QStP’s Start

The timeline below offers an overview of the first decade of the Ohio Quality Services through Partnership.

It began in 1991 on two separate paths, both heading in the same direction. The Operations Improvement Task Force established by former Governor George V. Voinovich recommended that the principles and practices of quality improvement become the way of doing business in state government.

And the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association negotiated language into the bargaining agreement regarding mutual interest joint actions aimed at improving productivity and quality.

With leadership from the Governor, Cabinet and the five state employee Unions, the two paths soon became one — and the new partners began to create a new way of serving Ohio's citizens.

Partnership Like all journeys, this one has been marked by barriers and milestones. Some barriers have even been transformed into milestones. For example, when the management-union relationship showed signs of strain early into quality implementation, the Governor teamed up with Cabinet Directors and Union leaders to seek private-sector guidance. After learning about the Xerox experience, Ohio's union and management leadership resolved to proceed as full and equal partners. Thus began the initiative we now know as "Quality Services through Partnership."

Milestones There have been many other milestones: Basic Quality Training, Facilitator Training, Quality Forums, Team Excellence in the Public Sector Showcase, Team Up Ohio, RESULTS Book, Ohio Quality Network, Rapid Response Team, Team of the Month, Leadership Skills for a High-Performance Workplace. Thousands of people are involved, not just in watching these milestones go by, but in achieving them. There's a sense of possibility and persistence, especially in the face of resistance to change.

Vision To be sure, there will be many more milestones as this journey continues. What remains constant is our guiding vision: to provide Ohio's citizens with a state government that works better and costs less, and to provide state employees with the tools and environment they need to make this a daily reality. That is what Quality Services through Partnership is all about.

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1991

Starting the journey
State government's management and Union leaders set out on similar paths, both heading in the same direction. Governor Voinovich establishes the Operations Improvement Task Force to conduct a top-to-bottom review of state government. The group recommends a statewide quality improvement effort modeled after the success stories unfolding in the private sector. And OCSEA negotiates language into the bargaining agreement regarding mutual interest joint actions aimed at improving productivity and quality.

Talking leader to leader
MARCH: Governor Voinovich meets with Xerox CEO David Kearns to discuss the company's highly successful quality initiative. By all accounts, quality has been the key to transforming Xerox into a market leader.

Bridging to the private sector
DECEMBER: Xerox provides a loaned executive, Jack Kindler, to advise and assist state government as the quality journey begins.

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1992

Making quality a priority
JANUARY: At the Governor's Cabinet Retreat, Xerox executives describe how the tools and techniques of total quality management have transformed their organization. Cabinet Directors get a nuts-and-bolts perspective on what it takes to make quality work. They reach consensus to move forward with a major quality initiative in state government.

Leading the way
JANUARY: Seven agencies are chosen to be part of a pilot implementation process: DAS, Development, ODOT, Education, ODMH, DYS and the Adjutant General's Office.

Teaming up
MARCH: The Governor establishes the Ohio Quality Steering Committee, made up of the Director of Cabinet Affairs, seven agency Directors, the OCSEA Executive Director and Presidents, and the Director of Quality. The group's mission: to guide the launch of state government's quality initiative.

Hearing from the private sector
APRIL: In a day that gives tremendous momentum to state government's just-launched quality effort, the Governor, his Cabinet, and Union leadership attend a one-day executive training seminar hosted by Xerox executives.

Launching the learning process
APRIL: This is the starting point of state government's major effort to provide quality training to all employees. The Directors and quality managers from seven agencies, along with five Union presidents and staff from the Governor's office, attend Xerox's three-and-a-half-day training program. They go on to become trainers themselves, carrying forth the knowledge and tools of quality improvement.

Establishing a vision
JUNE: The Governor, his Cabinet, and the Union leadership conclude their work in developing a vision statement for Ohio. It becomes a guiding force for the Administration.

Crafting the plan
OCTOBER: The steering committee completes development of a quality implementation plan for state government. The plan serves as an early road map for the first group of quality champions.

Seeking more "lessons learned"
NOVEMBER: The Governor travels to Xerox headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, for a day of working sessions on quality. Joining him are five agency Directors, (former) OCSEA Executive Director Paul Goldberg, and OCSEA President Ron Alexander.

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1993

Uniting the agencies
JANUARY: The Quality Users Advisory Committee (eventually renamed the Ohio Quality Network) assembles for the first time. Members include quality coordinators and Union liaisons from all agencies. Its critical mission: to ensure that agencies learn together so they can move forward together.

