Spotlight on Retirement ServicesSpotlight on Retirement Services Retirement has been the big buzzword around state government since the introduction of the governor’s early retirement

Spotlight on Retirement ServicesRetirement has been the big

buzzword a round s ta tegovernment s ince theintroduction of the governor’searly retirement proposal inFebruary. As a result, RetirementServ i ces has been in thespotlight as management andstaff, with assistance from otherDepartment of Management andBudget areas, worked togetherto make the proposal a realityfor over 8,000 el igible stateemployees.

However, the State Employees’ Retirement System is not the onlypension system Retirement Services administers. Retirement Servicesalso handles the pension benefits and some health care benefits forretirees of the Public School Employees, Judges, and State PoliceRetirement Systems. In 2001 Retirement Services was ranked thethirteenth largest public pensionfund i n t he Un i ted S ta te s ,serving over 170,000 retireesand ove r 378 , 000 wo rk i ngindividuals. During the 2000-2001 s ta te f i s ca l year,Retirement Services deliveredpension payments totaling $2.4b i l l i on , wh i le cont inu ing toprotect and preserve the benefitsof retirement system membersand ensure long-term solvency ofthe funds. In addition to the mainoffice at the Secondary Complex,Ret i rement Serv i ces has anoutreach office in Holland and inDetroit.

Director’s Office: (left to right) Angela Hamilton, TerryJacobson, Pam Ward, Chris DeRose, director, MikeBialkowski, and Jaime Mosley. Not pictured: Steve Crippen.

Plan Design and Deployment: (left to right) KimKirkland, Fred Doll, John Davidson, Ben Louagie,Ann Beach, Dan Norberg, Linda Mahlow, JonBrown, Laurie Hill, Deb Grescowle, Miriam Bender,Anthony Estell, Phil Stoddard, and Elaine Lewter.Not pictured: Sam Williams.

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Self service

News from the themes

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Looking for anadvance peek at yourpaycheck? Wonderingabout your leavebalance? The answers tothese questions and manymore can be found on SelfService, a new HRMNprogram, currentlyavailable on the Stateintranet, and soon to beavailable through thestate’s web site.

DMB employees canuse Self Service to checkcurrent leave balances,view pay statementsthrough October 2000,review employee history,and verify activation inthe appropriate CivilService applicant pools.Employees can create“what if” paymentmodeling calculations andsign up for direct depositelectronic funds transfer.

Current benefitinformation, includingwho’s covered and whatit costs, can be viewed.Employees can updatetheir address and maritalstatus; add birth,adoption, and dependentinformation; printbenefit and tax forms;and select benefitsduring open enrollment.However, if changesmust be made toinsurance benefits, the

Unsung heroes of DMB shine in flood’s aftermath

(On July 18, the skies

above downtown Lansingbroke open and in a mat-ter of minutes up to twoinches of rain fell. Soon,parking ramps and many ofthe state buildings and sur-face parking lots flooded.

Luckily, the Depart-ment of Management andBudget snapped into actionalmost as soon as the rainbegan to fall. Through ajoint effort, the unsungheroes of InfrastructureServices, Operations andTenant and Land Services,Occupancy Services, andSecurity managed to cleanup most of the damagewithin hours.

Infrastructure’s Opera-tions Division, Tenant and Land’s Occupancy Services and Security/Parking stayed into theevening, working in tandem to organize the cleanup, barricade off unsafe areas, take careof plugged pipes, and fix flooded elevators in the Mason Building. Countless employeestrudged through water to make sure the facilities were safe and dry. Thanks to their efforts,the water in the Cass, Mason, and Library and Museum buildings was cleaned up by theend of the day and the Mason Building’s elevators were back in service in time for employ-ees to use as they left for the day.

“As usual, when an emergency strikes we [Infrastructure Services and Tenant and LandServices] work hand-in-hand to get things done as quickly as possible,” said Ron Luce,manager, Infrastructure Services’ Operations Division.

The employees of Tenant and Land Services, Security Division also stayed well into theevening, assisting employees whose cars had been flooded in the surface parking lots.

