Many employees reported significant positive changes to procedures at the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) when a new administrator took office in late 1993. Results from the 1996-97 Survey of Organizational Excellence, (SOE) an organizational survey regularly conducted for agencies of Texas state government, reveal that employee attitudes about the workplace and customer service have improved dramatically since that time. The survey indicates representatives of some of the agency's constituent groups also share employees' perceptions of change. With many public organizations faced with the challenge of providing higher quality services within a limited, or even static budget, identifying the factors that contribute to positive change in state organizations is increasingly critical. TREC is a small state agency (100 full-time employees or less) that has implemented many changes with promising results. Their challenge is to maintain the positive momentum in a period where Texas state agencies are asked to do more with less.

 

Many employees and constituents interviewed credit positive changes in the agency to the new administrator’s management. According to Eden Box, Chair of the TREC from 1991 to 1996, the Commission was looking for someone with experience in Texas government when they hired William "Bill" Kuntz for the administrator's position. She reflected:

We didn't realize what a strong package we were getting. We were looking for experience with a state agency and we had many wonderful applicants¼Bill was highly recommended and leaving the State Securities Board (SSB) for a number one administrative spot in a state agency.

In January 1994, Kuntz hired Brian E. Francis as the assistant administrator who was a former co-worker of Kuntz's at the SSB. Kuntz noted:

I needed an assistant administrator who was good with personnel. That is why I selected Brian. His biggest asset was his ability to bridge the gap between personnel and administration. As well, we needed a new inspection program for residential services. Brian had similar experience with the SSB.

Brian stated that his management philosophy was essentially:

"The opportunity to make a difference to bring a sense of pride and and respect to working for State Government in general, and at the Real Estate Commission. A chance to build the type of work environment that I’ve always wanted. One founded on a respect based management style".

Kuntz and Francis were hired by TREC at a time when "doing more with less" was becoming the mantra for Texas government. Legislative initiatives, including customer satisfaction assessments and caps on the number of employees hired at state agencies, were required for a leaner, more customer-focused government. Leadership in Texas government was shifting its emphasis towards measures of agency accountability and performance.

Additionally, in the early 1990's, Texas government embarked on a statewide campaign to introduce total quality management principles to state government. This initiative, entitled Texas Quality Service (TQS), began with top agency personnel attending training sessions provided through the Governor's newly formed Center for Management Development. Statewide curriculum guidelines were established and many state agencies developed strategies for implementing TQS throughout the organization.

Since neither Kuntz nor Francis had experience with the real estate industry or TREC operations, the first months were spent learning about the new environment. Strategic planning meetings with staff allowed Kuntz to glean insights about the real estate industry and agency culture. He related a story from early in his tenure when he proposed an idea during a staff meeting. Noting a quizzical look on the General Counsel’s face, he asked what he was thinking. The counsel retorted, "I'm trying to envision what your successor is going to look like." Kuntz said moments like this reminded him that even with all his years of state government experience, he was an outsider in this organization and this industry.

Kuntz and Francis knew that a number of new directions must be taken at TREC and they began to prepare employees for the changes ahead. When asking staff why a procedure was the way it was they often received the answer, "because it has always been done that way." Fiddler on the Roof became a theme for their challenges. They implemented a new style of decision-making at the agency, which empowered division directors. They made sure that at weekly directors’ meetings directors knew that everyone sat around the table and contributed ideas as equals. As Francis stated, the primary goal of their efforts was to create, "a culture of change." To support this agency-wide cultural shift they arranged voluntary employee training on change and stress management in addition to Myers-Briggs personality inventories to facilitate team building and communication. This was the first time that many TREC employees had the opportunity to participate in team and interpersonal skills training. One TREC employee named the Myers-Briggs training one of the most valuable activities implemented under the new management because it "helped you understand the people you work with a little better."

Kuntz and Francis stated that creating a culture of change and openness at TREC was an on-going challenge that did not occur without normal resistance and fear from all sides. Francis said that there were times when they would question whether the risks were really worth the benefits.

Kuntz' assessment of TREC when he began as administrator was that:

TREC was in bad shape. From 1991 to 1993 the agency had gone through reductions in FTEs. People were doing two jobs at once to cover the shortages and morale was very low.

