Managing for high performance in the public sector

1. Managing for high performance in the public sector Dr. Richard Boyle Senior Research Officer Institute of Public Administration Dublin Presentation at HKEU seminar 11th December 2008

3. Introduction Organisations that adopt high performance work practices have greater employee performance and are more effective in motivating staff and managing change

4. What do we mean by high performance? • Good management practices which, when applied in combination, produce more than the sum of their parts • How the organisation’s leaders relate to their staff from the day they join to the day they leave • Good work practices based on strong leadership and a motivated workforce that generates higher levels of performance is an option for all government organisations.

6. Challenges to high performance in the public sector • Maintaining public service standards • Politicisation of the public service • Joined-up government versus individualised incentives

7. Challenges to high performance in the public sector “the fundamental purpose of the public sector is government, not management. Government requires that a great deal of attention be paid to fundamental values like fairness, equity, justice, and social cohesion to maintain confidence in the governmental and political system as a whole, and managerial considerations while important must be considered secondary” Matheson, OECD, 2003

8. Despite the challenges, much can be done… Organisations which support their employees by developing effective policies based on ability, motivation and opportunity will create higher levels of organisational commitment, productivity and job satisfaction

9. Six key policies • Career development and opportunities for enhancement • Training opportunities • Job influence and challenge • Involvement and communication • Performance management and appraisal processes • Work-life balance Research for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Purcell et al 2003)

10. Career development and opportunities for advancement • Not simply moving up the organisational ladder – more about a person’s work experience over time. • Two vital considerations: • Developing an appropriate and honest message • Providing career development opportunities for all staff

11. Career development and opportunities for advancement Developing an appropriate and honest message: • What message is being communicated by leaders to staff? • Clearly communicating the objectives and benefits of the career development approach

12. Career development and opportunities for advancement Opportunities for all staff: • People who are most dissatisfied at work are those whose jobs have remained the same for two years • People whose jobs had grown, even at the same level, generally happy to stay • A majority of employees have expectations of something beyond just doing the job

13. Training opportunities • Business case for providing training and development opportunities • The importance of effective training needs analysis • The importance of on-the-job ‘stretch’ assignments as well as formal training

14. Job influence and challenge ‘Where people have some influence over how they do their job, and where they find their job demanding and challenging, they are much more likely to have job satisfaction, be motivated and be more committed to the organisation in the sense of wanting to stay’ But little evidence that leaders take this seriously.

15. Job influence and challenge • Characteristics of effective job design: • Interest and challenge • Variety • Autonomy • Task identity • Task significance

16. Job influence and challenge • Job design mechanisms: • Job rotation • Job enlargement • Job enrichment • Self-managed teams • Smart working

17. Involvement and communication • Involvement – employees playing a greater role in the decision-making process • Avoid ‘off the shelf’ systems • Range of mechanisms available from management initiated (suggestion schemes, attitude surveys) to representative participation (partnership schemes, work councils)

18. Involvement and communication • Communication – enhances confidence, trust and commitment • Not simply passing information down the line – sharing information, listening to what people have to say, responding appropriately • Managers have a central role in any communications strategy

19. Performance management and appraisal processes • Challenges associated with performance management in the public sector: • Unclear objectives • Limited performance indicators • Lack of benchmark information • Subjective evaluation • Rating influenced by ‘halo’ effect and ‘convergence on the mean’

20. Performance management and appraisal processes Dealing with poor performance: • Identify and assess the problem – what do we mean by poor performance? • Consider the reasons – what are the causes? • Decide on an approach • Take action – dealing with issues early

21. Performance management and appraisal processes Performance related pay: • Schemes tend to absorb vast amounts of management time and resources and leave everyone unhappy • Then why do it? • A catalyst for improvements • Sending a message on the need for a performance culture • Equity and fairness • Group performance schemes and moving to pay bands

22. Work-life balance • The business case arguments: • Lower staff turnover • Reduced casual sickness absence • Improved morale and productivity • Employer of choice • Key role for line managers

24. Leadership – the critical success factor underpinning high performance • Characteristics of good leaders in the public sector: • Catalyst for change • Commitment to mission • Determine the path to the vision • Walk the talk • Keeper of the values • Accept personal responsibility