OLYMPIA – The Productivity Board, a state employee incentive program of the Office of the Secretary of State, recognized individuals and groups, who proposed plans to reduce costs in state government or generate new revenue, during a State Capital ceremony on Feb. 25, 2025.
The Productivity Board encourages all state employees to help save taxpayers' money by offering up to $10,000 for a successful employee proposal to increase government efficiency. First created by the Legislature in 1982 and reinstated in 2023, the Productivity Board has saved the state millions of dollars.
“More than 100 suggestions from employees have resulted in helping to make our state government operate more efficiently,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said. “It is inspiring to see the innovation and creativity from state workers and to reward them for their ideas.”
The “LCB Pathfinders,” composed of employees from the Liquor Control Board and the Office of Administrative Hearings, suggested digitizing and accessing records between agencies.
Their idea improves efficiency by minimizing document handling and reducing supply and storage needs. The suggestion has saved more than $44,000 in its first year, with more long-term savings expected.
Members of the Liquor Control Board (LCB) suggested electronically consolidating each casefile’s text and media documents in a searchable document management solution between the LCB’s Board Adjudication Unit and Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH).
The solution improved recordkeeping, made information more accessible, eliminated LCB payment to OAH for additional work performed on each case, and significantly reduced office expenditure on paper, compact discs, mailing materials, and other supplies.
While the state receives benefits in cost savings or revenue from the ideas, the employees are rewarded for their ingenuity and forward thinking. In total, workers whose ideas were accepted received nearly $30,000 in cash awards.
The Productivity Board is currently evaluating state employees’ bright ideas for 2025. Submissions can be made through the Employee Suggestion Program for an individual’s idea or through the Teamwork Incentive Program for larger process improvements for two or more employees’ ideas.
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Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State also oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.