Impact of COVID-19 on Transportation in California
Highlands Consulting has long served State transportation clients and has been closely following the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on this area. In September, the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a new transportation policy post on the “Impact of COVID-19 on State Transportation Revenues.” It…
Read MoreDoing Organizational Change Management Remotely
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.” –Robin Sharma For most organizations, teams are facing a flurry of change in 2020 – not just technology and business changes, but also lifestyle changes due to the pandemic and working…
Read MoreFI$Cal: Beyond Fiscal Functionality
FI$Cal, or the Financial Information System for California, is far more than the state’s accounting, budgeting, and procurement system. As a robust enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, FI$Cal has unique capabilities that departments are beginning to realize. We’ve previously highlighted our work implementing FI$Cal functionality…
Read MoreFacilitating Business Process Improvement in a Virtual Setting
At Highlands, we have helped dozens of clients improve their business processes through facilitated meetings, in person. With stay-at-home orders, we knew we had to adapt to a fully digital setting. Here are three of our many lessons learned: Choose the platform wisely. There is…
Read MoreImproving Traffic Safety in California
Highlands Consulting has a long history of providing services to California’s transportation departments. Since joining the team I have worked on transportation projects and discovered a new passion for traffic safety. Most recently, we helped the Office of Traffic Safety develop their 2020-2023 Strategic Management…
Read MoreLeveraging Technology in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Highlands Consulting helps government clients manage digital transformation. There’s an image floating around LinkedIn and Twitter asking people “Who led the digital transformation of your company? 1. CEO; 2. CTO; or 3. COVID-19?” Many of us might circle answer #3. Change was hard before the…
Read MoreTransitioning to FI$Cal Department-Wide
Implementation of the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) represents massive change across the entire state. Highlands Consulting is wrapping up the second phase of a FI$Cal transition effort for a large state department. Phase one transitioned administrative staff in the Accounting, Budgets, and Procurement…
Read MoreWhat’s Measured Gets Done
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”– Lewis Carroll In business, clear goals matter. When done well, a written strategic plan is both a path forward and a roadmap to help achieve an organization’s mission. That’s why our team…
Read MoreAchieving Agile Success in the Public Sector
As the Agile Methodology continues to gain momentum in the public sector, we’ve put together a list of insights to help make your next Agile project a success. Initial Scope. Many of us rush straight into software development…because it’s Agile. But the most important step…
Read MoreFinding the (Often Hidden) Benefits of FI$Cal
Nearly all designated State departments have been using FI$Cal for at least a year now. And with such a complex system, it’s been challenging indeed. Many of us at Highlands are continuously evaluating how to help our clients take full advantage of FI$Cal and gain…
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