The administrators believed that participation in the Survey of Organizational Excellence would give them benchmark measures of where they were starting, and help ensure that organizational change efforts were targeted appropriately. Similarly, customer satisfaction surveys were also used to determine what issues were of concern to constituents. TREC had been conducting customer satisfaction surveys for quite some time, but the surveys were kept in taped boxes on shelves. There was little evidence of analysis or utilization of customer survey feedback in agency decision making. Kuntz and Francis established processes for analyzing the information and responding to customer’s concerns.

Brian Francis commented on using surveys in state government:

Collecting employee and customer survey satisfaction data is risky in state government because negative information can potentially be used against you. I am glad that we took the risk to collect surveys from our employees and customers to get benchmark measures, but surveys cause a lot of fear because they go against the old adage shared in legal circles, don't ask the question if you don't know the answer. But we feel, if you don’t ask the question, you won’t know your employees.

 

It did not take much time for Kuntz and Francis to conclude that one of the agency’s most significant morale problems was employee dissatisfaction with pay levels. TREC staff commented during interviews that it was becoming very difficult for the agency to retain and attract a qualified work force because pay levels were not competitive. Entry level positions started at the Group 6 level or $15,132 per year. Salary analyses supported employees perceptions of non-competitive pay. The data revealed that TREC had a lower average salary than comparable state agencies; the average salary for TREC in 1994 was $26,481 as compared to $32,514 for the agency's peer group.

According to Alan Waters, Director of Staff Services and a 25-year employee of TREC, offering competitive employee compensation was becoming increasingly challenging. He said that under the early retirement package guidelines set by the Legislature in 1993, state agencies lost 50% of the salaries of employees who opted to take advantage of the incentive. With three of the agency's most senior staff (the agency's administrator, assistant administrator and one division director) taking an early retirement package offered in 1993, 4% of the agency's funding was taken away beginning in fiscal year 1994. Although the agency had to rehire persons for two of these high profile positions, half of the funds previously used to support these positions was deleted from the budget. The difference had to be made up by shifting funds from other areas.

Waters stated that he continues to be concerned because the new early retirement package adopted in this last legislative session includes a 100% salary deduction for early retirees. He commented:

The more with less philosophy is becoming tougher and tougher. I think we have done about all we can. For example, some licensing agencies are moving towards a two-year license renewal cycle for licensees to save money, but we changed ours to a two-year cycle some time ago. We have also implemented new streamlined procedures in enforcement but there is only so much you can do. You can automate your systems, but at some point the people who call want to talk to an actual person.

 

Low compensation levels within the agency had also contributed to practices which included distributing merit raises and achievement bonuses to everyone in the organization when funds were available; an all or none philosophy. While this helped to nominally increase depressed income levels across-the-board it created other problems. It didn’t recognize the difference between average work and exemplary performance. Kuntz and Francis thought that ignoring performance created a dis-incentive for pursuing excellence because employees felt overlooked and excluded. Rarely were employees involved in planning or decision-making; communication from the top-down and bottom-up was limited. As one long-time TREC employee commented, "the former leadership made decisions on their own regardless of who was actually working the job." Symbolic of this centralized management style was the area of the building occupied by the former administrator. Surrounded by tall file cabinets it was known informally among employees as the "zone of silence."

Many employees also reported that they felt they were in "dead end" jobs with no upward or lateral moves possible and no opportunity to learn new skills. Francis' assessment of employee morale at TREC was that, "Employees were not happy when we got here. They didn't have a vision or understand the mission of the agency." Only forty-three people attended the agency's annual picnic in 1993. Kuntz and Francis saw this low turnout as a sign that most employees did not enjoy their work or their work environment.

Similarly, there were several customer service problems that Kuntz felt required immediate attention. The most serious problem was what Kuntz termed a "communications crisis." People could not get through on the phone. Using telephone company records and internal surveys Kuntz determined that three out of four callers to TREC got a busy signal and that one fourth of the callers had to call back at least three times before getting through. Finally, to make matters worse, after a caller got through to the agency he/she would be transferred an average of three times to various "specialists" in the agency to have all of his/her questions answered. With many interactions time sensitive, this was not good customer service.

Kuntz commented that this communications crisis was frequently compounded by the inherent nature of interactions between a regulatory body and its constituents. He explained:

Not only did customers have difficulty getting us on the telephone, sometimes they are just not happy with the answers we give them. We have to follow the laws and sometimes that means telling licensees that we cannot accept their renewal after the deadline has passed, even if it is only a day late. Complaint investigations can be upsetting to all involved. Upon resolution of a complaint, depending on your point of reference, TREC could be viewed as either in collusion with the industry if you don't go after licensees hard enough, or too bureaucratic if you are a licensee.

