor workload relative to performance management
over the fiscal year.
Involvement of employee in setting objectives and in self-evaluation of
performance.
We have received provisional approval of our recommended system, we have
trained all supervisors on its features, placed new Agreement/Appraisal forms on
the Local Area Network, and have implemented it throughout the Region.
Regional Awards Process
As a follow-up to the Performance Management Workgroup, the Region established
a work group to revamp the Regional Awards Process. The main objective of the
group is to focus on the effective, equitable and consistent use of monetary
awards, with honor awards as a secondary issue.
During this process, which began in February 1995, the focus has been on:
Comparison of private industry norms.
Benchmarking legal requirements and best practices (0PM, Agency,
Headquarters, and Nation! Human Resources Council).
Comparison of Region 5 divisions and offices, and other regions.
Impact assessment of program funding process as related to awards.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
(continued)
LAN survey results on current awards process.
The workgroup created a timetable to assure complete and thorough analysis of
the current system; data from various sources is being utilized to formulate a fairer,
more meaningful pattern to reward employees. This new process will enable
individuals to appreciate the distinction and honor related to receiving an award at
Region 5, whether for themselves or others, in time for the first appraisals under
the pilot performance system.
State/Federal Relationships
Region 5 has historically maintained strong relationships with states as co-regula-
tors. In December 1993, Region 5 and each of its state environmental agencies
signed a watershed agreement outlining our mutual environmental priorities.
Realizing that some of our highest priority customers in many programs are the
states within our Region, we convened a state/federal strategic directions meeting
in January 1995. Prior to the meeting, Region 5 management identified major
strategic areas warranting discussion and attention to improve our relationships
with states, considering their interests and perspectives. At the same time,
individual states were preparing like material by identifying their priorities for
presentation at the meeting.
The following joint interests were selected by the state/federal group as high
priority for both:
To reduce the use and prevent the release into the air, water, and land
of persistent, bioaccumulative toxicants that impact the Region, with
a near-term regional action plan on Mercury.
To enhance the reuse of contaminated lands, addressing key issues,
including, but not limited to: funding and resources; liability under
existing law and regulations; environmental justice; preventing aban-
donments; multi-media integration; and long-term use of lands.
To change how we do business to achieve the maximum environmen-
tal results by adjusting our various tools, including (but not limited to)
expanding geographic targeting and community-based environmental
management; increasing compliance assistance; developing industry
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
sector strategies; exploring regulatory innovations; developing sound
measurement goals (indicators); promoting "cultural change" in our
organizations; and, identifying activities for disinvestment.
Follow-up meetings have begun which include EPA management from the Branch
level up at Region 5 and peer levels from the states. The objective is to fully
develop the particulars within the above strategic directions and generate actual
paths to accelerate these concepts into reality from both viewpoints as well as
ensuring focused communication.
Bankcard Usage
The lack of full utilization of the Bankcard system in Region 5 was another area of
concern to the Reinvention Implementation Team. As a result, we have not saved
the expected resources, according to the theory and purpose of this expeditious
method of procurement and payment.
A subgroup of the Reinvention Implementation Team discovered why some
Divisions and Offices were not using this form of procurement. Funds for a one-
month spending limit for each cardholder had to be committed to an escrow
account controlled by Cincinnati Financial Management Center (CFMC) with funds
decommitted at end of each fiscal year. Having funds "tied up" all fiscal year
inhibits the use of the Bankcard.
A formal recommendation was presented to the Deputies Council in March 1995,
containing the following suggested actions to be implemented October 1, 1995:
Participation by all Divisions/Offices; staff from different position
levels would be nominated as Bankcard holders.
Purchasing Agents would use Bankcards whenever possible.
Use of Bankcards to register employees for outside training sessions
in lieu of SF-182 forms.
Region would use regional funds to set up one escrow account for
multiple Bankcard holders.
Regional "gatekeeper" will be appointed to ensure Bankcard holders
are not exceeding warranted authorities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The recommendation was approved, including Action Items to accommodate these
suggestions, as well as Measures of Success in the areas of Procurement, Finance,
Training, and Budget. A survey will be conducted six months into the pilot
program to determine success of reformed process.
Delegation and Empowerment
A delegations workgroup reassessed current delegations keeping in mind the
applicable areas where redelegation could provide a flatter, more uniform routing
pattern without compromising the quality or level of expertise required in decision-
making.
In January the workgroup recommended a series of redelegations for enforcement
actions in all programs, where authorized, and a set of requests to HQ for redelega-
tion authority. Senior managers authorized this approach, and a comprehensive
package is now being prepared. The Delegations Workgroup will continue to
recommend appropriate opportunities to shift authority to lower levels.
In addition to formal delegations, eacrv Division and Office in Region 5 has pursued
the full range of opportunities to move routine signoff and informal authorities to
the lowest practical level. We also believe that the delegations process is ideal for
the application of computer technology, i.e., electronic signatures, updates, and
storage.
Grants Process
This process has been examined and discussed from several different perspectives
within Region 5 with the participation of the six Region 5 states. The likelihood of
a change from proposed legislation revamping our current process presents the
Region and the six states with an opportunity as well as a dilemma as to what
direction and to what extent the entire process will be revised.
To accommodate potential new grant authorities from Congress, our Region has
participated in numerous information exchange sessions to brainstorm ideas on the
several options which may become available to us in granting monies to the states.
During a recent State/Federal Strategic Directions Meeting, the grants process was
discussed. Both State and Federal representatives are aware of the need to
consider all perspectives in reaching a consensual method of meeting both the
needs of the States/Federal interests and complying with new statutes in this area.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The Foundation for the Future: Information Resources Management
Planning for New IRM Technologies
Region 5 has recognized information as one of its most important resources. Most
of the work of the Regional staff involves processing of information, both manual-
ly and electronically. Region 5 has recognized the importance of new automation
tools that enhance the ways that individuals share information and work together,
rather than merely enhancing individual productivity. These tools will provide the
foundation for the future Region 5 fully electronic office.
Background
To address the importance of information resources and the impact of emerging
information technologies, the Region 5 IRM Steering Committee (IRMSC) was
chartered in 1990, and comprised of senior managers representing all Regional
Divisions and Offices. The IRMSC's first mission was to direct the installation of
technology in the Region's new home in the Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building,
erected in 1992, which allowed all staff to communicate over a Local Area
Network (LAN) and to other partners over a Wide Area Network (WAN). Over the
next years, this 'desktop" environment grew to encompass a variety of updated
capabilities, including electronic mail, desktop conferencing, calendar and schedul-
ing, access to shared information and printing resources, workflow processing, and
remote access to the LANs.
The IRMSC continues to be supported by its three Workgroups, Office Automation,
Data Integration, and, most recently, Electronic Public Access.
Implementing the New Technologies
The IRMSC has approved substantial investments especially during the past two
years. Moreover, the Committee will continue to assure that future office automa-
tion investments will (1) provide dependable high performance desktop tools and
network capacity in the office and from off-site locations, and (2) complete the
automation of significant administrative processes in the Region which affect all
staff.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
High Performance Desktop Tools and Network Capacity
To support all the new (largely Windows) applications, the Region is addressing
remaining hardware, software, and network upgrades. Some specific investments
this year will include: phasing out 286 and 386 PCs, installing Pentium file servers,
moving to high-speed networks, expanding remote access to LANs, and replacing
all old monitors and laser printers. In the next year, the implementation of new
network hardware will provide faster, more reliable service to Regional staff.
Automation of Administrative Processes
Electronic management will be a major enabler of re-invention and streamlining in
Region 5. The overall goal is the "paperless" office in which information fully
shared. Through cooperative efforts with EPA Headquarters, the Region will
develop and implement OA systems to enhance productivity of staff and fully
utilize Regional computers. The end result will be faster, more reliable delivery of
products to Region 5 employees such as payroll, supply inventory /ordering,
conference reservations, classified position descriptions, applying less paper and
fewer process steps.