Relaunching the quality initiative
FEBRUARY: The Governor, four agency Directors, and Union leaders from all five labor Unions meet with Xerox executives and officers of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union at ACTWU headquarters in Rochester, New York. The day focuses on union-management relations, and the Ohio contingent learns that partnership is an essential driver for any successful quality journey. On the plane ride back to Ohio, there is a quick and unanimous decision: Ohio's quality initiative is to be renamed "Quality Services through Partnership." Soon after, the term "QStP" (pronounced "Q-step") becomes common parlance throughout state government.

Putting QStP into action
MARCH: As a first step toward walking the talk of partnership, the quality steering committee is reformed with equal numbers of Union leaders and managers.

Building capacity
MARCH: House Bill No. 633 is introduced, calling for creation of the State Office of Quality. Three months later, the legislature allocates funds, and the Office becomes a reality.

Staffing the effort
SEPTEMBER: The Governor (Voinovich) appoints a team of management and Union leaders to recruit an Executive Director for the newly created Office of Quality Services. Steve Wall is hired, making Ohio the first state to have a Cabinet-level Quality Director.

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1994

Creating a learning forum
JANUARY: The year starts with the first-ever Ohio Quality Forum, a monthly two-hour presentation featuring quality experts from inside and outside state government. The first session is on "Quality Principles Translated for the Public Sector." Since then, there have been more than 20 more Quality Forums -- with topics such as "Breakthrough Creative Thinking," "The Voice of the Customer," "Leadership and Empowerment," and much more.

Addressing the contract
JANUARY: OCSEA incorporates principles of QStP into its collective bargaining agreement. Included is language on the selection of team projects and the composition of QStP steering committees. The contract addition further strengthens the new union-management partnership.

Guiding without controlling
MARCH: More than 500 members of newly formed department QStP steering committees attend a full day of training. They leave with a newfound sense of direction on how to guide -- rather than control -- the QStP effort in their agencies.

Showcasing excellence
AUGUST: Education and celebration are abundant at the first annual "Team Excellence in the Public Sector (TEPS) Showcase." Attended by 500 people, including the Governor, the event includes presentations by nine of state government's top quality improvement teams. A judges panel selects BWC's Busy Breakers and the DAS Workers' Compensation Team as the top two. The most common audience reaction? "Wow, quality improvement really is happening in state government!"

Creating a unifying image
AUGUST: Ceri Fitzgerald, formerly with Development, designs the QStP logo. The simple symbol captures many core ideas of QStP, including the need to work side by side in partnership and the fact that progress will occur in gradual, step-by-step fashion.

Becoming a benchmark
SEPTEMBER: In a feature article, Governing Magazine holds up Ohio's early quality progress as a nationwide benchmark. "The one state cited by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees above all others as having brought labor in on TQM in a satisfactory way is Ohio." Credit is given to state government's leadership: "Among governors, Ohio's George Voinovich is TQM's strongest advocate." He "is one politician -- and there aren't many -- who actually seem to understand the crucial role of the frontline employees in successfully implementing TQM."

Sharing Ohio's experience
OCTOBER: Steve Wall, Executive Director of the Office of Quality Services, and Paul Goldberg, Executive Director of OCSEA, testify before the U.S. Department of Labor's Task Force on Excellence in State and Local Government through Labor-Management Cooperation. The input they provide is extremely well-received, and Ohio is profiled as a national leader in the group's concluding report.

Adding value as partners
OCTOBER: OCSEA holds its first quality conference, focusing on how the Union can add value as partners in workplace change -- and in the QStP process in particular.

Making a good thing better
NOVEMBER: A union-management team concludes a major project to revise the QStP Basic Training. The new three-day program is tailored to fit Ohio's public-sector environment. A month later, work is completed on a companion manual just for trainers.

Showing commitment
DECEMBER: The Governor, his Cabinet, and Union leadership attend all three days of the just-revised QStP Basic Training. Highlights include a presentation by The Rejects, an ODOT team whose error-reducing work saved the state $300,000 in one year alone!

Facilitating the change process
DECEMBER: A new course on "Tools and Techniques for Team Facilitation" is developed and launched. Attendees equip themselves with the know-how they need to guide improvement teams from start to finish. The classes fill up quickly as people eagerly seek information on ensuring team success.

Sharing the stage
DECEMBER: Two teams from state government make presentations at the Ohio Manufacturers' Association annual quality celebration in Cleveland. This marks the first year in which the public sector joins Ohio's private-sector quality teams -- fulfilling a promise made by the Governor at OMA's 1993 event.

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1995

Working in partnership
FEBRUARY: Representatives of all five Unions participate in the Governor's 1995 Cabinet Retreat. Together, Union and management leaders analyze the strength of the partnership and identify ways to build on progress during the coming months.

Increasing communications
MARCH: The first issue of QStP Report, a newsletter published by the Office of Quality Services, is circulated throughout state government.