Kuntz sensed that the communications crisis was exacting a costly toll on the organization, lowering both customer satisfaction and employee morale. To address this Kuntz focused the 74th Legislative appropriation request to obtain relief for the crisis by seeking funding for two ombudsmen positions and a toll-free phone services. The funding request was granted improving customer satisfaction and employee morale.

Analysis of agency enforcement issues also revealed areas of concern. The agency had a backlog of cases pending action. TREC enforcement personnel were having difficulty handling rapidly growing numbers of complaints and as a result, cases were not closed in an acceptable time period. The firm, fair, and consistent enforcement philosophy was not being fully implemented.

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After two and a half years of shaping change at TREC, one of the first concrete opportunities for Kuntz and Francis to gauge the success of their efforts came in the fall of 1996 when TREC received the results of the second employee attitude survey. TREC results showed dramatic improvement from previous levels. Francis admitted that after he saw the results of the survey he skipped down the halls of the TREC building shouting.

Results revealed that TREC employees felt that their agency had progressed considerably. Similarly, external constituents also began to see positive change. For example, Benny McMahan, Executive Vice President of the Texas Association of Realtors commented:

The challenges encountered by the new administrators when they began at TREC were similar to those facing many other state agencies. Solutions for some of the agency's problems were obvious: employee pay raises, more funding, more staffing, additional telephone lines and updated computer hardware and software. However, in late 1993 when Kuntz began, he found a fixed budget and a message from the Legislature suggesting that agency heads not expect increases in funding during the upcoming session.

Therefore, the agency had to find new ways to conduct business and revitalize employees without relying on new funds. The actions initially implemented were streamlining agency operations for cost savings, increasing automation and technological capabilities and utilizing "soft dollar remedies" to create employee incentives.

Dissatisfaction with pay was not a complaint unique to TREC. According to results for the 1994-95 Survey of Organizational Excellence, 64% of Texas' state employees believed that their salaries were not competitive with similar jobs in their communities. Since cost-of-living increases must be appropriated by the Legislature, many agency heads and employees alike view compensation largely as an issue outside of the realm of their control. However, bolstered by their statewide salary analysis, TREC leadership made employee pay a priority for their attention, both in communications with the Legislature as well as through other means. According to Francis:

A state classification audit in 1993 left many employees disappointed. They wanted to be reclassified even if it meant no more money because they were looking toward their future earning potential. It was a psychological raise. We began to work a lot with employees on job descriptions and the State Auditor's Office came back and reclassified many positions in the agency. The entry-level positions job requirements were modified and were upgraded from a Group 6 to a Group 8. Even though these actions did not necessarily result in more take home pay for employees, we were dealing with perceptions and the reality was that we were listening to the employees and there were changes that resulted.

Kuntz and Francis began to keep employees apprised of testimony in legislative committees that involved employee compensation issues, including reporting that there was no new information to share. They wanted to be the ones to give employees the information before they read it in their morning newspaper.

Communicating about the pay issue appeared to go a long way towards satisfying employee concerns. During employee interviews, many expressed a confidence in the TREC leadership regarding their efforts at securing pay increases; they shared a perception that the administration was looking out for their best interests. As one employee stated, "Bill and Brian listened to what we said and went to work on the problems."

Without increases in funds, Kuntz and Francis implemented employee incentives using "soft dollars." For example, an "Employee of the Quarter" award was established to recognize outstanding performance. Nominations came from employees and were passed through division directors to a committee composed of Kuntz, Francis and former award winners who in turn selected the winner. They added drama to the award by keeping the winner's name a secret until it was announced during an all-employee meeting. The winner received special parking, 2 days of administrative leave and was recognized on a wall plaque located prominently in the agency's lobby. Diane Fletcher, a twelve-year employee of TREC reflected on her feelings about winning the award:

I've worked here for years and you know you've worked hard, but you think no one's noticed. I was surprised. There is not much pay from the State but the award makes you feel special.

