Tip #8: Analyze results through reports.
Production
Create a report listing the reexaminations actually completed on time per team, per housing specialist. With this data, on-time percentages can be established. The manager needs to monitor progress to determine whether the reexaminations are on time and, if not, take action.
The results tie back into performance standards. The manager can then make performance decisions based on facts.
Accuracy
Results are usually divided into two types: files with errors affecting HAP, and files with errors not affecting HAP. Errors affecting HAP have dollar consequences and are the most serious because, if they're caught in an audit, the PHA will be required to make restitution.
Files with errors not affecting HAP, such as those missing a signature on a form (or missing a form entirely), should be tracked because they'll fail a HUD audit, and will probably count against the SEMAP score if they're part of a SEMAP factor.
Although identifying individual errors is an important element of quality control, it's not the only aspect. Using reports to look at performance and production over time (that is, trends) can provide important insights that lead to error reduction.
The most useful information to track depends on circumstances at each agency. Generally, tracking is valuable for looking at variations in:
- The number and percentage of errors by error type, staff person, and team (or department)
- The improvement in error rates
Gathering the right data enables your analysis of errors, as well as your decisions about how to address the errors, to be efficient and factual. All of the data should tie back into the individual's performance standards and, if there are performance problems, they can therefore be addressed objectively.
Next: Achieving high performance in the HCV program: Tip #9
While serving as executive director of a Minnesota housing authority, Nan McKay started one of the nation’s first Section 8 programs. The agency was subsequently honored with a HUD award as one of 13 outstanding Section 8 programs in the country.
Founder and president of Nan McKay and Associates, she has devoted the past two years to redesigning NMA’s HCV Executive Management course, as well as rewriting the HCV Executive Management Master Book with Bill Caltabiano. The tips and systems described above are thoroughly explored in both, with many forms available on a CD.