“We pulled together to give a helping hand to the people who were affected by theflood. It was bad enough that these people had their cars flooded. We just wanted tomake sure that we helped in any way we could, whether it was calling a tow truck,using our vans to ‘ferry’ people to their cars, or giving someone a ride home. Every-one was focused on making sure we kept our customers as our first priority,” said Joe

Ostrowski, director, Security, Tenant and Land Services.Thanks to the efforts of Tenant and Land Services and Infrastructure Services, and

the help they received from the Department of State Police, Peckham Industries, theChristman Company, and others, a situation which could have turned into a disasterwas handled before it got out of control.(Continued on page 3)

(Clockwise from top left) Greg Whitford rescues supplies from the MasonBuilding; Harry Liber cleans up water in the Mason Building lobby; a securityguard talks to Bobby Ellis and Tim Simpson under the Pine Street Bridge;flooding on lower level of the Allegan street ramp; Pine Street at the height ofthe flood; Jeff Eklund cleans water out of the basement of the Cass Building;Ben Westrate and Ron Luce discuss the flooding in the Allegan Street Ramp;cars in the flooded Ottawa surface lot.


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Growth in Retirees Prompts Changes

Approximately five years ago,management began seriously assessing theimpact baby boomers would have onRetirement’s business operations.Demographics indicated that the workloadwould increase 10%-20% every year dueto baby boomers reaching retirement age.In order to quickly and efficiently servethe huge projected increase in retirees,a long-term strategic plan would beneeded.

One of the overriding factors increating a strategic plan was to emphasizecustomer services, as evidenced by DMB’svision— “Excellence in Service – Partnersin Progress.” Following that lead,

Retirement Services, under the direction of Chris DeRose, director, formalized a strategicplan with this mission statement—“We deliver pensions, related benefits and services topromote the future financial security of our customers.” More importantly, the organizationarticulated a vision of what it deemed important: “Fast, easy access to complete andaccurate information and exceptional service.” Quality customer service is a major priority.

Moving to a Business Process OrganizationThe next step was to look at the organization as a whole. Using consultants specializing

in business process analysis, subjectmatter experts from within the officebegan to analyze and systematically mapout the primary workflows and businessprocesses within the organization.Typically businesses that operate by theprocess-based approach ensure thataccountability is in the right place andchanges can be made quickly at the rightlevel.

With Retirement’s business processmaps in hand, management took the boldstep of realigning the organization basedon specific business processes. This wouldallow business process owners (managersover these sequenced tasks and duties)to begin identifying where improvementsand efficiencies could be implemented.

Employer Reporting: (left to right, back row) AnnetteRuiz, Kim Pulido, Peggy Shinn, Mary Weaver,Chantele Geisenhaver, Mary Picken, Kay Johnston,and Heather Inosencio, (first row) Angela Sanborn,Mary Jo Neirink, Carla Price, Sylvia Maat, JoanneBusley. Not pictured: Cindy Adams, Raini Majeske,Michele Childs, Deb Lawrence, and Sara Vanderlind.


Process Support: (left to right, back row) David Travis,Ryan Weltzer, Andy Kolp, (third row) Deb Mosher,Diane Monroe, Lisa Naccarato, Amy Betts, AnnSchneider, (second row) Amanda Hogg, ClarissaSheler, Alice Semevolos, Mary Sheltraw, (first row)Pam Cook, Joyce Buchanan and Meg Leonard. NotPictured: Joan Schneider, Kathleen O’Connell, Col-leen Daley, and Lisa Schmidt.

Spotlight on Retirement Services, continued from page 1

Human ResourcesOffice must becontacted directly(except during openenrollment periods).

Employees can signup for Self Service bygoing to http://in t ra . s ta te .mi .u s/hrmn/ and clicking onthe “Self Service”button at the top of thepage. Then, along theleft hand side of thepage under “New UserLinks,” they should clickon “Sign up for yourpersonal site,” completethe application, thenc l i c k “ S u b m i t . ” Apassword will then bemailed to their homeaddress within fivebusiness days or if an e-mail address is provided,the password will be sentto them via e-mail withinten minutes. If a passwordis lost or forgotten, anemployee can click on the“To reset your password?”button on the HRMN site,fill in and submit therequired information. Anew password will besent to them either viae-mail or to their homeaddress within fivebusiness days. Employeeswith questions, concerns,or problems shouldcontact Sandi Michalec,the Self Service liaison,at 373-1000.

