Service Reviews
• 300 + services (includes programs)
• internal (corporate) & external (community) services
Internal – Human Resources helps Emergency
Services hire firefighters
External – Firefighters put out fires
• mandatory services & discretionary services
Service Reviews
What are we trying to change?
Our understanding of what is a service review
When we do service reviews
How we do service reviews
Service Review
Should we deliver this service?
At what level of service should we deliver
this service?
Council
What should our relationship to the
service be (e.g. direct provider, facilitator)
Management
How can we deliver this service more
efficiently (less cost)?
How can we deliver this service more
effectively (better value)?
Operational Review
Service Reviews
Operations and Transit
External service – Flower plantings in the
community (e.g. Riverside Park and floral clock)
Internal service – Propagation of plants for flower
plantings in the community
THAT staff provide a cost comparison of plant production inhouse versus purchasing from a private grower, including
total annual costs (operational, supervisory and overhead
costs) and a breakdown by species
Service Review
Council
Management
Operational Review
Service Review
Service Review (internal)
Council
• eliminate two Fleet Services Part Stores
• Parts Purchasing Business Model
Management
2010 Operational Review of Fleet Services
• process improvements
• cost reduction
Operational Review
Service Review
Service Review (external)
• Eliminate sidewalk snow clearing
Council
Management
Operational Review
• Service improvements
Operational Review
Service Reviews
When do we review 300+ services?
Not during the budget process
Council has not had any choice because we have lacked a systematic
and reasonable approach to conduct service reviews that would
allow us to make informed decisions outside of budget deliberations
Service reviews can take longer than a single budget cycle so we to
break out of the constraints of short-term annual thinking
Service Reviews
How do we review 300+ services?
Practically, how do we organize them so we can work through them
over the course of a term in a systematic and informed manner
Focus on discretionary rather than mandatory services
- miss service level discussions
Focus on external versus internal services?
- miss opportunities to find cost savings
Focus on big ticket items?
- miss “low hanging fruit”
Review them alphabetically?
Service Reviews
How do we review 300+ services?
1. Evaluating our perceptions to develop a short-list:
• personal experience with a service
• experiences of a friend or a constituent
• sound intuition that a service is no longer relevant today
• lack of understanding of the service (why it is delivered or who uses it)
2. Test our perceptions
• develop a deeper understanding
• do we understand the service?
• do we have consensus or divergent opinions?
• do we see the same opportunity ?
• many potential outcomes
Service Reviews
Potential outcomes?
• eliminate a service
• confirm a service
• change the service level
• change our relationship to the service
• trigger an operational review
• impact the 2012 budget
• impact a future budget
Service Reviews
Good news
• 25% done our preliminary review of services
• identified several services to discuss further
• Five services reviews underway or completed
• Management initiated
• Council initiated
Service Reviews
Service
Outcome
Fleet Service Part Stores (I/D)
Elimination of service
Residential street snow clearing (E/M)
Reduction in service level
Tree Donation Program (I/D)
New relationship – facilitate community
partnerships
Plant Propagation (I/D)
In progress
Bookmobile (E/D)
In progress
I – internal service
E – external service
M – mandatory service
D – discretionary service
Service Reviews
Questions to consider as we proceed
What are our next steps with the short list we have developed?
How do we engage the community in the next steps?
How do we respectfully engage our staff?
How we continue to work through the remaining services (200+)?
How quickly do we work through them (and keep the City running)?
How do we select the next 75 services to evaluate?
How do we increase our capacity to undertake service reviews (e.g.
establish a service-based budget)?