MENU Through the Looking Glass
Scrutiny of public employee retirement systems is greater than ever. Many are poised to make major IT investments to upgrade performance; others are focused on organization or process redesigns. Based on successes at retirements systems in multiple states, Orion has created a free web forum series to help you envision your future…and determine the best path to get there.
The series contains three one-hour modules.
- Automate, Obliterate or Just Make It Better
- Re-Forming Your Pension System
- All Aboard! Gaining Buy-In For Change
The presenter for all three modules is Ralph Smith, Vice President, Orion Development Group. For more information call Kim McKnight at 800-510-2117 x 10
Through the Looking Glass – Module 1
Automate, Obliterate or Just Make It Better
Information technology has revolutionized the way business is conducted in all industries, including public pension systems. It is the backbone of innovations that are sweeping the country, including member self-service. The capacity increases IT can enable are essential to serving the growing number of retirees with dwindling resources.
However, the success of major IT projects is not a given. Experience has shown that many “automation” projects that are not preceded by business process and/or organization redesign fail to achieve the intended performance results. This forum will help you determine the degree of redesign that is necessary at your system.
For many organizations, a major technology upgrade is not in the budget for years to come. These organizations must evaluate other options (process optimization, Lean Management, Six Sigma) for performance improvement.
Questions this forum addresses:
- What does a successful future look like for your system?
- What is the best path to get there?
- How can you get the best bang for the available buck?
Click below to view this module:
Through the Looking Glass – Module 2
Re-Forming Your Pension System
Let’s face it: Many of your processes and policies are based on requirements from a generation ago. Both automation and streamlining will help you get the job done faster…but doing the wrong things faster is not a good investment.
Creating your “Pension System of the Future” requires you to challenge many facets of how business is currently conducted. These including the validity of “required” reports and inspections, modes of member communication, the cost/benefit ratio of special services that are provided to a small segment of the member/beneficiary community, etc. Only then can you build or “re-form” an organization that will exceed future capacity needs while maintaining or reducing overhead expenses.
Questions this forum address:
- Which traditional polices and processes are costing us money without benefiting the member?
- How do we evaluate which processes, policies and requirements should form the backbone of our “new” system?
- How do we scope the right project that will enable us to serve all of the baby boomer retirees and improve our levels of service?
Click below to view this module:
Through the Looking Glass – Module 3
All Aboard! Gaining Buy-In For Change/em>
After months of dedicated work, you and your team have designed new business processes that will leverage self-service and electronic payment technology to dramatically improve all measures of performance. Now comes the hard part…implementation.
Project management is a critical discipline but it is not enough. Change brings the opportunity for breakthrough performance…but it also generates fear and cynicism. How you manage the people side of change will have a tremendous impact on the degree of success your new pension system achieves.
Questions this forum addresses:
- What is a realistic time frame for people, process and technology change?
- What modes and frequency of communication will support buy-in?
- How can you evaluate and persuade perceived “winners and losers” from change?
Click below to view this module:
This web forum will uses Flash files. It should be viewable in your browser.
