Alaska Department of Administration Alaska Administrative Productivity and Excellence

Hello OIT, SSOA, and Procurement Employees,

We are bringing additional resources to assist us in our consolidations. I am happy to announce that Alvarez & Marsal Public Sector Services (A&M) has been awarded the Alaska Administrative Productivity and Excellence (AAPEX) contract. Alvarez and Marsal joined forces in 1983, they have worked all over the United States and internationally helping uncover and implement the right solutions at the right time. They have a proven process for rapid diagnosis, exacting action, and finding practical solutions.

The A&M Team

A&M will partner with our existing OIT and SSOA teams to develop and execute a sound and thorough restructuring plan that paves the way forward. They have an amazing success portfolio and we are excited to have them on board! A&M will have a team of 10 people working with us. Here is a short bio on the 4 team leads (I’ve attached their resumes):

• Mark Howard, Managing Director, Project Executive. With more than 35 years of experience as an executive or consultant to the public sector, Mark has spent 10 years in city management where he has served as Department Head, Budget Director, Deputy City Manager, and City Manager for cities in Texas, Colorado and Wisconsin. Over the last 25 years, Mark has worked with governments all over the globe, including several UN agencies, the French Ministry of Finance and provincial governments, and universities in Australia.
• David Bergen, Managing Director, AAPEX Project Manager. With more than 25 years of experience in operations, technology consulting and as a former Fortune 500 CIO, David has led, engineered and delivered large-scale Fortune 500 global ERP, systems integrations and custom application development projects.
• Bob Leto, Senior Director and IT Lead. Bob has more than 30 years of IT management experience, including the direct management of diverse IT organizations, enterprise strategic planning and risk management, organizational change management, customer relations management, enterprise resource planning, business process-re-engineering and large-scale program management.
• Nancy Zielke, Senior Director, Shared Services Lead. Nancy has over 35 years of experience, with experience working on numerous government efficiency studies and assisting governments with economic fiscal impact analyses and revenue forecasts.

Timing

A&M will begin discussions with the Commissioner’s Office and the Director of SSOA in the next couple weeks. On November 12, the A&M team will be in Alaska to start meeting with DOA team members and OIT/SSOA stakeholders. The first step is to assess OIT and SSOA processes to see how well developed they are for implementing projects, managing metrics, and achieving optimized results.

OIT and SSOA Leaders (CIO/CTOs/DTOs and SSOA Director, Deputy, Acting CPO)

As we move forward, I ask each of you to assist Mark and David and their team so that A&M’s assessment during the first step is accurate and reliable. A&M will contact OIT and SSOA leaders soon requesting data.

CTOs and SSOA Supervisors, please let each of your team members know:

1. the AAPEX consolidation effort has kicked off,
2. we need their best efforts to assist the A&M team members, and
3. beginning the week of November 12, AAPEX contractors will start talking to staff to gain input on the current, “as-is” state and the “to-be” state.

DTOs, please let your department POCs know what the plan is for starting consolidation efforts.

Expectations of each team member

I have experienced transformational change in organizations and I know, first-hand, that it’s hard. I also know that our state landscape has changed, resources and inevitably technology have changed and will continue to change, and what worked in the past is no longer viable for our present and future. This centralization effort also gives us a unique opportunity to shape the future OIT and SSOA together—what’s the best OIT possible? what would an ideal SSOA be? Let’s create it.

Each of us needs to bring our skills to the table and even develop new ones. Our actions and communications reflect our team, our department and our integrity. They also will be a critical factor in our success. Each of us understands that our success is intrinsically linked to the success of every single service that each department and agency provides to Alaskans. Here’s what’s expected of staff in the current and future OIT or SSOA:

• Provide excellent, helpful, and friendly customer service throughout the consolidation. Be solution-focused and communicate status updates regularly.
• Participate actively in evaluations and other consolidation activities.
• Demonstrate adaptability by embracing change, supporting consolidation efforts, and keeping up with the AAPEX pace of change.
• Align your decisions, actions, communications, and work towards supporting/advancing DOA’s strategy and consolidation efforts.
• Communicate professionally and respectfully even when it’s difficult. This benefits not only our morale and work organization culture, but the departments and agencies we serve.
• Build relationships and influence stakeholders to support DOA’s consolidation objectives and success.
• Work collaboratively with the OIT/SSOA teams and AAPEX contractors.
• Provide timely turnaround on document, data, and review requests to the AAPEX contractors (<48 hours, unless an exception is granted). Ensure data provided is accurate and current.
• Confidential information must remain confidential until deemed public. If you are unsure about the status of information, reach out to your supervisor to confirm.
• Questions or concerns related to the consolidation should be directed to your supervisor and, when applicable, raised up to higher management or to AAPEX contractors.

What You Can Expect of the Commissioner’s Office

• We will stay committed to completing this consolidation. We will not slow down, postpone, or pull back. We are moving forward.
• We will continue to facilitate support for this consolidation.
• We will do this well. We will dedicate the time, energy, and focus it takes to complete these consolidation efforts successfully and effectively.
• We will stay positive and focused on the present and future state of OIT and SSOA.
• We will support and assist the transition however possible. We will maintain a virtual open door for employees to call, email, stop by, or schedule an appointment.
• We will communicate, communicate, communicate – transparency builds trust and demystifies the change process. We will tell you what we know, when we know it.
• We will be diligent and consistent in implementing our expectations to ensure this consolidation is a success.
• We will support and celebrate team’s and individual’s contributions and successes on this consolidation path.

We have set up a web page that will have updates as AAPEX moves forward so everyone can stay informed. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to direct them to AAPEX.Program@alaska.gov.

Successful consolidation is our goal, and each of you will be a part of that success through your participation and contribution. As we navigate this change together, we will end up with an organization that delivers much greater customer satisfaction and cost savings to Alaskans. They are counting on us.

Thank you for all your individual efforts and continued hard work.

Kelly

Kelly Tshibaka
Commissioner
Department of Administration
(907) 269-6293
kelly.tshibaka@alaska.gov