GSR Management System - A Guide for effective implementation

Transcription

1 GSR Management System - A Guide for effective implementation 1 Introduction Governments are facing challenges in meeting societal expectations and have an interest in Governmental Social Responsibility (GSR) not simply to make agencies more socially responsible but also to assist them in their tasks of governing. This has changed overall the framework of collaboration between governments, businesses, and civil society stakeholders. Customer satisfaction is of critical importance; this is not only for citizens or other direct recipients but also for internal customers / either of officers within the respective agency, or of other governmental entities working and collaborating in the same field. Therefore, the way towards excellence is essential for developing Socially Responsible Governmental Agencies: theoretically, if there is a Governmental Agency integrating Total Quality characteristics, then there is also a Socially Responsible Governmental Agency. Governmental social responsibility as an organizational innovation must be integrated - analogous to Total Quality Management (TQM) at all management levels in the development processes. This includes structural, instrumental and behavioral patterns. Quality, Productivity, Efficiency and Effectiveness in all aspects and dealing with all factors of external and internal environment, leads to absolute fulfillment of the mission and the functions of government having a strong and positive impact on society (health and social protection, education, environment). 2 GSR MS and the EFQM model The self assessment approach The excellence model is a non-prescriptive framework based on nine criteria. Five of these are enabler criteria and four are results criteria. The enablers cover what an organisation does. The results cover what an organisation achieves. Results are caused by enablers. The model is based on the premise that excellent results with respect to performance, customers, people and 1

2 society are achieved through effective leadership, sound people management and development, effective use of partnerships and resources, clear and well directed policy and strategy, and effective processes. The excellence model is a self-assessment tool. Self-assessment against the model can be used to gauge present performance and to identify opportunities and areas for improvement. The results are evaluated on the basis of their relevance and scope, and the enablers are evaluated in terms of approach, deployment, assessment and review (RADAR). This scoring process provides a basis for comparison, both internally and externally, as well as a measure of progress over time thus proving continuous improvement. The aim is to identify performance weaknesses with a view to identifying root cause and thereby instigate improvements in order to achieve planned goals. These then form the basis of the annual improvement plan. This makes the model particularly appealing to local authority service providers having to also satisfy best value criteria. 2.1 Governmental Social Responsibility Best value has been at the forefront of central government s strategy for ensuring that local authorities deliver or enable customer/citizen focused, efficient, effective and economical services Over the years, local government (GA) employees have seen many new initiatives come and go depending on the government in power or the management in charge. The workforce remains to be convinced of yet another new initiative that will cure all that ails their particular service. The problem for management is how to get employees to buy in to the EFQM process, because without their involvement, participation and commitment, it would not work. This means that the GA must be able to analyze and design organizational structures and processes, to manage human resources (development, career management, mentoring, talent), information and technology and to demonstrate skill in teamwork and understands task allocation and job design. A number of benefits have already accrued to the service. These include: an awareness and understanding throughout the service of the need for continuous improvement in order to meet both the present and future challenges posed by best value ; a recognition of the inclusiveness of the project, where the aim was to involve everyone across the service through briefings, questionnaires and training; a better understanding, particularly at the lower levels of the service, of the work of the various divisions within technical services and how they all fit together; an 2

3 acknowledgement by service managers of the value of a systematic approach to continuous improvement, and a confidence and commitment, particularly from the teams of evidencegatherers, who showed an appetite for learning new skills as well as discovering hidden skills. The self assessment methodology, used in the EFQM approach can be utilized and support the effective implementation of the GSR management system by: Providing a highly structured, fact-based technique to identify and assess the organisation s strengths and areas for improvement relevant to GSR Creating a common language and conceptual framework for the way someone to manage and improve the organisation. Educating people in the organisation on the GSR concept. Involving people at all levels and in all units in GSR programs and actions. Identifying and facilitating the sharing of your good practice within the organisation. Facilitating comparisons with other organisations Integrating the various GSR initiatives into the normal operations. Preparing the organisation to report in a systematic and integrate way to the stakeholders 3 The GSR Management System The development of the management system (MS) to address GSR issues should be a strategic decision of the organization s Top Managent. It involves allocation of resources and consequently, any such decision should be based on specific facts and needs. 3.1 Recognizing the core subjects and relevant issues of social responsibility An effective way for an organization to identify its social responsibility is to become familiar with the issues concerning social responsibility in the following seven core subjects: organizational governance; human rights; labour practices; the environment; fair operating practices; consumer issues; and community involvement and development. These core subjects cover the most likely economic, environmental and social impacts that should be addressed by organizations. Every core subject, but not necessarily each issue, has some relevance for every organization. 3

