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ICERS Board Strategic Plan Development

Workshop

2021

BridgeGroup LLC.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ©bridgegroupllc

Content Page

Why Is Having the Workshop Important?

3-4

Overview of the Workshop Agenda and Workbook

4-5

Workshop Agenda

5

Survey Results on Proposed Vision, Mission, Core Values, Focus Areas and Strategies

6-13

Why Strategic Planning is Important

13-21

Develop New Strategic Plan

22-26

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Why Is Having the Workshop Important? Are we as smart as geese? Well of course. But not so quick, geese have figured

out that by sharing leadership and working together they are much stronger and

can fly further, with more efficiency. Cyclists use this same principle in their

pelotons to go further and faster. The tools that I plan to share with you in the

Workshop are designed to improve the effectiveness of the ICERS Board and Staff.

Like the geese, the Board and Staff are interdependent on each other’s success.

The key is to have systems and tools to “get everyone working off the same sheet

of music”. Working together with the same purpose, expectations and goals

creates a synergism that allows organizations to accomplish great things by

leading together.

In his landmark management book The Dance of Change, author Peter Senge,

references the importance of an organization to deliberately manage the future.

Unfortunately, managing the future often comes head-to-head with the pressure

of the immediate day-to-day operational needs of the organization. Senge calls

this dilemma, the Paradox of the Routine:

The need to get critical day-to-day issues handled is important to every organization. This drive to be responsive and “get things done” can at times overshadow the need to think and act strategically for the future of the organization and explore ways to improve its governance and operations. How does an organization strike a balance? The key is to take the time to strategically focus on the key priorities for the organization over the next year or two.

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Overview of the Workshop Agenda and Workbook

Development of the Workshop Agenda was a collaborative process with the

Board, Retirement Administrator and Staff. Confidential online surveys were sent

to solicit input on the following:

What is the priority to do a Strategic Plan and if you want the plan

integrated into your budget, board agenda, staff annual work plans

etc?

Do you agree with the proposed, Vision, Mission, Core Values, Focus

Areas and Strategies?

What are potential strategic projects for FY 21, 22 and 23?

The workshop will start with an overview and discussion on the Board’s Survey

Results. This will be followed by a discussion and amendments on the proposed

Vision, Mission, Core Values, Focus Areas and Strategies. The final part of the

Workshop will focus on reviewing projects from the surveys and developing

projects for the new Strategic Plan.

This Workbook is designed as a guide for the Workshop and the material that will

be discussed. I encourage you to read and reflect on the items that are covered in

the Workbook. The Workbook will provide information for you to be fully

informed and ready to engage in the Workshop.

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Workshop Agenda

Agenda Item for Wednesday October 6, 2021 Time

Opening Remarks –Board Chair Norma K. Jauregui

and Scott Jarvis

9:00 -9:10 am

Overview of the Agenda - Mike Letcher 9:10-9:15 am

Review of Survey Results- Mike Letcher 9:15-9:30 pm

Discussion and Consensus on Vision, Mission, Core

Values, Focus Areas, Strategies and Projects- Mike

Letcher

9:30-11:00 pm

Break 11:00-11:10 pm

Discussion and Consensus on Vision, Mission, Core

Values, Focus Areas, Strategies and Projects - Mike

Letcher

11:10-12:00 pm

Working Lunch

12:00-1:00 pm

Closing Remarks- Board Chair Norma K. Jauregui

and Scott Jarvis

1:00 pm

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Survey Results

The Board and Staff surveys were only the starting point in developing ICERS new

Strategic Plan. The Vision, Mission, Core Values and Focus Areas were developed

by BridgeGroup after reviewing strategic plans from other retirement systems.

The strategies are based on the Balanced Scorecard. In this section of the

Workbook the Board and Staff survey results (comments) will be reviewed and we

will have discussion on any changes you want in the Vision, Mission, Core Values,

Focus Areas and Strategies. Please Note: The following charts are based on the

Board Survey results, with the exception of the chart on the Mission Statement.

The comments listed are from the Board and Staff:

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Proposed Vision, Mission, Core Values and Strategies

Vision Statement

“A trusted partner providing a sustainable retirement system, through prudent

financial stewardship to those who serve Imperial County.”

Board Comments

May want to revise

Staff Comments

None

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Core Values

Quality

Respect

Accountability

Integrity

Openness

Balance

Board Comments

I don't agree with the use of only words. I think that with Core Values you want to build a "unique" culture. The use of a simple phrase serves more of a purpose. Such as "Act with Integrity," "Deliver outstanding results," "Operate with Transparency," "Be Accountable."

Add Transparency, Quantity, educate

Staff Comments

Transparency, Accountability Integrity only, omit others Support should be included as one of the Core Values

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Mission Statement

"Deliver Retirement benefits and exceptional service to ICERS members and their

beneficiaries."

