Public Service Improvement Framework

Transcription

1 Public Service Improvement Framework Benefits Report 2012 Service Planning Customer Results Leadership People Resources Service Processes People Results Key Performance Results Partner & Other Resources Community Results

2 Contents 1. About PSIF 3 2. Evaluating the impact of PSIF on partner organisations 4 3. Summary of key findings 5 4. Key findings - impact of PSIF 6 5. Key findings - development areas 11

3 About PSIF 1. About PSIF The Public Service Improvement Framework (PSIF) is recognised by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) as Europe s leading public sector variant of EFQM. It is a bespoke performance improvement framework, designed to meet the specific needs of public service organisations and partnerships, by supporting the systematic review of service activities and improvement by deploying a facilitated self-assessment methodology. PSIF acts by offering organisations/ partnerships a robust, structured, tested and systematic approach to change and improvement planning. The framework is based on the EFQM Excellence Model and integrates the principles of Best Value with elements of the Investors in People Standard and the Customer Service Excellence Standard. Through the integration of these standards within a robust self-assessment methodology, public bodies and partnerships can achieve increased efficiencies and rigour in their service review and improvement processes. PSIF was initially jointly developed by West Lothian Council, Quality Scotland, and Investors in People Scotland. A Partnership comprising West Lothian Council, the Improvement Service, Quality Scotland and Investors in People Scotland was formed in 2006 to continue to develop the PSIF Framework. The PSIF Partnership now consists of 21 councils, seven Fire and Rescue Services, one NDPB, three third sector organisations, one Leisure Trust, one Registered Social Landlord and the Department of Finance and Personnel in the Northern Ireland Civil Service. All partners use the same organisational performance improvement framework through PSIF. Full support is available for PSIF organisations from the Improvement Service, Quality Scotland and Investors in People Scotland and from the wider community of participating organisations, to complement the investment made by PSIF organisations in the people resources required to deploy PSIF. 3

4 2. Evaluating the impact of PSIF on partner organisations The PSIF Partnership has undertaken an exercise to identify the benefits that PSIF organisations have realised as a direct consequence of implementing PSIF. This exercise consisted of two stages: 1. Issuing an online questionnaire to all Lead Officers in PSIF organisations, seeking their views on the benefits being realised by their organisation through carrying out PSIF assessments and the challenges they face. A response rate of 66% was achieved. 2. Undertaking four focus groups to explore in more detail some of the questionnaire findings, two of which were targeted at PSIF Lead Officers whilst the other two were targeted at service managers. In total, 16 PSIF Lead Officers and 9 service managers participated, representing two-fifths of PSIF organisations. This report highlights the key findings from this exercise and outlines the action that will be taken by the PSIF Partnership to address the issues raised. 4

5 3. Summary of key findings The questionnaire and focus group findings have highlighted that the PSIF process has been making a positive impact on organisations in the following ways: It provides a consistent and systematic approach for driving forward improvement and change within organisations. It helps to develop a culture of excellence around improvement. It provides a good lens for organisations to review their services and to think about service improvement. It helps organisations to become much more focused on performance. It improves the motivation of employees, who value the opportunity to have their voices heard. It leads to a positive level of engagement with management. It contributes towards improved customer outcomes. It is particularly useful for services that have not previously undertaken any form of internal or external evaluation. These findings have also highlighted some areas that the PSIF Partnership will focus on strengthening, to assist organisations with their PSIF implementation. These include the following: Preparing briefings for PSIF facilitators on linking relevant statements in an assessment, improvement planning and the use of PSIF evidence to support applications for external recognition. Reviewing the wording of the PSIF statements and guidance from a plain English perspective. Developing a benefits realisation framework to support organisations to measure and quantify the benefits that are achieved through the overall implementation of PSIF. Rolling out the PSIF mentoring and peer support schemes, to continue to support PSIF facilitators with the development of their skills and confidence. Developing a new training course on RADAR scoring. Working with the e-tool user group to improve the navigation and user friendliness of the PSIF e-tool. Continuing to liaise with audit and inspection agencies as they review and develop their approaches to audit, inspection and self-assessment, to ensure the relevant linkages are made with PSIF. 5