Self service,continued from page 2

http://intra.state.mi.us/hrmn/




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Addressing Changing Technology

Management also recognized earlyon in this venture that advances intechnology would further improve theoverall efficiency and effectivenessof the organization. A special taskforce was created and the Vision ORSteam began assessing what changesin processes and technology wouldposition Retirement Services to besthandle the future influx of retirees,without a proportional increase instaff resources. Along the way, staffencountered the sometimeschallenging task of learning to adjustto an ever-changing environment—skills essential for adapting to thefuture.

New Business Process StructureCurrently Retirement Services has

two general divisions under ChrisDeRose, director, RetirementServices. Operations is directed byPhil Stoddard, executive processowner, and Customer Service isdirected by Laurie Hill, executiveprocess owner. Stoddard and Hilloversee five process groups: EmployerReporting; Customer Accounts;Benefit Management; CustomerEducation; and Process Support. One

additional business process, Finance, was integrated into Financial Services aspart of the DMB restructuring last fall.

Retirement Services Business ProcessesEmployer Reporting interacts with the various employers—state agencies,

county court systems and public schools—to collect pension contributioninformation and gather wage and service data used to determine pension benefits.

Customer Accounts responds to customer inquiries, handling most of theincoming phone calls, e-mail inquiries, and correspondence, along with face-to-face counseling with walk-in members. Customer Accounts staff also handles the

Customer Accounts: (left to right, top picture) Sally Jimenez,Lois Musbach, Christy Demshuk, Pam White, SuzanneWright, Phyllis Bradley, Faye Young, Eve Baumgart, CharlaClifford, Joyce Weber, Patsy Burhans, Maureen Carden,Susan Haller-Wollenhaupt, Sean Evans, Matt Bechler, PamKibby, Larry Selvage, John Donovan, Christine Greenlee,and Tim Simpson. (Bottom picture) Jon Seeger, Kim Gilbert,Josey McCloud, Jeff Dumroese, Sandy Blommer, Bill Motz,Erik Ferden, Pam Kenney, Gordon Hicks, Judy McLean,Mary McGlashen, Cindee Clouse, Lisa Barrone, and TonyContu. Not pictured: Becky Campbell, Cathleen Curran,Beth Nurenberg, Stephanie Buntin, Don Dimitroff, AndyDaignault, Cheryl Moore, Faye Norris, and Ann Watros.


While Michigan’ssweltering summers,crisp fall afternoons,icy cold winters, andwarm spring showersallow a wide variety ofoutdoor sports andactivities to flourish,Michigan’s weatherkeeps the Grounds Crewo f I n f r a s t r u c t u r eServices hard at work.

The crew, supervisedby Chris Rankin andDennis White, is on call24 hours a day, sevendays a week andmaintains over 300acres of grounds at boththe Capitol andSecondary Complexes.Larry Gilson, SueLeonard, Larry Nichols,Jo Phelps, JanieSlocum and Gale Witte

complete the team.The condition of the

grounds is directlyconnected to customers’impressions of stategovernment since thearea outside thebuildings is the firstthing they notice. Thework of the GroundsCrew of InfrastructureServices, OperationsDivision benefits anystate employee that hase v e r s a t o n abench or under thetrees near a statebuilding and enjoyed thesurroundings.

Grounds crew


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service credit issues such as years ofservice evaluations, and service creditbillings and purchases.

Benefit Management reviewsand processes a l l of theapplications for retirement andinsurance benef its, p lusdetermines eligibility for deathbenefits and domestic relationsorders. These employees areresponsible for putting pendingretirees on payroll.

Customer Education keepsclear, accurate and t imelyinformation flowing between theorganizat ion and members,employers, staff, and otherinterested parties. CustomerEducation staff also maintain theweb s i te, forms, publ i shedmaterials, and provide seminarsand speakers as part of thecustomer education/outreachprogram.

Process Support helps keep theoffice functioning smoothly byhandling incoming and outgoingmai l ; maintaining records;ordering, housing and distributingsuppl ies; publ ishing andmaintaining internal policies andprocedures; facilitating requestsfor equipment and temporarystaffing needs; and coordinatingspace, safety, training, andsecurity issues for staff.

