SR 05-14-2019 3K
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: May 14, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.K
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Katie Lichtig, Assistant City Manager, City Manager's Office
Subject: Request First Modification of Contract with Experience Engineering for
continued services related to the Total Workplace project.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a first modification to agreement #10686 in the amount of $178,940 with
Experience Engineering for change management, process re-engineering and staff
engagement and training services related to the Total Workplace project. This will result
in a 2-year amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $528,940, with
future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Total Workplace is the City of Santa Monica's effort to align our customer service, ways
of working, and environmental impact with 21st century government principles, practices
and workplaces. The project has undertaken several measures to help improve
customer service, including evaluating the permitting and business license and utility
customer service processes, as well as implemented measures to modernize the
workplace. As part of preparing the City for a 21st century workplace and the City
Services Building, staff identified the need to develop a strategy for digital records
management and provide support to divisions preparing to move into the City Services
Building. To support a series of additional strategic and tactical activities deemed critical
success factors in the overall objective by staff, additional scope of work is
recommended. Staff recommends a contract amendment with Experience Engineering
in an amount not to exceed $178,940 to achieve the added scope of work. Experience
Engineering was previously awarded a contract to support the City’s transition into the
City Services Building after a competitive process. This additional work supplements
and enhances the work already underway and a separate selection process would be
inefficient and unnecessary.
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Discussion
The Total Workplace project has undertaken several activities and measures to improve
the customer experience and make better use of technology to prepare City staff for
working in the 21st century. The three main focus areas for the project are process
redesign of key City services, improved technology tools and services, and training and
staff engagement to promote adoption of new ways of working as they become
available.
Process Redesign and Staff Engagement. The City engaged Experience Engineering to
conduct workshops to identify and implement improvements to both our permitting and
business license processes and City utility customer service processes, and engage
City staff to modernize workplace practices. Through these workshops, staff identified
over 200 ways to improve City processes in these areas.
Finance, Water, and Resource Recovery and Recycling staff identified 104
improvements to how staff process utility payments and serve customers, including:
• training utility customer service staff on different customer protocols and
clarifying terms and language
• integrating processes for Water and Resource Recovery and Recycling since
customers often have both services
• rolling out a new, more sophisticated customer service portal this fall
Likewise, subject matter experts from Planning, Business License and Building and
Safety identified 103 ways to improve the Permitting and Business License process,
including:
• developing a customer guide that includes steps for both permitting and business
licensing
• adding business licensing steps to planning applications
• promoting use of existing online services for business license renewal
• bringing more permitting processes online later this year
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Improved Technology Tools and Services. In addition to making process improvements,
the Total Workplace project is also working to prepare departments for working in the
new City Services Building opening April 2020. This involves adopting new internal
processes, such as digital signatures on contracts, making paper forms into electronic
workflows, and providing staff with computer equipment and software to be more
collaborative, and to be able to work effectively in a variety of locations such as in
conference rooms, at off -site meetings or while teleworking. Specifically, the project
has enabled the Information Services Department to rollout laptops and virtual phones
to allow staff to connect and work away from their desks, implement a Learning
Management Software to support training and provide online learning content; scan and
digitize City’s paper records; provide secure, remote access to City systems and
software; bring additional permit processes online; and prepare departments to adopt
SharePoint for collaboration and file sharing.
This work has identified the need for additional services as part of the Total Workplace
project to continue to improve customer service and work more efficiently. By
reallocating funds within the Total Workplace project and City Manager’s Office,
Experience Engineering would coordinate the rollout of projects to scan paper files,
move file shares to the cloud, and adopt new collaboration technologies such as
SharePoint and Skype for Business. They would also provide a logistical needs
assessment for the fifteen divisions moving into the City Services Building to help
ensure the seamless transition of services as we occupy the new workspace.
Experience Engineering would develop a digital records management strategy to help
the City update its records retention schedule and develop policies on where digital
records are stored and can be accessed. Effectively leveraging digital content
management solutions and policies can significantly reduce the City’s file paper storage
needs, facilitate collaboration on projects across departments, and streamline the City’s
response to public records requests.
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Past Council Actions
05/22/2018
Attachment A
Authorization of Total Workplace Contract with Experience
Engineering
Financial Impacts
Staff seeks authority to increase the amount of contract 10686 with Experience
Engineering.
Contract/Agreement/Purchase Order Modification Request
Agreement #
Current Authorized
Amount
Modified Request
Amount
FY 2018-19 Budget
Dept/CIP Account #
Total Revised
Contract Amount
10686 $350,000 $128,940 SO019701.689000 $528,940
$50,000 1200001.552010
TOTAL $178,940 $528,940
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Christopher Smith, Assistant to the City Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Oaks Form - Experience Engineering
B. May 22, 2018 Staff Report Authorizing Total Workplace Contract with Experience
Engineering (Web Link)
REFERENCE:
Modified Agreement No. 10686
(CCS)