Development Services Review. Final Report. Zucker July 2016

Figure 4 Relationship Between Demand and Resources

Fluctuating Demand for Services

Fluctuating Availability of Resources

Performance Standard (Constant)

In establishing performance standards, it is important to specify the degree to which the City is expected to attain the desired level of performance. Frequently we see jurisdiction initially establish a goal of achieving their performance standard on average (50% of the time). You will note in the table above that we are recommending performance measure targets be established based on the ability to achieve these results 90% of the time. 29. Recommendation: The Performance standards to be developed should be established to measure compliance based on achieving the result at least 90% of the time. For all of the benefits we see in establishing performance standards, an inherent shortcoming is the potential for performance standards to be entirely focused on achieving quantitative goals. To be effective, a performance standard must include both quantitative and qualitative components. A common scenario we observe is that increases in service demands are initially met with the abandonment of qualitative measures. These steps typically take the following form:

 Elimination of both in-house and external staff training;



Elimination of staff meetings;

 Elimination of quality control auditing programs;

 Assignment of supervisors and managers to perform staff work;

 Elimination or reduction in records management efforts;

 Information on public handouts and website becomes outdated; and

 Most phone calls go to voice mail and are not retrieved in a timely manner.

This is not an all-encompassing list, but rather examples of how the qualitative component of a performance standard can be eroded unless specific steps are taken to ensure that such components don’t become sacrificed in the process of achieving “the numbers”.

Morgan Hill, California

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Zucker Systems