Centralized process design at the police

The current police organization with 26 divisions will be transformed into one single organization with one police force and 11 units. In the new organization, all support services such as HR, ICT, finance, communication and facility management will be merged into one Shared Service Center (SSC), the Politie Diensten Centrum (PDC, Police Service Centre). “This centralization is a big change; in the old situation, the support services were part of the divisions,” Sander Kroes of Finext explains. As a process designer, he is involved in the design of the new working processes for facility management. “The entire organization will be redesigned. Process design is a way to get organizations moving again.”

Hands-on and straightforward

In his work as a process designer, Sander uses different methodologies, such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) for the modeling of LeanSixSigma for the optimization of processes. We deploy these methodologies in a situational way,” Sander says. “For this reorganization, BPMN is the most appropriate. In a LeanSixSigma track, we optimize processes by eliminating wastage in existing processes. However, for this project we ‘put aside’ the existing processes of the 26 divisions, and we started of with a ‘dot on the horizon’. We do of course make use of best practices.”

“An important part of my approach is making the work of a department concrete,” Sander says. “I provide simplicity in order to provide insight. A model is always a simplification of the existing situation; we remove all aspects that are not relevant or secondary from the model. A model that includes all aspects of reality is not helpful, because it remains too complex.”

Step-by-step approach

The first step in process design is to identify which processes a department needs to fulfill its key tasks. “Let’s take the example of an analysis & reporting department. Its core task is to provide the management with management information, such as an annual plan of work.

After the needs assessment, we organize workshops for the staff to put the activities into practice. To offer an overall picture is an important aspect of the workshops. “The people who do the work and who are in the middle of things need to be made aware of the bigger picture. What are the areas of overlap of your department with the others? This helps people to obtain new insights.”

“Process design is a way to get organizations moving.”

Setting up the SSC

Next is the working out of the workflow, in order to make the different roles for each activity transparent. “We make a matrix of answerability and accountability; who is involved in which activity and who is responsible for what? The results of these steps are the basis for coordination with other departments. “During this phase, the areas of overlap with other teams become apparent,” Sander explains. “Here it is important to articulate how you are going to cooperate and how the input of other teams satisfies the requirements. This is what we call interfaces.”

The next step is the implementation of the facility management system within the SSC, which uses the process descriptions as a guide. “In the near future, there will be a one-stop-shop for all questions related to facility management. All future input for SSC, such as complaints, failure reports, and product or service requests will be laid down in the system.”

Grip on centralization

The reorganization within the facility management department is taking place according to schedule. “The teams now have a clear view of their future tasks. They have identified what they need from others and they are in dialogue with the other teams about the deliverables. In addition to the elaboration of the processes, Sander also created an overview of the changes that are associated with centralization. The mapping of the necessary time frames and activities was not part of the original project, but it proved useful to address. “It provided the customer with an increased control on the reorganization.”

 “Financial processes usually come at the end of the chain, but if you want to solve problems, you need to tackle this upfront in the chain.”

Sander sees a clear mechanism in the centralization of activities. “Activities with high volumes that can be simplified and standardized, such as invoice processing, can be done from one single location. This frees time for the financial staff that can be used to consult and support the entire chain. Financial processes usually come at the end of the chain, but if you want to solve problems, you need to tackle this upfront in the chain.”