The Comptroller’s Office
of Public Accounts
Building Stronger, Smaller,
Smarter, Faster Government
Or
Showcasing How the U.T. Survey
of Organizational Excellence Serves
as a Management Tool to Enhance
the Workplace
Presented by:
Ann Cook, PHR, Classification Analyst, Comptroller’s Office
Morris Winn, Manager Human Resources, Comptroller’s Office
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Our Purpose
As Texas’ chief financial officer, the Comptroller collects taxes and
fees owed the state and recommends ways of streamlining government
And making it leaner, more efficient and accountable to taxpayers.
Heart and Soul of State Government
We provide reforms for streamlining government, making
services more efficient and less costly.
We are the state’s traffic cops, looking for ways of
cutting waste.
We collect taxpayer’s money and watch over the way those
dollars are spent.
We estimate revenue for the biennial budget and project the
rate of economic growth and activity.
Heart and Soul of State Government
We administer more than 30 state taxes and process
3.3 million tax returns annually.
We collect the overwhelming majority of taxes due the state. In
the coming biennium, we will collect $48.7 billion (including
& 27.6 billion in sales taxes, more than $5.3 billion in motor
fuel taxes and $4.2 billion in franchise taxes).
We dispense state dollars. One of our many responsibilities is
to handle payroll for all state agencies and cut monthly
paychecks for all state employees. In addition, we pay every
bill submitted to the state.
Heart and Soul of State Government
We track 640 state funds and accounts.
In order to be readily accessible, we maintain 17 audit and
34 enforcement offices throughout Texas and an active
Web site.
We operate a dozen toll-free phone lines handling an average
of 475 calls every hour. We handle questions from businesses
and consumers and try to answer each one promptly.
Heart and Soul of State Government
We put a price tag on most pieces of legislation
Our property tax division works with appraisal districts
statewide to compile accurate figures for the value of land
and buildings.
We audit school districts for efficiency and effectiveness and
give them ways to channel more of every dollar to classrooms,
where they belong.
Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander’s
Ten Principles for Texas in the New Century
1. Develop a better-educated workforce
2. Direct more of every education dollar into the classroom
3. Raise the bar on student performance
4. Cut taxes in Texas.
5. Introduce competition into government
6. Improve government performance and accountability
7. Reduce the size of government
8. Bring common sense to regulations
9. Use technology to cut costs and increase quality
10. Return control to communities and individuals
A Time Sensitivity Approach to the Survey
September – November 1999
Events
The Idea & Preparation Phase
*Human Resources Brainstorming
Ideas
*Additional Questions & Organizational
Codes developed in conjunction with survey
office
*Electronic Employee list sent to survey office.
*Personnel Liaison kick-off activities
*Pre-Survey Distribution activities including
E-mails, newsletter articles, flyers, posters &
cross-agency mixers
The Survey Distribution &
Data Collection Phase
November – December 1999
•Survey delivered to Agency
•Employee Participation Reminders
•Survey completed by Employees
Survey Data Interpretation
Phase
December 1999 – January 2000
•Agency Survey Analysis prepared
•Survey results delivered to Executive Management
•Survey results distributed to Employees
The Assessment
& Implementation Phase
January – June 2000
*Survey results provided to Agency
Planners for Strategic Plan.
*Shadow Managing Executives in how to
use results.
*Final Report to Executive Management
On identifying Initiatives to improve
programs.
The Business Problem (s)
Problem(s)
How to secure the maximum Employee Participation
In this first-time survey.
Root causes of Problem
*Employee Apathy *Skepticism with survey anonymity
*Results will not impact status quo…..why bother?
Strategies for Improving
*Small group meetings with Employees/Managers
*Project leaders available to Rank and File employees
*Recruiting division cheerleaders
The Business Problem (s)
Problem(s)
How to secure Top Agency Management or Executive
Level buy-in to the survey.
Root causes of Problem
*Agency has not previously participated in survey.
*Agency headed by elected official
Strategies for Improving
*Find common ground
*Elected Official must be daring and willing to think
“out of the box.”
