The secret ballot elections are conducted by an agent from the regional office. Questions as to eligibility of voters at the election are handled through a "challenged ballot" procedure and such ballots become significant only if their number would affect the results of the post-election ballot count. Investigations of objections to an election or of challenged ballots are conducted by the regional offices, and the Regional Director's disposition of these matters can be appealed to the Board.

THE CASE CONTROL SYSTEM

With the broad guideline of establishing interim goals for each stage of case processing, NLRB (aided by a time study and the experience of selected headquarters staff members) developed a time for the average case to be processed. Time objectives were set for processing both unfair labor practice and representation matters.

For example, the standard for investigating and determining the merit of unfair labor practice charges is 30 days. The action implementing that decision (whether a dismissal, withdrawal, settlement, or complaint) is to be completed in an additional 15 days. Thus, in an unfair labor practice case in which merit is found by the Regional Director and no settlement achieved, the complaint and notice of hearing is due 45 days after the charge is filed. The NLRB seeks to close the unfair practice hearing in an additional 45 days or within 90 days of the filing of the charge.

The time objectives developed were promulgated and explained at a conference of top field managers. In addition, recognizing that faster case processing would affect the labor practitioners before the agency, NLRB met with representatives of the Bar throughout the country to explain the program and its objectives.

THE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

At the same time that time objectives were established for case processing, NLRB created a Time and Performance Branch in Washington to monitor and evaluate monthly statistics on case handling performance. The branch also evaluated the quality of case handling and fed all the performance information back to the regional offices. Today, these functions are the responsibility of the Division of Operations Management which performs an integral and important role in the Office of the General Counsel's case management system.

This division is located in Washington and is headed by an Associate General Counsel. The remainder of the professional staff is made up of a Deputy Associate General Counsel, six Assistant General Counsels, and six Deputy Assistant General Counsels. The nation is divided into six Districts and, working as a team, an Assistant General Counsel and a Deputy Assistant General Counsel are responsible for the overall operation and performance for one of six Districts. These Districts are drawn on geographic lines and are composed of several regional offices. Thus, one Assistant General Counsel and his Deputy are responsible for the performance of the six regional offices in the northeastern United States.

The performance evaluation system has not changed much since its implementation. Procedures were set up to obtain statistics on the attainment of time objectives and on other important areas of case handling. These statistics are translated into case handling performance areas such as:

percentage of cases successfully litigated;

percentage of cases settled;

the median age of cases pending under investigation;

the median days to issuance of complaint; and

the number and percentage of average cases in different
stages computed both nationally and by regional office.

Performance factors are monitored closely by the Division of Operations Management and by the Regional Directors. In addition, in order to measure field office productivity, point values have been developed and assigned to different case handling actions. On a monthly basis, these values are totalled and divided by the number of staff available to the Regional Director for case handling. The result effectively measures both national and individual regional office productivity. The productivity values assigned to the different case handling actions are based on the time required to complete these actions in the typical or average case.

The basic element in the information system is the case dispositions report which is forwarded to Washington monthly and which reflects information on case actions such as the filing of unfair labor practice charges and representation petitions, election agreements, settlements, dismissal letters, and complaints. At the end of each month, regional offices also report a summary of the actions taken and the names, case numbers, and reasons for cases which are overage in a particular stage of case processing.

PERFORMANCE. FEEDBACK

Once data computation is complete, each Assistant General Counsel reviews the performance of the regions in his district. He then forwards his comments and analysis of their performance to each region and, based upon discussions with the directors and Washington officials, suggestions for improvement as well. Briefly then, a Regional Director receives a monthly review of the performance of his office which is available to both the Washington and regional staff. The review identifies areas for improvement and provides a continuum of short-range case handling objectives. The Regional Director also receives a series of charts which, without identifying the standings of other specific regions, reflects his standing in comparison to the others. For example, a chart showing the relative standings and performance of the regions for the issuance of complaints is shown on page 8.

To assure that timely information is available to the Assistant General Counsel and the Regional Director, headquarters makes every effort to complete the tabulation and evaluation quickly and feed it back to the Regional Directors by the middle of the following month.

ASSURING QUALITY CASE. WORK

In addition to monitoring the timeliness of case-handling performance of the regional offices in their districts, the Assistant General Counsel and his Deputy are also responsible for the quality of regional office case work and for the personnel management of these offices. A key element in this overall management responsibility is the frequent visits of regional offices to discuss all aspects of regional office work.

Quality control of regional office performance is the most important aspect of the broad range responsibilities of the Assistant General Counsel. He regularly reviews such matters as settlements, unfair labor practice complaints, and Administrative Law Judge and Board decisions emanating from his district. In addition, he reviews certain files submitted to Washington for case handling advice and may, on his visits to regional offices, audit closed case files. The Assistant General Counsel is also responsible for the preparation of responses to Congressional and public inquiries about regional office matters. He maintains current information on the status of significant cases in his district by attending all meetings and conferences in Washington which relate to those cases. Thus, the Assistant General Counsel and his Deputy are intimately involved in all aspects of the work of the regional offices they supervise.

NLRB developed and implemented the case management system in response to case processing delays and poor service to the public. The program (established in 1959) of setting interim time goals for each stage of case handling is still being used. The case control system, coupled with NLRB's management information system, has virtually eliminated backlogs and placed case handling on a reasonably current basis. While the agency's workload has tripled over the years, NLRB has steadily reduced its case processing time. For example, the average time to process cases from filing of charges to issuance of complaints has dropped from 116 days in 1959 to 47 days in 1978. Productivity improvements have been realized in other areas including increases in the percentage of cases successfully litigated and the percentage of cases settled.

Identifying and establishing interim goals for key elements of a process is a simple yet effective approach for promoting effective performance. When combined with an information system which provides timely performance data to those in a position to make changes, the interim goal approach can result in significant productivity improvements. The NLRB's case management system has demonstrated the success of this approach.

An organization can derive numerous advantages by adopting NLRB's system. By breaking down complex procedures, it becomes easier to identify problems, make corrections, and monitor results. An additional benefit is the increased ease in measuring overall and individual performance and determining the most effective use of resources. Many applications exist for this approach; however, each organization must decide how to implement the system to serve its own productivity needs best.