# Presentation: 285429

## CAPPS Meeting                 January 21, 2004

## Items

**Cost and Pricing**
**Request Tracking**
**Status of Retro **
**WebFOCUS**
**Customer Service Improvement Project**

## Cost and Pricing Model 

## Goal
To be perceived as our customers’ “best value” service provider

- To be perceived as our customers’ “best value” service provider

**Pricing Model Changes**

## Pricing Model Changes

**Feedback from the Customer Service Improvement Project**
- Findings
- NFC’s pricing structure is difficult to understand and not transparent
- Many customers do not know exactly what they are paying for.
- Some customers are not able to fully ascertain the “value for money” they receive for their investment in NFC’s services
- “In 1999, they changed the algorithm, and nothing’s made sense since then.”

## Pricing Model Changes

**New Direction**
- Focus pricing strategy on transparencies and strategic initiatives that impact customer behavior
- Identify additional high-effort activities
- Encourage automated self-service
- Emphasize customer service costs/value
- Provide more pricing options that recognize the differences in customers’ requirements
- Provide more detail on the components of costs
- Standard cost price/workload communication linked to the 2-year budget planning cycle

## Conceptual Model
Cost Type					Unit
Personnel Record Processing				W-2
T&A Processing (errorless)				T&A 
T&A Error Correction 				T&A
Pay Processing 					W-2
Issuance of Paper Check				check
Mailed pay stub					mailing
Payroll Accounting Feed and Reconciliation		W-2
Systems Maintenance 				W-2
WEB-Based Agency Report Delivery			W-2
Automated Payroll Adjustments			adjustment/employee
Manual Payroll Adjustment				adjustment/employee
Automated Debt Processing				debt/employee
Manual Debt Processing				debt/employee
Paper Mailed Standard Reports			W-2
Agency Ad-Hoc Reporting (Frame and WEB)		CPU minute
Retirement & Separation Case Processing		case
Security, internal controls, monitoring			W-2

_**Cost Type**__**	**__**	**__**	**__**	**__**	**__**Unit**_
- Personnel Record Processing				W-2
- T&A Processing (errorless)				T&A
- T&A Error Correction 				T&A
- Pay Processing 					W-2
- Issuance of Paper Check				check
- Mailed pay stub					mailing
- Payroll Accounting Feed and Reconciliation		W-2
- Systems Maintenance 				W-2
- WEB-Based Agency Report Delivery			W-2
- Automated Payroll Adjustments			adjustment/employee
- Manual Payroll Adjustment				adjustment/employee
- Automated Debt Processing				debt/employee
- Manual Debt Processing				debt/employee
- Paper Mailed Standard Reports			W-2
- Agency Ad-Hoc Reporting (Frame and WEB)		CPU minute
- Retirement & Separation Case Processing		case
- Security, internal controls, monitoring			W-2

**Pricing Model Changes**

## What We Need From You
What should be the items we track as unique costs?
What type of reporting on costs are desired?
What is the reaction to mixed fixed and variable pricing?
What are the most meaningful metrics?
Send input by March 22, 2004, to: randall.tabor@usda.gov
On:  benefits
        potential # of users

- What should be the items we track as unique costs?
- What type of reporting on costs are desired?
- What is the reaction to mixed fixed and variable pricing?
- What are the most meaningful metrics?
**Send input by March 22, 2004, to: ****randall.tabor@usda.gov**
- On:  benefits
-         potential # of users

**Pricing Model Changes**

## Request Status Tracking

## Slide 10

**Notes:**
The PATS 6B report is maintained on the Reporting Center.

It is a monthly report and is updated by the 10th of each month.

The report contains all open projects as of the beginning of the fiscal year and projects closed in the current fiscal year.  Example – if a report is open and closed in September, 2003 it will not appear on the PATS 6B report beginning October, 2004.  If, however, a report is open in September, 2003 and remains open in October, 2004 and is subsequently closed it will appear on the report.

## Slide 11

**Notes:**
To access the report, a user must have access to the reporting center and the PATS 6B report. 

## Slide 12

**Notes:**
The PATS 6B report is under the administrative reports area.  Step 1 is to click on the +Administrative Reports to expand the listing and have the PATS 6B report appear.

## Slide 13

## Slide 14

**Notes:**
Results of  Step 1- the PATS 6B report will be revealed.  Step 2 does not require any action.  

## Slide 15

**Notes:**
Step 3 is to determine the criteria for the report.  In this example the Project Source was selected and Department/Agency Code of AG.  Click the Done button and then Go to run the report.

