From left, Nancy Melvin, administrative policy manager, and Sue Stein, Office of Administration director, review MnDOT's list of 190 policies that currently are being reviewed to determine whether they should be revised, retired or consolidated to make them more relevant to today's business needs. Photo by Colleen Anfang |
Keeping MnDOT’s 190 internal policies up-to-date and relevant for the work the agency does today is a little like cleaning out the hall closet: What do you keep? Fix? Toss? “We have policies dating from 1981 to present, many of which have not been updated in years,” said Nancy Melvin, administrative policy manager, who is managing an extensive agency-wide effort to review, revise, retire and consolidate policies to make them more “usable, useful and manageable.”
Using a new policy review and approval process, Melvin has been meeting with office directors—the “owners” of specific policies—to determine needed actions for these policies based on laws, agency business practices and external guidance.
Once those business decisions have been made, the policies are developed with stakeholder engagement using a new policy template. The approval/signature process involves a three-step sign-off: the policy owner, the Governance Council and the deputy commissioner/chief engineer. Signed policies are posted on the policy website.
In addition, an Administrative Policy Committee—composed of leaders from Administration, Financial Management, Human Resources, Audit, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Counsel, MN.IT Services @ DOT and Division business managers—meets monthly to discuss work underway and offer feedback on policies.
NEW POLICIES TO NOTE
- Achievement Awards
- False Claims Against the State
- Portable Computing Devices Data Security
- Use of Prescribed Fire
|
As a result of these efforts, MnDOT has updated 13 policies, created four new policies and retired 16 policies since January 2012.
“It may seem sometimes that our policies are too cumbersome or unnecessarily bureaucratic,” said Sue Stein, Office of Administration director, “but there are some very valid reasons why they are important to our agency.” She noted that policies:
- Ensure compliance with applicable state and federal laws and regulatory requirements
- Maintain agency credibility by aligning policy with departmental direction
- Safeguard state resources and set expectations for MnDOT employees and external contractors
- Establish policy accountability by defining roles and responsibilities
- Conserve resources
- Promote consistent governance practices
In addition to the policies themselves being overhauled, MnDOT’s policy website has gotten a makeover as well. Located on the department’s internal website, the policy page is more user friendly, grouping policies into five categories:
- Administration (e.g., Administrative Policy Development and Management)
- Financial Management (e.g., Consultant Errors and Omissions, False Claims Against the State)
- Human Resources (e.g., Achievement Awards, State Aid Engineering Positions)
- Information Technology (e.g., Data Stewardship, Portable Computing Devices Data Security)
- Operations (e.g., Use of Prescribed Fire)
"The new page provides a one-stop shop for accessing policies, and includes a keyword search that makes it easier to find a topic,” Melvin said.
Work is currently underway in a number of areas, including policies regarding accounts receivable, debt management, partnership agreements and advance construction. |