Above all, the Region will increase its focus on accurately determining and confirm-
ing customer needs. It will continously upgrade its employees' desktop capabilities
as necessary to provide access to Agency-standard applications and meet the
specific users' special needs. Access to information and automated tools will also
be a key enabler of many reinvention strategies.
Conclusion
Our quest of reviewing work processes continues and will .become more challeng-
ing as our "new" organization develops in the next several months. Our agency,
even though new in comparison to other federal entities, has concrete approaches
to everyday workings which can prevent us from being creative. This opportunity
to change and rethink our operating techniques must be viewed as a time for
refreshing and revitalizing our internal policy-and our attitudes-toward a better,
more innovative, and customer-focused design for Region 5.
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Reoion 5 Reinvention ImolementaiionPlan March 1995
Appendix B: Organizational Description
Introduction
This document represents more than eight months of effort by the Reinventing
Region 5 Optimization Task Force (OTF). In response to a proposal from the
original Streamlining Task Force, the Regional Administrator chartered a group of
16 Region 5 employees in August 1994 to develop and propose that set of
operational and organizational changes needed to respond to the environmental
challenges of the future. OTF was diverse, chaired by the Deputy Regional
Administrators and composed of eight division and office directors, four staff
members and four supervisors, each from the divisions and offices. The Regional
Human Resources Officer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, and the two
reinventing staff members also participated.
OTF began with a series of key agency and regional documents that described our
strategic direction in a number of areas. Then OTF developed a set of desired
characteristics which were intended to be used as evaluation criteria for the
various options studied (see page B-27). Then, for several weeks in October, the
OTF met in two subgroups to generate options for operational and organizational
change. The subgroups came together to develop the first proposal.
On November 14, 1994, the Regional Administrator released a draft proposal from
the OTF for comment. The first proposal was distributed to all staff, EPA Head-
quarters and regional offices, state agencies, native american tribes in Region 5,
and a series of environmental groups and regulated industries for review and
comment.
During the month of December, the Region received more than 500 pages of
written comments from staff and outside organizations. In addition, the Region
used a LAN-based survey to assess staff understanding, impact, and support of the
proposal, to which 155 employees responded. OTF sponsored two town meetings
for staff, and, during a series of strategic planning meetings, received additional
feedback from state agencies.
During January and February, OTF reviewed the comments (which were indexed
and summarized in a database) and survey results, and gathered some additional
information from specific employee groups. As a result, OTF made several
significant changes to the original proposal. The Regional Administrator rendered
some final decisions in early March, approved the revised proposal, and announced
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Region S Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
his decision in a memo on March 13, 1995 and in a town meeting with Region 5
staff on March 24, 1995. The features of the revised proposal, along with a brief
summary of the attributes required by the EPA Senior Leadership Council, appear in
the following pages.
OTF has completed its work. Preparation of a complete reorganization package is
beginning; the Region will soon name a decign team to fully develop the concepts
described herein. Region 5 plans to submit its reorganization package on or before
June 30, 1995, and, assuming timely approval, implement it in October 1995.
Operational Change: Senior Leadership Team
Reinventing an organization must begin at the top. The decision to create the
Senior Leadership Team recognizes this and underscores the need for a unified
leadership team with a shared vision for the future of the environment and a sense
of shared responsibility for achieving that vision, especially during these times of
change.
Features
The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) will be smaller than the previous Senior Staff
group, comprised of the Regional Administrator, the Deputy Regional Admini-
strators, and the Division and Office Directors. Please refer to the diagram on the
color plates attached* to this report. The SLT will not be a loose confederation of
independent program managers; rather, it will be a team which focuses exclusively
on the strategic environmental and organizational issues confronting Region 5, and
building relationships with all of our constituencies.
The Senior Leadership Team will:
engage in strategic planning which aligns annual priorities with regional and
national strategic goals.
deploy resources consistent with strategic goals.
form, authorize, and empower regionwide teams, select team managers, and
establish performance agreements between regionwide teams and the SLT
to carry out strategic priorities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
establish expectations and measures of success for strategic goals, and
measure progress.
initiate cultural change and continually assess the effectiveness of the
organization and identify areas of improvement.
actively build relationships with constituencies.
The SLT will be guided by the principles and goals in the EPA Strategic Plan, the
Great Lakes Five Year Strategy, the Strategic Directions for the Midwest Environ-
ment document, the EPA Tribal Policy and by feedback from listening and learning
from our constituents.
Attributes and Benefits
The foremost benefit of this operational change is that it focuses senior leadership
attention on the "big picture." As a consequence, staff will be empowered to
assume greater responsibility and accountability for the work of the region,
consistent with the strategic direction and expectations set by the SLT.
* This change will enhance Accountability on the part of the SLT for imple-
menting our stated strategic goals and defining common measures of
success. Moreover, by deploying resources consistent with shared strategic
goals and through a well-understood collaborative process, this change will
move the region from the divisive competition for resources each year, to
sharing resources for a common cause.
* Creating regionwide teams and their direct reporting relationship to the SLT
wiM boost Communication and Coordination in the implementation of cross-
media projects and initiatives. Teams will increase our flexibility; they will
have authority to develop craative solutions, they will be encouraged to take
risks, and increase the integration of our programs.
* Customer Focus will be ensured by the emphasis on building relationships
with external constituencies. We will reconnect with the people and places
we serve, and be more responsive to their needs.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Factors for Success
The most important factor for success will be the SLT's ability to change our
corporate culture which has emphasized loyalty to strong, relatively independent
divisions and offices. This change requires all staff, and in particular Division and
Office Directors, to think and act beyond their individual programs and work as a
team with a common bottom line.
The success of the SLT will also depend on the success of the regionwide teams
and other organizational changes. In particular, if the SLT is to succeed and make
wise strategic decisions, it needs a strong, creative, and responsive analytical
support staff (Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis).
The collaborative approach to the annual allocation of resources is likely to gener-
ate some concern on the part of National Program Managers. We believe that
specific region-wide activities can be underwritten by the Senior Leadership Team
in the context of our program element structure, by careful pricing, evaluation of
appropriateness, and accounting. This approach may generate some constructive
tension in the budget formulation process, and abridge the debate about base
programs and "unfunded" initiatives.
The Senior Leadership Team will need to cultivate some new thinking about
collective, strategic interests, and use some new skills to reach consensus deci-
sions. Among the first items of business will agreeing on groundrules for the new
group and the decision whether or not to retain an outside consultant to facilitate
this growth.
At the same time, the Senior Leadership Team will have to develop some new
means to engage those around them in the strategic decision process. New
formats and methods of information exchange, communicating decisions, expecta-
tions, and rationale, and receiving staff feedback will need to be developed. Target
groups include the Deputy Division Directors, the new Enforcement staff, the
Intergovernmental and Tribal staff, and the Regionwide Team Managers. These
groups can be empowered only as far as they understand from the SLT the
strategic directions chosen, the associated issues, the critical success factors, and
anticipated results or consequences.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Operational Change: Regionwide Teams/Managers
We have realized over the past several years that the solution to most complex
environmental problems requires a multi-media approach. Also, many of the
Agency's newest initiatives have moved away from interventions in single media
programs. Because Region 5 has decided to retain its media-based organizational
structure, it is critical for the future success of the Region to be able to address a
wide range of multi-media issues. Current literature on organizational management
strongly supports the use of teams for program implementation. Assembling a
group of people with diverse disciplines and skills results in better solutions,
reduced competition, and ease of implementatidn.
Features
In order to apply the team approach to environmental programs, Region 5 will
create several non-supervisory GS-14/15 Team Managers to guide cross-regional
teams charged with these broad-based initiatives and activities. Please refer to the
diagram on the color plates attached to this report. These regionwide teams will
align Region 5 with the multi-media approach toward which the agency as a whole
is moving. The existing single media divisions will be expected to devote more
attention and resources to regionwide multi-media activities.
