Results Only Work Environment

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

Often, county employees find themselves over-stressed and unable to do their work. While deadlines and structure for completing projects are always important, it is also important to occasionally take a holistic approach towards ones workload. In Hennepin County, the Human Services and Public Health Department (HSPHD) implemented their Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) program to encourage employees to work on a schedule that works best for them. In a ROWE, employees determine how they work best as a team, and as individuals, to meet the needs of the customers they serve. Employees are able to streamline processes, utilize technology and achieve a balance between their professional and personal lives. They are not bound by outdated rules and expectations of the traditional work environment, and are encouraged to develop and implement innovative ideas to provide better services to the clients and customers in Hennepin County. To implement this program, Hennepin County received a state grant to contract with CultureRx, a firm that trains work forces to adopt a ROWE system. CultureRx defines a ROWE as an environment in which people can do whatever they want, whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. In a ROWE, each job has concrete goals and expectations. How the work gets done is up to the employee, but performance is measured by results. However, HSPHD workers are government employees and must work 40 hours per week or 80 hours per pay period (depending on job status). Although employees maintain a traditional work schedule, the essential requirements of a job shapes when the work may occur. Some job tasks allow an employee to work remotely or outside of traditional office hours. For tasks that must be accomplished in certain locations, work units can collaborate as a team to build in flexibility. Contracting with CultureRx to train ROWE employees was paid for through a state grant. Statistical analysis of the results is currently underway, but one team in Adult Protection reported they have dramatically and consistently improved services since migrating to a ROWE. Another team, the Central Imaging Unit, which scans documentation needed to determine eligibility for public assistance programs, reported increased productivity by 33% in a ROWE. A third team, who determines eligibility, reported increased productivity in processing applications for clients to receive services.