Ontario’s ‘e-government’ plan spawns new technology group
Many organizations find themselves stuck in the 19th century when it comes to the technology they rely on. The Ontario government found itself mired in old technology until a few years ago when it made the decision to:
•ensure its information was easily accessible by the public;
•easily be able to obtain public feedback on issues, including electronic referendums and voting;
•work more efficiently with vendors; and
•be able to deliver its public services more easily.
If it pulled it off, the Ontario government would have accomplished a monumental transformation of a Canadian governmental body.
But in 1997 Ontario found it had four key issues that would impede its ability to become what it termed an e-government:
•there was no one body to provide overall direction;
•there was little integration between the ministries and compatibility issues with the technology;
•information technology (IT) budgeting was treated as a cost rather than an investment and was handled on a yearly basis, making it difficult to replace older systems efficiently; and
•there weren’t enough IT professionals to help make the change happen.
To get from where it was to where it wanted to be, the government created an information and information technology (I&IT) organization. Its first job was to produce a document that outlined the process the government would need to transform itself.
In doing so a government tradition was turned on its ear. Instead of organizing the I&IT by ministry, it was structured into seven business clusters, each one representing ministries with similar issues. Everything reported ultimately to corporate chief information officer (CIO).
One of the first challenges was hiring enough talented IT staff to make the transformation happen. I&IT hired a recruitment agency to help and launched a recruiting campaign.
It was one of the largest public sector executive recruitment campaigns in North America. In 18 months, 140 executives were recruited (60 per cent internal, 40 per cent external.) It was also one of the first campaigns by the Ontario government that used a Web site for screening and receiving applications.
By the summer of 1999 most of the CIOs for each cluster had been recruited, forming the executive team. The next job was to create a new structure for the I&IT organization. Like any change initiative, there would be some initial reluctance on the part of some provincial ministries. Therefore the executive team focused on understanding each group’s needs and concerns. Job descriptions and organizational charts were created and competency requirements were drawn up.
More recruitment campaigns followed, first for more executive positions and then for staff. Internal candidates who already worked in IT were asked to reapply for a position in the new I&IT organization. Any positions not filled internally were open to external candidates. Salaries were increased to better reflect what was happening in the outside world and competition was rigorous.
By the summer of 2000 all executive and management positions were filled. IT managers were in place and were given the responsibility of implementing the strategy and vision in their own areas. A change management guide and tool kit were developed to help managers and executives.
To fill the staff positions, the group looked at what research showed was most important to IT workers: supportive leadership, ongoing training and challenging work. Since ongoing learning is so important to IT workers — and had a direct impact on retention — the government decided to steep itself in a learning culture. If it couldn’t always provide the kind compensation that would attract staff, at least it could provide ongoing training and development.
Each employee had to log a certain number of learning days in which a new skill would be learned. In the first year the target was six days, moving up to 10 days per employee by 2003. Learning plans were written that linked personal training with the overall strategy. A series of guides were developed and posted on the Web to help employees with their ongoing learning.
The organization identified six key competencies it needed from in-house staff:
•architecture;
•vendor management;
•project management;
•Web site development;
•IT planning; and
•security.
For each area needs were identified and an action plan drawn up. A list of vendors-of-record was created covering 11 key areas. An internship program was developed to attract and retain youth. More than 2,000 people applied for the 38 internship positions.
To sustain the momentum of what was happening, the I&IT group developed an internal Web site to increase communication about the changes, an employee survey with indicators to measure the transformation and an I&IT stakeholder education program for internal and external stakeholders.
The government discovered there were five keys to its success in making the transformation:
•it focused on the business;
•it ensured it partners and stakeholders were on board;
•all strategies that were developed fit the culture of the new I&IT group;
•it constantly evaluated the impact of the strategies throughout the change; and
•knowledge and best-practices were continuously shared.
Vince Molinaro is a senior consultant with GSWconsultants, a division of Knightsbridge Human Capital Management. He can be reached at (905) 338-9701 or [email protected]. For more information about I&IT, visit www.industrialrelationscentre.com/publications.
