How the IND uses process mining to gain time

One of the examples which has already allowed us to gain a lot in several processes is the use of ‘process mining’. What is it and how does it help us to work even more smartly and efficiently?

‘The longer the wait for an asylum decision, the more restless and insecure an applicant  becomes. Therefore, it is important that the IND quickly provides clarity about the procedure,’ according to Jorrin, manager of a so-called Dublin Team at the Asylum and Protection Department (in Dutch: Asiel en Bescherming or A&B) of the IND. But this requires a lot of process steps. To see how we can improve and speed up processes, we use process mining at the IND: ‘a kind of X-ray image that gives insight into the process at a single glance.’ 

X-ray image

Our process mining software gives visual insight into how a process runs. ‘And where there are hold-ups.’ Jorrin says. ‘We record everything we do in our customer database Indigo. To eventually come to a decision, a staff member must make hundreds of clicks in the system. Process mining allows us to get a kind of X-ray image that gives insight into the process of all these clicks at a single glance. This image allows you to see where things stand and to look specifically for improvements and ways to save time in the procedure. Recently, a number of improvements have been implemented in the Dublin process  which allowed us to save a lot of time. ‘A 2-week gain, or even longer,’ Jorrin proudly says.

He emphasises that there are differences between theory and practice when it comes to organising processes efficiently . ‘On paper, we can come up with nice processes,’ he says, ‘but that doesn’t mean we always actually work that way. Previously, we would scrutinise processes in what we call brown paper sessions and we came up with improvements.’

According to Jorrin, process mining is a ‘user-friendly system for  identifying bottlenecks and for  defining what the results of process changes are. Today, structured data can support us in this. What can be done better or faster? Where are the so-called makeshift solutions? Using process mining, we can now see this in real time.’ 

Improvements in the Dublin procedure

Jorrin and his team are part of the so-called ‘Dublin Unit’. They process asylum applications from people who came to the Netherlands via another EU country and are registered there. These applications fall under the so-called Dublin Regulation. This means that another country may be responsible for the asylum application.

When processing these files, a number of steps are taken, to put it simply: interviewing, claiming, intending and deciding. IND staff conduct an interview and write a claim or request to the other Member State concerned to ask them to take over the application. They also write an intended decision and next a decision.

‘ We have had to deal with more and more applications and long waiting times over a long period of time and we cannot always recruit more people. So we mostly try to see how we can work differently and smarter. This also goes for the Dublin Unit,’ according to Jorrin. In this process it became clear that time was being lost. ‘The Dublin tasks are carried out on different locations by colleagues with different authorisations. This is not always efficient. Consequently, cases were being passed back and forth between people and locations,’ Jorrin explains. ‘This resulted in work being done twice.’
‘So, we are now taking a critical look at the order of the steps. Who can do what best? One change  is that the same staff member who conducts the interview on the same day now makes the claim at the application desks. In Zevenaar, the claim and the intented decision  are combined as much as possible. Eventually, we hope to combine the three steps: interviewing, claiming and writing an intented decision  in one day. This  would save a lot of valuable time for applicants and it speeds up the process by at least 2 weeks. If the receiving Member State responds quickly to our claim request, this can save us even more time. And this  is easy to measure  with process mining.’

Working on new pathways

The IND currently uses process mining for three end-to-end processes: extension of asylum permits, objections against visa applications and the Dublin procedure. The coming year, six processes will be added to this. ‘This allows us to gain greater insight into our processes and identify areas for improvement across the entire asylum system. It gives us the opportunity  to work smart. and it can free up a lot of time and capacity,’ according to Stijn Burgers, Business Intelligence Manager.
In the coming period, Jorrin and his team will continue with process mining. ‘With the arrival of the Migration Pact, in which the EU wants to create more efficient procedures for processing asylum and migration applications, the Netherlands will be challenged to work even more efficiently. I am convinced that process mining will help us improve even more, also across the entire asylum system. Because the bottom line is that we are doing everything we can to give clarity to each applicant as quickly as possible, not just  those in the Dublin procedure.’