While working full- or part-time on regionwide teams, members will remain in their
existing "home" organizations. They will share accountability for the overall
success of the team, however, through the new Performance Management System
pilot,, in which the team manager will provide input to the members' supervisors in
a "360-degree" manner. The Senior Leadership Team will determine the number of
teams that will be initially established and the resources that will be devoted to
each team. Potential candidates include, but are not limited to, the five existing
geographic initiatives, Pollution Prevention, Environmental Justice, Tribal Opera-
tions, and Enforcement.' Most teams will be established with a "sunset" provision;
however, we have agreed that, because of their unique requirements, the Tribal
Operations and the Enforcement teams will be permanent.
The Senior Leadership Team will conduct an annual review of all existing teams in
light of changing priorities and resource constraints. If the decision is made to
dissolve a team, members will remain with their "home" organizations, and the
Team Manager will become available to either start-up a new team or rotate to an
existing team.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The Team Managers will report directly to the Senior Leadership Team. Each
manager will have an individual Senior Leadership Team member as champion or
sponsor for the regionwide team, providing guidance and leadership from a multi-
media, cross-regional perspective.
The teams will be empowered to carry-out their mission with a large degree of
independence. Each team will have a charter from the Senior Leadership Team.
These performance-oriented agreements will be used to set team mission objec-
tives, provide an implementation plan and schedule, quantify budget and other
resource needs, define roles and responsibilities, and evaluate their progress.
The Team Manager will be accountable for achieving the Team's performance
objectives. Team members will share accountability for the success of the team,
with individuals accountable for their specific assignments. The Team Managers
will participate in the annual evaluations of the team members; likewise, team
members will contribute to evaluation of the Team Managers.
The Team Manager positions are likely to accommodate some former supervisors
as we pursue the 1:11 supervisory ratio. The importance of these positions, how-
ever, dictates that they be filled only with the most highly qualified employees.
The success of Region 5's approach to achieve better multi-media integration
depends upon the success of the Team Managers. The non-supervisory GS-14/15
Team Manager positions will support a dual career path option in Region 5; they
will provide an opportunity to attain higher-graded positions without the need to
enter a supervisory career path.
These positions will have considerable authority and influence. The Team Manag-
ers will be expected to be highly self-motivated and work with a large degree of
independence. They will need a broad knowledge of the various media programs.
Also, they will need to have very effective communication and people skills. The
expectation is that the Team Managers will be able to resolve most problems on
their own, consulting with their sponsors for broad policy direction and overall
expectations. All Team Manger positions will ultimately be selected through a
competitive process, although in the short-term some details or temporary promo-
tions may occur. No eligible Region 5 employee will be excluded from competing.
Although not absolutely essential, it is desirable to have all Team Managers located
in the same area so they can share information, experiences, and common ap-
proaches.
The existing Divisions and Offices will continue to have intra-organizational teams.
These teams will give existing GS-12 and GS-13 employees the opportunity to gain
leadership experience in the team approach to environmental management. Team
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Reoion 5 Re ion Implementation Plan March 1995
participation will empower employees and allow them to demonstrate their creativi-
ty in and accountability for meeting strategic priorities. Successful performance on
these teams will enhance an individual's ability to compete for Team Manager
positions in the future.
Attributes and Benefits
This operational change addresses the following attributes:
* Accountability is improved by having the teams report directly to the Senior
Leadership Team who will ensure that the Agency's strateg priorities are
effectively implemented, and by the Team Managers' participation in memb-
ers' performance appraisals.
* Communication and Coordination is improved by using Regionwide multi-
media teams to implement strategic priorities and designating a Team
Manager so external stakeholders will have a clear point of contact.
* Customer Focus is improved because these teams will be addressing those
environmental problems that our State and Tribal partners, along with other
external stakeholders, have identified to be of critical importance to them.
* Measurement and Evaluation is improved since the Senior Leadership Team
will establish clear environmental goals for each team to achieve on an
annual basis and will monitor the team's success in achieving those goals.
* Reinvention and Streamlining are addressed since this "matrix management"
approach increases the Region's flexibility to adjust to changing national
priorities, promotes teamwork, and allows the existing single media pro-
grams to better support multi-media priorities.
This recommendation gives current initiatives and activities much greater visibility
and management attention. It provides a strong endorsement for greater use of
self-directed teams as a new approach to management. The Team Managers for
the various initiatives/activities will obtain a clearer mandate of their authority and
accountability for implementation. The team members will be empowered through
a direct link to senior management. The Senior Leadership Team will provide more
consistent guidance for implementation of regional initiatives. There will be
flexibility to add or delete Team Managers, as new projects are started or old ones
are concluded. This recommendation will allow Region 5 to rapidly adjust to
change, while continuing to implement the base program activities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
Factors for Success
Region 5 has had limited experience with the use of self-directed teams; some
start-up problems may occur. For example, we have learned that the SLT must be
explicitly clear about the expected results for teams, to avoid any costly discon-
nects in project implementation. The chartering and sponsorship procedures will
help prevent this scenario. Accountability issues for the team as a whole, and its
individual members, must be included in the new Performance Management
System pilot.
Resources for the regionwide teams will result in periodic adjustments in the media
program operating plans. SLT members may disagree about which additional
initiatives and activities merit creation of teams and team manager positions. The
Team Manager positions will be filled through a competitive process to be deter-
mined, which could delay implementation (although temporary non-competitive
assignments may be made initially). The Senior Leadership Team may need to
establish subcommittees to deal with issues of regional consistency for certain
common functions. In general, EPA staff and supervisors are highly receptive to
the team concept, but will need some orientation and training on team participation
on a continuing basis.
Organizational Change: Enforcement
Features
In order to implement the Administrator's decision providing for regional flexibility
in the organization of enforcement programs, Region 5 will create the position of
Regional Enforcement Coordinator; a Regional Enforcement Management Team;
and enforcement branches within each media/program office, all of which will work
in conjunction with the Office of Regional Counsel.
The Regional Enforcement Coordinator (GS-14/15, non-supervisory) and staff will
report directly to the Deputy Regional Administrator(s). The Coordinator's staff
will consist of 3-4 employees, including the Region's Federal Facilities Coordinator.
The Regional Enforcement Coordinator will be the focal point for enforcement and
compliance assurance planning activities, including preparation of the annual
memorandum of agreement, and will be charged with preparation of all necessary
enforcement reports. This position will serve as the principal point of contact
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
within the Region for the HQ Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
(OECA), as well as for the States and Tribes, regarding compliance and enforce-
ment matters.
The Regional Enforcement Coordinator will be the team leader of the Regional
Enforcement Management Team. The Team will be composed of branch chiefs
from each of the program enforcement branches and from ORC. The Team will be
the primary vehicle for enforcement planning, targeting, screening, and tracking
within the Region, particularly with respect to multi-media enforcement activities.
The Regional Enforcement Management Team (through the Enforcement Coordina-
tor) will be guided by the regional priorities set.by the Senior Leadership Team, as
well as national priorities established by OECA. Thus, the Team will need to
maintain close contacts with other regional teams managing those priorities. The
Team will also have responsibility for coordinating the Region's enforcement
activities associated with compliance assistance (with the Office of Public Affairs),
sector enforcement, and community-based environmental management.
In compliance with the Administrator's directive, each of the media program
divisions will create an enforcement branch to centralize enforcement and compli-
ance assistance functions.
Implementation of the Region's enforcement program will be the responsibility of
generic technical/legal enforcement teams, composed of program enforcement
branch personnel and attorneys from the Office of Regional Counsel. Compliance
assistance technical expertise will be within the purview of the enforcement
branches. The enhanced Office of Public Affairs will supply expertise in the
delivery of compliance assistance services. The Enforcement Coordinator and the
Regional Enforcement Management Team will not conduct actual enforcement case
work or compliance assistance work.
Attributes and Benefits
This proposal incorporates a number of the organizational attributes prescribed by
the Senior Leadership Council:
* Accountability is provided through the creation of an Enforcement Coordina-
tor wno will be accountable to the Senior Leadership Team and responsive
to OECA and as well as through creation of dedicated program enforcement
branches. Furthermore, the Senior Leadership Team will be responsible for
providing provide strategic direction and resources for implementation of
enforcement and compliance assurance priorities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995?
