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The old saying about good intentions comes to mind. Maya Angelou famously said that people may not remember what you say, but they remember how you made them feel. Something else Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
In that spirit, we are sincerely sorry that the recent messages about an all-hands on approach to eligibility customer service made people feel bad and micromanaged. We know that Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) employees are focused on the people we serve and want to help provide support as quickly as possible to people in need.
Customer service is not limited to the people we serve. It is just as important for us to provide excellent customer service to you, our employees.
And you are dealing with so much right now that is beyond our control. Unprecedented demand for services, open enrollment, new phone software. All while the ONE Eligibility system is experiencing slowness.
We hear you. Folks need clarity on what this customer service emphasis means for employees.
The agency has established a workgroup to explore ideas to build capacity with the resources we have to improve customer service, a priority for ODHS and Governor Kotek. The term Incident Management Team (IMT) was used to describe this effort. An IMT is an emergency management function and is a way to coordinate efforts to deliver outcomes.
I think of this effort as a customer service sprint as we manage all these mitigating circumstances simultaneously. While we run this sprint, it is equally important for you to participate in huddles, team meetings and celebrations that are important for your well-being. To manage these competing priorities, we are asking managers to consider the amount of time that is set aside for those activities. This doesn’t mean canceling our all-staff meetings or holiday gatherings. It does mean they might look different for a little while. For example, a two-hour meeting may be shortened to one hour. We may need to postpone some trainings that aren’t required during this sprint.
Equity is central to our customer service goals and your well-being. We are asking managers to keep supporting your participation in Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), following our policy, that says regular members can use up to 8 hours a month of work time to attend meetings and activities.
Looking ahead, we will be sharing information about this effort initially in the ONE Weekly Update.
In gratitude,
Jessica Amaya Hoffman, OEP Strategic Implementation Director
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