1/2/08 Secretary South Announces Department Of Management Services 2007 Year in Review
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 2, 2008
CONTACT:
CATHY SCHROEDER
(850) 921-5266
TALLAHASSEE- Department of Management Services Secretary Linda H. South today announced the Department of Management Services 2007 Year in Review. Increased attention and improvement on overall customer service, successful open enrollment for more than 200,000 state employees and retirees and changing business procedures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions highlight the department's accomplishments this calendar year.
"This year, we planted seeds of success by improving the way we serve our customers and key business practices," said Secretary South. "We're already reaping positive results from these incremental changes; but we must not lose sight of our mission ' to serve those who serve Florida' and seek more opportunities to help state government serve our citizens to the fullest."
One of the big areas the agency focused its attention during the year was customer service. Satisfaction surveys were sent to more than 40,000 DMS customers, 30,000 state group insurance members, 2,000 MyFloridaMarketPlace users, and another to more than 900 department employees. These surveys established benchmarks to target areas of improvement and in many cases showed high levels of customer satisfaction.
The 2007 Year in Review
- Developed and distributed two quarterly satisfaction surveys to more than 40,000 customers served by the department. The first survey sent in June established a benchmark of 78 percent of respondents as being satisfied or extremely satisfied with the department's overall performance. A follow-up survey sent in October reported an overall four percent improvement for the department, earning DMS employees a $25 Employee Performance Thank You Gift Card.
- Developed the Florida Climate Friendly Products List, which includes more than 6,680 environmentally preferable products available for purchase under Florida state term contracts. DMS partnered with DEP to develop the list and encouraged state agencies to purchase products that have a reduced environmental impact.
- Completed open enrollment for more than 200,000 state employees and retirees for their health and insurance benefits selections. This included distributing and developing a new and improved Benefits Guide to more than 165,000 employees and launching the MyBenefits Web site. A customer satisfaction survey was distributed to 30,000 employees with 62 percent responding as either extremely satisfied or satisfied with their enrollment experiences.
- Held the highly successful Office of Supplier Diversity 2007 MatchMaker Conference and Trade Fair in Orlando. With more than 1,000 individuals and more than 200 companies in attendance, this event linked minority business owners with state government and corporate sponsors to drive economic development.
- Hosted the 2007 State of Florida Human Resources Conference in Jacksonville, featuring more than 350 human resources professionals. The conference helped state government efficiently manage human resource programs through technical assistance, training and information-sharing.
- Hosted the 39th annual Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension Trustees' Conference in St. Petersburg. More than 300 participants learned about the legal, actuarial and investment responsibilities for managing these programs. Attendance doubled compared to last year.
- Migrated customers from the former statewide data network to the new, world-class MyFloridaNet data transport network within budget. This new network provides increased security, state-of-the-art technology and cost avoidance for all customers. The department will fully complete the upgrade in 2008.
- Successfully integrated all counties statewide as part of the Florida Interoperability Network (FIN), the state's interoperability radio tool that allows emergency responders to communicate with each other on dissimilar radio systems and frequencies. This statewide network allows every county to utilize these vital resources and technology.
- Enhanced theDivision of Retirement's secure, online system. Current and retired state employees can more efficiently manage their retirement benefits. The system has improved flexibility so members can create their own estimate of retirement benefits, project salaries and average final compensation.
- Upgraded MyFloridaMarketPlace to 2.0 making it more accessible and user-friendly. This calendar year, more than 400,000 transactions were completed through the system totaling more than $4.3 billion. The upgrade resulted in 91 percent reporting as being satisfied with the program and its services.
- The People First personnel information system handled more than 900,000 calls from employees, processed 35,000 manual timesheets and almost $5 million in refunds, and posted more than 192,000 benefits premiums.
- The Division of State Purchasing managed more than 80 State Term Contracts and State Purchasing Agreements with executive agencies purchasing more than $400 million off these contracts, saving more than $100 million. The total money statewide spent for State Purchasing and agency contracts was more than $2.5 billion.
- The Division of State Purchasing facilitated a new State Purchasing Agreement to provide Air Taxi Services to state agencies, elected officials and other eligible users as an option for regional air travel. This service may provide another cost-effective option than commercial flights and caters to the traveler's schedule.
- The Division of State Aircraft transported officials on 417 trips, logged 1,082 hours in the air and traveled more than 892,621 miles.
For more information on the Department of Management Services, visit www.dms.MyFlorida.com.
###