Strategic Planning 2006-2007:

“An Opportunity to Grow as a Team”
 

By John Crawford and Ryan Gooch

 

Over the past several months, our department’s leadership has been working with each division and support area to put together a four-year Strategic Plan to begin July 1. This is the first in a series of articles to help you understand how this year’s plan is different and what role you can play in the overall success of our group. We will walk you through the formation of the plan, its components, and how you contribute to the success so that we may all travel this road together as a team.

 

Strategic Planning is the roadmap that Commissioner Neeley uses to set the direction for the department. This process not only allows us the opportunity to be proactive, but provides the benefit of all of us understanding and pursuing the same goals. We are all therefore focused on the same priorities so we spend our resources more wisely and efficiently. We can communicate with each other better, especially between divisions and support groups, because we better understand the direction and priorities of the department.

 

So, what are we going to focus on? Every Strategic Plan contains a Vision, Mission, and Values Statement, outlining in broad terms why we exist, what we are to accomplish as a team, and how we will conduct ourselves along the road. Our department’s focus is as follows:

 
Vision
  
 
To be the nation’s leading provider of comprehensive workforce development and workplace safety and health services.
  
 
Mission
  
 
To work as a team to promote workforce development and improve workplace safety and health throughout Tennessee.
  
 
Values
  
 
We are a professional, customer-focused team committed to serving the citizens of Tennessee. We strive to deliver effective and efficient programs while treating our customers and employees fairly, consistently, and with respect.
  
 
Commissioner Neeley and Deputy Commissioner Henningsen build on these core statements and provide the basis for the department’s strategic goals. There are seven goals for our department. These include measures of our customers’ satisfaction, our employees’ satisfaction, timely payment of unemployment benefits, education and training of Tennessee’s workforce, workers’ comp activities, workplace safety, and budget. Each division and support group then builds on the department-level plan, determines its individual goals, and creates the nuts and bolts of how each group will execute and measure its success.
 
 
Next time, we will review how you contribute to the success of your individual group’s plan. Watch for more information on the plan rollout!
  
 

Child Labor video wins national award

 
 
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) won second place for public affairs program from the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). The award, which was given for a video on Child Labor investigations that took viewers inside case files of the department’s Labor Standards division, was announced in May in Baltimore at the NAGC Communications School.
 
“I am extremely proud of our communications team and our Labor Standards division for winning this award,” said Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner James Neeley. “Child Labor Laws are crucial to protecting Tennessee teens. We expect to reach more than 2,000 employers and thousands of teenagers in high schools across the state with this campaign to help eliminate injuries and deaths of Tennessee teens in the workplace.”
 
Communications Director Milissa Reierson, who wrote and produced the program with Special Projectors Coordinator Jeff Hentschel, said the department has sent out more than a dozen copies of the video to requests within Tennessee as well as to from other states including, New York, Texas, and New Jersey. Director of Labor Standards Mary Ellen Grace, also named on the award, was instrumental with the research associated with the program.
 
In May, during Safe Jobs for Youth Month , the department teamed with the Department of Education to distribute the child labor video in high schools across the state. TDLWD’s Employer Service Specialists are presenting a 10-minute version of the child labor video during the Workforce Employer Outreach Meetings throughout the summer months.
 
 
 
L-R Milissa Reierson, Mary Ellen Grace, Jeff Hentschel
  
 

Twenty-five east state companies receive incumbent worker grants

 

Commissioner Neeley recognized 25 area companies for incumbent worker training June 22 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the last two years Governor Bredesen and Commissioner Neeley have awarded the area companies incumbent worker grants totaling $291,933. Close to $2 million in Incumbent Worker Training Grants was awarded to companies across the state in 2005 benefiting almost 10,000 Tennessee workers.
  L-R Loudon County Mayor George Miller, David Aaron-Yale Locks, John Seiber-Yale Locks, Commissioner Neeley  
“The Incumbent Worker Training Grants are essential to help Tennessee’s workers look to the future with job growth and stability,” said Governor Bredesen. “These grants have helped keep area companies competitive and increase the skills of their talented employees.”

“The Incumbent Worker Training Program provides grant funding for customized training for existing businesses,” said Commissioner Neeley. “I am proud to honor these companies today. These past grant recipients understand the importance of investing in training and the local economy.”