•ensure its information was easily accessible by the public;
•easily be able to obtain public feedback on issues, including electronic referendums and voting;
•work more efficiently with vendors; and
•be able to deliver its public services more easily.
If it pulled it off, the Ontario government would have accomplished a monumental transformation of a Canadian governmental body.
But in 1997 Ontario found it had four key issues that would impede its ability to become what it termed an e-government:
•there was no one body to provide overall direction;
•there was little integration between the ministries and compatibility issues with the technology;
•information technology (IT) budgeting was treated as a cost rather than an investment and was handled on a yearly basis, making it difficult to replace older systems efficiently; and
•there weren’t enough IT professionals to help make the change happen.
To get from where it was to where it wanted to be, the government created an information and information technology (I&IT) organization. Its first job was to produce a document that outlined the process the government would need to transform itself.
In doing so a government tradition was turned on its ear. Instead of organizing the I&IT by ministry, it was structured into seven business clusters, each one representing ministries with similar issues. Everything reported ultimately to corporate chief information officer (CIO).
One of the first challenges was hiring enough talented IT staff to make the transformation happen. I&IT hired a recruitment agency to help and launched a recruiting campaign.
It was one of the largest public sector executive recruitment campaigns in North America. In 18 months, 140 executives were recruited (60 per cent internal, 40 per cent external.) It was also one of the first campaigns by the Ontario government that used a Web site for screening and receiving applications.
By the summer of 1999 most of the CIOs for each cluster had been recruited, forming the executive team. The next job was to create a new structure for the I&IT organization. Like any change initiative, there would be some initial reluctance on the part of some provincial ministries. Therefore the executive team focused on understanding each group’s needs and concerns. Job descriptions and organizational charts were created and competency requirements were drawn up.
More recruitment campaigns followed, first for more executive positions and then for staff. Internal candidates who already worked in IT were asked to reapply for a position in the new I&IT organization. Any positions not filled internally were open to external candidates. Salaries were increased to better reflect what was happening in the outside world and competition was rigorous.
By the summer of 2000 all executive and management positions were filled. IT managers were in place and were given the responsibility of implementing the strategy and vision in their own areas. A change management guide and tool kit were developed to help managers and executives.
To fill the staff positions, the group looked at what research showed was most important to IT workers: supportive leadership, ongoing training and challenging work. Since ongoing learning is so important to IT workers — and had a direct impact on retention — the government decided to steep itself in a learning culture. If it couldn’t always provide the kind compensation that would attract staff, at least it could provide ongoing training and development.
Each employee had to log a certain number of learning days in which a new skill would be learned. In the first year the target was six days, moving up to 10 days per employee by 2003. Learning plans were written that linked personal training with the overall strategy. A series of guides were developed and posted on the Web to help employees with their ongoing learning.
The organization identified six key competencies it needed from in-house staff:
•architecture;
•vendor management;
•project management;
•Web site development;
•IT planning; and
•security.
For each area needs were identified and an action plan drawn up. A list of vendors-of-record was created covering 11 key areas. An internship program was developed to attract and retain youth. More than 2,000 people applied for the 38 internship positions.
To sustain the momentum of what was happening, the I&IT group developed an internal Web site to increase communication about the changes, an employee survey with indicators to measure the transformation and an I&IT stakeholder education program for internal and external stakeholders.
The government discovered there were five keys to its success in making the transformation:
•it focused on the business;
•it ensured it partners and stakeholders were on board;
•all strategies that were developed fit the culture of the new I&IT group;
•it constantly evaluated the impact of the strategies throughout the change; and
•knowledge and best-practices were continuously shared.
Vince Molinaro is a senior consultant with GSWconsultants, a division of Knightsbridge Human Capital Management. He can be reached at (905) 338-9701 or [email protected]. For more information about I&IT, visit www.industrialrelationscentre.com/publications.
