The Buck Stops Here: Examples

In a previous post we spoke of the phrase, “The Buck Stops Here”, coined by President Truman during his administration. The placard on his desk suggested that he would not try to “pass the buck” on issues that came up in his administration. In that spirit, we want to offer some examples in this post of what that looks like when handling constituents. Note that the ideas, however, apply to any organization in the public or private sector.

NYC 311

With a population moving toward 9 million, how do you get citizens the information they need when they need it? In 2002 when Michael Bloomberg was mayor he set out to improve the level of service New Yorkers were receiving. His goal was a centralized, all-purpose call center staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days week. It would respond to any non-emergency service, just like their 911 number was doing. It would become known as NYC 311.

Through NYC 311 New Yorkers can get access to government information and non-emergency services. Whether it’s parking violation assistance or finding a school for your child, NYC 311 offers to citizens more than 4,000 different services via 300 city, state and federal agencies. Here are some additional stats:

  • Information is available in 170 languages, from Amharic to Zulu.
  • On an average weekday, more than 60,000 customers will dial in, and the majority are handled in four minutes or less.
  • 85 percent of the calls are answered in 30 seconds or less, with an average answer speed of 30 seconds.
  • A full 85 percent of 311 callers have their inquiry resolved during their initial call.

Important in all of this is that the service keeps non-emergency calls away from 911, allowing first responders on that network to deal with life-threating challenges. Note that while New York City’s case study is the largest operation, Baltimore Maryland was the first to move in this direction. Today scores of cities across America have instituted similar services, from Akron, Ohio to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Texting services are available in many of these cities, and  some utilize Twitter.

The Graham at Gracepoint

Let’s look at a more intimate example of providing services to individual residents. This time we’re in Tampa, Florida. Police officers have been called out to a man who is digging a hole in his front yard at 3 am in the morning. What are the options? Arresting or doing a Baker Act seems like a wrong fit. Officers can’t always distinguish whether an individual acting strangely has a mental illness, a substance abuse problem, or both. What do you do?

The Graham at Gracepoint is a Tampa-based nonprofit organization that offers help for people with mental health and substance abuse questions. Here law enforcement, emergency medical services, family or even individuals themselves can have the person referred for support. The organization also has built “wrap around” services through its mobile crisis team, which intervenes before a mental health issue reaches the level of a Baker Act, and an impact team, which engages with people in the month after they’re discharged to get them set up with a doctor and medication. This is important as police can often find people who fall through the cracks without follow-ups once they’re discharged.

Singapore: “No Wrong Door”

Government is one of the most difficult arenas for dealing with one-stop solutions. You’re never quite sure which agency to contact to deal with your given issue. The government of Singapore saw this a few years ago and instituted the concept of a “No Wrong Door” policy to deal with misdirected feedback or cross agency issues from the public effectively.

There are challenges with this in a work force that is over 136,000 strong. One extreme example told is of a person who went to a police station and asked the officer to return his library book for him. In one situation an individual was making over 200 phone calls in a single morning acting in an obsessively compulsive manner to get a particular matter resolved. This led the government to consider how you can better engage your citizens rather than entitle them.

In 2011 the concept of “No Wrong Door” was reviewed. It appeared that there were some short falls. For instance, a dog gets knocked down by a car. If the dog is dead, it becomes one agency’s responsibility, but if the dog is still alive, another agency could be responsible. Then there were also other agencies who could be involved depending on where the dog was lying.

To cope with this,  a First Responder Protocol (FRP) was established. Under this approach an agency which has some involvement with the issue should adopt a “take the lead” approach, even if they are technically not the ones in charge. In another situation, there was a plot of grass that needed to be dealt with. Not sure of which agency was in charge, the Singapore Land Authority just went ahead, got a contractor to mow it, and billed the amount later to the rightful agency. This is an approach aligned with the idea that “the buck stops here”.

There’s more to do, but Singapore recognizes that emerging generations are expecting more of their government. So they must be smarter in addressing ways to make sure customers get to the services they need. Call it “No Wrong Door” or “First Responder Protocol” it’s important for government to find solutions that keeps its citizens from falling through the cracks.

Key Take Aways:

Even if you aren’t part of a public sector organization, there are some important take aways for you to consider:

  • How intent are we in making sure the “buck stops here”?
  • How do we provide vehicles for the customers to interact with us while keeping them from clogging important emergency communication services?
  • How are you using current and emerging technologies to provide “one stop shopping” for the answers your customers need?
  • How do you provide a place for your employees to go to get the answers they need?
  • Do you have a “mobile crisis team” that can respond to any unusual situations that may occur with your customers?
  • How do we make sure we are engaging our customers, and not just further entitling them?
  • What do you do to make sure that people aren’t falling through the government services you offer?

To learn more about service run arounds visit Performance Journeys where we talk about approaches for being a first responder in situations like this. In the blog Disney at Work, you can see examples of how Walt Disney World responds to issues like this.

Sources:

Client Case Study, New York City 311: Public Service Call Center Solution, Accenture.

How the ‘no wrong door’ approach to mental health treatment is playing out in Hillsborough County. Tampa Bay Times, August 4, 2017.

From a Dog and a Pile of Rubbish–Public Service Delivery Lessons, by Richard Hartung, Challenge, September 14, 2012

 

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