Written by The City of Irving, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, is one of five cities in the state and 89 in the nation with a AAA rating from both Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s. And 95 percent of Irving employees say the city government is a good place to work compared to a federal agency high of 84 percent.
The city places a strong focus on strategic planning and process efficiency, some examples include:
- Irving has a fully deployed Strategic Planning Process that is integrated with key customer requirements and includes input from residents, businesses, visitors, and employees. The 10-step process incorporates sharing of results and goals through multiple methods, including quarterly reports and presentations to the City Council and city management. Stakeholder involvement helps prevent potential blind spots while aligning the strategic plan with work functions and the city’s mission, values, and vision.
- Irving aligns its annual Strategic Planning Process with its budget process. Senior leaders identify resource-saving operational initiatives to off-set potential shortfalls; implement Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process enhancements; and use planning, reporting, training, and monitoring tools to provide an expected high level of service while managing risks.
- Irving’s focus on process efficiency has resulted in more than $44 million in cost savings and efficiencies since 2008. Key work processes are managed using the performance measurement system and improved using LSS process improvement methodology. This has reduced variation, eliminated waste, increased workforce productivity, and saved or avoided costs. For example, the city has significantly increased the number of commercial plans reviewed within six business days from 34 percent in 2008 to nearly 100 percent today.
Read the entire article at https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/city-irving-texas