* Communication and Coordination are ensured by assigning these functions
to the Regional Enforcement Coordinator, whose principle responsibility is to
maintain internal lines of communication with OECA, Regional Counsel, and
the media enforcement branches, as well as external contacts with States
and Tribes.
* Customer Focus, in particular interactions with Headquarters, States, and
Tribes, will be strengthened by providing a central point of contact-the
Enforcement Coordinator-and a team with responsibility for planning and
reporting functions. Compliance Assistance activities will be uniquely
oriented to our "compelled customers." .
* Integrity, Efficiency and Effectiveness will be enhanced in a number of ways.
The Enforcement Coordinator neither interferes in nor compromises the
ability of the programs to implement enforcement strategies. Specifically
assigning enforcement functions to branches within the program will enable
the Region to more accurately account for enforcement FTE usage. Further-
more, having a central point of contact and responsibility for planning and
reporting functions will measurably improve the efficiency of those activities
within the Region.
* Reinvention and Streamlining objectives will be met through the flexibility
accorded by the team approach - both the Regional Enforcement Manage-
ment Team and the individual case or initiative teams that will be commis-
sioned by the Senior Leadership Team.
This model complies with the Administrator's directive regarding regional enforce-
ment organizations in a manner which maintains Region 5's strong enforcement
reputation, with the least disruptive effect on personnel and operations. The
program divisions and ORC will retain their present enforcement responsibilities,
with the major personnel (FTE) impact resulting through the shift of compliance
inspection resources and the creation of the Regional Enforcement Coordinator and
few associated staff.
The Regional Enforcement Coordinator, together with the Regional Enforcement
Management Team, will provide a focal point for enforcement and compliance
assurance functions within the Region and for communication with HQ and others.
By virtue of the functions assigned to the Coordinator, the Region will insure
accountability for the various planning and reporting requirements of the enforce-
ment program. The Coordinator will have the authority to require compilation of
necessary data from the media programs and Regional Counsel as needed for
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Reoion 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
preparation of the annual memorandum of agreement and for the various reporting
functions.
Centralizing enforcement activities within each media organization ensures dedicat-
ed resources for this function. Relocating inspection and monitoring functions
within the media organizations should maintain quality field activities, which will be
more closely linked to the prdgrams. Providing more direct program management
attention to these functions should increase responsiveness and effectiveness.
Furthermore, incorporating the inspectors into media enforcement programs should
enhance their knowledge of those programs and of the relationship between their
work and Agency's environmental objectives.
The Regional Enforcement Management Team will oversee the enforcement
initiatives commissioned by the Senior Leadership Team and will be able to direct
the use of resources for those initiatives. The Team will also have a multi-media
focus and the authority to assure that collaboration and coordination occur
between and among programs and offices, as required to successfully implement a
multi-media enforcement program.
Factors for Success
The success of this enforcement organizational model depends upon a high level of
communication and cooperation among the Regional Enforcement Coordinator, the
Regional Enforcement Management Team, the individual enforcement branches,
and Office of Regional Counsel.
Although there will be numerous "dotted lines" connecting various components of
the Regional organization, it will be important to carefully delineate the appropriate
roles and responsibilities of each entity. In particular, it is critical to define the
responsibility and authority of the Regional Enforcement Coordinator and the
Regional Enforcement Management Team.
It is also critical that the Senior Leadership Team clearly and explicitly define the
Region's enforcement and compliance assurance priorities and the commitment of
resources to those priorities. Absent this clarity and commitment, the Team will
be unable to fulfill its functions.
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Organizational Change: Office of Public Affairs
The Optimization Task Force closely examined the Region's information, involve-
ment and outreach activities throughout the entire reinvention dialogue. Consider-
ation was given as to how to more effectively reach Regional customers and
engage stakeholders in Regional dialogue and decision-making. The Optimization
Task Force identified its customers and made organizational or operational changes
accordingly to facilitate customer involvement.
Features
The Region's Office of Public Affairs will continue in its current capacity at the
center of Regional communications with its Director having direct access to the
Regional Administrator and Deputy Regional Administrators. The Director will also
be part of the Senior Leadership Team and ensure that external customer concerns
are constantly considered and represented in SLT's strategic planning process.
Superfund community relations and the public information and media staff will
remain in Public Affairs as well as the Library and Graphic Arts Unit. OTF added
two new functions to the Office-and recommended increased attention to a third
function-in order to enhance communication with important stakeholders. In an
effort to reach the regulated community more efficiently, Public Affairs will now
coordinate compliance outreach activities in the Region by developing strategies to
educate business and the regulated community on policy and regulatory develop-
ments. This will be accomplished in tandem with the Region's program offices and
divisions. The Region's software development group will be moved to this Office
since the electronic products they produce educate and inform various regional,
national and international customers. The Senior Leadership Team, through Public
Affairs, will ensure that these products deliver information in support of the
Agency's top priorities. Finally, Public Affairs will enhance its constituency
outreach efforts by expending more time on identifying key Regional interest
groups, engaging them in two-way dialogue, and educating them about Agency
activities. Public Affairs will also assist the new Senior Leadership Team to reach
its objective of ongoing constituency outreach by approaching interest groups,
arranging meetings and ensuring that feedback is factored into strategic planning.
A new interdivisional team will be formed and managed by the Director of Public
Affairs that will be comprised of the Congressional and State/Local Relations
Mangers and representatives from each of the Region's Divisions and Offices. This
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
team will facilitate communication by ensuring that all Offices and Divisions
coordinate their outreach efforts and are apprised of upcoming national and
regional announcements. (NOTE: This will not be one of the regionwide teams
reporting to the SLT.)
In lieu of the External Programs Division described in the original OTF proposal in
November 1994, the Congressional liaison and State/Local Relations Managers
continue to have direct access to the Regional Administrator and Deputy Regional
Administrators, recognizing the importance and immediate attention that must be
given to issues affecting Congress and State/Local government. The Region's
International Activities staff will also continue to report to the front office.
Operational and organizational changes were also made to facilitate direct access
to the Regional Administrator on Tribal issues. A Tribal Operations Team Leader
will report directly to the Regional Administrator and tribal issues will be managed
through a permanent Regionwide team sponsored by the Regional Administrator,
with core staff in the Resource Management Division.
Attributes and Benefits
* The enhanced role of Public Affairs preserves clear Accountability for
matters of high visibility and urgency; the Regional Administrator has
immediate access to experts responsive all constituencies.
* Internal and external Communication remains a critical activity in the Region
and places a heavy emphasis on customer service as a Regional goal. The
structure ensures that the front office is kept apprised of time-critical issues
of importance. The new Coordination functions in the Office of Public
Affairs ensure that the Region reaches all of its stakeholders in a holistic,
strategic fashion.
' Customer Focus remains the hallmark of the Office of Public Affairs. Its
position on the Senior Leadership Team ensures that it can effectively assist
the entire Region in identifying its customers' needs and achieving its
customer service goals.
Factors for Success
In order to serve a central communication function in the Region, members of the
interdivisional team that the Office of Public Affairs will convene need to apprise
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
the team of all upcoming decisions and issues that will impact stakeholders. A
very proactive approach must be taken to anticipate Agency and Regional issues,
identify customers they will affect, and develop strategies to communicate with
them. Additional resources and/or reorganization within the Office of Public Affairs
will be examined and may be necessary to implement constituency outreach and
compliance education activities.
Organizational Change: Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis
The decision to create the Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis (OSEA) is
directly related to reinventing Senior Staff into a strategic, forward-looking,
decision-making body, occupied with the strategic environmental and management
issues facing the region. The SLT will not be able to succeed and make the right
choices concerning our strategic direction without solid, analytical support and
information.
Features
The primary function of OSEA will be to provide the SLT with information and
analysis concerning the state of the environment, and to respond to requests from
the SLT to provide a range of strategic planning support. Specific support activi-
ties will include GIS and integrated data analysis, risk assessment, developing
environmental goals and indicators, NEPA analysis, serving as an incubator for new
initiatives and emerging issues, such as the Common Sense Initiative, and policy
and analytical support to regionwide priorities.