Staff Comments

Deliver Retirement benefits and provide guidance to ICERS members and their beneficiaries."The phrase exceptional services feels like we do not deliver it already on our everyday interaction with members.

To be regarded as a trusted partner, by those members and their beneficiaries we serve, to maintain a sustainable retirement system through prudent and accountable financial Stewardship.

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Focus Areas

Fund Sustainability

Strengthen the long-term sustainability of the pension fund and availability of the

funds for our members when they retire. We will strive to deliver targeted, risk-

adjusted investment returns and keep our stakeholders engaged and educated

about how we balance risks and mitigations to achieve this goal.

Reduce Complexity

Reduce complexity for our members. We will focus on streamlining our

operations, processes, and procedures. We believe this will benefit us by gains in

efficiency and improve productivity among our employees. By simplifying our

benefit programs, we believe we can improve service delivery, decrease costs,

and reduce risk.

Risk Management

Cultivate a risk-intelligent organization. We need to continue our efforts to be a

risk-intelligent organization. This means protecting the data of our members and

employers is paramount to us. We are keenly aware of the potential risks we face,

and have risk mitigation methods in place for use on a daily basis. We also work to

make our compliance and audit processes more strategic based on risk and trend

analysis.

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Organizational Development

Promote a high-performing and diverse workforce. We want and need a high-

performing and diverse workforce. To achieve this, we want to ensure that our

employees have the resources they need to provide outstanding service to our

members, business partners, stakeholders, and staff. We will continue to step up

our efforts to recruit and empower a broad range of talented employees to meet

our organizational priorities.

Board Comments

None

Staff Comments

I would add Office Work Culture (develop, improve, sustain)

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Strategies

Strategy 1: Customer Focus- Improve service to customers and provide seamless

interaction and accessing of services.

Strategy 2: Internal Process Focus- Internal processes are improved to enhance

operation efficiency and effectiveness.

Strategy 3: Technology and Training Focus- Improves organization technology

and/or enhances learning and training for staff.

Strategy 4: A financial Sustainability Focus- Reduces cost enhances revenues and

improves financial transparency, reserves and reduces unfunded liability.

Strategy 5: Employee First Focus- Improves and supports the ability to hire and

focus on Employee First in delivering high quality and cost effective services.

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Board Comments

What about education and training of the Board Member? Under the current method it takes years for a new Board member to fully understand the function of the Board Members duties.

Staff Comments

Under Strategy 1- Add more online services available to members. Under Strategy 5-Providesupport to employees from Management

Why is Strategic Planning Important?

Integrated Strategic Planning

The strategic planning development process can be a quagmire for most

organizations. The trap organizations fall into with traditional strategic planning

approaches is placing too much emphasis on strategic visioning, goal setting and

objective development. Very little focus, if any time, is spent on integrating the

strategic plan into their key business systems or developing a process for

executing projects to meet the vision, goals and objectives that have been

developed.

ICERS’s Strategic Plan will be built on the premise that the major focus of strategic

planning is to get strategic work (projects) accomplished that can benefit the

retirement system now and in the future by identifying its current and future

strategic opportunities. To sustain the strategic plan, it is important for the plan

to be integrated into the key business systems of the ICERS such as the annual

budget, Board agenda and others as indicated in the chart below:

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Let’s review some of the concepts that were introduced during the Wednesday,

September 15 Zoom.

Strategic planning helps you Budget Staff Time just like your Budget Dollars.

Public organizations are fanatical about managing their money. Budget processes

are a key focal point of annual activity for public organizations. Unfortunately, the

most significant innovative resource in the budget is overlooked. This resource is

the staff’s time to work on opportunities for improving the organization and

services.

Strategic Plan

Other Approved Plans

Budget

Staff Work Plan

Board Agenda

Annual Update

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Strategic planning will help ICERS Focus on and defining the Outcomes/Ends you

want to achieve; leaving the Means to develop and implement the work to staff.

Using the John Carver Governance Model, effective Boards focus on the

outcomes/ends they want to achieve, i.e., improving the ICERS’s financial

transparency, customer engagement, employee empowerment etc. Means are

how the work is accomplished day-to-day. The Board’s role is to clearly identify

the outcomes/ends they want staff to achieve. The implementation or means is

left to staff.

Strategic Planning can Identify and create balance between Projects and Policy.

Often organizations establish their strategic work priorities with a focus on

specific staff driven projects. This approach can result in less emphasis on the

Boards’ policy agenda for the year. It’s important in developing the Strategic Plan

for ICERS that it focuses on both Projects and Policy.