Another area of Retirement Services is Plan Design and Deployment. Its staffmembers assist the directors in various capacities. For example, they may take thelead on special projects, serve as liaison with the Attorney General’s office on legalissues, oversee the defined contribution and deferred compensation plans, provideinput to legislators, and interface with external suppliers, such as insuranceproviders. They also research and review business cases for new initiatives.

Benefit Management: (left to right, top picture, back row)Dan Harry, Lydia Cecil, Kris Morris, Patty Wethy,Teresa Pilar, Veronica Tsai, Brenda Prast, (second row)Janet Darling, Mary Lowry, Jennifer Aseltine, LisaKalchik, Pat Verplanck, (first row) Ed Helzerman,Nancy Ott, Mary Ann Vicini, Anita Hunt, and NicoleHenley. (Bottom picture, back row) Amanda Huhn, SueDeBor, Laurie Abraham, Jackie Nurenburg, AndreaStarmer, (second row) Celine Harr, Mary Anderson,Brucette Regan, Nancy Zalewski, Eileen Kinsella, (firstrow) Kathy Parisian, Rita Bevier, Margo Keeler andDick Pennington. Not pictured: Andy Oser, Nick Armit,Mary Barrett, Tim Droste, Marcia Mahoney, LillieWilson, Norma Simon, Sarah Zielaskowski, AngelaDeRose, Lila Christiansen, Cindy Nevins, DebMacGregor, Lynn Stowell, and Darla Brzezinski.



D e p a r t m e n t o fM a n a g e m e n t a n dBudget’s managers andsupervisors attendedworkshops from Aprilt h r o u g h J u n e t ocomplete the secondphase of the IntegratedP e r f o r m a n c eManagement process,which involves trackingand assessing employees’performance.

M a n a g e r s a n dsupervisors received arefresher on theIntegrated PerformanceManagement Wheeland the PerformanceManagement Cycle,worked on building theircoaching skills, practicedc o m p l e t i n g t h eC o m p e t e n c yA s s e s s m e n t a n dIndividual DevelopmentPlan (IDP) form; practiceddialoguing with eachother as if they wereconducting an assessmentmeeting, and receivedimportant information tom a k e a s s e s s m e n tmeetings successful.

T h e t r a i n e r si n c l u d e d G r a c e

B o n o f i g l i o , L o r i

E d w a r d s , B e r n i eLucas, and Deb Stevens,O r g a n i z a t i o n a lS e r v i c e s ; D i c kHauser, AcquisitionServices; and Kim

Sperry, Agency Services.

CBT training


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Implementing the Business

Process Approach

Process enhancements andsome early changes in technologyare scheduled for implementationthis summer, with more to bephased in over the next 18 months.However, Retirement Services hasalready seen the benefits ofoperating as a process-basedorganization. Following the initialannouncement of the Early Outproposal, the various process ownersquickly developed and implementedplans to successfully handle thepotentially overwhelming influx ofinquiries and service requests.

As Retirement Services continues to move forward with the Vision ORS projectand the associated enhancements in technology products and service capabilities,being a business process based organization should prove to be a valuable asset,both to customers and to DMB. Retirement Services hopes to continue seeingthe positive results in less complicated, more efficient user-friendly businessoperations, good employee morale, and top-notch customer service, advancingDMB’s vision of “Excellence in Service—Partners in Progress.”

Customer Education: (left to right, back row) RobertGlennon, Kathy Tober, Ray Fleming, ChuckSimpson, Fred Covert, Angie Schrauben, (secondrow) Charmaine Collings, Joy Bartell, Connie Morse,Rosemary Baker, (first row) Mike Novak, Ken Wright,

and Doug Davidson. Not pictured: Tawny Anderson.


Heat and humiditycan affect anyone. Everysummer the news reportson athletes in perfectphysical shape who dieduring practice due toheat stress. Even healthypeople should take it easyduring hot weather.People with respiratoryand other health problemsshould be especiallycareful.

Heat stress emergenciescan be prevented byfollowing a few simpleprecautions:

• Condition yourself toworking in the heat bystarting slowly, thenbuild up to morephysical work.

• Drink water often.

