Practical Innovation in Government: How Front-Line Leaders are Transforming Public-Sector Organizations 

Introduction

In “Practical Innovation in Government", Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder unpack the challenges of implementing continuous improvement (CI) techniques in a government setting. Through studying over seventy different organizations, they discover the differences between successful CI initiatives in the private and public sectors. With the help of captivating stories of government improvement efforts, Robinson and Schroeder convey CI's potential and lay out practical steps to help the reader implement CI efforts in their own workplace.

Part 1: Front-Line-Driven Improvement

There is one significant difference between successful public sector and private sector CI initiatives. In the public sector, most improvement efforts take place on the front line, whereas in the private sector, most take place at the management level. In comparison with management-driven change, front-line change yields greater success for several reasons:

1. Front-line employees see problems and opportunities that their managers do not. 

2. Most front-line ideas are small, low-cost, and easy for staff to implement.

3. Most front-line improvements have an unexpectedly large impact due to the frequent repetition of processes.

4. The sheer quantity of front-line ideas leads to an enormous impact.

5. Improvements are often replicable in other areas, creating a multiplier effect.

6. Large problems often require front-line ideas in addition to manager involvement.

7. Front-line-driven improvement creates an organization centered on learning and growing. 

8. Front-line-driven improvement makes a unit more innovative. 

When implementing front-line-driven improvement, it is necessary to have front-line leaders who possess extensive institutional knowledge to help handle the unavoidable hurdles. An effective front-line leader must be willing to instill an improvement-driven mindset in their employees. Doing this will require showing employees patience by making gradual changes rather than rushing to make quick changes. A successful front-line-driven initiative will have a shared goal among all employees, train employees on the basics of CI, and emphasize that improvement is a part of everyone’s job description.

Section 2: Creating Organization-Wide Front-Line-Driven Improvement

Creating organization-wide front-line-driven culture is possible with a few additional details. First, all levels of management should be involved, especially executive leadership. These leaders can create a vision for CI by investing in employees through providing CI training. Additionally, leaders need to choose a champion to lead CI efforts. With extensive experience, this champion will serve as an advocate for CI. Lastly, leaders must get the entire leadership team on board and provide ongoing support. Support from leadership is essential to combat any potential resistance toward CI in the workplace. 

The next step for implementation is creating a support office staffed with a team of experts. The purpose of this team is not to make the improvements themselves, but to help with the improvement efforts. To avoid short-lived efforts, it is crucial that employees do not rely on experts to make the improvements. In government agencies, it may be tempting to tie CI efforts to a political leader. However, it is best to avoid this because the next leader in power could eliminate the effort.

Within an organization, it might seem like a good idea to begin a launch all at once; however, a staggered launch is a smart approach for several reasons. For one, aspects that are not working can be quickly spotted and addressed. Additionally, there are most likely only enough resources to support the launch of a limited number of units. One way to implement a staggered launch is through the coalition of the willing approach, which involves using managers who want to adopt CI in the first phase. This technique can aid a smooth and successful initiative by avoiding resistant leadership from the start. Ideally, the success of the first phase will then change the minds of any remaining resistant management.

 Most importantly, CI needs to be an integral part of the organization's daily practices. In order to minimize employee resistance to change, it is wise to slightly tweak practices rather than completely change them. To instill accountability and encourage employee participation, involvement in improvement efforts can be integrated into performance reviews.

Section 3: A Full Set of Problem-Solving Approaches for a Wide Spectrum of Issues

 Improvement efforts come in all different shapes and sizes, and it is a good idea for an organization to equip itself with a variety of them. However, don't get caught up in the tools and techniques. Remember, success is more about leadership than the specific CI method! The effective CI methods Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder observed fall into three general categories: large numbers of small front-line improvement ideas, systems for midsize process-level problems, and approaches for large complex system-level issues.

For a large quantity of small front-line improvement ideas, it is helpful to have a simple and efficient idea-handling process. One way of handling an abundance of ideas is through a team-based approach, where as many ideas as possible are handled quickly at the local level. For example, The Colorado Department of Transportation’s Office of Process Improvement created their  “Lean Everyday Ideas” (LEI) program, a web-based portal designed to facilitate the gathering and processing of a large amount of front-line ideas. In addition to idea collection, the online portal presents the ideas to the public, encouraging replication. The impact of small changes drastically increases when other departments adopt them too! 

Unlike smaller front-line problems, mid-sized process-level problems are typically more involved; therefore, they cannot be handled purely at the local level. The two methods presented for these types of problems are Rapid Improvement Events (RIEs) and the A3 Problem Solving Method. RIEs are a period of intense team activity aimed at dramatically improving an area or process. These events are well suited for a variety of problems because they are highly versatile. However, because they are rapid events, they can miss important details. In contrast, the A3 process is more resistant to the issues faced by RIEs because it involves a more measured pace. The A3 Problem Solving Method is mentioned in more detail below. 