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The ICER’s annual strategic Work Plan should include implementation of project

and policy initiatives in approved planning documents. The Work Plan should

serve as the execution platform for all planning documents.

Annual ICERS Strategic Work Plan

Other Plans

Strategies

Focus Areas

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©bridgegroupllc

Strategic Planning supports better governance. The Board’s governance

establishes the benchmark for the operational and strategic focus for ICERS. Why

is this so important? ICERS operates at the level the Board focuses their attention

and energy. Most organizations operate at Levels 1- 3. At Level 3 you focus mostly

on day to day operational issues, routine governance and responsiveness to

County employees. The key is to move to the more strategic Levels 4-6, that will

improve the effectiveness in Levels 1-3.

Level 6-Baldrige Organization and Mckinsey 7S Surveys informs all Levels

for continuous improvement

Level 5- Governance Expectations Guides all Levels

Level 4-Strategic Plan guides level 3,2 and 1

Level 3-Board Governance i.e. Meeting Agenda and focus on Level 1

and 2

Level 2-Employee Response Focus

Level 1-Day to Day Operations Focus

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Strategic planning is designed to identify those projects that will have a significant

impact on the retirement system and ICER’s organization. It’s not about the

number of projects, but instead identifying those projects that provide a

significant return for ICERS.

What is strategic? The chart above defines strategic planning and indicates what

is or is not strategic.

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Strategic Governance

Strategic Governance

Strategic Planning helps the ICERS Board and Retirement Administrator focus

their project/policy priorities.

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Strategic Governance

Playbook

Rule Book

The Bylaws and State Statute provide the rules for Governing ICERS. A Strategic

Plan is one element of building your playbook to improve your effectiveness.

A Strategic Plan helps everyone see the future of ICERS with the same lenses.

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Developing the New Strategic Plan

Strategy is great, but execution is where the “rubber meets the road” Most

strategic plans are great on developing the strategic focus and strategies, but fall

short on execution. The format that will be used to facilitate this dialogue is

based on an approach developed by Simon Sinek in the book Start With Why:

How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

By starting with a “WHY” Workshop participants can quickly evaluate projects

based on the following FOUR Questions.

1. Why do we want to do it?

2. What do we want to do?

3. How will we do it? (Staff- Tactical determined after Workshop)

4. How do we make sure it works? (Performance Metric after the Workshop)

Why do we want to do it?

Identify WHY the project is important.

How will we do it?

Explain who need to lead the implementation of the project.

How do we make sure it works?

What performance measures, current or future can we use to determine if

the project is successful? (Determined after Workshop)

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Potential Projects from Survey Results

Potential Projects from Survey Results

Board Staff

Board Orientation Diversify Investments

Improve Member Services Educate Board on Investments

Management and Staff Development Invest in Education for Members

Cost Study Investments should reflect our Values

Audit of Existing Process , Providers

and Fees

Update Internal Policies and

Procedures

Technology Review Create Member Portal – Options to

complete most forms online (i.e.

address change, termination

paperwork, estimate requests &

1099s) with exceptions to continue to

be handled in office (i.e. beneficiary

change, buyback request, etc.). Also,

the portal should allow the member to

print copy of EFT, saving ICERS the cost

of mailing along with eliminating the

time it takes staff, usually one full day.

Actuary Audit Implement Electronic Signature ability

(need Policy)

Asset/Liability Study Organize Shared Drive

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Board Staff

Fix PENFAX Issues to increase

productivity

Review Forms for Clarity

CISO Training with Staff

Increase training for Staff and

Management

New Pension System

Increase Staff meetings and

interaction with Management.

Create work environment for Staff to

have their own office for member

confidentiality and employee

concentration.

Cross Training and Staff education

through SACRS & CALAPRS.

Succession Planning to include

additional job classifications in

retirement specialist’s positions.

Develop Retirement Webinar/Video

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Focus Area Charts

The Focus Area Charts will be used during the Workshop to develop project and

policy initiatives. The Charts will include the following:

Focus Areas- The strategic priorities for the ICERS.

Project/Policy- The proposed project or policy.

Senge Chart Rating- Rating assigned during facilitation to the policy or project.

Department Lead- Department(s) responsible for leading the project.

Fiscal Year- The Year the project will be completed.

Senge Chart

The Senge Chart is an excellent tool that rates the impact of the proposed policy or

project and gauges its difficulty to accomplish. The goal is to focus on projects or

policies that are rated 1 or 2.

PROJECT IS

EASY TO

ACCOMPLISH

PROJECT IS

DIFFICULT TO

ACCOMPLISH

HIGH IMPACT ON ICERS 1 2

LOW IMPACT ON ICERS 3 4

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Focus Area: (Chart Example)

Project Senge

Rating

Strategy Department

Lead

Fiscal Year

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