4 The impacts of an organization's decisions and activities should be considered with a view to these issues. Moreover, the core subjects and their respective issues can be described or categorized in various ways. Important considerations, include health and safety, economics and the value chain. An organization should review all the core subjects to identify which issues are relevant. The identification of relevant issues should be followed by an assessment of the significance of the organization's impacts. The significance of an impact should be considered with reference both to the stakeholders concerned and to the way in which the impact affects sustainable development. When recognizing the core subjects and issues of its social responsibility, an organization is helped by considering interactions with other organizations. An organization should also consider the impact of its decisions and activities on stakeholders. An organization seeking to recognize its social responsibility should consider both legally-binding and any other obligations that exist. Legally-binding obligations include applicable laws and regulations, as well as obligations concerning social, economic or environmental issues that may exist in enforceable contracts. An organization should consider the commitments that it has made regarding social responsibility. Such commitments could be in ethical codes of conduct or guidelines or in the membership obligations of associations to which it belongs. Recognizing social responsibility is a continuous process. The potential impacts of decisions and activities should be determined and taken into account during the planning stage of new activities. Ongoing activities should be reviewed as necessary so that the organization can be confident that its social responsibility is still being addressed and can determine whether additional issues need to be taken into account. ISO 2600 defines Core Subjects and Issues of Social Responsibility according to the following Table: 4

5 Table Core subjects and issues of social responsibility (ISO 2600, Core subjects and issues 1.0 Core subject: Organizational governance 2.0 Core subject: Human rights 2.1 Issue 1: Due diligence 2.2 Issue 2: Human rights risk situations 2.3 Issue 3: Avoidance of complicity 2.4 Issue 4: Resolving grievances 2.5 Issue 5: Discrimination and vulnerable groups 2.6 Issue 6: Civil and political rights 2.7 Issue 7: Economic, social and cultural rights 2.8 Issue 8: Fundamental principles and rights at work 3.0 Core subject: Labour practices 3.1 Issue 1: Employment and employment relationships 3.2 Issue 2: Conditions of work and social protection 3.3 Issue 3: Social dialogue 3.4 Issue 4: Health and safety at work 3.5 Issue 5: Human development and training in the workplace 4.0 Core subject: The environment 4.1 Issue 1: Prevention of pollution 4.2 Issue 2: Sustainable resource use 4.3 Issue 3: Climate change mitigation and adaptation 4.4 Issue 4: Protection of the environment, biodiversity and restoration of natural habitats 5.0 Core subject: Fair operating practices 5.1 Issue 1: Anti-corruption 5.2 Issue 2: Responsible political involvement 5

6 Core subjects and issues 5.3 Issue 3: Fair competition 5.4 Issue 4: Promoting social responsibility in the value chain 5.5 Issue 5: Respect for property rights 6.0 Core subject: Citizen issues 6.1 Issue 1: Fair marketing, factual and unbiased information and fair contractual practices 6.2 Issue 2: Protecting citizens' health and safety 6.3 Issue 3: Sustainable consumption 6.4 Issue 4: Citizen service, support, and complaint and dispute resolution 6.5 Issue 5: Citizen data protection and privacy 6.6 Issue 6: Access to essential services 6.7 Issue 7: Education and awareness 7.0 Core subject: Community involvement and development 7.1 Issue 1: Community involvement 7.2 Issue 2: Education and culture 7.3 Issue 3: Employment creation and skills development 7.4 Issue 4: Technology development and access 7.5 Issue 5: Wealth and income creation 7.6 Issue 6: Health 7.7 Issue 7: Social investment 3.2 Identification and engagement of stakeholders One of the key issues for success for a GSR MS is proper identification and engagement of stakeholders. Stakeholders are organizations or individuals that have one or more interests in any decision or activity of an organization. Because these interests can be affected by an organization, a 6

7 relationship with the organization is created. This relationship need not be formal. The relationship created by this interest exists whether or not the parties are aware of it. An organization may not always be aware of all its stakeholders, although it should attempt to identify them. Similarly, many stakeholders may not be aware of the potential of an organization to affect their interests. To identify stakeholders an organization should ask itself the following questions: To whom does the organization have legal obligations? Who might be positively or negatively affected by the organization's decisions or activities? Who is likely to express concerns about the decisions and activities of the organization? Who has been involved in the past when similar concerns needed to be addressed? Who can help the organization address specific impacts? Who can affect the organization's ability to meet its responsibilities? Who would be disadvantaged if excluded from the engagement? Who in the value chain is affected? Effective stakeholder engagement is based on good faith and goes beyond public relations. Stakeholder engagement can be used to: increase an organization's understanding of the likely consequences of its decisions and activities on specific stakeholders; determine how best to increase the beneficial impacts of the organization's decisions and activities and how to lessen any adverse impact; determine whether the organization's claims about its social responsibility are perceived to be credible; help an organization review its performance so it can improve; reconcile conflicts involving its own interests, those of its stakeholders and the expectations of society as a whole; address the link between the stakeholders' interests and the responsibilities of the organization to society at large; contribute to continuous learning by the organization; fulfill legal obligations (for instance to employees); address conflicting interests, either between the organization and the stakeholder or between stakeholders; 7

