(Editor’s Note: The following is a release from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, Go-Biz)
Building on the Administration’s efforts to make state government more efficient, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today awarded 23 state officials across various agencies and departments certificates of completion for the Lean 6-Sigma training program administered by GO-Biz which helps streamline permitting and make state government more business friendly. The complete list of graduates and information on the projects is available here.
“The GO-Biz Lean 6-Sigma training program uses the best tools from the private sector to help improve the functionality of state government,” said GO-Biz director Panorea Avdis. “GO-Biz continues to respond to the needs of businesses and here we are making government more efficient and user friendly which helps improve California’s business climate.”
The GO-Biz certification is not your typical state government training program. Lean 6-Sigma training has long been used by the world’s corporate leaders including Toyota, Motorola and General Electric to increase efficiency. In order to receive certification, participants must complete projects that have vastly improved the efficiency within each department. The resulting improvements have a direct positive impact on governments’ interaction with the public by improving the customer service experience for businesses.
“Lean 6-Sigma is streamlining our operations and saving taxpayers money,” said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “GO-Biz has shown great leadership in bringing this program to California state government. Our productivity is up and our processing times are faster. I look forward to finding new ways to improve Caltrans with the next set of Lean 6 Sigma projects.”
The graduation ceremony was hosted in the Governor’s Council Room and featured GO-Biz director Panorea Avdis, Employment Development Department director Patrick Henning, Department of Motor Vehicles director Jean Shiomoto and Department of Toxic Substances Control director Barbara Lee. State representatives from various agencies and departments received the Lean 6-Sigma Green Belt certification from Director Avdis for completing the six month training program which teaches them complex analytical and statistical skills that can help identify waste and inefficiencies within their respective organizations.
“The dedication shown by these 23 graduates, who engaged in training to help streamline government processes and improve customer service, showcase the best of what state employees can do,” said Government Operations Agency Secretary Marybel Batjer. “At GovOps, we are taking this model and have created the California Lean Academy which will offer different levels of training to help create a culture of innovation and continuous improvement in state government.”
Since 2014, GO-Biz has partnered with the Government Operations Agency (GovOps) to offer Lean 6-Sigma Training to state agencies to specifically address process-based issues within state departments that were causing delays in services to both internal and external stakeholders. In addition to helping make state government more efficient, GO-Biz has developed several tools to make government more user friendly including a new one-stop-shop website for business owners (www.BusinessPortal.ca.gov) and a regulatory and permitting service desk which helps business owners get answers to questions.