These examples of dedication and outstanding service have been demonstrated in every single NBC Directorate. For this dedication to service excellence, I sincerely thank you and can only encourage you to continue striving to provide outstanding service, regardless of the challenges you face.
Even with such a positive force in our favor, we all know that dedicated and hard-working employees alone are not enough. Without question, the future of the NBC depends upon our ability to remain competitive over a sustained period of time. The long-term role and place of the NBC within the government-wide shared services marketplace is being determined right now. You might be tempted to assume that the NBC is currently positioned well within the marketplace. After all, we're all working very hard AND the NBC has recently been selected and approved to provide services to other government agencies in both financial management and human resources services through a highly competitive and thorough evaluation process. These positive accomplishments could lead you to conclude that the NBC's role and position as a service provider has been set. The stark reality is that the selection of the NBC as an approved shared service provider is only the basic prerequisite, much like a ticket for entry. The bottom line has become that our future depends on our ability to compete for business, head-on, with both government and private-sector organizations. So, I think it's appropriate that the theme of this article is, "It's About the Competition."
The future is now.
When it comes to the NBC having to compete for business - the time has already arrived. Recent solicitations from potential customers have gone directly to private sector organizations, as well as to the set of approved government shared service centers. Therefore, the ability of the NBC to win new business and solidify a leadership position in the marketplace depends upon our ability to compete with many shared service providers, and not just those in the government.
Fortunately, the NBC Leadership Team has been focused on the issue of competitiveness for months. Drawing on the vast experience of our senior executives from across all NBC Directorates, a strategy has been set and specific actions are already in motion.
First, the strategy.
The NBC has taken the Office of Management and Budget's concept of a Center of Excellence and adapted it to an operational environment. The main aspects of an operational Center of Excellence are:
- Customer Service Excellence - Meeting customer expectations requires the NBC to work collaboratively with customers to identify and meet their requirements. In addition, it requires that we regularly measure customer satisfaction and make adjustments, as necessary, to address customer concerns.
- Operational Efficiency and Cost Competitiveness - Operating in the most efficient and cost competitive manner is a critical element in a highly aggressive business environment. We all know that. But, the real challenge facing the NBC is making decisions that improve operational performance while simultaneously demonstrating the right trends in unit costs, production, and productivity. We need to demonstrate accountability for operational performance.
- Quality Products and Services - Clearly, the future of the NBC depends upon our ability to meet customer expectations for the delivery of high quality products and services. Since quality objectives can be difficult to identify and measure, it is imperative that we develop a strategy to accomplish this. The pursuit of quality objectives means that the NBC must identify, communicate, and meet service level commitments for the delivery of services. In addition, a continuous improvement approach to managing the business must be instilled across all Lines of Business. To objectively demonstrate performance in this area, the NBC will pursue an objective, third-party quality assessment along the lines of an ISO (International Standards Organization) or equivalent certification.
As certainly as our competition is increasing, so are the expectations and business savvy of our customers. To continue to compete in this maturing and more demanding environment, change is necessary. However, one point I want to make very clear is that while our business environment is changing, our mission is constant. The NBC mission is to provide quality services and efficient solutions for our customers through our most important asset - our people. Therefore, while I have been working with the NBC Senior Leadership Team to develop a strategic direction and plan that defines the roadmap for continued success for the NBC and all of its business lines, we have and will continue to maintain our commitment to this mission. Flowing from this mission, the NBC vision is to be the preferred provider of financial and business management services. To succeed in the NBC mission and achieve the NBC vision, we must embrace change.
As most of you know, there are several important factors that have a significant impact on competitiveness. In today's world of rapidly shrinking agency budgets, one of the biggest factors is cost. Remaining competitive in today's business environment requires that we not only have transparency into accurate and timely management cost information, but also that we use this information to make business decisions that will ultimately decrease our overall cost structure. For this reason, we have focused a significant amount of attention on improving our cost accounting standards. In the upcoming months, these improvements will require modifications to our time and attendance system that will affect the categories to which you code your time. We will need your commitment for this change to be successful.
Another strategy to enhance our competitive position is enabling our customers to conduct their business on-line, including problem resolution and self-help capabilities. In today's business environment, customer self-service through electronic, web-based methods is the norm. The NBC must keep pace with advancements and trends in on-line environments including transaction processing, self-help, and problem resolution. Such capabilities are more convenient for customers and more cost effective than the alternative, inefficient manual based procedures.
Performance management is another area where we have opportunities to differentiate the NBC from competition. Adopting a robust approach to service level agreements will enable the NBC to clearly define and communicate our service commitments to our customers. We have made the completion of service level agreements with all of our customers a priority across the organization. To further guarantee improvement in performance, our organizational and individual performance metrics will be tied as objectively and clearly as possible to our annual performance plans. By doing this, measurable performance metrics become an important factor in the determination of results and performance evaluations. NBC employees told us through the employee survey and focus group sessions that objectivity in determining performance was important to you. Your NBC Senior Leadership Team has taken the matter seriously. We recognize that our efforts are not yet complete in this area, but we are off to a solid start by clearly defining organizational performance indicators and beginning to implement the means to measure them.
As we set the course for the future of the NBC, we have balanced attention to meeting customer needs with focusing on the needs of our employees. As you know, we have completed the first survey of NBC employees and followed up with targeted focus group sessions. Using this feedback, we have established both short and long-term goals for improvements, and management actions are underway to develop and implement cost efficient, yet effective means of addressing your concerns. I have recently described these improvements in a memo to all NBC employees and there will be additional communications about these improvements in the future.
I hope this and other previous communications are helping you to see how and why we have been organizing our efforts to achieve the NBC's strategic goals:
- Achieving customer service excellence by identifying and meeting customer requirements.
- Modernizing financial and business management practices.
- Optimizing operational performance by establishing centers of excellence for the delivery of services.
- Developing and sustaining a world class organization by investing in human capital.
Your Senior Leadership Team has put in tremendous effort over the past several months to develop a strategic plan that outlines the vision, objectives, and roadmap for the NBC to be as successful in the future as it has been in the past. As I travel to various NBC locations in the coming months to lay out this strategic plan, I look forward to meeting with you and engaging in ongoing dialog about it.
In closing, I want you to know that I appreciate your efforts on behalf of our customers. You are a talented and dedicated group, and I recognize and value the terrific efforts you make to meet the needs of our customers who can, let's face it, be pretty challenging at times. The future of the NBC depends upon the successful achievement of our strategic business objectives, and the future is now. The NBC Senior Leadership Team has trust and faith that you will, working within our leadership and guidance, set the standard for performance in this highly competitive environment. We have our work cut out for us. But, together we will succeed, and our customers will, too!
Douglas Bourgeois
NBC Director
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