People, productivity and high performance

Transcription

1 People, productivity and high performance SSA & ANZSOG Seminar Series Date: 7 th March 2014 Deborah Blackman, d.blackman@adfa.edu.au 1 S

2 Developed from the Strengthening the Performance Framework Project A joint project originally between the APSC, Australian National University, University of Canberra, University of New South Wales, Canberra 2 S

3 Why High Performance? S Where is the greatest improvement going to come from? S What is meant by More with Less? S Need a real change

4 Silver Bullet One size does not fit all in a government performing tasks as complex and varied as ours. Agencies have broadly different missions. One delivers monthly pension checks, another regulates the securities industry, a third conducts research on the frontiers of science, and so on....excellent performance requires organization, leadership, and culture that fit the mission, not just a single theory of administration (National Commission on the Public Service, 2005, p.20)

5 Changing the conversation S How do we change a conversation? S What do you want to be different? S What might it look like if it works?

6 What is High Performance? S no consistent standard of value has emerged to serve as a reliable guide for governments on their high-performance journey (Jupp and Younger, 2004: 16). S The simultaneous delivery of all three of these elements - quality of products and services, outstanding customer value, and sound financial performance (Pickering, 2008: 135).

7 Characteristics of High Performing Organizations Strategic Orientation and individual role / goal clarity Outcome and Citizen Orientated Cooperative Partnerships Capabilities and Competences High Employee Engagement Ongoing feedback and management of expectations Continuous Learning and Improvement Vertical and Horizontal System Alignment Walking the Talk

8 Performance Management a mechanism that underpins and integrates other management practices

9 High performance organisation High Performance Governance High Performance Organisation High Performance Group High Performance Individual High Performance Practices Strategic orientation Outcome and citizen orientated Cooperative Dynamic Capabilities and Competences High Employee engagement Adaptable Continuous Improvement Vertical and horizontal system alignment Walking the Talk

10 A Framework for High Performance

11 Questions for High Performance S Why does performance management exist S What will it look like if it works? S How do we know what to prioritise? S What will really motivate you? S How will we know when we are there? S Is it likely?

12 Why does performance management exist S Performance management needs to be core business S Performance improvement, development, leadership.. S Identification of what will be different if performance management is working S Conversation first, forms second

13 What will it look like if it works? A common response High Performance I can t really articulate it as a thing. I think I know what it s not

14 What will it look like if it works? S In 20 years, every performance management issue I ve dealt with, with the exclusion of one or two have been about complete lack of clarity of what they were supposed to be doing (Senior manager, medium-operational).

15 How do we know what to prioritise? I ve had the benefit of working for a really strong [Senior Executive Service] hierarchy, so in developing things like [performance agreements], we ve always got the departmental plan and synthesized that down into a cluster plan, synthesized that down into a group plan, synthesized that down to a branch, and then that flows into your [performance agreement]. So everything that you do is always connected somewhere [ ] it gives people purpose (Middle manager, large-policy).

16 How many balls can you juggle?

17 The system needs to work

18 The system needs to work Well, there s no link to recruitment. There s no link to a career path with the performance system. It s conditional selection by merit and your performance is irrelevant to that process. So, again, there s that disconnect (Middle manager, large-operational)

19 Performance Management and Mutuality S mutual means that there is something "shared in common" S Needs to be that there is shared view that the things agreed will be of benefit to both the individual and the organisation

20 What will really motivate you? S Most of the people who I think get a job in the public service are drawn a bit to the public service for the people that join because they really feel that it s a worthwhile thing to do, they want to feel like they re making a contribution they want to feel like they re making something work better (Middle manager, large-operational).

21 How will we know when we are there? S So, I think we identify the resting points along the way you know when you re hiking up a mountain or something, you stop at a couple of different places and look back to where you ve come from and you look forward to where you go. We re not very good at creating those places, so it s, kind of, We must do something; this is something, let us do this rather than Where do I want to get to in the long run? (Senior manager, large-policy).

22 Are we there yet? S Adaptability and flexibility, responsiveness that s the key [to high performance] you ve got to be flexible and you ve got to accept that things are going to change, it s never going to be the way you want it to be and you ve got to sort of be flexible around that (Senior manager, large-operational).

23 Are we there yet S Need to stretch but not fail S Building progress into the system

24 Is it likely? S Do you have control over your targets? S If you promise development will it occur? S..

25 Where Now? S Diagnostic Process S Identify the good, build on what s working S Designed as a circuit breaker to change the conversation

26 We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle

27 Thank you Questions? S