EXAMPLES OF
COMMUNICATION
TO:
Comptroller Employees
Your Opinion Counts and Here’s Why
FROM:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
Morris Winn, Manager of Human Resources
Survey of
Organizational Excellence
December 1, 1999
MEMO
The State of Texas and Comptroller Rylander want your opinion and
here’s why. The Comptroller’s Office is one of more than 55 other
state agencies that will participate in the Survey of Organizational
Excellence this year. The Survey is a state employee satisfaction
survey administered by the School of Social Work at the University of
Texas. The Survey is a tool used by agency and state leadership to
assess from the employees’ perspective the quality of life in the
workplace. Comptroller Rylander wants your help in assessing the
effectiveness of our agency, what you think our organization is doing
well and where you think we need to improve. Survey results will be
shared with agency management and employees and used to pinpoint
areas where we are successful and identify areas where we need to
make improvements. An independent contractor tabulates survey
results and individual survey responses remain anonymous.
The Survey of Organizational Excellence was distributed the week of
November 29, 1999 and employees have approximately 14 days to
complete the survey. Our goal for this survey is a 100 percent
employee response rate. The more employees that complete the
survey assures a more accurate picture of the agency’s strengths and
areas for improvement. Additional information about the survey is
available on the Internet at
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/sswork/survey/. If you have general
questions regarding the survey please contact LaDene Dorsett at 9362831, Curt Besselman at 463-4792 or your survey liaison.
c
John Colyandro
Mike Regan
Steve Hudson
Internet Web site
The•
Survey
Your Opinion Counts and
Here’s Why
The Comptroller’s Office is one of more than 55
other state agencies that will participate in the
Survey of Organizational Excellence this year. The
Survey is a state employee satisfaction survey
administered by the School of Social Work at the
University of Texas. It is a tool used by the agency
and state leadership to assess from the employees’
perspective the quality of life in the workplace.
Results will be shared with agency management
and employees and used to pinpoint areas where
we are successful and identify areas where we need
to make improvements. An independent contractor
tabulates survey results and individual survey responses
anonymous.
The Survey of Organizational Excellence was
distributed the week of November 29, 1999 and
employees have approximately 14 days to complete
the survey. Our goal for this survey is a 100 percent
response rate. The more employees that complete the
survey assures a more accurate picture of the agency’s
strengths an areas needing improvement. Additional
information about the survey is available on the Internet
at:
http://www.utexas.edu/depts/sswork/survey/
If you have general questions regarding the
survey please contact LaDene Dorsett at
936-2831, Curt Besselman at 463-4792 or
your survey liaison.
Posters and Print Media
Comptroller Rylander knows that asking
questions is the best way
to learn.
That’s why we’re asking
for your participation
in the Survey of
Organizational
Excellence. The
survey is administered
by the University of Texas
School of Social Work.
Responses will remain
anonymous and results will
be shared with agency employees.
Our goal for this survey is
100 percent employee response
to accurately evaluate the agency’s
strengths and areas for
improvement. All employees
are encouraged to participate.
Your
opinion
counts!
For more information, call
LaDene Dorsett
at 936-2831 or
Curt Besselman
At 463-4792.
STRATEGIC PLANNNG
Comptroller of Public Accounts Strategic Plan
SURVEY OF ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE RESULTS
Agency Strengths
During the month of December, the University of Texas at Austin’s Survey of
Organizational Excellence was distributed to each Comptroller employee. The Survey is Strategic Organization
designed to assess employee satisfaction with their work environment and has been
administered by the university’s Center for Social Work Research since 1980. Factors
Time & Stress Mgt
include general organization, team perceptions, physical work setting, personal demands,
and communication.
Quality
The Comptroller's office participated in the survey for the first time ever under Comptroller
External Communication
Carole Keeton Rylander and achieved 54% employee participation! Of the 17 large
agencies that participated in the survey this year, the agency was second overall--and
Benefits
that group includes agencies that have participated many times before.
The Survey is organized into 20 "constructs" or categories designed to broadly profile
areas of the work environment. Employees were asked to rank answers on a scale from
1-5 with three being the average. In 17 of the 20 constructs, the agency ranked above
average. The remaining 3 constructs indicate opportunities for growth. Two of the
strengths were Strategic Orientation and External Communication; employees identified
Fair Pay and Empowerment as areas of concern.
In comparison to agencies of like size, scores for the Comptroller’s office ranked higher in
each of the 20 constructs, with the exception of Fair Pay and Benefits.
