Continuous Improvement
Our Mission: The Continuous Improvement (CI) division aims to help departments identify problems and implement solutions while developing citywide capacity for continuous improvement by partnering with people, enhancing operations, and empowering others to improve, lead, and learn.
What Does Continuous Improvement Do?
The CI team collaborates with internal departments to manage innovation and process improvement projects, develop trainings and administer a citywide learning program, and maintain critical enterprise-level Human Resources data.
Workforce Data and Analytics
The Workforce Data and Analytics team ensures Human Resources data integrity and supports City leaders in data-driven decision-making and equitable labor/personnel policy development. To do this, the team manages the City Human Resources Management (HRMS) function to create and maintain personnel, position, and organizational records and produces enterprise reports and analyses on personnel and workforce data.
CI Learning
The Citywide Learning team is dedicated to fostering employee development and growth. We oversee an enterprise learning management system (LMS), offer comprehensive training programs, provide tuition assistance, and curate a variety of internal learning opportunities.
Key offerings include:
- Empowering City subject matter experts: We equip our subject matter experts to share their knowledge and skills with the team.
- Curating LinkedIn Learning: We highlight and provide access to a vast library of online courses.
- Managing vendor-led courses: We manage the delivery of training from external providers.
- Leadership Development: We support employee career growth with programs like the Leadership Launchpad, LEAD Supervisor Skills, Supervisory Policy Foundations, and targeted training for supervisors, managers, and executives.
And in the spirit of Continuous Improvement – we use the CI toolset to implement programs like our Employee Survey, Core Conversations (Employee Performance Coaching), New Employee Orientation, and more.
Core Conversation GoalsInnovation and Process Improvement
The Innovation and Process Improvement team partners with departments to meet their programmatic goals, align with organizational values, eliminate waste, and design employee-driven process improvements.
How Do We Measure Impact?
Continuous Improvement is committed to recognizing City of Tacoma staff who have used the Ci4i Framework and tools to deliver results. We invite you to review our collection of success stories and join us in celebrating the achievements of our project teams.
Single Family Home Rehabilitation Loan
Tacoma Public Library Direct Shelving
Contract Routing
Police Hiring
Community Services Effectiveness
Learn How IPI Works
Continuous Improvement leads improvement projects in priority areas identified by executive leadership as well as a portfolio of right-sized projects scoped to reach recommendations within an eight-week timeline.
Process Improvement Framework
At the City of Tacoma, we have developed an approach called the Ci4i Framework. Ci4i draws on project management concepts utilized by a variety of methodologies, including Lean and Six Sigma. Our training materials and exercises feature tools that encourage empathy building, design thinking, and the implementation of customer-focused solutions.
Ci4i Project Checklist
Continuous Improvement Advocates
The Continuous Improvement Advocates (CIA) program is a three-day training that provides City staff the opportunity to learn our CI Framework and implement a process improvement project in their own area.
The goal of the program is to equip participants with the tools necessary to identify problems and lead future CI projects.