Building our learning capacity
MARCH: The Quality Academy is established to provide state employees with ongoing opportunities in advanced education and training. The first Academy offering, " Running Effective Meetings ," quickly becomes a "must attend" course.

Getting more national attention
APRIL: Another article in Governing Magazine puts QStP back in the national spotlight, citing Ohio as a benchmark in public-sector training. "Under Voinovich's leadership, Ohio is making a major effort to institutionalize TQM throughout state government and is devoting a substantial share of the budget to training."

Communicating in partnership
MAY: The Governor, Paul Goldberg, Executive Director, OCSEA/AFSCME, and Steve Wall, Executive Director, Ohio Office of Quality Services -- along with a team, The Rejects, from ODOT -- conduct a joint press conference on QStP. They highlight the value of employee involvement in decision-making, describe early results of the change effort, and affirm that the unions and management are committed to QStP for the long term.

Charting signs of change
JULY: An early round of data collection confirms that teamwork and facilitation are becoming a common feature of state government. The count shows that 332 improvement teams are under way -- and they're getting guidance from 480 trained team facilitators.

Spreading best practices
SEPTEMBER: The Guide for Creating a Process Improvement Team and the Tool Kit for Quality are published by the Office of Quality Services. The first is full of practical information on how to set up a team the right way the first time around. The Tool Kit describes 20 powerful tools for generating ideas, collecting information, analyzing data, reaching consensus, and planning actions. Both books quickly become some of the most popular reading in state government, and within two weeks, calls start coming in from out-of-staters who want to incorporate the books in their own quality initiatives.

Launching Team Up Ohio
SEPTEMBER: State government holds the first-ever Team Up Ohio. The big event brings 40 process improvement teams, each of which sets up a booth display telling its team story, together with 250 team members and 400 additional attendees. The day is full of education and celebration as people go from booth to booth learning about quality improvement from those who have made it happen. Event highlights include a keynote address by shuttle astronaut (and native Ohioan) Ronald Sega -- whose spaceflights have made him a powerful booster of teamwork.

Presenting impressive results
OCTOBER: The second annual Team Excellence in the Public Sector Showcase gives nine teams an opportunity to tell how they improved quality -- and 500 attendees get real-life lessons in how they can do the same. With the audience including Governor Voinovich and Union leaders, a panel of private- and public-sector judges selects two teams as the "best among the best" -- the Snow Plow Improvement Team from ODOT and Par 5 from DRC.

Facilitating the change process
DECEMBER: In response to a growing demand for facilitation, the Office of Quality Services creates the Rapid Response Team. Made up of experienced facilitators from 15 agencies, the group's mission is to facilitate high-priority projects that involve multiple agencies. As 1996 unfolds, the group provides services to 10 major cross-agency efforts. The biggest of these -- the School-to-Work initiative -- taps the skills of 16 Rapid Response Team facilitators.

Achieving national recognition
DECEMBER: Paul Goldberg and Steve Wall testify before members of the Minnesota legislature who are shaping their state's quality initiative. They also accept an invitation to address the National Conference of State Legislators, as QStP is increasingly recognized as a best practice in quality improvement and union/management partnerships.

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1996

Increasing the union's role
JANUARY: ODOT appoints a full-time bargaining unit Union Quality Liaison to focus exclusively on implementing QStP and strengthening the union-management partnership throughout the agency.

Establishing Team of the Month
FEBRUARY: The Employee of the Month program administered by DAS is expanded to include Team of the Month. The first group to receive the new accolade is Par 5, a DRC team that overhauled a key Parole Authority caseload report.

Expanding our learning capacity
MARCH: The Quality Academy expands its opportunities in advanced education and training. Courses this year include "Measurement Basics for Aspiring Change Agents," "Breakthrough Creative Thinking," "The Voice of the Customer," and "Running Effective Meetings."

Tracking progress
MARCH: As a follow-up to the data collection done eight months earlier, a new round of figures shows dramatic increases in the number of improvement teams (from 332 to 809) and facilitators (480 to 916). Every agency now has improvement teams up and running.

Seeing is believing
MARCH: The first RESULTS Book, containing in-depth stories of 36 teams that went through the entire improvement process, is published by the Office of Quality Services. The book tells story after story of dollars saved, errors reduced, delays eliminated, and customer satisfaction increased. At his Cabinet Retreat, the Governor urges every agency to have at least one team in the next edition.

Strategizing together
MARCH: Union leaders work together with agency Directors at the Governor's Cabinet Retreat. They identify best practices and develop strategies in six areas: leadership, partnership, culture, training, teams, and steering committees.

Promoting quality services
MARCH: The Office of Quality Services publishes an Owner's Manual . Inside are details on the office's staff, services, and materials. Included is a "troubleshooter's guide" full of practical strategies for dealing with common barriers to quality improvement and change.