• Cool off for a fewminutes if signs of heatstress, like headaches,appear.

• Wear lightweight, lightcolored clothing whenworking out in the sun.

• Take advantage of fansand air conditioners.

Keep your cool—heatstress is dangerous, butit’s also preventable!

Safety With Judy:Heat Stress Prevention

Judy Ferrigan is iDMB’sSafety and Health colum-nist. Her column appearsmonthly.

Cadillac Place opens, consolidates state’s Detroit officesIn August 2001 the state of Michi-

gan began moving its Detroit officesto the former General Motors head-quarters in the city’s New Centerarea. Less than a year later, themoves were completed and the build-ing was dedicated by Gov. John Engleras the Cadillac Place on June 13,2002. This concluded four years ofpreparation and renovation to thefacility, originally built in 1922.

Many Department of Managementemployees contributed to theCadillac Place project. Pete Ratu,Tenant and Land Services, coordinated the movement of the 1,900 tenants to thefacility. Irene Henry and Chris Bahjet, Infrastructure Services, managed theconstruction and renovation of the 1.3 million square foot historic property.

(Left to right) Tom Saxton, Gov. John Engler, DuaneBerger, director, Department of Management andBudget, Irene Henry, Tom Wilson, and Pete Ratu.

Employee happenings

iDMB is an electronicnewsletter produced for theemployees of the Depart-ment of Management andBudget on a monthly basisby Organizational Services.

Correspondents:

Acquisition Services

Darleen HeimMarilyn BeckerAgency Services

Geneva HawthorneDirector’s Office

Shirley RagsdaleFinancial Services

Denice BallardTari TeremiInfrastructureServicesConnie ShutesOrganizationalServicesJeannette BekkeGrace BonofiglioRetirement ServicesRosemary BakerTenant & LandServicesDebbie Sanchez

Columnists:

Judy Ferrigan

Safety and Health

Editors:

Tim McCormickSteve DavisWhitney Hadanek

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Uday Malavia, Financial Services,and his wife, Hema, celebrated aspecial Father’s Day this past June asthey shared the day with their newlyadopted son, Kirtan.

After spending close to a yearworking through the internationaladoption process, the Malavias broughtKirtan to the United States from Indiaon June 16. The process began in August2001 when the couple completedadoption paperwork before leaving onvacation. While visiting family in theirhome state of Gujarat, India, they contacted an adoption agency. Although the agencydid not have any children available for placement, they suggested the Malavias try anagency in a nearby town. There the Malavias found four-month-old Kirtan. Uday’sbrother, Devendra, was given temporary custody of Kirtan while the Malavias made thenecessary legal preparations for his adoption. Unrest between India and Pakistan andthe events of September 11 complicated the process, but on May 14, 2002, the Malaviasleft for India to bring Kirtan home. They returned, celebrating a Father’s Day homecomingwith their son.

Kirtan’s arrival was celebrated with a baby shower on July 11 by the staff of FinancialServices, along with staff from Organizational Services and recent retirees.

(Left to right) Hema, Kirtan and Uday Malavia open gifts at ababy shower thrown by Financial Services

Financial Services celebrates growth of Malavia family

Fourth Annual EmployeeRecognition and Celebration

The fourth Annual EmployeeRecognition and Celebration will beheld Wednesday, August 28, from1-4 p.m., outside the General Of-fice Building at the SecondaryComplex. Ice cream, entertain-ment, and recognition of employ-ees who have reached30, 35 and 40 yearsof service will bethe highlights ofthis year’s cel-ebration.

Rain or shine,come ready toeat ice cream.

Watch for moredetails to come!

Gov. John Engler recently thanked MikeGilliland, Director’s Office, for his work asthe 2001 Chairperson of the State EmployeeCombined Campaign (SECC).

Gilliland helped coordinate the effort toautomate the SECC pledge process throughHRMN. This effort will help save $100,000 ayear in administrative costs.

Governor thanks Gilliland for SECC work

Mike Gilliland was recently thanked by Gov. JohnEngler for his work as the 2001 SECC Chairperson.

Spotlight on Retirement ServicesSpotlight on Retirement Services Retirement has been the big buzzword around state government since the introduction of the governor’s early retirement

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