The agency also developed new procedures for awarding achievement bonuses. Under the policies, award monies were divided and allotted to specific pay groups. In effect, employees would compete with others in their pay group category for the award. Francis stated that this helped ensure that excellence was recognized at all levels of the organization. Those employees in less visible positions in the agency were considered fairly. "Unfortunately," Francis commented, "just when we thought we had a great system in place the achievement bonus program was discontinued."

Kuntz and Francis implemented practices, which allowed employees to play a greater role in agency decision making. Ultimately, Francis credits employee involvement for being the catalyst for change in the organization:

Bringing employees to the fore has opened the floodgates and enabled them to have access to the decision making process. We want employees to see themselves in the mission statement and move beyond the realm of being a state employee, which can be minimizing, from 'I work for the state' to 'I work for the Real Estate Commission' to 'We license the real estate industry.'

Employees were one of the stakeholder groups included in the process of rewriting the agency's mission statement in 1994, and subsequently, drafting the agency's biennial strategic plan. The strategic planning process utilized at TREC has changed over the last few years and has evolved into a cabinet style, three-tiered employee participation approach. The administrators added that they involved employees in strategic planning because they realized the importance of having employees invested in the plan. They introduced the process to employees by telling them, "This plan will get us nowhere without your involvement. This is your plan."

Former Commission Chair Eden Box commented about the changes she has observed in TREC employees:

The attitude and morale at TREC had been very low. By empowering employees and rewriting the mission statement, people who had been there a long time were revitalized. Bill gave employees the authority to do their jobs and backed them up. Everyone in the agency has flourished under his leadership. The fact that the staff is committed and given the chance to do their best has everything to do with how they affect the public. Internal morale has to start first.

The agency has also developed an approach for conducting cross-division process reviews called Continuous Improvement Initiative (CII). CII utilizes employee teams, including employees who have a role in the work issue being studied as well as those outside of the process. The first CII team reviewed the returned check process. Agency leadership hopes to have two to three CII projects per year. Francis thinks that CII, "is an empowerment issue because employees are able to tell their bosses 'this is how I think it should be done' and their suggestions are incorporated into the plan."

The management style under the new administrators focused heavily on improving internal communications. Kuntz and Francis committed to keeping employees updated on events affecting state employee compensation, in addition to keeping employees informed about internal agency business.

The administrators commented that to create change you must stay on top of it at all times and respond quickly. They believe this is an important advantage of a small state agency. They agreed that communicating and involving the eleven field representatives who make up 15% of TREC staff was difficult due to the expansive geographic distance in Texas. Since 1995, the field representatives have worked from home offices, a policy resulting from one employee's suggestion for cost-savings. To keep the lines of communication open and field employees from feeling isolated, a staff person at the headquarters office serves as the primary contact person for the field personnel. Electronic mail is also utilized and training for field employees is usually scheduled to coincide with other agency activities at headquarters. However, they believe that keeping these satellite employees involved in agency activities continues to be a challenge.

Similarly, the administrators used the results from the employee survey as a tool for communicating about workplace issues. They discussed the survey results in town hall meetings and followed-up these discussion with smaller group meetings where employees' direct supervisor was not present. These meetings were designed to provide a safe environment for employees to discuss problems and to talk about what could be done to solve them. The senior management team also met to discuss survey results, employee feedback and to decide on action plans. Survey questions falling below 2.5 were the focus of immediate attention. Francis said that with the improvements in the 1996 survey results, the TREC will employ a variable target system for Primary Questions and Constructs. The future targets range from 4.0 to 4.5 as reflect the agency’s core values.

Francis said that discussing survey results with employees has opened a lot of doors, "making things easier and making things more complex at the same time." He stated that they would start discussing a specific survey topic and then employees would move beyond the topic into many different issues. He and Kuntz would listen during the employee groups, clear up any misconceptions that existed and take the feedback to executive staff for discussion. Finally, they "closed the loop" with employees by reporting during town hall meetings what steps had been taken to address problem areas. He agreed that this process required a lot of time up-front, but he believes it was worth the investment.

Francis stated that TREC has adopted what he refers to as a "free food" philosophy for much of the agency's employee training and development. Although the agency has paid for training classes and plans to continue to do so when funds are available, they have tried to make the most of what is already available to them. For example, in 1994 TREC began to contract with an Employee Assistance program (EAP). At a price of $1.25 per employee per month the benefit was cost-effective. In addition to the individualized services offered to employees, the EAP also provides TREC agency-wide training for staff on issues such as stress management, change and time management. These training sessions are a part of the EAP contract and offered at no additional cost to the agency.

