This deck describes the process of change management at a large enteprise in the late 1990s when we flipped doe.gov to become energy.gov

1. Launching energy.gov
The experience
of change in a
large
Department

2. A Roadmap for Change on the
Web
 Branding
 Politics
& Marketing in Public Arena
& Bureaucracy as Enablers
 Creating
Flexibility in an Inflexible Environment
 Developing
 The
Horizontal Management Structures
Alchemy of Content Synergies
 Feedback
Mechanisms: Listen/Reward

3. Branding & Marketing in a
Public Service Environment
 Define
the problem, own the solution
 Public confidence in government is down
 Society is over-communicated; how to be
heard in an overcrowded marketplace?
 Positioning your product; what are you selling?
 Define your audience broadly
 The power of the name

4. Politics and Bureaucracy as
Enablers
 Start
at the top
 Accept the natural roles of appointees &
careers
 Leverage existing talent and ideas
 Compromise: analyze, address and then move
on

5. Creating Flexibility in an Inflexible
Environment: “Our Drivers”
Copyright 1999 United Features Syndicate, Inc.

6. Creating Flexibility in an
Inflexible Environment: Our
“Drivers”

VISION…A secretarial initiative (without it: confusion)

SKILLS…assembling a staff, institutional partners and
a “forum” (without it: anxiety)

INCENTIVES…getting customer feedback, top down
& bottom up drivers (without it: gradual change)

RESOURCES…managing our capacity to do the
right job and do it well (without it, frustration)

7. Creating Flexibility in an
Inflexible Environment: Our
“Drivers”

ACTION PLAN: 5 stages for energy.gov
1.
Customer input and benchmarking
2.
Navigation and design choices
3.
Content and Information Architecture
4.
Test externally /vet internally: nothing’s perfect
5.
Don’t forget governance and rollout strategy
Without an ACTION PLAN you get false starts

8. Creating Flexibility in an
Inflexible Environment: Our
“Drivers”

9. Developing Horizontal
Management Structures: Why?
 Management
acknowledges there are too
many topics, too little knowledge, too few staff
 Integrate multi-discipline subject experts into
operating processes
 Stratified group participation
 Goal: focused participation & leadership within
each strata

10. Developing Horizontal
Management Structures: How?
 Flatter
–
mgt. replaces vertical structure
See the charter and learn more about our Web Council at
http://www.energy.gov/webcouncil
A
split focus; portal management + e-gov
 Recruit members by engaging your experts
–
content owners, knowledge workers, webmasters
 Offer
–
value
issues briefings and a resource for CIOs/programs heads
 Be
transparent: meetings are open to all

11. Options

12. Options

13. Plus More Options

14. Equal Next Generation:
www.energy.gov

15. The Alchemy of Content
Synergies
 Display
best value on the web, in a hierarchical
framework that makes good sense to
customers
 Balance the desire to advertise with a portal
approach that lets customers move quickly
 Recognize that customers need multiple
“doorways” to find what they’re seeking

16. The Alchemy of Content
Synergies
 Be
selective and surface your gems…a “gold
diggers club” can get you started.
 Adopt an empowerment strategy, internally and
externally, that pushes responsibility down to
content owners.
 Ferret out usability issues and modify site
accordingly.
 Tour our site! http://www.energy.gov/

17. Feedback Mechanisms –
Listen/Reward
Copyright 1999 United Features Syndicate, Inc.

18. Feedback Mechanisms –
Listen/Reward
 Develop
and maintain a site scorecard
–
Employ statistical trend analysis
–
Measure developmental concepts
–
Include laws and policies – they have a purpose
 Internally:
–
acknowledge content owners
Letters of praise, plaques, “best of” graphics
 Externally:
–
acknowledge comments & critics
Segment user comments i.e. consumers, stakeholders, etc.

19. The Balance Sheet
LAST GENERATION:
 Under-informed employees;
 Under-developed products &
markets
 A negative public image
 Lack of employee
commitment/goodwill
 Under-performing technology
 Angry, alienated customers
THIS GENERATION:
 Flatter (fewer layers)
 Agile and autonomous units
 Oriented toward creating
niche markets
 Accents quality and service
 Quality = clear and accurate
information
 A strong sensing system for
receiving info from all parts
 Management is info driven
and access to info is widely
shared

20. The Goal: Consumer Value
It is easy nowadays to remember anything so
contrary to all appearances as that officials
are the servants of the public; and the official
must try not to foster the illusion that it is the
other way around.
-- Sir Ernest Gowers, British Public Servant, 1948

21. Questions?
Stay in Touch….
KATHY MCSHEA
kathy@mcshea.net