Workforce Activation

Timeline

A TWO STAGE PLANNING PROCESS

Public Health-Seattle & King County organized its Public Health Workforce Activation planning process into two stages. The first phase was the planning and development stage that resulted in a department-wide planning process, a department-wide plan and this best practice Toolkit. It was an approximately 6 month process, beginning in November of 2005 and ending in May of 2006. A major milestone of the process was department-wide planning summit where the work of the next phase was defined.

Phase two, expected to span 12 to 24 months, will involve more detailed implementation planning and execution.

The Public Health Workforce Activation Operational Development Work Plan illustrates detailed, multi-year approach to objectives and activities.

In addition to the planning process, a concurrent activity of assessment was taking place for business continuity . This activity superseded the activation planning but was very interdependent when assessing the workforce and applying a plan for activation.

PLANNING PROCESS PLANNING TIMELINE

Public Health Workforce Activation Planning Calendar

Month 1: Core Team Appointed by Public Health-Seattle & King County and Consultants Retained

Month 2: Steering Committee and Work Groups Appointed and Oriented

Month 3: Work Groups Conduct Research and Planning

Month 4: Work Groups Conduct Research and Planning

Month 5: Reporting and Planning Summit with Steering Committee

Month 6: Development of Implementation Plans

Download Planning Calendar PDF

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL FACILITATION

Public Health-Seattle & King County (Public Health) found that the planning process was enabled by the use of both internal and external process facilitators. Internally,Public Health-Seattle & King County's Preparedness Staff including Response Manager Diane Bonne, APC Manager Carina Elsenboss, Preparedness Director Michael Loehr, Business Continuity Program Manager Mark Rowe and Administrative Staff Assistant Paul Schneiweiss served as both content experts and process facilitators. As process facilitators, these team members were directly responsible for managing timeframes, agendas, quality of all planning deliverables and communications about the project to departmental leadership.

Worldways Social Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in public health, was retained to establish and manage a strategic planning process, strategic planning framework, facilitation of the project team activities and department-wide meetings as well as provide structure input for the overall plan and Toolkit deliverables.

BluWater Consulting, a management and systems engineering firm, was enlisted to coordinate the technical aspects of the workforce assessment as well as administer both the business continuity and surge response assessment and analysis for the plan development.