5.2. SR 08-14-2000"ity
of
iver
MEMORANDUM
Item 5.2.
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
City Council
Economic Development Authority
Pat Klaers, City Administrato~
August 14, 2000
Proposal for Customer Service and Siting/Expansion
Process Plan - Anita Duckor, Duckor and Associates
Implementation of the recently completed Industrial Marketing Plan is a high
priority for the city and the EDA. The customer service and client
siting/expansion process was highlighted by the Industrial Marketing
Committee as a key component of the overall Industrial Marketing Plan. The
attached proposal from Anita Duckor was requested in order to help city staff
understand and improve its customer service and its siting/expansion process.
The city has had numerous successes in providing quality customer service to
prospective business owners and in its siting/expansion process for new
companies. However, the city has also experienced some problems in these
areas. This process is key to the Industrial Marketing Plan being successful.
One mistake or breakdown in the process can unfortunately create long-term
hard feelings.
The proposal from Duckor and Associates is designed to help the city formalize
its site/expansion process so that city staff will have clear guidelines to follow.
We need to develop a better understanding of each other's role in the
development process and how the city can improve our working relationships
with clients. The plan from Anita is an intense, detailed work plan and I have
requested Director of Planning, Michele McPherson to be the lead staff liaison
on this project. The planning department is the common link between
economic development, finance, engineering, and the building/zoning
departments. The planning department "receiving" the client and "handing
off' the client is at the center of the process. In fact, sometimes a new business
13065 Orono Parkway · P.O. Box 490 · Elk River, MN 55330 · TDD & Phone: (612) 441-7420 · Fax: (612) 441-7425
or developer will come to the community and not even see the economic
development department.
The benefits of improving our customer service and siting process go far
beyond economic development. Even though this is part of implementing the
Industrial Marketing Plan, I am suggesting that the cost be split 50/50
between the city and EDA. The EDA share can come out of its reserve. The
City Council share can come out of its contingency fund.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council and the EDA approve the customer
service and siting/expansion process plan from Duckor and Associates, with
council funding to come from its contingency fund and EDA funding to come
from its reserves.
s: \ council\ duckor.doc
Duckor d~ Associates
Duckor ~ Associates
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
3141 Dean Court
Suite 804
Minneapolis, MN 55416
Phone 612. 285-103:3
Fax 612. 285-1044
E mail DuckAGSD ~ aol.com
Duckor 4~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
August 2000
Purpose
To develop a Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan including a multi-
departmental Location Site/Expansion Process for the City of Elk River which
· Articulates clear roles and responsibilities for all city employees and parties
° Oudines a seamless process
· Identifies critical hand-offs
° Improves customer service
· Enhances team work and matrix management, and ~
° Provides a communication strategy for all departments involved.
Approach and Scope of Work
Meeting your objectives requires a collaborative, integrated, and dedicated team
working toward a common purpose. An important feature of Duckor & Associates
Inc. approach is the involvement of the City of Elk River Administrator and the
following city departments: Building, Economic Development, Engineering, Finance
and Planning. This method ensures a clearer understanding of your objectives and
timely access to needed information, and also positions you to implement the
strategies developed. In other words, the Customer Service and Siting/Expansion
Process Plan is totally owned by you, the City of Elk River.
City of Elk River staff will
1. Provide City of Elk River's information
2. Select Working Team
3. Select interviewees (employees) and schedule interviews
4. Develop process maps and work flow descriptions for all departments prior to
Working Team Meetings
5. Arrange meetings, provide meeting space and take meeting notes
6. Provide working space for consultant and administrative support, if needed
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor ~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
August 2000
Duckor 8k Associates, Inc. will
1. Provide project leadership
2. Provide process and plan format
3. Conduct interviews and.attend key meetings
4. Direct Working Team
5. Critique process maps and work flow descriptions
6. Prepare for, lead and facilitate all meetings
7. Write the plan, and
8. Present plan to the City Council
Methodology
· Collect, analyze and assess pertinent City of Elk River information which builds
on the Strategic Industrial Marketing Plan
· Interxsew select employees
· Attend Site Plan Review Committee meeting
· Conduct planning/working sessions with Working Team
· Conduct on-going discussions with City Administrator, and
· Present findings and plan
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor ~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of ELk River
August 2000
· tel
Information Gathering & Analysis -Phase I
Timeframe: TBD depending on Working Team's availability
· Review City of Elk River's various department plans and other pertinent work to
date
Prioritize key processes
Identify who is primarily responsible for each process
Address the following questions:
· What is the primary source of customer complaints? Which process is
responsible?
· Which process consumes the greatest amount of employee time and city's
cost?
· Which process will become more important in the future?
· Which processes are most important in support of the primary ~vork
processes?
· Which process do we have the most kno~vledge about?