8 provide the organization with the benefits of obtaining diverse perspectives; increase transparency of its decisions and activities; and form partnerships to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. 3.3 Key characteristics for Social Responsibility A governmental organization has to keep an informed basis how its key characteristic is related to social responsibility. This review should include the followings: the organizations type, purpose, nature of operations and size, location of the organization including legal framework and social environmental economics characteristics of the area of operation, information about historical performance of SR, characteristic of organization workforces or employees included contracted labour which sector of organizations the activities related to SR are undertaken, the organization mission, vision, values, principles, code of conduct, internal and external stakeholders relevant to social responsibility, structures for and the nature of decision making in the organization. the organization value chain. 3.4 External Communication The organization should strengthen stakeholders participation in its service-related processes as a mechanism for transparency and public accountability. The governmental organization should establish effective mechanisms that assure communication and promotion of the service, based on the requirements, characteristics, availability, price, procedures, and criteria, for example. These communications and feedback mechanisms could be information modules, phone service, Website, , citizen service desk, complaints and suggestion mailbox, use of mass media, among others. The organization should establish a process to record, analyze and reply to these communications. Every stakeholder needs to accept a prompt and polite response to communications, 8

9 dissatisfaction can often be transformed into satisfaction before becoming a formal complaint or claim. It is also important that the organization establishes an evaluation process of the communications with the stakeholders. This constitutes a source of reliable information for improvement, beyond having the need to perform corrective actions to prevent the repetition of problems. This activity is directly related with the concept of improvement. 4 Steps for developing an effective GSR management system In the process of developing the management system, the organization should consider the following: a) the resulting system should not generate unnecessary administration and documentation b) the success of a management system depends mainly on the involvement and commitment of top management c) the organization should assign a staff member (usually the person who will eventually ensure that the management system is maintained) to coordinate and monitor the relevant activities; d) employees are involved at all levels, in order to integrate the management system within the organization's overall operations; e) people assigned for planning should be empowered to interact with the organization's management and employees at all levels in order to appraise the organization's processes; f) there is an opportunity to use the realized management system as an effective and efficient management tool; g) there is a potential for the management system to provide a basis for continual improvement of the organization's performance; 9

10 h) the system under development should be compatible with the organization's culture, the competence of its employees, and existing processes and/or documentation. 4.1 GSR MS development and implementation activities The development and implementation activities of the GSR MS should include: Information to top management of the main requirements of the relevant management system standard, and the roles of the organization in management system design and development. Analysis of the needs and expectations of the organization's customers and other interested parties. The results of the initial evaluation are generally used a) to establish the organization's strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, b) to understand and help to define its quality policy and objectives, c) as a basis for planning the management system, d) to assess the availability of the resources needed to implement the management system, e) as a basis for initial auditing, and f) for the establishment of measurable objectives. Appointment of a management representative and the establishment of definitions of policy, objectives and commitments for Social Responsibility (SR). Reference of such objectives to appropriate levels and functions within the organization. In-depth analysis of organizational structure, processes, channels of communication and existing interfaces. Identification of the processes and responsibilities needed within the organization to achieve the SR objectives. Definition of sequence and interactions among such processes. Set up of a plan for defining the management system architecture and for identifying and developing the procedures needed for the management system. To assess the progress and quality of the implemented actions, appropriate milestones should be defined within the plan. The assessments may refer to a) consistency between what has been prepared and developed and the planned objectives, b) work progress, and c) satisfaction of the organization Review of the results of the analysis carried out and of the plan prepared in advance. Identification of internal resources needed to achieve the organization's SR objectives. 10

