Municipality of Assen: Significant reduction in influx of objections.

Public service provider

The clients are (the policy departments of) EL&I and other ministries, the European Union and other governments, such as provinces, municipalities and water boards. Among other things, they engage RFO for advice on policy development and feasibility. But the ultimate customers of RFO as a public service provider are companies and citizens. To carry out its core tasks, RFO has a range of tools at its disposal. They provide services primarily in a digital manner, with ease of use for the customer at their core. The service is characterized by active communication about laws and regulations, reduction of administrative burdens and one central point for customer contact. Customers’ needs are recognized and the organization, as a public service provider, continually strives to provide high-quality service.

Distinctive role

In 2009, RFO launched a comprehensive development program in the areas of organization, governance, processes and systems, digital working and corporate culture. At the heart of this trajectory is that RFO – now and in the future – wants to play a distinctive role beyond meeting the constantly rising expectations of clients and customers. “We took an innovative and interactive approach where we put new ideas into practice immediately,” said RFO. Management and employees are therefore maximally involved.

Long turnaround time for agricultural subsidy applications

Various agricultural subsidies are provided by RFO. As part of this, grant applications are reviewed and objections processed. Rulings regarding the grant may be appealed by a grant applicant. RFO must then come up with a final ruling within the official 6-week period. In practice, however, only 14% were handled within this standard and the average processing time was as much as 15 weeks. This led to Parliamentary questions in 2011. In response, RFO decided to launch a Lean Six Sigma program. The main objective was:

Improving handling of objections

A broad training program was established first. The trained staff went to work on a number of DMAIC improvement projects. In a relatively short time, the improvement projects led to the fact that instead of 14%, as many as 80% of objections are now processed within 6 weeks. Also, compared to 2011, the processing time of objections improved significantly: “The average processing time, measured over the same periods of 2011 and 2012, decreased from an average of 147 days to an average of 38 days and the distribution became narrower. That means there is less variation in the processing time. The process has become more reliable and thus more predictable.”

Installment reduction

In addition, an inflow reduction of about 15% was achieved. This project, in addition to the desired improvements in turnaround time and inflow, also led to an improvement in effectiveness within all departments involved. Daily steering using Lean tools and techniques is now part of daily operations.

Training program

In addition to the objections handling improvement program, a training program was implemented. A total of 163 people were trained at RFO. Programs include: Lean Management trainings (Champions), Lean Awareness / Lean facilitator, Lean Six Sigma (Yellow Belt, Green Belt, Black Belt). Furthermore, management was coached in project selection and project chartering and the implementation of Lean and Six Sigma in the organization. Finally, several improvement projects were facilitated including introduction of Lean working methods in the departments.

Contact

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