This office also supplies a productive linkage between science and policy, including
contact with Office of Research and Development, REMAP, Peer Review, Statisti-
cal Support, and functions associated with the Endangered Species Act.
Attributes and Benefits
* As a direct service to the Senior Leadership Team, this office will be Ac-
countable for supporting the development, alignment, and implementation of
its strategic direction with sound environmental and policy analysis. In turn,
the SLT is responsible and accountable for strategic planning, and will rely
heavily on this group to support it in setting regional direction.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
* Integrity and Effectiveness. This group will provide the SLT with the
information they need to ensure that the Region is deploying its resources in
a way that maximizes environmental results, and takes advantage of the
most innovative approaches to environmental problem solving.
* Measurement and Evaluation. How will we know when we have succeed-
ed? This group will promote the development and usage of environmental
indicators and risk reduction measures to evaluate our progress periodically.
With staff expertise, technology, and access to. massive quantities of
environmental data, the Senior Leadership Team can visualize and assess
baseline conditions and the success of their programs over time.
Factors for Success
This office's success depends very heavily on the success of the new SLT. Strong
communication and alignment must occur between the SLT and OSEA to facilitate
strategic planning and coherent implementation across the region.
This is a new organization in name and place. As such, it will be breaking new
ground beyond the functions that staff members already bring to it. We hope that
the new, prominent relationship with the SLT results in productive and creative
decision support.
Organizational Change: Resource Management Division
Features
Region 5 will create a customer-orientod Resource Management Division (RMD).
The current Planning and Management Division will be reorganized to consolidate
the management of all Regional resources management and integrity activities
under the Senior Resource Officer (SRO), who is also the Chief Financial Officer in
Region 5. The SRO will remain as Regipn 5's primary point of accountability for
resource management and administration. The SRO/Director will assume responsi-
bility for core technical functions and services, as well.
In addition to the role as principal accountable officer for the use of Regional
resources, the SRO/Director, RMD will continue to be the Region's service provider
for a wide variety of financial, human, information and facilities resources and
assume leadership for technical laboratory services and oversight of technical
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan
March 1995
integrity programs in the areas of quality assurance and compliance inspections
and monitoring. Increased emphasis will be placed on meeting customers' needs,
redelegation and/or decentralization of operational activities and the transition for
some functions from the traditional servicing role to a consulting roie to the media
programs. Included in the functions and services of the proposed RMD are:
Existing functions
o Resource Management Planning
o Budget Formulation and Execution
o Finance and Accounting
o Management Integrity
i
o Audit Management and Resolution
o Contracts Management
o Small Purchases
o Grants Management
o Information Resources Management
o Data Management
o Facilities and Property Management
o Administrative Support (mail, copying,
supplies, etc.)
o Core Human Resources Management
o Tribal Operations Support
Additional functions
o Regional Laboratory Services
o Core Quality Assurance
o Core Inspection and
Monitoring Activities
o Cleveland Office
With the establishment of the proposed Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis,
the SRO/Director RMD will no longer be principally responsible for strategic
planning and environmental analysis (i.e., NEPA reviews, Risk analysis, P2, etc.).
The SRO/Director RMD will have full responsibility for the Region's operating plan
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Reoion 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
(budget) and for the accountability, integrity and stewardship of all Region 5 fiscal,
human, physical and information resources. As a full partner on the Senior
Leadership Team, reporting directly to the Regional Administrator, the SRO/RMD
Director will participate fully in the Region's strategic planning process in order to
determine and meet the resources needs of the Region and its external clients.
The SRO/RMD Director will make resource decisions in consultation with senior
regional advisory groups, (e.g. a Deputy Division Directors Council, an IRM
Steering Committee, Quality Assurance Coordinating Committee, Regional Tribal
Operations, etc.).
As suggested by the National Performance Review, the Region proposes to
decentralize many of the functions now found in the area of human resources
(e.g., classification, recruitment, promotion, and intra-divisional reorganization,
training) in each division to improve delivery of human resources activities; and to
automate the paperwork between programs and the remaining centralized human
resources.
It is fully recognized that the Region's activities in this area will move in concert
with the national program to ensure appropriate accountability and consistency
with Headquarters regarding any changes in how the program operates.
Human Resources will gradually move toward a consulting and advisory role in the
areas of classification and position management. It is our goal to delegate classifi-
cation authority to the first line supervisors in Divisions and Offices. Reorganiza-
tions which do not involve functions outside of a particular Division/Office will be
made at the executive level of the Region. Classification training for supervisors is
currently underway. The Region sees itself picking up the workload for hiring and
merit promotion as 0PM downsizes. As more substantive rule changes occur,
Region 5 will experiment with delegating parts of the agency's merit promotion
process to the program offices.
Based on a recent delegation from headquarters, Program offices will be have the
authority to obtain all outside training necessary to support the technical needs of
their staff. As this occurs, HRB will shift its training emphasis into other areas.
Working closely with Headquarters, we will develop a Regional Assessment Center
which will provide professional assessment capability for use by regional staff and
supervisors. In addition, HRB will assess the level of interest and needs of the
Region with respect to establishing a College of Continuing Education/Evening
Institute.
The Tribal Operations function will operate using the regionwide team concept
(permanent); it will be sponsored on the SLT by the Regional Administrator and the
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Reoion 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
team manager will maintain the same relationship to the SLT as other team
managers. However, the team will have some core staff members housed in RMD,
and will draw administrative support from that division. The Tribal Operations
Team Leader and the liaisons perform the same function for the tribes as the state
coordinators perform for the states. The function will have a core of people to do
the liaison field work, grants management and interact with the national program
office. In addition to this core, there will be team members from all the media
programs to provide both single- and multi-media support and ensure cogent
implementation of environmental programs on Indian lands.
Four new activities will be added to the traditional PMD functions: management of
the Central Regional Laboratory (CRL) and the "core" portions of the quality
assurance, inspection and monitoring functions, and the Cleveland Office. The
core concept is designed to provide centralized administration and consulting
expertise in quality assurance, inspections and monitoring for the Region; further
explanation follows in the next section. The Cleveland Office will serve as a field
office focusing on unique activities, such as community-based approaches.
Attributes and Benefits
These organizational changes address all of the attributes developed by the Senior
Leadership Council.
* Integrity and Accountability are ensured by maintaining the SRO function
intact for all areas of resources management. The SRO will serve as Region
5's primary point of accountability for resources management, administra-
tive, and technical activities.
* By combining the service functions of the former Planning and Management
Division, together with the technical functions of the CRL and the "core"
monitoring, inspections and quality assurance, an organization is created
whose main activities are Customer Focused. Customer-oriented approach-
es have been the norm in all resource management services; they may be
strengthened in this arrangement.
* Communication and Coordination are improved by having this division as the
focal point for all Regional resources management and integrity activities.
* This proposal will maintain Efficiency by keeping specific activities best
suited for centralization, such as supplies, recordkeeping, and equipment
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Region S Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
maintenance, and saving some of the effort associated with funding "non-
core" activities.
The proposed changes, in concert with Regional changes described elsewhere,
clarify budget, resources management, and stewardship responsibilities. Opportu-
nities for re-delegation of authorities to program managers, where possible, will
enhance human resource decisions by tying such decisions to fiscal and budget
targets/constraints and will empower managers and supervisors within clear
systems of accountability, management controls and integrity.
Determining core quality assurance, inspection and monitoring activities with other
Regional integrity responsibilities will clarify these functions. They may be en-
hanced by resource management expertise in the RMD, and by immediate access
to facilities and procurement expertise. By the same token, repositioning the
Central Regional Laboratory and the Cleveland Office in the new RMD should
enhance their role as technical support services providers, improve fiscal controls
over their highly valued human and physical assets, and improve their information
capabilities under the IRM leadership. Ultimately, these functions may be candi-
dates for the Agency's Working Capital Fund..