## Slide 16

**Notes:**
This is the report that will appear if you scroll to the right additional fields will appear

## Slide 17

## Status of 2003 Retro Cleanup

- Retro review team formed				     12/04/03
- Generated a report of employees who did not 	  	     12/17/03
- 	receive the retroactive payment which includes:
- 		>  Separated employees
- 		>  Employees who changed agencies
- 		>  Other active and inactive employees
- Total number of affected employees by database
- 			*  CV05 –    839
- 			*  CV06 – 1,829
- 			*  CV07 -     562

**Status of 1% Retro Pay for 2003**

_**TASKS**_**	****	****                                       **_**COMPLETION DATES**_

## Status of project sent to clients			           12/09/03 & 12/19/03

NFC review and analyze report			           12/19/03 – 01/05/04

Distribute report with processing instructions		      01/09/04

Clients must notify NFC if payments require 
	manual processing					         ASAP

Special processing assistance
		>  Email - ppo@usda.gov
		>  Fax – 504-255-6816

- NFC review and analyze report			           12/19/03 – 01/05/04
- Distribute report with processing instructions		      01/09/04
- Clients must notify NFC if payments require
- 	manual processing					         ASAP
- Special processing assistance
- 		>  Email - ppo@usda.gov
- 		>  Fax – 504-255-6816

_**TASKS**_**	****	****                                        **_**COMPLETION DATES**_

**Status of 1% Retro Pay for 2003**

## WebFOCUS

## WebFOCUS

**Reporting Environment**
- FOCUS (today)		Ad-hoc
- Reporting Center		Paralyzed Standard
- Standard			System/Culprit 						Downloads

**Notes:**
Initial Costs
$2,600,000 for 8000 named users
$1,344,000 for 3000 named users

Annual Maintenance
$402,000 for 8000 named users
$224,000 for 3000 named users

Additional Web Server
$39,000

Contractor Support
$121,000

## WebFOCUS

**Evaluation Team established**
**Researched features and capabilities**
**Investigated costs associated with software purchase, maintenance, and support**

**Notes:**
Initial Costs
$2,600,000 for 8000 named users
$1,344,000 for 3000 named users

Annual Maintenance
$402,000 for 8000 named users
$224,000 for 3000 named users

Additional Web Server
$39,000

Contractor Support
$121,000

## WebFOCUS

**Results**
- $300 - 400 per user to buy
- $60 - 80 per user to maintain license
- Plus CPU cost to use
**Need your help in appreciating interest and completing business case analysis**
**Send input by March 22, 2004, to: ****patricia.hanks@usda.gov**
- On:  benefits
-         potential # of users

## Customer Service Improvement Project 

## Obtained Your Input

**Interviews focused on two categories of interviewees**
- HR & Financial Executives
- HR Line Staff & Technical Representatives
**Interviewed 50 individuals from              16 different agencies**

## Positive Feedback

**Universally expressed that payroll done well**
**Most feel they are getting “best value” for their investment in NFC’s services**
**There is a recognition that NFC performs a difficult and often thankless job**
**Praise for NFC Team **
**High praise for many individual NFC team members**

## Areas for Improvement

**Some members of help desk perceived as “gate-keepers” or “go-betweens”**
**Some question adequacy of staffing levels**
**Complex Agency issues require better coordination across organizational lines**
**NFC’s pricing structure needs further  transparency**
**Systems’ evolution should be WEB-based  and focus on availability of data**

## Align the organization and staffing levels to best serve customer expectations 
Examine staffing levels and service delivery mix in light of “best practice review”
Place priority on filling payroll service-related vacancies 
Provide staff with additional training and tools
Offer dedicated customer representatives

- Examine staffing levels and service delivery mix in light of “best practice review”
- Place priority on filling payroll service-related vacancies
- Provide staff with additional training and tools
- Offer *dedicated *customer representatives

**We Hear You !****      **

## Complete Web deployment 
Expand the deployment of sensitive data in the Reporting Center for interested customers 
Improve post-Bear reporting
Re-engineer disaster recovery business continuity program

**Expand the deployment of sensitive data in the Reporting Center for interested customers **
**Improve post-Bear reporting**
**Re-engineer disaster recovery business continuity program**

**We Hear You !****      **

## Create Customer Service Improvement Project Team with Customer involvement
Reengineer pricing methodology to become more transparent and responsive 
Create communication channel for input and feedback

**Reengineer pricing methodology to become more transparent and responsive **
**Create communication channel for input and feedback**

**We Hear You !****      **

## Recommend a customer team be established to assist us with this project
Team will need to:
 understand your issues
receive your suggestions and priorities
obtain your reaction/feedback on items

**Team will need to:**
-  understand your issues
- receive your suggestions and priorities
- obtain your reaction/feedback on items

**Your Input and Feedback ****     **

## THANKS!