6 4. Key findings - impact of PSIF The key benefits that organisations have realised as a direct consequence of implementing the PSIF process are outlined below. PSIF provides a structured and evidence-based approach to improvement PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 90% agreed that the PSIF process provides organisations with a structured and evidencebased approach to improvement. 75% agreed that the PSIF process has helped to improve service planning and strategy development. 67% agreed that services are encouraged to identify and quantify the anticipated benefits that are likely to be realised by implementing improvement actions identified through a PSIF assessment. 80% agreed that the areas for improvement arising from each PSIF assessment undertaken within the organisation are tracked. 80% agreed that mechanisms are in place to review areas for improvement arising from PSIF assessments to identify those which could be better progressed corporately. 90% agreed that the use of PSIF typically results in services identifying at least some improvement actions that they were not previously aware of. Focus Group Findings Overall, PSIF Lead Officers and service managers were positive about the introduction of PSIF within their organisation and the focus upon improvement and change that has emerged from it. Some organisations, especially those who have undertaken at least one full round of PSIF assessments across their organisation, are now putting a limit on the number of improvement actions that will be progressed following a PSIF assessment. This is to ensure that resources are focused on those improvements of highest priority to the organisation. The extent to which the PSIF process is integrated within the organisation s service planning process appears to depend on how long the organisation has been utilising the framework. Some organisations have a formal mechanism in place for ensuring that any corporate or cross-cutting issues identified through service assessments are progressed as corporate improvement actions. 6

7 PSIF Spotlight PSIF is an extremely powerful tool and can make a radical difference to a service and organisation, but only if you approach it with an open and honest mindset. You must be prepared to take action to improve (Council service manager). The PSIF process is part of an improvement approach for the whole organisation and has to be embraced in that way (Council service manager). PSIF has been one of the driving forces behind improvement in our organisation. We have assessed our whole service and we are now sharing strengths and implementing improvements that relate to our five Corporate Priorities of People, Community, Response, Environment and Partners. The benefits of all this improvement work are beginning to be recognised (Fire and Rescue Service PSIF Lead Officer). PSIF contributes to organisational change PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 84% agreed that PSIF has been a contributing factor to help the organisation drive change forward. 65% agreed that senior managers in the organisation are committed to using PSIF to drive change forward. Focus Group Findings Overall, PSIF Lead Officers and service managers felt that the PSIF process has impacted positively upon the culture of their organisations and it has been a useful organisational development tool. 7

8 PSIF Spotlight Another positive of PSIF is that it is easier to communicate with staff that excellence is not a destination it s an onward journey. There is always room for improvement and through PSIF; the staff have a vehicle which they can put faith in (Council service manager). The staff saw that we had listened, we were taking action and making improvements and it won their hearts and minds (Council service manager). Self-assessment is now an established and core component of our improvement framework. All services now have improvement plans that will take already positive performance results and customer service in many areas on to another level. A further benefit is that we now have a comprehensive DNA that is enabling us to better identify key themes in terms of strengths and areas for improvement. This invaluable business intelligence is better enabling us to tailor and target our organisational learning and support activity to areas of greatest impact (PSIF Lead Officer). PSIF improves an organisation s approach to performance management PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 83% agreed that the PSIF process has helped to improve the rigour and robustness of organisations approaches to performance management. 89% agreed that the PSIF process results in services having a high level of self-awareness about how they are performing. 67% agreed that PSIF has led to improvements in the range and depth of performance information available. 84% agreed that PSIF has resulted in improvements in the self scrutiny of services and their performance. Focus Group Findings Several organisations are utilising online performance monitoring systems to track improvements arising from PSIF assessments. 8

9 PSIF Spotlight The PSIF has established a strong culture of continuous improvement in the council which has made us more efficient, effective and customer focused. It has been instrumental to the development of the performance management framework in the council and is used to quality assure service practice and challenge performance and behaviours. It is a critical piece of our planning and improvement approach and integrates fully with annual planning and performance management (Council PSIF Lead Officer). PSIF contributes to improved customer outcomes PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 75% agreed that the PSIF process has helped to improve the way in which services look at the needs of their customers. 50% agreed that PSIF has helped to improve the way in which services deal with customer complaints. Focus Group Findings Some participants noted that the application of PSIF has led to real improvements in services for customers. PSIF Spotlight The main positive of PSIF has been the effect it has had on our staff and the service we provide. It has been stunning. It s made a big difference (Council service manager). PSIF helps to involve and motivate employees and improve communications PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 84% agreed that the PSIF process has helped to involve and motivate employees at all levels to drive forward improvement. 9

