STEPS Program

IT ALL STARTS WITH THE SITUATION ANALYSIS...

Public and private organizations across sectors are seeking ways to improve their decision-making and problem-solving skills. The Strategic Training and Enhanced Planning System is a process that encourages and trains employees at all levels to approach problems and opportunities with a deeper level of analysis and creative thinking.

SOCC’s proprietary STEPS process is a logical, structured, flexible and repeatable methodology used to guide organizations – large and small – through strategic action planning. It also provides a standardized method for communicating strategic thinking, concrete plans and resulting solutions across an organizational ecosystem. STEPS incorporates our Human Services 2.0 implementation methodology and is designed to operationalize the Human Services Value Curve.

STEPS involves six components: situation analysis, objectives, strategies, plans, execution, and tracking. The process is a logical progression from understanding what is happening (and why), to determine what should be happening, to considering alternative approaches, to developing a detailed plan of action, and then to implementing the plan and measuring results.

While the process may appear simple, its flexibility allows clients to address virtually any situation, regardless of its level of complexity. STEPS can be as simple or intricate as it needs to be. For example, a situation analysis might take 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 weeks or 10 months. In each case, the process itself would be the same; the depth of analysis and scenario planning would differ. In other words, “going through the steps” is not enough. Thinking through STEPS and carefully applying the process is.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN FOR HHS: MEET THE BENSON FAMILY

Personas are increasingly being used by proponents of human-centered design to capture the complex and multifaceted needs and wants of customers. There is considerable value in using Personas to communicate broadly within and across an organization so that staff can better understand their complex needs and incorporate the knowledge into their work. Creating and working with Personas provides an innovative, engaging and insightful approach for workers to focus on and think about the types of people and circumstances they are or may be serving.

Personas provide a tangible way for workers from across programs and functions to understand the various client needs as new programs, models and technologies are developed. As a result, decisions can be made that take into consideration a uniform understanding of a whole person rather than the limited view of the client’s needs. This full view helps organizations design and develop more-comprehensive and responsive services and processes, ultimately reducing redundancy, waste, potential fraud and misunderstanding. Personas are used as part of process improvement programs, strategic action planning, customer service training, and other applications. They are also powerful models for helping design and develop the business, process and technology solutions that serve clients.

PROGRAM TIMELINE

Teams are required to attend 5 days of training over the course of 6-8 weeks. Groups meet
between module sessions to review, debrief and prepare for the next session.

SEE A SAMPLE PROGRAM OVERVIEW VIDEO