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Merit Board of Appeals <br />October 15, 2014 <br />Mr. Hermes replied that's a good way to characterize it. One major tweak that <br />they recognized this past year is at what level do we think we can operate best <br />with that concept—as there are many versions out there. An extreme version <br />would be Maui County where they do not have "specialists." Everyone from top <br />to bottom do a little bit of everything. His personal opinion is that the problem is <br />they don't have specialists. <br />Mr. Hermes stated that we've evolved in our organization where we're still going <br />to have specialized divisions because there is a need for that. We need to have <br />the expertise because they're the answer—there's no one else. But, at the same <br />time, the people who actually process and do the work—that's where we need <br />the flexibility in that multi -faceted service. 5o, that's where we've really moved <br />forward. <br />Ms. Ota commented that he mentioned "generalists" and asked what is expected <br />of them. <br />Mr. Hermes replied that this is in the area of the processing. Our experts are <br />working on meeting the departments' needs. When the work needs to be <br />cranked out, we have "generalists" who are assigned to that department that will <br />make it happen. <br />Ms. Ota asked if the departments are aware of who their specialists are. <br />Ms. Toriano and Mr. Hermes replied in the affirmative. <br />Mr. Hermes added we're really getting to a point where we're about to take off. <br />It's been a number of months of working through this where it's a different <br />workflow. Our office has communicated more now than ever before because of <br />that very subject this Board is touching upon. <br />Chair Kuewa commented that the team is made up of specialists from each <br />division in HR and if anything should come in from Public Works, then that team <br />will work on it. They're each specialists in their own right, but they're working <br />together to respond. <br />Ms. Toriano said that she wants to be careful that the Board understands that <br />they're not that robust. When we use the term "team" it's one person from HR, <br />and the team then becomes the blending with the department. <br />Chair Kuewa stated that he likes the direction that HR is going. It's <br />"communication", but there's a customer service factor as well that's all <br />encompassing. <br />Page 10 <br />