The East Tennessee Human Resource Agency (ETHRA) played a key role in awarding the grants to the companies and organized last week’s luncheon.

  Jim Bowman - Veteran's Employment Representative, Rogersville
  1. What do you like best about your job?
The pay . . . just kidding! I enjoy working with the public and the staff. We have a great working relationship, and nothing is more rewarding than placing an unemployed person in a good job.
 
Jim Bowman
 

2. Name a person who is an inspiration to you.
It is hard to narrow to one all of those who have inspired me through the years. It started with my parents and extends to my wife and friends today.

3. What do you listen to on the way to work?
Contemporary Christian music

4. What do you eat for lunch every day?
Salads mostly with an occasional stray to the Chinese restaurant

5. What's usually your “water-cooler chat”?
Music, family, church, community news.

 

6. Name something you cannot go one day without?
Smiles and encouragement from my co-workers

7. What's your favorite vacation spot?
Nashville, TN . . . for the music opportunities.

8. What would we be surprised to know about you?
That I have a serious side . . . most see only the light side.

9. What are your personal interests/activities outside of work?
Family, music, and church; I play in a bluegrass band and we have played several festivals this year. We are scheduled to perform in a festival in Casper, Wyoming, in July with Mountain Heart and Marty Stewart

For more about Jim click here.

 
The month of June has been a busy month. I just had a great meeting in Dyersburg with the Dyer County Chamber of Commerce, talking about the latest impact of the Workers’ Compensation program on our industries in Tennessee. It was an overflow crowd, and we talked a lot about specific areas of the Workers’ Compensation program relative to processes. It appeared to me when we got though with the meeting that we needed to do some additional training to bring employers in that area up to date on the process of mediation – how it works,
 
how employers implement this program into their individual plants, which would be a tremendous asset to them. There seemed to be some holes in the process, from my perspective, as we discussed it for more than an hour with a packed audience.
 
It appears Congress is really looking to fund the war in Iraq, taking from every other program there is. We’ve been very successful in this state utilizing our dollars from the WIA program on incumbent worker grants. I’m in Oak Ridge today, and we’ve got a number of companies we’re going to recognize here. They got the incumbent worker grants and used those grants to really retain the workforce that they’ve got, upgrading those workers’ skills. In some instances they’ve even hired new employees and trained those. So it’s been very positive for our state to keep employees working and to hire new individuals. It’s been a busy month - I guess that’s kind of the fallout after the General Assembly leaves and goes home.
 

We’ve also been working to try to get our funding with the reauthorization of the USDOL appropriations spending bill. There’s been lot of discussion relative to this bill on how it will impact Tennessee. The FY 2007 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee this week would rescind $325 million in “unexpended” Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding. Next week we’ll have better idea of where we’ll be in regards to this funding. I’ll talk to you more about this as it develops. I will be busy writing letters to our interests in Washington to let them know we are against the possible rescission of WIA funds.

Division Updates
           
  Adult Education     Boilers & Elevators, Mine Safety, Labor Standards, Labor Research & Statistics  
 

Phyllis Pardue, Director of GED and Technology, Division of Adult Education, recently attended a state regional workshop in Philadelphia to learn more about the National Reporting System (NRS) guidelines. The training was sponsored by the US Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and facilitated by USDOE program staff and trainers from the American Institutes for Research.

“The most exciting part,” said Pardue, “was that the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in Washington requested copies of our Division scorecard as well as copies of several local program scorecards to share with other states. Apparently, Tennessee is one of very few states that has a scorecard as well developed as ours, and no one else has provided training to local programs so that they can develop their own. It feels very good to be ahead of the curve in this area.”

– Phil White.

    

The Elevator Educational Conference was held on June 5-8 in Chattanooga. The conference consisted of meeting with elevator companies throughout the state, qualified elevator inspector (QWI) training, Elevator Safety Board meeting, and internal training, which consisted of personnel and insurance and an update from Information Technology on the computer rewrite for the elevator division.

On June 20, Santiago Rodriguez, labor standards inspector, participated in a forum to educate the Hispanic community as well as business owners as to their rights and responsibilities as employers and employees regarding State and Federal Labor Laws. The Division of Labor Standards and the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce joined with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission and the U.S. Department of Labor in hosting this forum, which was held at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville.

