The Board met on Friday November 16th at the Agency’s HQ. We heard progress reports from all of our Committee Chairs and from the Commissioner and agency Division Directors. It was a very productive meeting and enormously helpful in clarifying some specific policy expectations.
We spent significant time discussing the testimony we offered to the Sunset Commission on November 14th. More information will be provided over the next couple of months to our stakeholders on specific topics raised by the Sunset review process, but for now, let me say that we fully acknowledge the strong emphasis the Sunset Commission has placed on ensuring that our Agency’s customer service functions will reach new levels of effectiveness and efficiency. While we have always been both accountable and transparent about our efforts to address our shortcomings, resolve any issues and improve our results, we are committed to work with much greater urgency toward setting and achieving new performance goals. Several recent examples of process improvements demonstrate this commitment.
Once determined each was technically feasible for our contact center’s VOIP phone system, it took just two months to implement the call-tree feature and another two months to implement the call-back feature. Both features made significant reductions in our average hold times and abandonment rates. We are working simultaneously on additional improvements and will produce results in short order. The Agency has engaged three additional contractors to more rapidly advance the implementation of planned new capabilities and services that will reduce the number of calls and expedite their resolution.
In addition to the focus we gave to Sunset matters, we also accomplished the more routine business of the Board, including advancing important policy goals connected to both education and discipline. We completed our rule review process and clarified our expectations for those who serve as Mentors. The Board is now seeking additional qualified candidates to serve as Mentors for the Board. Details can be found elsewhere in this newsletter or online at our talcb.texas.gov website.
Experience audits for those license holders seeking to upgrade their credential has been a major focus for the past six months. Staff has proposed some new steps to streamline this process that appear to have improved our response time. We are always ready to receive feedback on our efforts, so we welcome hearing about your experience with us.
As we anticipate the many events that 2019 has in store, we wish each of you Happy Holidays!