Reporting on the journey
APRIL: The first "State of QStP" report is published, containing customer comments, measures of progress, anecdotal information, excerpts from focus groups, and implementation strategies developed at the Governor's Cabinet Retreat.

Getting federal attention
MAY: Ohio state government is highlighted as a national quality model in the concluding report of the U.S. Secretary of Labor's Task Force on Excellence in State and Local Government through Labor-Management Cooperation. The report provides in-depth coverage of Ohio's success in creating a union-management partnership.

Doubling the results
AUGUST: The much-anticipated second edition of the RESULTS Book is published. Inside are reports on 70 teams -- twice as much proof that teams are saving money, reducing process time, untangling red tape, boosting customer satisfaction, and creating a better work environment.

Hosting a national conference
SEPTEMBER: Ohio hosts the 1996 All States Quality Forum, a national conference on quality in state government. People from 21 states converge on Columbus to share best practices and learn from the Ohio experience. All participants stay an extra day to attend Team Up Ohio, where they see for themselves just how much QStP is transforming the way Ohio state government does business.

Teaming up more than ever
SEPTEMBER: The second annual Team Up Ohio turns into an unforgettable day of education and celebration, with 120 teams (triple the number from last year!) setting up booth displays to tell their success stories. More than 2,000 people (four times last year) attend, including the Governor, Cabinet Directors, and Union leaders -- who start things off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Achieving true excellence
OCTOBER: The "Team Excellence in the Public Sector Showcase" marks its third year. In polished presentations, nine outstanding teams tell their success stories to an audience of hundreds. The OBES Travel Team and the DYS Home Shoppers are selected by the judges panel to represent state government at the Ohio Manufacturers' Association Leadership Forum in November. There, the Governor gives awards to these and other top teams from across the state.

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1997

Teaming up for measurement
FEBRUARY: An interagency team is set up to find the best ways to measure our progress toward quality improvement and high performance. The team's near-term mission: to gather a new round of useful data from all Cabinet-level agencies. Long-term: to develop and implement a measurement system that is thorough, useful, and free of red tape.

Launching improvement
APRIL: The Office of Quality Services introduces the Team Launch Workshop . The one-day session can accommodate up to four improvement teams. It serves as a combination just-in-time learning experience and first meeting, helping teams get off to an extraordinarily fast start.

Presenting quality
SEPTEMBER: Learning and recognition abound at the fourth annual Team Excellence in the Public Sector Showcase. The panel of judges raves about the eight team presentations. "They were world class," says Ray Ball of the Employee Participation Council. According to William Hughes of The Timken Company, "Each year has been a major step forward." The HRD-CATS from DAS and the FROI Team from BWC are selected to represent Ohio at the Ohio Manufacturers' Association Leadership Forum.

Seeing big gains
OCTOBER: According to a new round of data collection, 1,895 formal process-improvement teams (cumulative) have been formed since the beginning of QStP. Ninety percent of all state employees have gone through QStP Basic Trainning, and a third of them have been on teams. Thus far, implementation of QStP principles, practices, and team-planned improvements has saved the state $66 million.

Adding up the results
OCTOBER: Yet another edition of the RESULTS Book is published. This one is loaded with 161 team success stories.

Breaking records
OCTOBER: Team Up Ohio sets an all-time attendance record, with more than 3,000 people filling the Columbus Convention Center to learn from state government's improvement teams.

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1998

Leading the way
JANUARY: Leaders and managers from all across state government come together for a day-long conference on Leading a High-Performance Workplace. The 1,500 participants acquire new knowledge and skills to transform their own leadership styles -- and the workplace.

Going national
FEBRUARY: Governor Voinovich makes quality improvement a major state-government initiative in his role as Chair of the National Governors' Assocation. The winter meeting in Washington, D.C., includes presentations on quality efforts in four states -- one of which is Ohio.

Leading the way
MARCH: The Office of Quality Services introduces a new workshop on Leadership Skills for a High-Performance Workplace . The intensive two-day program is for all leaders -- union and management -- who want to expand their knowledge and skills. The course is entirely practical, with in-depth information on new roles, measurement, team culture, planning, and more.

Sharing best practices
AUGUST: At its summer meeting, the National Governors' Assocation releases the Governors' Guide to Improving Service Quality. This digest of "what works" is a follow-on to the winter meeting, where four states reported on their change-management struggles and success. As Chair, Governor Voinovich has made quality improvement a major item on the NGA agenda.

Tapping new technology
AUGUST: The State of Ohio Quality webits debut!

SEPTEMBER: Eight outstanding teams presented their success stories at the Team Excellence in the Public Sector Showcase.

OCTOBER: State government's quality champions gathered for an unforgettable day of sharing, learning, and celebration.

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