TREC has also invited employees of the Texas Workers Compensation Commission and firefighters from the Austin Fire Department to train employees on workplace safety issues. Francis believes that employee training is a constant challenge for small state agencies due to budgets which limit the amount of professional training that can be purchased on the outside and preclude the possibility of having an in-house training staff.

Perhaps one of the first important tests of the agency's commitment to change came with the decision to outsource licensees' real estate examinations to private contractors. Francis commented that he and Kuntz recognized that employees could be threatened by the loss of job duties. However, outsourcing appeared to be a "win-win" situation for TREC. It gave customers more opportunities to take tests throughout the year at locations more convenient to their residence. In addition, the agency would reduce the cost of testing and free staff time previously spent administering and grading exams.

This change represented an important break with tradition because some TREC employees viewed examinations for real estate licenses as a fundamental responsibility. Kuntz and Francis worked proactively to overcome possible resistance by openly discussing the loss of job responsibilities and emphasizing the work that could be accomplished as a result of giving up in-house testing responsibilities. They met regularly with staff that would be effected to involve them in the implementation plans.

Kuntz and Francis noted that this transition occurred without any major problems. They believe the agency now has a more efficient exam process in place. Field employees spend more time investigating complaints rather than proctoring examinations, and headquarters staff no longer spends time grading exams. In addition, test results are now available immediately upon completion of the exam as opposed to 7-10 days under the old system.

Understanding that state funds were tight and that TREC would be fortunate to maintain current funding levels, Kuntz and Francis prioritized agency needs and developed simple, yet effective strategy for requesting funds during the 1995 Legislative session. According to Kuntz, the agency's two highest priority items were to solve the "communications crisis" and make some headway on improving TREC employee salaries. They documented the impact of the communications crisis on constituents and compiled employee salary data to prepare for their testimony.

Part of the TREC strategy for requesting funds from the 74^th Legislature was to develop a memorable theme, or a catch phrase, which captured the essence of the agency's problem. One of the themes relayed by TREC leadership during the 1995 legislative session was that TREC was a "Third World" agency. Francis stated that they carefully considered the pros and cons of using this phrase but eventually settled on it, hoping that shock value might work to their advantage. They felt that the term best captured what they believed were inequities in TREC's funding levels, including the fact that the agency's employees had much lower average salaries than the agency's peer group. Kuntz and Francis repeated this theme over and over during the legislative session.

This strategy proved successful and funds were received in 1995 for two Group 15 Ombudsman positions, 2 additional telephone lines and a toll-free number. Kuntz and Francis credit the addition of the Ombudsman positions and telephone lines for significantly improving customer service and employee morale at TREC.

The "communications crisis" at TREC was eased somewhat by the additional telephone lines funded by the 1995 Legislature. More constituents could get through to the agency; calls handled by TREC staff increased from 20,000 in fiscal year 1996 to 29,000 in fiscal year 1997. However, Kuntz and Francis believed that getting through to the agency on the telephone was just one half of the problem, numerous internal transfers hampered agency efficiency and were an unpleasant experience for customers.

Kuntz and Francis believed that a team concept with many persons trained in all aspects of agency business would provide better "one stop" service for customers. They created a Communications Section with five Communications Specialists and two Ombudsman to serve as the primary phone contacts for the public licensees.

The employees in the new Communications Section received extensive training on licensing issues and developed a comprehensive manual which provided guidelines for all types of licensing and renewals questions. Under the new system, in the event that the Communications Specialist cannot answer a question or if the customer is not satisfied with their response, the call is transferred to an Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is trained to handle the technically difficult or "irate" calls. Finally, if the caller is still not satisfied, the third and final transfer goes to the administrator or the assistant administrator. Kuntz believes that his availability to respond directly to the citizenry is one of the advantages found in a small state agency.

Changing to a team approach was a major transition for many employees in the organization. Francis commented on moving an agency with a few specialists to one with many experts:

We had to talk a lot about how employees would personally benefit from the team approach. We discussed issues such as how this approach would allow employees to rotate jobs and have more flexible schedules and vacations. We reminded them that they wouldn't be tied to their desks all day and would also have more time to get other work done.

