Magazine

A New Kind of Military Campaign

Executive Memo

August 1, 1996

Eddie Duke, chief of the Quality Leadership Office at Fort Gillem, told , a newsletter of the Alliance for Redesigning Government, "The ideas all don't spell cost savings; some just improve the work environment."

August 1996

EXECUTIVE MEMO

A New Kind of Military Campaign

here's nothing like a good parking space to turn the wheels of invention.

At least that's what officials at First Army Headquarters at Fort Gillem, Atlanta, learned when they offered to give reserved parking spaces to employees who came up with the best ideas for improving management and operations. Fort Gillem was flooded with hundreds of suggestions.

Among the ideas that were implemented:

Flexible work schedules. Beginning in March, instead of working five-day workweeks, civilians could work four 10-hour workdays per week.
An employee break room. Vending machines for snacks were put in to boost morale.
Enhanced security. Locks were installed on employees' computers to prevent theft.

The Public Innovator

Installation officials are pursuing a number of other suggestions, including improving a recycling program, better coordinating conferences, and centralizing distribution runs between Fort Gillem and nearby Fort McPherson.

Other suggestions, like the one to "eliminate Washington, D.C.," will be a little harder to implement.

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