– Arthur Franklin

  
           
  Employment and Workforce Development     TOSHA  
 

The Employment and Workforce Development Division is preparing to enter into the seventh year of operating the Workforce Investment Act throughout the state on July 1. This upcoming fiscal year we plan to develop a new state plan and 13 new local area plans with an emphasis on a systemwide approach and on aligning with the department’s new strategic vision. We hope to implement a similar scorecard approach throughout the Career Center System in conjunction with our partners. Program year 2007 will mark the implementation of Common Performance Measures throughout the workforce development system, and our division hopes to play a lead role in assisting with this process.

We are pleased to announce that Tenecia Mitchell has been promoted to Grants Program Manager. In this new position she will have oversight responsibilities for the Title V Older Americans Act Program, the State and Local Workforce Boards, and several special projects that include the Re-entry Collaborative and Faith and Community Based Initiatives.

– Susan Cowden

    
The 29 th Annual Tennessee Safety and Health Congress & Exposition will be held July 30 through August 2, 2006 in Nashville, TN. The TOSHA staff will be conducting workshops, moderating sessions, and representing the division in the exhibit hall. The Safety and Health Congress provides an excellent opportunity for networking with safety and health professionals, employers, and employees from all parts of the state of Tennessee. In addition to the TOSHA booth in the exhibit hall, each of the divisions of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development are represented and have staff present to answer any questions employers and employees may have. Having all divisions represented at the Congress contributes greatly to its success. Huge thanks to all who donate their time and expertise.

Meetings are being planned with the staff in the TOSHA area offices to discuss the new state strategic plan. The goals of the state strategic plan have been aligned with the federal strategic plan. The plan and reporting structure will be communicated to assure all employees understand how their work contributes to the plan.

– John Winkler

  
           
Employment Security Workers' Compensation  
     

There are many challenges that come with working in today’s workforce development system. Change is constant. Budgets are tight. There is real competition in a shrinking pool of resources. State systems cannot rest on their laurels, but must strive for continuous improvement, and the ES Division has always met the challenge.

During the round of statewide regional managers’ meetings last year, ES Division Assistant Administrator Melinda Williams announced a goal of doubling placements for April 2005 through March 2006. The numbers are in - we had 37,806 placements statewide during the reporting period. Although the number of placements didn’t actually double, they did increase significantly. The bottom line is that more people found jobs and more employers were served. Thanks and congratulations on accepting the challenge!

In the wake of the recent deployment of the Chattanooga Regional Claims Center, I want to commend our Claims Center staff in Chattanooga. You’ve done an outstanding job getting up to speed and we appreciate your willingness to take on this challenge. I also want to recognize the Nashville Claims Center staff, UI Tech, Field Operations, and the IT staff for a job well done. Your planning, hard work, professionalism, and “can do” attitude made the transition seamless.

– Don Ingram

We are very busy in the Workers’ Compensation Division but enjoying the many challenges before us. The General Assembly passed several bills that will impact the workers’ compensation law in Tennessee. One of the changes provides for the reconsideration of an order issued by a Workers’ Compensation Specialist. We have established procedures for this new program, and it is already up and running. MarkFinks, who has been with the Benefit Review Program for many years and responsible for the Uninsured Employer Program, has agreed to direct the new Reconsideration Program. Penny Shrum has agreed to assist Mark, and we certainly appreciate their willingness to take on these responsibilities. As we make this transition many others in the division are affected and their willingness to make the necessary adjustments is a prime example of their dedication and exceptional service to the workers’ compensation system in Tennessee.

Other legislative changes involve the filing of wage statements if the claim involves the loss of eight days or more from work. For additional information on these and other changes please go to our web page.

– Sue Ann Head

 
 
 
           
       
 

July 4

    August 24  
 

Independence Day; offices closed

   

County unemployment rates for July released

  
  July 20    

September 4

 
  State unemployment rate for June released    

Labor Day; offices closed

 
  July 27    

September 14

 
  County unemployment rates for June released    

State unemployment rate for August released

 
  July 30 – August 2, 2006     September 21  
  29th Annual Tennessee Safety & Health Congress & Exposition    

County unemployment rates for August released

 
  August 17    

October 6

 
  State unemployment rate for July released    

Grand opening of Rutherford County Career Center Tennessee Technology Center Murfreesboro

  
           
       
 
To: Mary Ellen Grace , Labor Standards
From: James M. Daughtry, McDonald’s
 

“I am expressing our appreciation for the assistance visit provided by SantiagoRodriguez and Michael Dattilo to our organization.