With the funding in 1995 of two Ombudsman positions the agency not only began to see improvements in customer relations, but employee morale was also positively affected. Kuntz and Frances felt an agency career ladder would improve morale as more job openings became available. Position vacancies were created when twenty-two TREC employees applied for the new Ombudsman positions and two persons were hired internally. This in turn provided additional opportunities for other employees to advance. Further, employee retirements provided more job openings which were filled internally. These turnovers were providing new opportunities for TREC employees to earn more money and/or to learn new job skills. One employee interviewed stated:

Job responsibilities are changing and people can move within the agency. It has helped morale because some felt like they were in dead end positions. Employees hope to have more of a challenge and get somewhere. Even with lateral moves it helps morale to do something and learn something different.

According to Waters, Division Director of Staff Services, internal turnover can be a double-edged sword, "It is positive because it leads to employees with a better understanding of the agency and negative because you have to train two new people." However, he commented, "it is not something that you can or want to stop."

Perhaps the most tangible improvements at TREC were the technological advances the agency implemented. Former Commission Chair Box explained that TREC went from "horse and buggy in 1993 to rocket ship by 1995." Kuntz's philosophy on technology is that, "We have to stay in tune with the private industry or we are the lag." He added proudly, "We've actually been able to lead the industry in some technological areas." He believes that because TREC is a small agency, the organization can quickly implement technological advances to benefit customers and streamline operations.

Since 1993, the agency has developed an interactive presence on the Internet where customers may get information about the agency, download agency forms and e-mail staff with comments. During the 1997 Legislative session, TREC also proposed changes in the statute allowing for licensees to use credit cards to renew their real estate licenses online. Not only would this proposal offer customers more choice, TREC staff believe that it would save them processing time because staff would not be required to open envelopes, review the document for changes, and keystroke any changes in name, address, etc. into the database. The division director of Staff Services stated that to the best of his knowledge, TREC is the only agency proposing the use of credit cards for online license renewals.

Other technological enhancements include the TRECFax, which enables the public to request information and forms via automated fax commands. E-mail is also used for internal and external communications. When Gwen Jackson, a fifteen-year employee of TREC was asked to discuss what changes she observed at TREC, she commented on what she viewed as the positive changes in leadership and added that improvements in technology have also played a significant role in changing the organization. She stated, "The changes in technology may be as significant as the change in leadership."

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In March of 1996, the Houston Chronicle published an article entitled, "Welcome to TREC, the next generation." The article begins:

In the past year the mission of the of the Texas Real Estate Commission has been to boldly go where it hadn't gone before by providing better access for real estate professionals and the general public. Mission accomplished.

Just as the article highlights, TREC has implemented many positive improvements for customers since 1993. Employee morale has also gotten better; one hundred and six people attended the agency's picnic in 1996. Kuntz and Francis see this as a benchmark of their success. Francis stated, "When employees spend their free time together, you know that they are beginning to enjoy what they do and everyone will benefit from that."

However, a sense of urgency remains. Although the agency has accomplished much, agency personnel are aware that many challenges lie ahead that might stagnate or undo the progress that has been made. TREC directors do not take their progress for granted or expect it to continue without having to make difficult choices. Agency leadership also recognizes that not all employees are happy with the changes implemented. During one agency-wide meeting, Kuntz told employees that it is their individual responsibility to think about the last two years and to determine for themselves if they are happier now than two years ago, and if the answer is negative, that they should find something that makes them happy and set the course for moving on.

All acknowledge that technology will play a key role in determining the TREC's future success. The real estate industry is one of the few regulated by the State that is rapidly departing from traditional means of business and migrating towards business on the Internet. This promises new opportunities for TREC to serve constituents, and also suggests new challenges for TREC enforcement. TREC will have to stay abreast of technological advances, a scenario that will require agency resources to be directed towards expensive hardware, software and technical expertise.

Likewise, employee survey results suggest that issues remain that are of concern to employees. Although the agency has shown much improvement, TREC falls below its peer group in some areas. As the agency leadership raises the bar on employee performance standards, it follows that employee expectations will also rise. Keeping the momentum required for continuous improvement will become increasingly difficult without competitive salaries for employees. With the Austin area rapidly evolving from an economy where state government serves as its base to one dominated by high technology and manufacturing industries, state agencies will have increasing difficulty retaining and attracting a quality work force in its capital city.

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Last Update:  December 17, 1998
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