Performance Management Best Practice Review

• Not all reviewed jurisdictions developed a formal strategic plan, but usually have in place a two-tier system of goals. Top tier goals and priorities are identified with formal input from the community and have a longer timeframe than the second tier goals.
• The budget documents highlight the goals and strategies and connect elements of the budget to performance measures at the strategy, initiative, goals, or department level. Several jurisdictions use some version of zero-based budgeting to prioritize or evaluate programs and services.
• Retreats are used by the legislative body, sometimes in connection with the executive branch, as a mechanism to deepen its understanding of issues, trends, and priorities, and translate that knowledge into goals, priorities, measures, or target.
• The legislative branch employs different methods to engage in oversight of the performance management system: e.g., participation on goal-level performance forums; creation of a legislative sub-committee for each of the organization’s goals; and participation, along with the executive branch, and occasionally stakeholders, on a committee appointed to provide oversight or evaluation.
• Timing the goal setting process with election cycles increases buy-in and sustainability, as does providing systematic training to newly elected officials on the performance management system.
• An integrated data management system can increase buy-in throughout the organization, sustainability of the process, and transparency.
• Formally appointed groups of citizens, subject matter experts, or a mix of internal and external stakeholders, provide advice and perspective at the strategic or goal-level planning levels and can play an important role in helping the government identify potential issues, while also increasing transparency.

No formal recommendations were made for this review.

Ordinance 17410, establishing a performance management action team (PMAT) to connect agency performance and budgeting to the King County Strategic Plan goals and priorities, requested the Auditor’s Office to produce a best practices memorandum as one of the resources available to support the PMAT’s work.