A DAO in the Life

By Jennifer Whetzel, Deputy County Administrator, County of Augusta

“If you only do what you can do, you'll never be more than you are now.”

Master Shifu, Kung Fu Panda 3

Ask anyone about the speed of Government and they will respond that it is slow, bogged down by red tape and, many times, antiquated laws or processes.  In all fairness, sometimes those laws or processes are in the best interest of protecting the citizens.

Augusta County is beginning the procurement process for a new ERP system.  Members of the team include IT, accountants and administration.  The role of administration is to push for a product that will be forward thinking and free up time for employees to better government; to address the changes thrown to local government by the state or feds; to provide a better service and ease of access to the citizens; and free staff’s minds and time to make future forward changes. 

How do you get this across to other County staff?  The users’ ability to change affects the project.  People = Success, even more so than the scope of work, funding or schedule for implementation.  Their buy-in is key.  How do you marry the long-time employees that could manage a business process by hand with the new employee that needs a system that is intuitive to learn?  Measures are being taken now to assist in identifying those with reservations and mitigating them sooner rather than later.  But, who knew in taking a leadership role that above and beyond being a relationship builder and mentor, you would need to be a mediator, referee, chastiser, hand-holder, really a parent?   

Every day managers live Master Shifu’s ideology:  As leaders, we want to empower staff to make good decisions.  We want staff to take initiative to improve their work.  For this to transpire, we need to help staff to see their own potential and recognize their talents.  We want them to be more than they are now.