 
We had asked Mr. Rodriguez to come out and share his expertise with our folks, and he agreed to schedule it as his time permitted. He kept his promise and delivered the material in an absolutely professional manner.
 
The content was to the point and practical, and the presentation was user friendly. They answered all our questions with respect for the individual asking the question and took the necessary time to give examples of the application of the regulation or rule.
 
I know that hour department has a busy schedule, and we again truly appreciate your sharing these two valuable resources with us. Thank you very much.”
   
To: Bobbie McGee , District Manager
From: Henri E. Brooks, State Representative
 

“Thank you for taking time out on a Saturday to attend the Tennessee State Government Services Fair. Although the turnout was not what we anticipated, the ones who did come benefited greatly.

 

It is refreshing to know that there are state employees like you who are enthusiastic about what you do in service to the people of Tennessee.

 

Again, thank you, and I look forward to working with you in the future.”

   
To: Wanda Rye , Dickson County Career Center
From: An applicant (veteran)
 

“I want to thank you for the wisdom of employing such a dedicated professional as Randy Hannah. Without his help and guidance, I would not have found 0r qualified for the great job I have today.

 

I have now completed 30 days with my new employer here in Dickson. I started this job at $15.50 per hour with a chance of advancement and a good benefits package after 90 days.

 

I am a 50-year-old truck driver who recently moved to McEwen from Florida, started looking for a job, and was soon disappointed. I wanted to make a career change – then I met Randy.

 

Randy instructed me on my first ever résumé and coached me on my interview skills. I’m positive his attention put me into this great job.

 

The exemplary service by Randy reflects positive upon him, the Career Center of Humphreys and Dickson Counties, and the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development.”

   
To: Mary Ellen Grace , Labor Standards
From: A worker
 

“I have recently had a satisfying encounter with an employee in your department and felt the need to share. It has been my experience in the past that dealing with the State of Tennessee or any government entity usually means a lot of red tape, several phone calls, and an endless cycle of phone transfers.

 

This is the first time I have had a pleasant experience when dealing with a state employee over the phone. I have a situation relating to the Department of Labor and Workforce development Labor Standards Division with my previous employer. As with many people, I was not aware of the laws or my rights as an employee. I spoke with SandraGreen with the Labor Standards division on several occasions, and she was able to provide the statutes, answer all of my questions, and provide details as to what information was needed to further my complaint with my previous employer. She gave me the Web site, title, and Attorney General’s statement as it related to my situation.

 

It is refreshing to see that not only are my tax funds working for me, but in a manner that is pleasing and above all helpful. Thank you for providing a well trained employee who went above the call of duty to help me at my time of need. As I have just completed the initial stage of my complaint, I can only hope that other staff will continue to be as resourceful and knowledgeable as Sandra Green.”

   
To: Randy Moss , South Central Tennessee Career Center @ Columbia
  Phil Jones , Mid-South Career Center @ Tullalhoma
From: An applicant
 
“Randolph and Phillip, this is just a note to thank you both for the assistance you provided me. You and the Pulaski Career Center manager were the only job hunting contacts I had who made me feel like you genuinely wanted to help me. I really appreciated that! Randolph will remember from the first day we met that I had a strong possibility job-wise at an employer on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. As he may recall, they were my support contractor when I worked at NASA. Anyway, I started to work for them on 6/6/06 and am classified as an Analyst, Senior which pays $27.62 an hour. I’m actually back doing my old NASA job which is great! The money is not as much as I was hoping, but at this stage of the game I’m glad to have it – especially now that I’ve had a taste of what others are getting paid for the hard work they do. The job hunting experience has been a real eye opener for me. Thanks again, and rest assured that if I ever need your help again I’ll come ‘a-running’!”
   
  
Comments or Questions ? Contact Martha Deacon at mailto:martha.deacon@state.tn.us.