Solving high-level complex problems usually requires a change in multiple processes and takes strong organizational skills, considerable resources, and a lot of time. Three frequently used methods for high-level problems are Six Sigma, A3, and Value Stream Mapping. In the Six Sigma method, teams follow the “DMAIC” process, which stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. The A3 method can be used for both mid-sized problems and high-level problems. Six Sigma and A3 essentially operate the same but emphasize different aspects of the process. The A3 method emphasizes communication, whereas Six Sigma emphasizes statistics and process control. Lastly, Value Stream Mapping is a process-charting approach where each step includes key performance indicators. The key performance indicators are chosen with the overall goals of the initiative in mind. This combination makes Value Stream Mapping powerful because it highlights where improvement efforts will have the most significant impact. 

An organization will face various levels of challenges in its CI journey. Thus, the goal of any organization should be to have a full spectrum of problem-solving capabilities. Regardless of the tools and techniques, the anchor of any successful improvement effort is a solid leadership team. 

Section 4: When Government Leads the Way: Pushing the Boundaries of Continuous Improvement

For years, public-sector organizations have learned about CI efforts by observing private-sector organizations. Four organizations, in particular, have pushed the boundaries of continuous improvement past the private sector's efforts: York Regional Government, Highways England, Denver Government, and Denmark Government.

The York Regional Government had a long-term goal of promoting innovation in government operations, and as part of this goal, they set up a committee to guide the initiative. The committee decided that their highest priority was broad front-line engagement. They set in motion three initiatives: the York Den, crowdsourcing, and the Innovation Laboratory. The York Den provided front-line employees with a space to pitch ideas to a panel of judges. Regardless of the judges' decision, they found that every participant was thankful to be heard. In addition, the York Regional Government identified twelve broad areas that needed improvement. To brainstorm ways to improve, they encouraged employees to submit their ideas. The unique part of this initiative was coworkers engaged with one another by voting for ideas and suggesting changes to existing ideas. The York Den and crowdsourcing were successful, but their effects were limited. To solve this problem, the York Regional Government created a permanent infrastructure called the Innovation Laboratory, or I-Lab for short. The I-Lab workshops are relatively quick (1.5 - 4 hours) and allow managers to get employee ideas, insights, and perspectives on issues primarily at the management level. Through these three initiatives, the York Regional Government encouraged front-line engagement and created the foundation needed to solve a variety of problems. 

Highways England is a unique example of a public-sector organization benefiting from encouraging private-sector companies to continuously improve. When trying to lower its budget, Highways England discovered that 95% of its funds were going to external contractors. This significantly limited the ways they could make internal improvements. In response, they designed a system that motivated their private contractors to share their process improvements with the entire supply chain and then rewarded the supplier for doing so. To aid their success, they engaged the leaders of the supplier companies, developed Lean capabilities in suppliers, and ensured that the Lean efforts were sustainable. The biggest takeaway from Highways England is continuous improvement opportunities do not stop within an organization. In fact, some of the greatest opportunities may be in trans-organizational improvement efforts. 

The city of Denver was the first major city to legalize marijuana. With no existing legalization models to learn from, Denver’s successful model made it a global benchmark. The city knew they would have to respond to problems on the fly and learn as time went on. They utilized the Denver Collaborative Model (DCM). This model was designed to quickly identify problems, gather information, and respond. The efficiency of the DCM allowed the city to identify problems through front-line workers before they became widespread. In no way was it a perfect transition, but the collaborative nature of Denver’s legalization model allowed them to learn rapidly and handle new challenges. 

The policies that governments create largely define the quality of leaders and greatly impact citizens’ lives. To incorporate CI into the policy-making process, the Danish Government created an innovation unit called MindLab. MindLab’s evaluation of a new policy to integrate early retirees back into the workforce identified several shortcomings of the government’s current policy creation process. Their new approach was built upon three principles. The first principle was to know the target group of a policy and the front-line staff that will be implementing the policy. Involving the front-line staff in creating the policy can significantly reduce the disconnect between policy-makers’ perceptions and the reality out on the front-line. The second principle was to include potential implementation issues in the policy creation process. Many potential problems can be foreseen and handled before a policy goes into action. The third principle was to incorporate regular follow-up assessments and continue making improvements based on these assessments. MindLab’s findings show that CI and front-line perspectives can play an important role in policymaking as well. 

Conclusion

Implementing CI in the workplace may seem intimidating; however, Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder offer some helpful tips:

1. Try applying CI techniques to personal work habits. 

2. To identify problems, ask team members where they have the most difficulty in day-to-day tasks.

3. When just starting out, it may be helpful to focus on “quick wins” or changes that have simple implementation and noticeable benefits.

4. After conquering small problems, try tackling larger problems.  

5. Seek out like-minded individuals and learn from them. Observe how other organizations are implementing CI from both the leadership perspective and the technical point of view. 

As your coworkers benefit from CI implementation and become more innovative, they will have pride in their work and enjoy it more. With the wise advice from Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder, you’ll soon be on your way towards organization-wide transformation.