10 58% agreed that the PSIF process has helped to improve communications between managers and employees. 83% agreed that assessment teams rate their experiences of the PSIF process positively. Focus Group Findings Overall, PSIF Lead Officers and service managers felt that the PSIF process has given employees the opportunity to consider how their service operates, where improvements can be made, what actions are needed to drive these improvements and their role in driving forward improvement. PSIF has had a positive impact upon the motivation of employees, who value the opportunity to have their voices. PSIF Spotlight The self-evaluation structure of PSIF means staff are identifying areas for improvement, as opposed to someone telling them what to do. Most of our annual improvement plan now comes from the PSIF team (Council service manager). Staff involved in PSIF are really enthusiastic about it and link in with colleagues. When it comes to improving service delivery, there is that group of people who are motivated because they realise why it s happening (Council service manager). PSIF helps to prepare organisations for audit and inspection PSIF Lead Officers who responded to the questionnaire highlighted the following: 90% agreed that by embedding PSIF in their organisation, services are better prepared for audit, inspection or other validated self-evaluation. Focus Group Findings Several participants noted that a useful by-product of PSIF was a reduction in the amount of time required to gather evidence for external audits and inspection, which has helped gain support and buy-in to PSIF by some service managers. Others commented that the use of PSIF has not yet resulted in a reduction in external inspection and audit. 10

11 5. Key findings - development areas A key part of this exercise was also to consult with PSIF Lead Officers and service managers on areas that require to be strengthened in terms of PSIF implementation. Further work will be undertaken by the PSIF Partnership on the areas outlined below. The PSIF Framework contains red threads, which link statements throughout the framework to ensure a holistic view is taken of key issues such as communication, customer focus, partnership working and so on. In response to feedback from PSIF facilitators and service managers that there is still duplication between PSIF statements, a briefing will be prepared for PSIF facilitators to explain how they should use the red threads to link relevant statements in an assessment and to explain the nuances between seemingly similar statements. In response to feedback that some facilitators and assessment teams find the language in the PSIF framework and guidance difficult to understand, we will review the wording of the statements and guidance from a plain English perspective. Effective improvement planning is becoming increasingly critical, both to organisations and to Community Planning Partnerships, to support the achievement of outcomes. It is evident from the feedback received that organisations are at different stages with their improvement planning. A briefing will be prepared for PSIF facilitators on improvement planning, which will cover issues including how areas for improvement can be converted into coherent actions that will deliver real improvements, prioritisation of improvements, resourcing and ownership of improvements, linking improvement planning to existing business/service planning and budget planning processes and monitoring progress with implementation. To support organisations to measure and quantify the benefits that are achieved through the overall implementation of PSIF, a benefits realisation framework will be developed to encourage organisations to anticipate, track and measure the benefits of improvement actions. To support organisations wishing to use PSIF evidence to contribute towards external recognition schemes, such as Customer Service Excellence, Investors in People Standard and EFQM Recognised for Excellence, a briefing will be prepared for PSIF facilitators on the use of PSIF evidence to support applications for external recognition. We will continue to roll out the PSIF mentoring and peer support schemes, to continue to support PSIF facilitators with the development of their skills and confidence. To address the challenges being faced by some PSIF facilitators in terms of scoring PSIF assessments, Quality Scotland are developing a new training course on RADAR scoring. 11

12 The e-tool user group will be tasked with improving the navigation and user friendliness of the PSIF e-tool. We will continue to liaise with audit and inspection agencies as they review and develop their approaches to audit, inspection and self-assessment, to ensure the relevant linkages are made with PSIF. 12

13 PSIF Contacts Sarah Gadsden PSIF Director Tel: Jane O Donnell PSIF Project Manager jane.o donnell@improvementservice.org.uk Tel: Alison Clyne PSIF Project Officer alison.clyne@improvementservice.org.uk Tel: Westerton House, Westerton Road, East Mains Industrial Estate Broxburn EH52 5AU Tel: Fax: info@improvementservice.org.uk Apr 12