A single senior leader, the SRO, will advise the Regional Administrator and SLT on
all aspects of the Agency's integrity efforts and requirements.
Factors for Success
The Senior Leadership Team will need to discuss and clarify the role of the Cleve-
land Office. Field support functions are new to the Resource Management Divi-
sion; we have not yet agreed what portions of inspection, monitoring, and quality
assurance resources constitute a core for RMD, with the rest being decentralized
to individual media programs. Nor have we agreed on measures of efficiency
associated with spreading this work. These questions also apply to other functions
targeted for decentralization.
A disadvantage to the proposed Human Resource Management changes is that this
shift will require program organizations to invest resources to implement these
functions from within. The same may occur with decentralized technical func-
tions. We are charting new territory; few precedents exist for a public agency to
follow in this shift. We will need to train the program staff to become as effective
as the current human resources and technical staff in carrying out these reponsi-
bilities.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
The separation of the Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis and the Resource
Management Division may adversely impact employee morale, as RMD staff will
lose the environmental programs they once had. The RMD director will need to
focus extra effort to ensure that the Region's environmental goals are communicat-
ed. Good management is everyone's business; we may compromise this under-
standing among media program staff, creating a "second-class" organization
devoted to management, but not mission, as warned in the Barker Report three
years ago. Conversely, the SRO will need to function as an equal on the SLT to
insure that management concerns are articulated when discussing program issues.
The former Planning and Management Division- and Environmental Sciences
Division achieved significant diversity in the workforce for both supervisory and
staff positions. As these divisions dissolve and reconnect with the Region in new
ways, it is important to ensure that this diversity is maintained, and ultimately
enhanced (Please refer to Diversity elsewhere in this document).
The key component for the future of the services under this Division is that they
focus on the customer's needs, while also maintaining the integrity of our resource
management. These two elements must both be present and endorsed regularly to
ensure quality service is provided.
Organizational Change: Core Inspections, Monitoring and Quality Assurance
Features
The Quality Assurance (QA) core will house the functions required of the Regional
Quality Assurance Manager and those functions that are more appropriate for
centralization. It will provide multi-media expertise regarding QA, centralized
management of the Regional Quality Assurance Management Plan and assistance
with program guidance and training.
The Monitoring/Inspection Core will consist of a cadre of multi-talented experts
who will: (1) conduct monitoring to support regional special purpose environmental
monitoring projects (i.e. community-based efforts); (2) coordinate multi-media
inspections; (3) provide and coordinate multi-media training and (4) provide expert
assistance to media programs on air and water monitoring issues.
The QA core will provide QA technical services to a variety of customers both
internal (media Divisions) and external (States, Tribes, etc.) to the Agency. By
providing central expertise, it will reduce duplication of effort in the areas of
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
performance evaluation studies, state/tribal capacity building and training for
program QA staff. Project managers in each media program will be responsible for
preparation, review and approval of Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) for
their programs, but will have the option to consult with the QA core about a
specific QAPP or a related document.
The Monitoring/Inspection Core will a bo provide technical and consultative
services to a variety of internal and external customers. While media specific
inspection/monitoring activities will be done in each Division/Office, the core will
insure that multi-media expertise and coordination will be available to the Region.
Attributes and Benefits
* Integrity. The benefit of a core of QA experts is the reduced duplication of
effort across the Region in performing the QA functions as outlined above.
Consistency in implementation of the QA core functions is also achieved.
FMFIA vulnerabilities are also addressed in the QA core.
* Accountability. The QA core retains the responsiblity for maintaining the
Region's overall Quality Assurance Management Plan, and serves as an
established point of contact for the Region's customers, and disseminating
QA guidance documents, methods and other related information.
* Customer Focus and Efficiency. In the Resource Management Division, the
QA core provides a variety of services that can be used for any given
project. The core allows project managers to use these services rather than
spend their resources on intensive and expensive training to develop the
skills and experience needed in the QA core function technical areas (i.e.
chemistry, statistics, lab auditing, etc.)
* Reinvention. The synergy of these functions in one close-knit unit allows for
multi-media projects to get the best service from experts in each discipline
represented. With the routine inspections and monitoring in the media
programs, the Monitoring/Inspection Core will also facilitate development of
greater expertise in highly specialized areas for a small group of focused
staff.
* Coordination. The Inspection/Monitoring core will promote multi-media cross
training; coordinate multi-media inspections; and serve as experts for
specific geographic, community-based activities in the Region. The core will
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Reoion 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
preserve independence of monitoring network reviews and data assessment
and analysis.
Factors for Success
A main factor for success is the funding for these activities. The cores for the QA
functions and the inspection/monitoring functions, the CRL and the Cleveland
Office do not, for the most part, have base resources of their own. The SLT must
be committed to funding these activities. Another main factor for success concerns
the definition of the core functions in relation to the activities that were decentral-
ized to the media programs. While the media programs need flexibility and
independence for their QA and inspection/monitoring functions, the cores must
insure Regional consistency in these areas. The core's responsibility in the areas
of training, audits and technical assistance must also be defined.
Organizational Changes: Other Divisions and Offices
Features
The present Air and Water divisions will retain existing functions, but will reorga-
nize to accommodate the enforcement mandate and additional inspection and
monitoring activities. The Great Lakes National Program Office and the Office of
Regional Counsel will also retain existing functions, and may undertake some
internal reorganization.
Each media division will create or retain an enforcement branch (or branches,
depending on the number of enforcement programs administered). The enforce-
ment branches will have responsibility for all media and multi-media enforcement
and compliance assistance technical expertise. Each media division will add or
designate inspection and monitoring personnel, as well as personnel to support
Quality Assurance Project Plan approval.
The Office of Regional Counsel will remain intact, although it will most probably
reorganize internally. ORC attorneys currently perform both counselling and
enforcement roles for the programs, and have unequivocal accountability for both.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan . March 1995
Attributes and Benefits
* The media programs will continue to maintain their high degree of Account-
ability for program results to the Regional Administrator and the Senior
Leadership Team.
* Integrity. Region 5 will be compliant with the Administrator's decision on
enforcement in the regional offices; enforcement and compliance assistance
functions will be centrally located within each media division.
* Efficiency. Significant operational changes will be made without major
organizational dislocation. Except for the core staff in remaining in the
Resource Management Division, most inspection, monitoring, and quality
assurance functions will be integrated with the program functions in each
media division.
* Reinvention. Great Lakes National Program Offices remains exemplary of
place-based and ecosystem program implementation.
Keeping counselling and enforcement together in one legal office helps insure
national uniformity in the interpretation and application of the statutes the Agency
administers. It also promotes the development and maintenance of the depth of
statutory expertise, thereby enhancing the quality of legal services provided. A
consolidated legal office preserves and enhances the stature and credibility of
regional attorneys with their counterparts in the Department of Justice, as well as
with opposing counsel in the private sector. Keeping all regional lawyers in a
separate office insures that attorneys can and will provide independent legal advice
to the programs, and preserves the attorney-client relationship, which is critically
important. Finally, the unified structure also provides ORC with the flexibility to
shift legal resources in response to developing agency priorities and initiatives.
Factors for Success
Realignment of Inspection and Monitoring functions in the programs will require
adjustments to optimally utilize those functions. Decisions will need to be made
about specific activities that make up the core services in Resource Management
Division. Decentralization of the remaining activities will require effort and coordi-
nation on the part of the programs to incorporate these functions. Also, additional
Quality Assurance responsibilities in the programs will require coordination and
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Reoion S Reinvention Implementation Plan March 199j
attention to support this shift. Developing the necessary experience to effectively
implement the Quality Assurance program in each media Division will take an
investment of time and effort in the short term to realize long term efficiencies.
The challenge in each of these cases is to split functions previously together,
absorb them into a new organization and create new synergy among regrouped
functions. All changes will require significant realignment. Both GLNPO and ORC
will be required to work closely with other organizations to clearly define their
respective roles, responsibilities, and operating procedures.