Identify customer requirements and key customer drivers from the Working
Team's lmowledge and understanding
Interview each department head (Working Team) prior to Working Team
meetings
Duckov & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor ~ Associates
ee ·
·
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
Ci~ of Elk River
August 2000
Conduct 1 (two-three hour) meeting wifl~ Working Team to complete Phase I
includingi
' Develop team principles, clear roles and responsibilities and milestones
· Review overview of current Customer Service and Location Site/Expansion
Process
· Review client requirements and key customer drivers from the Strategic
Industrial Marketing Plan
· Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges with the Ci~
of Elk River's delivery of siting/expansion services
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
4
Duckor cO Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
Ci~ of ELk River
August 2000
Customer Service and Location Site/Expansion Process and Map.,
Development - Phase II
Timeframe: TBD depending on interview schedule and Working Team's availability
Worldng Team members will develop Customer Service and Location
Site/Expansion Process description and Map including all appropriate
departments (Building, Economic Development, Engineering, Finance and
Planning) and identify, the following:
· Map how the work flows among people and departments
· Work inputs (Circles)
· Key work activities (Rectangles)
· Decision making points (Diamonds)
· Delay points (Circles)
· Inspection or approval points (Triangles)
· Transferring activities (Arrows)
· Outputs (Circles, rectangles or other symbols)
· Key functions
· Responsible department per function
Working Team members will present their respective department's process and
map
· Define the ideal process from the customer's point of view
· Determine ff ideal process is feasible
Identify Challenges & Risks · Identify dependencies or limitations
· Identify any Legal or Regulatory issues
· Determine Success Measurements
· Develop customer performance and satisfaction metrics
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor c~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
August 2000
Interview Construction Inspector, Street Superintendent, Municipal Utilities
General Manager
Interview Administrative Staff personnel (2)
Attend at least one ci~ staff meeting and one Site Plan Review Committee
meeting
Conduct 1 (two-three hour) meeting with Working Team to review process
maps and work flow descriptions
Conduct 1 (two-hour) meeting with Working Team to complete Phase II work
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor ~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
Citw of ELk River
August 2000
Design Customer Service Process -- Phase III
Timeframe: TBD depending on Wor!~ng Team's availability
· Develop Customer Service Mission and document Customer Service principles
Review Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process · Determine if process reflects "how work really gets done"
· Identify customer contact points and design to enhance "Moments of
Truth"
· Identify clear hand-offs to ensure a seamless process
Brainstorm variances and changes to current Customer Service and
Siting/Expansion Process
· Brainstorm variances from customer requirements
· Analyze possible solutions
· Identify cycle time improvements, if possible
· Review communication materials from all departments for style, consistency, and
image
Determine System Support Requirements · Identify communication and project management needs
· Determine critical information required
· Develop Customer Tracking with profiles
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
7
Duckor ~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
d
August 2000
Align Human Resource Strategy
· Optimize performance by alignment of employee expectations and
performance with process
· Review if team members have the skills and information needed to
perform the process and make key decisions
Develop Success Measurements · Determine client performance and satisfaction metrics
· Develop operating metric(s), if appropriate
Conduct 2 (three-hour) meetings with Working Team to complete Phase III
work
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor ~ Associates
'e ~,1
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
August 2000
Customer Service _and Siting/Expansion Plan Development- Phase I¥
Timeframe: TBD depending on Working Team's availability
· Draft plan
· Design management performance reporting process
~ Conduct 1 (two-hour) planning meeting w/th Working Team to · Review plan
· Align and coordinate all aspects of plan
· Finalize plan
~ Present Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Plan to the City
Council
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
Duckor c~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City of Elk River
August 2000
Deliverable
Customer Service and $itin~l/'Expansion Process Plan
1. Customer Service Mission and Principles
2. Process Improvements driven by Customer Requirements
3. Enhanced Customer" Moments of Truth"
4. Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Maps
3. Clear Roles and Responsibilities for staff and all parties involved
6. Information System Improvements
7. Customer Service Communication Strategy
8. Success Factor Measurements
9. Challenges & Risks
10. Performance Reporting Management Tool
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
10
Duckor ~ Associates
Customer Service and Siting/Expansion Process Plan
City, of Elk River
August 2000
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
Tax Identification #41 - 191262S
Total Professional Service Fee
$ 15,500
City of Elk River
Customer Service and Process Consulting Services
General Provisions
Payment Schedule
1 /2 payment due upon project initiation
1/4 payment due 30 days after project initiation
1/4 payment due upon receipt of final plan
Invoices are payable upon receipt
Expenses for travel, lodging and related items will be billed in addition and shown
separately on Duckor & Associates, Inc. invoice.
Duckor & Associates, Inc. work will be a best effort and it is expected that the results
will meet the objectives sought. The recommendations and the written material we
provide will be our best judgment based on the information available to us. In any
event, Duckor & Associates, Inc. assumes no liability for this project.
This offer shall remain open for a period of 30 days from the date of letter, unless
extended in writing.
Acceptance
I appreciate the opportunity to work with you on this important assignment. Please
sign ,_nd return the enclosed copy of this proposal to authorize the agreed to work.
Presented by
Duckor & Associates, Inc.
By: Anita S. Duckor
President
Accepted by
City of Elk River
By:
Tide
Date:
Duckor & Associates~ Inc.
A BluePrint For Your Success...Today and Tomorrow
11