The Survey results will be shared with executive administration, agency managers and
employees. Human Resources will meet with division managers to discuss their specific
division results and distribute a comprehensive report of survey results. The agency
anticipates forming manager and employee focus groups to address strategies to maintain
the agency’s strengths and to improve areas identified as opportunities for growth.
Managers and employees will be provided a full range of information enabling them to
initiate programs and policies that will assist in a journey to excellence.
Opportunities for Improvements
Supervisor Effectiveness
Fair Pay
Empowerment
Fairness
Holographic (Consistency)
Further information on the survey instrument may be obtained from the University of Texas at
Austin Center for Social Work Research at http://www.survey.utexas.edu.
397
365
361
361
355
285
289
294
305
308
REPORTING RESULTS
*AGENCY
*MANAGEMENT
*EMPLOYEES
Survey of Organizational Excellence
Fall 1999 Survey Results
Response Rate
Total Respondents
Surveys Distributed
54%
1406
2620
Highlights of Survey of Organizational Excellence Results
Total of 20 constructs designed to broadly profile areas of the
work environment
*Received scores of 3.0 or above in 17 constructs
*Received scores below 3.0 in 3 constructs
Who Participated?
Male
39.19%
Female
43.67%
Race/Ethnic Identification
African-American
Hispanic-American
Anglo-American
Asian-American
Other
11.17%
17.14%
47.65%
2.13%
3.06%
Highest Scoring Constructs: Agency Strengths
Strategic Orientation
Time & Stress Management
Quality
External Communication
Benefits
397
365
361
361
355
Lowest Scoring Constructs: Opportunities for Improvement
Supervisor Effectiveness
Fair Pay
Empowerment
Fairness
Holographic (Consistency)
285
289
294
305
308
Highest Scoring Constructs: Agency Strengths
Survey Construct
CPA Avg.
Statewide Avg.
Point Difference
Strategic Orientation
397
392
5 pts. Above
Time & Stress Management
365
336
29 pts. Above
Quality
361
360
1 pt. Above
External Communication
361
362
1 pt. Above
Lowest Scoring Constructs: Areas of Concern
Survey Construct
CPA Avg.
Statewide Avg.
Point Difference
Supervisor Effectiveness
285
293
8 pts. Below
Fair Pay
289
302
13 pts. Below
Empowerment
294
304
10 pts. Below
Fairness
305
289
16 pts. Above
Holographic (Consistency)
308
317
9 pts. Below
ORGANIZATION CODE
DESCRIPTION
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
Executive Administration (Comm,
LAG, IA)
General Counsel
Account Maintenance
Revenue Processing
Revenue Accounting
Revenue Admin/Revenue
Refunds
Claims
Funds Accounting
ACR/Revenue Estimating/Fiscal
Mgt. Admin.
Enforcement
Audit / Criminal Investigation
Tax Policy/Tax Administration
Property Tax
300
284
250
NUMBER OF RESPONSES
101
TOTAL SURVEY RESPONSES
193
200
150
100
69
50
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
Human Resources/Agency Admin
Information Technology
Support Services/Quick Copy
Budget and Internal Accounting
Treasury
SECO
Research & Policy Development
*CPA Total Number of Responses in ORG. Code = 1406
65
59
50
26
42
37
28
36
26
27
0
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 11
ORGANIZATION CODE
Organizational Code Survey Results
Org Code
304
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
Org Code Description
Comptroller
Executive Admn (Comm, LAG, IA)
General Counsel
Account Maintenance
Revenue Processing
Revenue Accounting
Revenue Admin/Revenue Funds
Claims
Funds Accounting
ACR/Revenue Estimating/Fiscal Mgt
Enforcement
Audit/Criminal Investigation
Tax Policy/Tax Administration
Property Tax
Human Resources/Agency Admin
Information Technology
Support Services/Quick Copy
Budget and Internal Accounting
Treasury
SECO
Research & Policy Development
Total # of
Responses
in Org Code Avg Score
Admin
of Org Code
1406
3.35
26
3.6
50
3.32
42
3.43
37
3.36
69
3.48
28
3.3
59
3.44
36
3.56
26
3.52
193
3.27
284
3.31
65
3.26
27
3.15
19
3.38
119
3.28
25
3.27
13
3.68
38
3.68
12
3.45
60
3.36
Survey Cheerleaders
*Familiar, frequent interaction with employees
*Liaison to disseminate information, address concerns
*Recognition of Cheerleaders