Organizational Change: RCRA/Superfund Split
Features
The existing Waste Management Division will be split into two separate divisions;
one incorporating the existing RCRA programs; the other incorporating the existing
Superfund programs. The division incorporating the RCRA programs will receive
the staff and program responsibilities from the Pesticides and Toxics Substances
Branch of the former Environmental Sciences Division. The primary reason for
splitting the existing Waste Management Division is that it has grown too large in
size compared to other Region 5 organizations. Also, as both the RCRA and
Superfund programs have matured over the years, there have been fewer common
implementation activities.
The primary reason to combine the Pesticides and Toxics Substances Branch
programs with the RCRA programs is that the existing RCRA regulatory program
has many common features with the pesticides, asbestos, EPCRA Title III, and PCB
regulatory programs, especially those aspects that deal with waste minimization
and disposal.
When the Waste Management Division (WMD) was first created, the major
objective was to better integrate RCRA and Superfund issues, as both the RCRA
and Superfund programs deal with similar types of waste materials and involve the
prevention and remediation of soil and groundwater contamination. Integration has
become less of an issue as specific implementation activities have differed for the
two programs.
The draft Optimization Task Force proposal (November 1994) discussed splitting
the individual programs that comprise the Pesticides and Toxic Substances Branch
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
(PTSB) into four different organizations. It became apparent that such a split
would compromise the multi-media focus that these programs have developed over
the years together, create duplication of effort, and reduce efficiency. By keeping
PTSB together, the chemical-specific nature of its program activities will be
maintained. PTSB's regulatory activities are similar to those of the existing RCRA
program in several respects. We believe that the existing PTSB staff will feel
comfortable joining the RCRA program, and that each program would benefit from
the expertise that the other has to offer.
Attributes and Benefits
This organizational change addresses severe! of the attributes:
* Accountability and Customer Focus. The waste programs and the chemical
programs will continue to remain accountable to the Regional Administrator,
the Senior Leadership Team, and to their respective National Program
Managers. This structure will remain clear and productive for state environ-
mental, agricultural, and public health agencies, who are primary customers
of these programs.
* Integrity, Efficiency, and Effectiveness. The critical mass of the smaller
pesticides, asbestos, EPCRA Title III, and PCB programs will be maintained
by keeping these programs together. In addition, each program will benefit
from the expertise that the othor has to offer. The RCRA program has a
number of parallel regulatory requirements as the other programs which will
be joining it, for example, the RCRA and PCB programs both approve
landfills and incinerators as disposal alternatives.
* Communication and Coordination. The day-to-day integration of hazardous
waste activities now takes place between staff and supervisors in each
program; the hierarchy is no longer needed to ensure it.
* Reinvention and Streamlining. By eliminating a layer of management of the
existing Waste Management Division, the two resulting organizations will be
flattened, decisions will be made quicker, a SES manager will be available to
another organization, and progress will be made toward meeting the 11:1
ratio.
Although the split and the elimination of one layer of management are not neces-
sary to meet the 11:1 employee supervisor ratio, they demonstrate that all levels
of management are subject to streamlining organizational changes. To the extent
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
that Senior Executive Service positions are carefully rationed, some economy may
be achieved with two program managers instead of three, thus freeing a position
for use elsewhere.
For the most part, the RCRA and Superfund offices are already operating indepen-
dently. The split would have little or no impact on the day-to-day activities of
most employees. The current working relationship between the RCRA and
Superfund programs models that for all Divisions and Offices; it does not depend
upon a hierarchical management structure, but is achieved through staff and
program level linkages.
This organizational change creates two Divisions of comparable size to other
Region 5 organizations which would allow greater access to these two programs
on specific coordination issues from other Regional programs.
This organizational change parallels four Region 5 State structures (IN, Ml, MN,
OH).
Pollution Prevention and disposal activities of the Pesticides and Toxic Substances
Branch fit logically with the Waste Minimization efforts in the existing RCRA
program.
Factors for Success
With the proposed split, the volume of work may necessitate that both program
offices add deputies as is standard practice with other Divisions/Offices of compa-
rable size. The staff of the Pesticides and Toxics Substances Branch will have to
be integrated into the existing RCRA program; also, these employees may have to
physically move which always creates a degree of disruption.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
EVALUATION CRITERIA: The Optimal Organisation August 15, 1994
fiegion 5 vill nave an organizational structure and will operate in a manner
tnat . . .
Fully utilizes the talents of our employees to accomplish our mission,
through
- multiple career paths
- rotational assignments
- opportunities for advancement
Promotes teamwork throughout the Region
Prevents duplication of effort
Allows flexible resource management
Fosters full communication in all directions
Promotes alignment with strategic directions (capable of defining
objectives, measures of success, etc.)
Enables us to administer environmental statutes set forth by Congress
Allows flexibility to adapt to and fully implement evolving policies
from the Administration
Is productivei.e., effective and efficientin specific actions
related to those statutes and policies
Empowers employees at all levels to consider and choose varying (e.g.,
single- and multi-media, or ecosystem) approaches, as appropriate, and
holds them accountable for the results
Ensures that responsibility and accountability are clear (if not
intuitively obvious) from the Regional Administrator through levels of
management
Recognizes that situations arise that do not fit within the structure,
where responsibility and accountability are vague; it will be our
responsibility to identify those and ensure clarity
Promotes sound environmental decision-making, supported by good science
and good data, and world-class expertise
Enable* us to address environmental problems brought to us by our
constituencies and fosters public trust.
Supports well-defined relationships, a value-added Federal role, and
productive connections among States, Tribes, Headquarters, and other
Regions
Fosters alliances and partnerships with other entities toward environ-
mental protection
Recognizes our responsibilities in joint environmental projects with
other nations
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Proposal For Operational Change
SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM
,j Made up of Divison/Office Directors only.
^ Engage in constant strategic planning of "big picture" issues and align budget
accordingly.
^ Provide direction and leadership on overall management of Regkxiwide activities.
^ Senior Leadership Team will look to new Office of Strategic Environmental Analysis to
provide ft with environmental data, trends, statistics, etc. that will aid in strategic planning.
^ Guidelines upon which the Senior Leadership Team would base its strategic planning:
Region 5's Strategic Directions for the Midwest Environment"
Great Lakes 5 Year Strategy
EPA's "Five-Year Strategic Plan'
Feedback from constituency outreach
^ Identify cross-cutting Regional issues and commission multi-media teams (examples
below) to manage and address standing initiatives (blue boxes), emerging priorities/
site-specific projects (green boxes), and cross-organizational programs (red boxes).
Senior Leadership Team would allocate resources for these cross-Regional activities.
t
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14/15
Team Manager
14/15
Team Manager
14/15
Teem Manager
1
14/1
"earn Manager
14/15
Team Manager
Multi-Media Teams
Teams commissioned and chartered by Senior Leadership Team.
Teams are dynamic number of teams as well as duration will vary. Some teams will be
considered permanent for the foreseeable future, (solid boxes)
Team managers win have a sponsor on the Senior Leadership Team who also serves as
supervisor.
Senior Leadership Team will select GS-14/15 non-supervisory team managers.
Administrative support will be assigned to teams.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
APPENDIX C: Workforce Development
The most important assets of any organization are its people. Region 5
recognizes that it is the dedication and efforts of Regional employees that have
enabled this organization to achieve past successes and will continue to help this
organization meet future challenges. Therefore, Region 5 is committed to
providing an environment that fosters the recruitment, development and retention
of a high-quality workforce. Career development plays a fundamental role in
achieving this goal.
The career development envisioned for Region 5 employees furthers the
Agency's mission by identifying, assessing and providing the training and career
development opportunities necessary to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities
that will best qualify Region 5 EPA employees for the performance of official
duties. To achieve this goal, the Region will ensure that technical, administrative
and interpersonal skills are developed by our employees so that we can achieve our
mission and meet the significant challenges confronting us today and in the future.
This Appendix consolidates and utilizes existing resources and guidance into
one basic reference document. It is designed to provide a clear definition of what
constitutes career development and the career development/training responsibilities
of both staff and supervisors.
