DMV Interview Results

Phil Masters DMV Director

Phil Masters is the regional director of the DMV. He reports to the director of the Department of Transportation. He was transferred to this job three years ago when the DMV was moved from the Department of Public Safety to Transportation. Here are his credentials: Team Member: 30 year government professional, previous credentials as a department supervisor in the Department of Public safety, Phil, can you describe to me a little bit about how the DMV operates?

Phil: That would take far too long. We have a very complicated business here compared to the other agencies you have probably toured. It would take me the whole day to describe to you. Team Member: Well, I don't want to take up too much your time is I know you're busy, but maybe he give me a high level overview. Phil: I suppose I could but I'm not going to give you too many details as it might only confusion. No offense, but I know this business and I know what's possible and what isn't.

The DMV is operating quite well now considering that we have had a budget reduction of 25% our workforce has been cut 50% over the last 10 years. Capital spending has been taught to less than 2% of the budget but we were lucky to get the computer system funded. While all this is been going on, the government has filed on mandate after mandate. We have a highly skilled and experienced staff and we have just implemented a new state-of-the-art computer system. To get more information about the computer system you will have to talk to the IT manager. Now that we have a system in place the waiting lines should decrease drastically. Team member: Phil: Our customer relations have been better. We used to survey our customers on a regular basis but the survey results became an oversight measure and that led to more problems for us. Team member: What are oversight measures? What what about your customer relations?

Phil: We have oversight measures which are reported to the Governor, Legislature, and other oversight agencies on a regular basis. These are used for setting our budget and include the number of drivers through the system, both new and renewal licenses. We recently did a study of wait times and have are waiting line data available. Team member: What about internal performance measures?

One more thing. Speaking of mandates, we have been mandated to get the cycle time for license renewal to under 30 minutes, and new licenses to under 1 hour and 15 minutes. Apparently other states have been able to accomplish this.

Phil: There are no additional measures, only the oversight ones. Unfortunately, the more you report the more scrutiny you receive so we try to keep it to a minimum. We used to have more measures but there was no agreement about which ones were really oversight versus other kinds of measures. There are more things we should look at that would help us internally. One of our agencies completed a benchmarking study of other states and there may be some good information there. We also track the percent of time our network is available and have done some customer surveys as I mentioned before.

The Quality Group, All Rights Reserved, 2011

DMV Interview Results

Katie Barnes - DMV Supervisor Katie Barnes is the DMV supervisor. Katie has seen it all. She has over 20 years in the DMV and has watched the process change over the years. She takes her job very seriously and has earned the respect from the employees and their loyalty to her is obvious. Team member: So Katie, what will help you do your job better?

Katie: DMV was operating on a 20-year-old computer system that frequently shut down and caused services disruption. I know they have installed a new system, but they seemed to have run out of money before they got it fully implemented in this area. For example, our cameras for taking the drivers license photos were just converted to digital. We could reduce our process times in this area, especially at the end of the line where the customer has to wait for the license. Our laminator is really old and breaks down frequently. I think it was installed during the Reagan adminstration. I hear that the film is hard to get only made in China or something. This is a very paper-based process with many handoffs and delays. These are very mundane tasks and the people get almost no promotions. This organization is viewed as a dead end job and people either stay for lack of anything else to do, or leave. It didn't used to be this way and see if it got worse when we transferred over from Public Safety. Team member: Tell me more about that.

Katie: I'm very concerned about this process. When people have to take a full day off work to visit DMV, there is something very wrong. Unfortunately people have to visit the DMV in person. The other options are worse or nonexistent. You can buy a car online at the only online service we provide is reregistering your car. You can use a credit card for any transaction in America, except if you're at a DMV facility in the state. Yes we have a call in center, and it works reasonably well, but most people are not aware of the system. Those who do call are met with a very complex set of menus they must navigate. We have the systems in place but almost every day we have to send people home at the end of the shift because they have not made it all the way through the process. They can be very frustrated. Team member: Tell me about your new computer system

Katie: It seems that every few years the organization bounces between Transportation and Public Safety. It seems that nobody wants us. It just my opinion that neither group has given DMV the leadership or attention it deserves. Team member: Tell me about your people.

