How Cabarrus County's Modernized Lobby Improved ... Everything [Updated with Panel Q&A]

teamnorthwoods.comRevolutionizing the Delivery of Human Services®
How Cabarrus County’s Modernized
Lobby Improved… Everything

teamnorthwoods.comCopyright © 2016 Northwoods Consulting Partners, Inc. All rights reserved.2
Presenters
Greg Tipping
Chief Services Officer
& Vice President of
State Operations
Diane Gridley
Economic Services
Program Administrator
Tamela Crockett
Income Maintenance
Supervisor
Natalia Young
Lobby
Supervisor

5 Key Areas
Health Check
Improving Client Services
Improving Worker Morale
Improving Communication
Improving Visibility into Operations

"I think this new system has really allowed us
to improve the customer flow, the lobby flow.
People are getting immediately served and
immediately queued instead of sitting down
waiting and getting impatient.
I think we've gone from a really outdated
system to where we need to be and it's been
phenomenal.”
- Ben Rose
Director of Human Services

What is a Health Check?
Northwoods evaluates how well
software and business processes
are working to meet business needs.

Health Check Key Findings/Challenges
Regression
Inefficient Processes
Communication Issues
Poor Customer Service
?

Recommendations
Upgrade Compass Appointments to
mitigate regression
Modernize business processes by
eliminating manual processes
Improve communication with a cross-
functional change
Improve customer service with redesigned
lobby and greeter to check-in clients

Improving Client Service
To improve customer service, Cabarrus
County DHS redesigned the confusing and
inefficient lobby flow to decrease wait
times and reduce client frustration.

Before
Take a Ticket
Window
Express Center

After
Caseworker: Apply
for services
Window: Recertifications,
basic information changes
Express Center: Scan & drop
off documents, pick up mail

After:
Ease Client Frustration

After:
Caseworkers not spending appointment time
diffusing frustration

After:
Caseworkers not spending appointment time
diffusing frustration
Caseworkers saving 10-20 minutes per client

Greeter Benefits
“Someone this morning said
‘I’m so glad to see somebody
instead of a machine, to see
a person.’ People like to see
a smiling face when they
walk in.”
Vessie Tenorio
Income Maintenance Caseworker I

Improving Worker Morale
Another goal for Cabarrus County DHS
was to reduce stress and improve
morale for caseworkers.

Why Were Workers Stressed?
1. Manual processes
didn’t ensure cases
were distributed evenly
– weren’t using
Compass Appointments
round robin
2. Caseworkers took the
brunt of clients’
frustrations

Assigning one clerical worker to manually distribute
clients to caseworkers introduced several issues:
No Tracking
Risk of Human
Error
Stress of Managing
Frustrated Clients
Limited Client
Information
Lost Productivity!

To boost worker morale and help caseworkers
process applications more efficiently, Cabarrus
County DHS took two critical steps:
1. Upgrade Compass Appointments to take
advantage of automated features
2. Revamp business processes so the right workers
are working on the right tasks

Benefits:
Automated Distribution

Benefits:
Reporting

Benefits:
Reporting
Improved Productivity

Benefits:
Reporting
Understand Client Needs

Benefits:
Reporting
Understand Client Needs
Less Client Frustration

Cabarrus County also worked to
resolve communication issues
that hampered efficiency.

Communication Challenges
Inconsistent Processes
Poor Communication Methods
Technology Mismatched to Business Needs

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

Improved Communication Methods

Business Analyst
Improved Communication Methods

Improving Visibility into Operations
Cabarrus County didn’t have visibility
into its operations in the lobby or
throughout the agency because of
all the manual processes.

Lack of Visibility Challenges
Not Understanding Clients Needs?

Not Understanding Clients Needs
Can’t Adjust in Real Time
?

Not Understanding Clients Needs
Can’t Adjust in Real Time
Lack Data to Justify Resources
?

Visibility Improvements
Understand Client’s Needs

Real Time Staffing Adjustments

Real Time Staffing Adjustments
Reliable Data to Justify Resources

Project Outcomes
• Reduced client and caseworker frustration
• Improved lobby flow and reduced lobby
wait time
• Helped manage ACA, NC FAST
• Sped up timely application processing
• Provided leadership visibility into
operations
• Saved caseworkers 1-2 hours per day
• Repurposed 1 FTE, saving 40 hours per
week

Learn more
Download the case study or watch the video
series at teamnorthwoods.com

Questions?
Greg Tipping
Chief Services Officer
& Vice President of
State Operations
Diane Gridley
Economic Services
Program Administrator
Tamela Crockett
Income Maintenance
Supervisor
Natalia Young
Lobby
Supervisor
Email: info@teamnorthwoods.com
Website: teamnorthwoods.com

Panel Q&A - Greeter
1. Is there only one Greeter, or multiple?
– Only one greeter is needed to meet the demand. Several staff are trained
2. How do you staff the greeter? Is it a clerk position of volunteer? Are your
greeters trained/certified caseworkers or can you use staff trained
specifically for greeter tasks?
– We staff the position with a FTE Income Maintenance Caseworker I. Greeters are
certified caseworkers trained in basic eligibility policy for SNAP and Medicaid.
Caseworker Is are cross trained to work at the front desk, call center and greeter.