This goal establishes career development policies and procedures for
identifying, assessing and providing career development activities. It promotes the
programmatic, technical and administrative training needs of all Region 5 EPA
employees, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, position or
other factors such as physical or mental disabilities. It is also designed to promote
diversity in our workforce at all levels of the organization. Career development will
focus on maintaining and improving skills needed by new and existing personnel in
order to continue to support statutory and/or programmatic objectives, while
enhancing personal growth and development.
The Region 5 career development framework includes the following:
Career Development Policy - policies and procedures for identifying,
assessing and providing career development activities (i.e., mentoring,
training, defining responsibilities for supervisors and staff, etc.)
Needs Assessment - a comprehensive inventory of the knowledge, skills and
abilities possessed by current employees and required by future workforce
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Region 5.-. ^invention Impkmentation Plan March 1995
and workplace needs (i.e., effective management of Agency resources,
present needs and future needs, etc.)
Multiple career paths mechanisms which provide opportunities for the
advancement of EPA employees interested in both supervisory and non-
supervisory positions
Core Curricula - basic education, experiences or training that will assist
employees in the performance of current and future job functions.
GOALS:
1) To provide guidance and to enhance opportunities for individuals to
formulate and carry out career development goals.
2) To establish an environment that will promote opportunities to acquire
the knowledge, skills and abilities to enhance job performance to the mutual
benefit and responsibility of the Agency and the employee.
3) To provide a workforce that meets the current and anticipated and long-
term needs of the Agency.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY INVENTORY
GOAL:
Establish a comprehensive collection of career development-related
documents developed Agency-wide that will be made available to any
Region 5 employee.
KEY STEPS/PROCESSES:
1) Request such documents from as many sources as possible, including
each Region 5 Division/Office, other Regions and Headquarters.
2) Collect and sort each document as they come in.
3) Evaluate each individual document and decide if it should be part of the
collection.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
4} Collect all documents chosen and insert them, along with a table of
contents, in a 3-ring binder.
5) Obtain final approval from the HRC Career Development Workgroup of
the collected documents.
6} Distribute copies of'the collection to each Division/Office in the Region.
The master copy shall be placed in a location accessible to every employee
(e.g., library or designated career development room).
7) Periodically update the collection of career development documents to
include recently published documents and delete existing documents deemed
obsolete.
IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE:
1) Collect All Career Development-related Documents - 3/1/95
2) Solicit Comments - 3/15/95
3) Revise Collection and Obtain Final Approval from Workgroup - 3/29/95
4) Distribute Copies to Every Division/Office of Region 5 and a Central
Regional Location - 4/12/95
5) Update Existing Collection - Continuous
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
1) Include a sign-in/sign-out sheet in each binder to track every employee
who looks at the information collected on career development.
2) Percentage of Region 5 employees who have gone through the list of
career development documents and are more knowledgeable about tools
available to advance their carers. Ideal goal: 100 percent of employees
have read the collection.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
CAREER DEVELOPMENT POLICY
.GOAL:
To implement a policy that will meet the present and future career
development needs of Region 5 employees.
KEY STEPS/PROCESSES:
1) Review Waste Management Division Career Development Policy - April,
1995
2) Update CDP Where Necessary - May - July, 1995
3) Submit Draft Regional CDP for HRC/Senior Staff Review - July, 1995
4) Revise Regional CDP Based on Comments - August, 1995
5) Announce Final Regional CDP - September, 1995
6) Conduct Regional CDP Orientation Sessions - September - October, 1995
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
1) The policy is endorsed by HRC and Senior Staff.
2) Employees understand the policy. The policy is distributed Region-wide
and information/orientation sessions are conducted.
3) Employees actively participate in Regional career development activities
including, but not limited to, rotational assignments, mentoring programs,
ASCMS, ELAP and training.
4) Employees advance in their careers.
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
GOAL:
To compile a comprehensive inventory of the knowledge, skills and abilities
possessed by current employees and required by future workforce and
workplace needs.
KEY STEPS/PROCESSES:
1) Interview employees at all levels of the Agency to determine the type(s)
of functions they are required to perform on a regular basis.
2) Categorize these functions and compare them with current KSAs listed in
job descriptions for those positions.
3) Update current job descriptions and job classifications, where necessary,
based upon this information.
4) Prepare a skills inventory so that future workforce needs may be met by
the re-allocation of present employees who have the abilities to help the
Agency meet those needs.
5) Determine what training and experiences helped employees reach their
present levels within the Agency and what training and experiences help
them perform their present jobs on a daily basis.
6) Evaluate current training available/kinds of training needed. Identify
training needs not currently available. Create opportunities for needed
training within and outside the organization.
7) Prepare and/or revise core curricula based upon the information obtained
through the needs assessment.
SCHEDULE/MILESTONES:
1) Conduct employee interviews - October, 1995 - February, 1996
2) Categorize and compare information - March - May, 1996
3} Update job descriptions/classifications - June, 1996 - September, 1996
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Plan March 1995
4) Prepare skills inventory - June - August, 1996
5) Determine usefulness of training/experiences - October, 1995 - February,
1996
6) Prepare core curricula - March - May, 1996
MULTIPLE CAREER PATHS
GOAL:
To provide a roadmap that every employee could use to reach the top
of his/her potential. Along with this roadmap, every employee should know
what knowledge, skills and abilities (core competencies) are needed to move
to the next step along the desired path. Employees should be able to move
along this path through a variety of supervisory and non-supervisory
positions.
KEY STEPS/PROCESSES:
1) Each job in the Region should be listed. The numbers of each kind of job
should also be provided.
2) Core competencies should be listed for each job.
3) A flow chart should be prepared that provides possible career choices
along with the path for advancement within the organization.
It is recommended that the above key items be prepared by each
Division/Office, but this is not meant to dissuade movement between offices. It is
also recommended that Administrative Officers (AOs) from each Division/Office
form a team to complete these activities under the leadership of the Human
Resources Branch. The AOs would be responsible for compiling and updating the
information for their own Division/Office. These materials would be made available
in each Division/Office and in a central library (similar to inventory materials) or on
the LAN.
SCHEDULE/MILESTONES:
1) Identify jobs - October 1995
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Region 5 Reinvention Implementation Ptan March 1995
2) Describe core competencies - March -May 1996
3) Flowchart career choices - June-September 1996
4) Consolidate report - September 1996
5) Updating - Continuous
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
Every employee will know what core competencies are needed to fulfill
his/her aspirations.
CORE CURRICULA
GOAL:
To prepare an outline of the basic education, experiences or training that will
assist employees in the performance of current and future job functions.
KEY STEPS/PROCESSES:
1) Determine what training and experiences have helped employees reach
their current positions and what training and experiences help employees in
performing their current jobs on a daily basis. This information would be
obtained through the needs assessment process, interviewing and
benchmarking with other agencies.
2) Determine what training and experiences every EPA employee is required
to have in order to be a well-rounded environmental employee. This
information is available through Headquarters core curricula information.
3) Prepare a list of core curricula that includes key generalist skills and
information for all employees' success at EPA, as well as program or job-
specific opportunities that will build technical expertise and skills.
4} Distribute the list to all Region 5 employees in order to provide them with
a crosscutting foundation of basic skills and knowledge that will assist them
in performing their present and future jobs.
C-7
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Region 5 Reinvention ImpJomentttion Plan March 1995
SCHEDULE/MILESTONES:
1) Determine training/experiences- October, 1995 - February, 1996
2) Determine well-rounded employee requirements - April, 1995
3) Prepare list of core curricula - March - April, 1996
4) Distribute core curricula to all employees - June, 1996
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
1) The employee has a framework for a technical understanding of what the
Agency does (mission, basic issues addressed, structure, strategy and
goals).
2) The employee has the tools with which to work, including both technical
expertise and interpersonal skills.
3) The employee has a customer-service orientation and a commitment to
quality ideals, which pervade every aspect of work.
4) Employees are provided additional opportunities through continuous
follow-up needs assessments on a biennial basis.
C-8
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