Arizona's transition to telework
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, state agencies, just like many other businesses, had to quickly move to telework to protect employees and continue to serve the public.
The Industrial Commission of Arizona has been an early proponent of the state’s continuous improvement program, so it made sense to rely on this system to help transition the majority of Industrial Commission employees to telework.
Using the Arizona Management System made transitioning to telework a lot easier for Industrial Commission employees because they were accustomed to the process of Standard Work and knew what was expected of them. Additionally, the agency quickly produced guidance documents to help employees feel comfortable with working from home.
AMS has also allowed Industrial Commission division managers to maintain good communication with their teams by continuing weekly huddles through teleconferences or Google Hangouts. Multiple times a week, calls were held with commission leadership and managers to help facilitate communication and answer any questions managers had.
All Industrial Commission meetings during the pandemic were moved to teleconferences without impacting the frequency and maintaining accessibility to the public.
Relying heavily on AMS, the Industrial Commission was able to facilitate teleworking for 85% of employees in a short matter of time. Using new teleworking guidelines and upgraded online services, the commission was able to continue to provide excellent service to stakeholders and customers while reducing employees' and customers' risk of exposure to COVID-19.
“Using the Arizona Management System made transitioning to telework easier because employees had the tools they needed and knew what was expected of them.”