MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL SERVICE RECEIVES
2005 IPMA-HR AGENCY AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

The Michigan Department of Civil Service was selected to receive the 2005 International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) Agency Award for Excellence for large agencies.

The Department of Civil Service was selected for this award for its implementation and successful operation of the MI HR Service Center. The project consolidated numerous human resources processes and transactions into a centralized service center, resulting in significantly reduced budget expenditures for staffing and standardized services for state government employees. The MI HR Service Center became operational ahead of schedule and under budget. It has now been operational for over a year and averages 8,000 calls and 8,000 transactions per month, while maintaining nearly 97 percent satisfaction and accuracy rates.

The collaborative effort was sponsored by the Executive Office and the Directors of the Department of Management and Budget, Office of the Budget, Office of the State Employer, Department of Information Technology, Department of Civil Service, and involved input from agency HR Directors and their staff. The project was directed by James D. Farrell prior to his appointment as the State Personnel Director.

IPMA-HR established this award to recognize the overall quality, accomplishments, and contributions of an agency human resource program that exceeds the normal operation of a "good government human resource program." IPMA-HR is the leading public sector HR organization serving more than 7,500 members.

State Personnel Director Farrell accepted the award on behalf of the department and all those involved in the project at the International IPMA-HR Training Conference on October 18, 2005.

For more information about IPMA-HR you can go to their website at http://www.ipma-hr.org.

Picture from left to right: Lynda Von Bargen, IPMA-HR President; James Farrell, State Personnel Director; Fred Weiner, IMPA-HR President-Elect