Katie: They are a fantastic bunch and a pleasure to work with. They take a lot of adversity and have to be very thick-skinned when dealing with the public. I think they have a lot of ideas on how things can improve both the DMV has stopped seeking their input. Communications from outside this organization are almost nonexistent.

The Quality Group, All Rights Reserved, 2011

DMV Interview Results

Walter Marlow Senior Customer Service Representative.

Team member: Walter: What's there to tell? Nobody listens anyway. We have more public interaction than any other state agency. DMV is the face of the state government and I think it has been a model of government failure. If it were a private business, it would have gone bankrupt a decade ago. There is no strategic planning. They implemented a new computer system which works reasonably well but seems to have stopped short in this area. Not only have we had a budget cut and headcount reduction with this agency is working in less than before. Team member: Can you describe some of the problems to me? Walter, tell me about your job.

Walter: Sure. Even though we have a new computer system there seems to be no decrease in the lines. Customers must visit multiple DMV Windows because the system is set up for each step to have a single transaction only certain agency clerks can use their computers to verify proof of insurance, or to check the authenticity of Social Security numbers. Each window has its own queue. We measured the cycle time a few months ago and the average time for a license renewal was about 57 minutes while a new license was taking around 95 minutes. Customers have complained about waiting 2-3 hours and sometimes having to come back the next day to finish the process. They are really ticked. The old computer system was so complex that it required special knowledge just to keep it running and people tended to specialize in their particular area. Even though we have a new system, people are still in the same jobs with little or no crosstraining. Team member: Walter: I mostly work as an alternate and I resolve problems that come up with the paperwork. Im the only one who can do all jobs. Tell me about your process.

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DMV Interview Results

Mandy Smith Customer Service Representative.

Team member: Mandy: I am the service rep in the area where they complete the paperwork for new or renewed license. I process the completed form and take payment. Team member: What are some of the problems you encounter? Mandy, tell me about your job.

Mandy: These are long forms and often information is missing or incorrect. Since we are not allowed to make corrections on the form, and it must be filled out in ink, a new form must be completed if there are errors. People get very angry over this. Often they forget to bring proper forms of identification, or have identification which is out of date. We should catch this when they first come in the door but we seldom do. If people knew what to bring ahead of time we wouldn't have these problems. Team member: Mandy: New people in this organization are always assigned to the check-in desk upfront. This person is supposed to answer questions and give each person a number for processing. Since these are new people they don't know all of the tricks and either can't answer the question, or ask one of us. With this new computer system I don't know why that process cant be automated. The member: What about payment? Why is that?

Mandy: We only accept personal checks or cash. You can buy almost anything online with a credit card but you still have to get your drivers license in person and pay the old-fashioned way. If the driver is from out-of-state, we have to check with their bank before we accept the personal check. If their bank is in another time zone, it may be closed and we have to wait until the next day. The member: What happens after the customer leaves you?

Mandy: They go over to take their test and eye exam. One more thing; if the customer has not completed the process at 5:00 we have to send them home and tell them to come back the next day. They get very angry. Due to budget restrictions we can only work 8 to 5. We all take lunch together to regroup. Its like a therapy session. Team Member: Mandy: They wait. What about the customer? Maybe we can give them coffee or something.

The Quality Group, All Rights Reserved, 2011

DMV Interview Results

Customer Survey Results Surveys are handed out to each driver as they leave the process. tabulated each month.
Complaint DMV workers rude Excessive wait DMV workers give inconsitent information Had to return the next day to complete Long lines Not near public transportation Parking inadequate Web site slow Web site very confusing Count

They are collected and

16 79 23 16 35 2 9 5 9

Internal Measures:

Besides survey results, the following unofficial measures are captured: Cycle time to complete the process, new and renewal licesnses Number of people who successfully complete the process Number of people who fail the eye exam Number of people who fail the hearing test Call center volume Call center hang-ups Queue length for each of the 3 waiting areas (one-week study)

The Quality Group, All Rights Reserved, 2011