Kansas Remote and Virtual Operations Experiment Key Decisions
Discover the key decisions and challenges faced by David Sprick, Administrator at Kansas Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation Division, during the operational experiment amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Kansas. Explore important timelines, pain points, and pivotal decisions made to transition to remote and virtual operations efficiently.
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Presentation Transcript
Kansas Remote and Virtual Operations Experiment during the Covid-19 pandemic Central States Association 2020 Spring Seminar
Who is this guy? David Sprick Administrator, Operations Section Kansas Department of Labor, Workers Compensation Division david.sprick@ks.gov
Outline Key COVID-19 Kansas Timeline on Events Important Decisions & Pain Points of the Operational Experiment Closing takeaways of all this ongoing experience
Remote Operational Experiment Timeline
Key COVID-19 Kansas Timeline
Key COVID-19 Kansas Timeline From May 4- present Really working with 90% of staff 5 staff members loaned to Unemployment Insurance Division 2 open positions Remote workers: 47 On-site, socially distanced workers: 18 (Topeka HQ, plus 4 regional offices) 72% remote, 28% on-site
Important Decisions & Pain Points
Key Decisions Made Decision #1- close the agencies to the public & move workers out The Kansas Governor made the decision to move out as many state employees from our buildings and close our offices to the public Initial directive was nearly all state agencies would be closed for 2 weeks, all employees on paid admin leave Pain Point! KDWC can work nearly fully remote!
Key Decisions Made Decision #2- advocate to keep KDWC open, virtually & remote We were allowed to open up on 3/31 but with remote workers only Pain Point! Now we have to figure out how to do all this with half the staff
Key Decisions Made Decision #3- Inform the public/stakeholder community we will open but only remotely, adjust the expectations of service (virtual hearings only) OSCAR system log-in message to our external system users. E-mail from Director We never closed with OSCAR
Key Decisions Made Decision #4- who is essential staff 49% of the Staff Pain Points! Only 1 of our legal assistants had a laptop and could work remotely! Classifying people as non-essential Remote workers have to work more Key tool: OSCAR information system Key tool part 2: Internet phone Key tool part 3: Skype/Zoomgov teleconferencing
Key Decisions Made Decision #5- assignment of work done centrally by leadership Director and leadership team assessed skill and knowledge of workers and made the assignments Pain Point! Only 1 of our legal assistants had a laptop and could work remotely! Key tool: OSCAR information system Key tool part 2: Internet phones Key tool part 3: Skype/Zoomgov teleconferencing
Key Decisions Made Decision #6- we kept in mind the people side of the operations This is a pandemic! Some workers are high-risk and can t come back on-site They are working from home isolation of remote work OSCAR alert for all internal staff when they logged into system:
Key Decisions Made Decision #7- we were too clever by half, admit the make mistakes & correct them 98% of our operations are paperless after OSCAR. Yeah!! Pain Point! We still need to print and mail legal notices for pro se We rode it out one week and solution was bring in a 1 staff member to do mail each morning Pain Point! We need more legal assistants! Received permission to add 2 legal assistants In Topeka, 1 in Lenexa office (KC area), 1 in Wichita after about a week
Key Decisions Made Decision #8- treat this as a remote, virtual & digital operational experiment Pain Point! Somebody has to document all this! Agree to take action on what we learned during the experiment Share your experiences with others
Key Decisions Made Decision #9- track the new Covid-19 impacted WC system Track pandemic claims! We began taking the last week in March Pain Point! Somebody has to figure out how to do this! Were in the middle of a pandemic! Built a one-page document for tracking COVID claims & denials Track all your transactions daily, weekly & note any decreases or increases.
Key Decisions that still Need to be Made Decision #10- Move back from remote operations to normal operations Pain Point! We have not solved this problem yet! When is it safe to let the public Not before end of June at the earliest We will keep you posted! Decision #11- Bring the public back into our courts Pain Point! Safety issues We will keep you posted!
Key Takeaways We are still mostly running remote operations as of today No in-person hearings, all virtual/phone Remote staff = 72%, on-site= 28% Operations are as important as RTW, Medical issues, regulation, hearings, case decisions because without it none of the former can be accomplished by agency.
Key Takeaways You need the technology, systems, skills, and planning to make it happen An emergency like this didn t really transforms our operations The emergency accelerated work & technology trends Kansas already had in place
Questions? Thank you!
