Strategic Plan Development Case Study

Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Administrative Services (OAS)

The Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Administrative Services (OAS) provides the Department of Commerce with policy, oversight, and program support in the areas pertaining to mail management, real and personal property management, fleet management, publications and graphics services, space planning, moving, and library and reference services. In addition, OAS is responsible for building management activities relating to the Herbert C. Hoover Building. Four offices comprise OAS: Office of Administrative Operations (OAO); Office of Building Management (OBM); Office of Real Estate (ORE); and Renovation Program Office (RPO). OAS is one of 10 Directorates under the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration (CFO/ASA).

In May, 2004, OAS retained APCG to provide professional consulting services to assist OAS in the development of a “fast-track”, high-level Strategic Plan, Strategic Goals, and Performance Measures. Working one-on-one and facilitating planning sessions with the senior executives of OAS, APCG supported the development of an OAS Strategic Plan (mission/vision/values, goals, objectives, strategies, action initiatives). Furthermore, APCG worked with the senior executives to develop first-cut performance measures to gauge how effectively and efficiently the defined goals were being accomplished. Specifically, APCG:

• Conducted an organizational assessment by conducting one-on-one interviews of OAS senior executives and a number of middle managers. The purpose of this assessment was to:
  • Obtain an understanding of OAS and its services
  • Acquire an understanding of past/current planning efforts and the quality of current plans
  • Uncover areas of convergence and divergence among OAS Managers
  • Identify any strategic issues that should be addressed during the strategic planning process
• Facilitated a number of senior executive planning sessions to reach decisions regarding the future direction of OAS. This included the development of a mission, vision, and shared values as well as goals, objectives, strategies, and action initiatives. At the conclusion, worked with the director of OAS and other senior executives to create appropriate performance measures to measure progress against the plan.
• Documented the OAS Strategic Plan and supported the development of a presentation to share the Strategic Plan with all employees of OAS and to begin the process of cascading the plan and measures down through the organization.