11 Training of the persons responsible for developing activities for the management system realization, and of the organization's other personnel ( facilitators ) involved. Identification and definition of processes, interrelation of processes and preparation of the necessary procedures, including procedures for record maintenance. Alignment of interrelated processes and relevant procedures to avoid any inconsistencies, gaps and overlaps. Elaboration of the final version of the management s system manual. Training of all personnel involved with the management system. Implementation of the management system As far as implementation is concerned, the following activities should be emphasized: Training of internal auditors, emphasizing auditing concepts, audit question development and audit report preparation and other required training Development of a programme for internal audits Realization of an initial series of internal audits, to provide with additional training (including writing audit reports and reports of nonconformities) and assistance in the formalization of detected nonconformities and their causes. Continual improvement of the implementation process Information about certification issues, if required, including pre-assessment or readiness audit. 5 People involvement and competence 5.1 Awareness People should understand the policies and objectives of the management system and their role in helping to achieve them. To achieve this, people should be made aware that the GSR MS requires an organization to establish a management system in which processes are identified and effective process operation ensured. People should understand their individual responsibilities in achieving effective process operation. 11

12 Leaders should ensure that people in the organization understand the purpose of the management system and their role in the system. They should also ensure that people are aware that the management system includes documents for policy and objectives, a manual and procedures, planning documents and records, that should be known and controlled. People should be involved at all stages of identifying process and controls they work with and they should be aware of their process responsibilities. Awareness is often provided during a person s induction when joining the organization. Methods by which this awareness is provided can be by explanation from a person s supervisor, group presentation in slide format or by video presentation. However, it should be regarded as a continuous activity with information being provided at regular intervals about results related to the management system. 5.2 Communication Effective communication is necessary in order for people inside and outside the organization to work with common objectives. As organizations grow and become more complex, communication becomes more difficult. Accuracy, brevity and clarity make communication effective. The objective of any communication needs to be clear, and unnecessary content should be avoided. A message should be delivered in the simplest terms and should be in a form that will be understood by the receiver. Verbal messages are not always clearly understood first time and key points should be repeated. Communication may be delivered through media which may be verbal or non-verbal. The correct media for a message should be chosen by considering the audience. The media and methods will depend on the purpose and nature of the communication. Complex messages should be documented and simple messages may be provided verbally. Important messages will usually be provided in multiple media, e.g. visually, verbally and in written form. Media examples include faceto-face meetings, newsletters, blogs, s, conferences and videoconferences. In a hierarchical organization, internal communication may be top down from leaders and managers, and may be bottom up when information on performance is provided. A matrix 12

13 organization would also have crossfunctional communication between groups and between people sharing information. Communication is necessary to provide information about the management system and organizational strategies. It is also necessary for asking people their views, so they can influence plans and decisions, and for providing an understanding of which issues are important to each individual s work. 5.3 Education and learning Competency is the ability to apply knowledge and skills to achieve intended results. The benefit of education and learning is the increase in competency, which leads to an increase in a person s ability to create value for the organization and its customers. Education and learning are essential factors in people involvement and competence. Successful organizations apply the knowledge and skills of their people in a way that creates value for the organization and its customers. Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through experience, from study, or from instruction. Formal learning will often result in a person receiving qualifications. Learning processes may apply to a person or collectively to an organization. An organization should recognise that people learn in different ways. Adults learn differently from children. Some people are more suited to a classroom environment and others to a mentoring environment. Others learn better in a web based environment. The learning organization focuses on increasing its knowledge to continually increase the organization s capacity for performance. Organizations need to be competent to be effective. To achieve the necessary flow of information and knowledge and become a learning organization, the organization s processes need to form a management system. An organization s ability to learn enables it to be more effective. The learning organization focuses on increasing its knowledge to continually increase the organization s capacity for performance. Benefits of an effective learning process are an increase in the sense of achievement, job satisfaction and job security. This leads to an improvement in attitude and motivation. Improvement 13

14 in competences such as communication leads to improvement in product quality and better customer service. For the organization, this leads to increased competitiveness and efficiency Training A planned and systematic training process can make an important contribution in helping an organization to improve its capabilities and to meet its quality objectives. For selecting and implementing training to close the gaps between required and existing competence, management should monitor the following stages: a) defining training needs b) designing and planning training c) providing for the training d) evaluating the outcome of training Defining training needs The training process should be initiated after a needs analysis of the organization has been conducted and competence-related issues have been recorded. The organization should define the competence needed for each task that affects the management system, assess the competence of the personnel to perform the task, and develop plans to close any competence gaps that may exist. The definition should be based on an analysis of present and expected needs of the organization compared with the existing competence of its personnel. The purpose of this stage should be to: a) define the gaps between the existing and required competence 14

15 b) define the training needed by employees whose existing competence does not match the competence required for the tasks and c) document specified training needs. The analysis of the gaps between existing and required competence should be conducted to determine whether the gaps can be closed by training or whether other actions might be necessary Designing and planning training The design and plan stage provides the basis for the training plan specification and includes design and planning of actions which should be taken to address the competence gaps identified earlier as well as definition of the criteria for evaluating the training outcomes and monitoring the training process. 15