Performance in the Public Sector
Working with the Public Sector
Why is working with the public sector different?
The public sector operates in an environment that has changed significantly in recent years. There is far greater transparency, with every citizen able to access information (reliable or not), in addition to having the means to broadcast their views widely. Most of us look for tailored solutions to our problems, as the standard approach no longer fits our expectations. In a world where a product can be delivered to us the same day, or a ready meal within an hour or so, we expect rapid response and higher service levels from everyone, the public sector included.
The public sector comprises many disparate entities, but all face similar performance challenges, including the need to demonstrate:
- Value for money
- Contribution towards policy objectives
- Transparency and ethical conduct
- Continuous improvement in service delivery
- Ability to make tough decisions on what can and can’t be done and manage the consequences
- Reduce waste: cut unnecessary processes, bureaucracy or costs
- Manage highly complex operations on which stakeholders may have different views
How can performance management help?
Performance management in the public sector tends to take a very 2-dimensional form, with line managers setting targets based on their own goals, and then examining them in performance reviews. But this narrow view of goal setting often falls short of meeting the original purpose the organisation was trying to achieve. Effective performance management goes beyond this, by implementing:
- Enhanced learning which supports continuous improvement
- An understanding of what adds value, leading to a reduction in waste
- Better focus on outcomes rather than outputs
The performance management process can also lead to a greater understanding of stakeholder needs, and how they can be met.
How we can help you
- Review your current processes and propose developments
- Enable you to get more value from your performance reviews
- Ensure your performance processes are not inadvertently creating undesirable consequences
- Use techniques such as the performance prism and success map to create a plan which is easily communicated
- Facilitate and test your change and implementation assumptions
Talk to us today to help your public sector organisation build sustainable performance
Expert in patient safety, Professor Don Berwick, was asked to carry out a review following the breakdown of care at Mid-Staffordshire hospitals in the UK. His report highlighted the problem of focussing on the wrong priorities: ‘In some organisations, in the place of the prime directive, “the needs of the patient come first”, goals of (a) hitting targets and (b) reducing costs have taken centre stage.
Although other goals are also important, where the central focus on patients falters, signals to staff, both at the front line and in regulatory and supervisory bodies, can become contaminated. Listening to and responding to patients’ needs then become, at best, secondary aims. Bad news becomes unwelcome and, over time, it is too often silenced. Under such conditions, organisations can hit the target, but miss the point.’
(Gov.UK, August 2013:7)