Department of Home Affairs Identity Documents Director Yogie Travern offers an account of the re-engineering of the production process for South African identity documents. Travern describes the changes made to each step of the process, from the receipt of the ID application form at branch offices to the final lamination and shipping of the ID booklet from the central processing unit. The reform effort did three main things: it reorganized and clarified tasks, made performance visible, and taught mid-level managers how to monitor their employees. The year-long turnaround effort reduced the average processing time for an ID booklet from over 130 days to under 40 days. \
Case Study: Reforming Without Hiring or Firing: Identity Document Production in South Africa, 2007-2009
Full Interview
Ms. Travern was Director for Identity Documents at the Department of Home Affairs. She began her career at the department as an ID clerk in 1989, moving up through the ranks until she was chosen, in 2007, to join a group of consultants in leading the turnaround effort in the ID production process.