Panel Q&A - Greeter
3. What are the 3 questions asked to determine which window they are
routed to?
– The questions are based on the client's need for an eligibility program. For example, if a
client indicates she wants to apply for SNAP, we ask the following:
• Do you reside in Cabarrus County?
• Have you previously applied for SNAP?
• When did you last receive SNAP benefits?
– This helps us differentiate an application or a potential SNAP transfer in or a possible
reopen, late recertification.
4. Is your greeter more of a triage station that redirects customers or do
they have the ability to answer questions and take actions?
– The greeter is more of a triage station that redirects clients.

Panel Q&A - Greeter
5. If there is no number system, do the customers simply stand in a line to
see the greeter?
– Clients stand in a line to speak with the greeter. The line moves quickly which keeps the
line manageable for one greeter.
6. How does the greeter get the clients to the worker? How is the worker
identified? Is this a round robin process?
– The worker is identified through a notification in Compass® Appointments from
Northwoods. The round robin process is used for walk-in clients. The system
automatically selects the next available caseworker based on availability.
7. Does the greeter record any information or just send them to the
designated area?
– The greeter can record notes on why the client is visiting the agency that the caseworker
can view prior to meeting with the client.

Panel Q&A - Greeter
8. Is the greeter bilingual? Are signs in multiple languages in the lobby?
– Yes, the greeter is bilingual and all signage is in multiple languages.
9. What kind of technology was the greeter using? It looked like a tablet, a
wireless receipt printer, and a paper log? Are they using Compass
Appointments on this tablet? If so, what module?
– The greeter uses a Windows tablet that runs a web-based version of the Compass
Appointments software. The greeter also has a Bluetooth printer to print recipients.
10. How much time does the greeter spend with each customer before
referring them to the caseworker?
– Less than a minute.

Panel Q&A - Lobby
1. How do clients identify themselves on the wait board?
– When a client checks in, the greeter puts the client into a pre-determined queue based
on the reason for their visit. The queues feed the lobby monitors where the client can
see the order to be seen.
2. How many windows do they have?
– There are 4 windows that can be staffed with the appropriate Caseworker 1s depending
on the current makeup of the clients in the lobby.
3. At the window, is the customer is served real-time for redeterminations
and case changes?
– Caseworker 1s are making basic changes and conducting SNAP interviews at the window
& assuring the client has all the necessary documentation. Reports are available to
determine the average time for the various queue types.
4. Does the round robin include the seeing of lobby customers?
– Yes, round robin is how walk-in clients are assigned to a caseworker when necessary.

Panel Q&A - Software
1. What system was used to capture the client wait time when they
entered the lobby?
– Compass® Appointments from Northwoods captures wait time because the client's
check-in time and the time when the worker starts the appointment are tracked.
2. How does the round robin work if one caseworker takes longer than
another to finish a case?
– A caseworker shows as unavailable until the queue is ended. We set a time and average
time for each program for applications and case management walk-ins. The round robin
will skip this caseworker if he or she is still working on a case. Once the queue has
ended, the skipped caseworker will become available and is listed at the top of the
round robin.

Panel Q&A - ROI
1. How much more is productivity increased by?
– We reallocated the FTE previously handling the manual process to processing mail.
CWIs previously doing the mail are able to assist with more eligibility related duties.
CWIIs have increased productivity with improved processes for routing clients,
identifying clients with late recertifications and applications to ensure interviews are
conducted and verifications are gathered.
2. What was the waiting time prior to the lobby improvements? What is
the wait time now?
– We do not have data for prior to implementation. The wait time from the queue to
being seen at the window is 3.6 minutes.
3. Has this approach helped increase same day application processing?
– Yes.
4. Have you noticed any changes in RMS after your business processes were
re-done? And/or are you able to use Compass Appointments to QA your
RMS responses?
– Cabarrus is not using it for this. It could be used that way.

Panel Q&A - Software
3. Is this system set up at your main lobby?
– Yes, Compass Appointments from Northwoods is used in the main lobby to track client
traffic, and behind the scenes with caseworkers and supervisors to manage
appointments throughout the agency.
4. Do you have barcodes on your forms?
– Yes, Compass® Forms from Northwoods uses barcodes to quickly identify key
information from forms. When the form is returned the bar code fills in information
about customer, case, and document type.

Panel Q&A - Implementation
1. How long did it take to implement the new process in the lobby? From
analysis to implementation?
– The implementation took about six months, which included the reconfiguration of
Compass Appointments.
2. What was the biggest challenge with making these changes?
– There was an internal delay to receive the equipment, which caused a delay in
implementation. The gap between user training and going live created some user issues
that probably would have been avoided with an on-time implementation.
3. How did you gain input from customers to determine how the re-design
would meet their expectations?
– Northwoods gathered input from frontline caseworkers about the client experience.

Panel Q&A - Implementation
4. Why did the county need Northwoods to provide help on improving the
lobby flow? What was it that the county wasn't able to do without help
from Northwoods?
– Northwoods has a team, called the Complex Solutions Group, that has previous
experience and expertise in understanding human services processes. The Northwoods
team was able to observe processes from an outside perspective to identify
opportunities for improvement.

Panel Q&A – Cabarrus County DHS General
1. What is the number of staff at Cabarrus County DSS?
– 344
2. How many Income Maintenance staff do you have?
– 135
3. What services do you provide besides SNAP?
– Cabarrus County DHS provides multiple Income Maintenance services including SNAP,
Medicaid, Day Care, and energy assistance; in addition to child support and protective
services.
4. What is the average caseload per worker?
– Varies from program to program - an average of 450 to 500. Caseworkers are
responsible for applications, recertifications and case maintenance.

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