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Focus on people is key to successful performance management
The Shared Learning Group (a partnership between 10 local authorities and Microsoft) and the National Computing Centre (NCC) recently met to discuss the potential and maturity of performance management practices within local government.
The discussion followed the recent publication of an NCC report, Performance Management in Local Authorities, which examines the role of technology in helping local authorities meet the emerging performance management agenda, as well as how to best align it to the needs of staff and citizens.
The key issues arising from discussion of the report’s findings included:
· For performance management to be successful, local authorities must focus on the behavior and needs of its staff and of citizens;
· Central Government needs to ensure that all government agencies are encouraged to measure their performance in a consistent manner so that progress can be monitored;
· Emerging policy agenda around performance management will place considerable focus on the need to communicate with the local community – technology is seen as a key enabler of this.
Ged Fitzgerald, chief executive, Sunderland City Council said: “Performance management is important for effective leadership, empowerment, recognition and reward. The positive ways of managing come to the fore and from that point of view it becomes a virtuous cycle: when people do a good job, you recognise that they do a good job and reward that; people feel good about themselves, they feel valued by the organisation therefore they want to do the extra bit which again improves overall performance and service quality.”
Tim Littlewood, principal officer for performance management, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council adds: “The report and this debate provide a useful resource for any council looking at improving and developing their performance management framework.
“Rotherham council sees the future of performance management as an even greater focus on community outcomes, ensuring we are doing the right things, at the right time in the right places to benefit the people of Rotherham.”
The NCC report examined case studies based on six local authorities in the UK and three overseas. It makes recommendations for developing the performance management framework for local government and builds on ideas laid out in the IDeA/LGA report, Driving Improvement, and the local government white paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities.
Graham Harrop, director of government, Microsoft Ltd., commented: “Local authorities throughout the country are looking to increase efficiency and deliver improved customer services whilst reducing costs. The NCC report shows that there is a willingness for local authorities as a whole to embrace performance management as a tool which is very positive. However, compared to the private sector, its practice is still in its infancy.
“Local government needs to exploit this extra potential in order to reap the full benefits of performance management. Using the right technology can help improve service delivery by allowing staff to work more flexibly and concentrate on the task in hand rather than the endless form-filling,” he concluded.
Stefan Foster, Managing Director National Computing Centre, added: “Although operating in a different context the public sector has an opportunity to learn from private sector successes in this field. Encouragingly our research revealed that Local Authority Chief Executive Departments see the importance of adopting best practice, developing a consistent approach to enable benchmarking and the application of technology to achieve this. Articulating and sharing the Performance Management vision is also vital to success.”
