|
Public sector organisations worldwide discuss the merits of performance management
With the emergence of the idea that your citizen is as important as your corporate customer, public sector it is a natural progression that government is increasingly looking for ways to improve how it interacts with its own customers, while still keeping an eye on costs, performance, resource optimisation and budgetary constraints.
With this in mind, we at SAS recently ran a Performance Improvement Web Survey, where we received a wide response from public sector employees around the globe. The results resonated strongly with each other, drawing several similarities on the needs of governments, no matter the geography.
Says Jotham Mapundi, Director Public Sector at SAS Institute: "Performance issues are not exclusive to corporate society; they are critical concerns which are shaping the way governments worldwide tackle business problems relating to them. When running the survey we asked a series of questions which focussed on specific performance related concerns. The results have assisted us dramatically in shaping business solutions which answer the exact needs of the public sector."
When asked what the biggest performance management problems facing public sector today include, the results confirmed that the major concern overall remains: getting the most out of performance efforts. According to Mapundi, alignment is the most sought after benefit in public sector organisations, so much so that according to the survey it dictates the focus of the three main benefits they hope to achieve.
Benefits:
- Resource alignment and optimisation.
- Strategic and cross-departmental alignment, collaboration and accountability.
- Budgeting and planning process aligned with strategy.
Alignment over financial transparency
When asked why alignment takes importance over financial transparency and even risk and compliance issues, respondents cited that it is an essential part of operational efficiency and effectiveness. Respondents backed this up by stating that once operational efficiency and effectiveness are reached, issues such as transparency, compliance and risk mitigation automatically fall into place.
"In our experience, the fact that public sector is linking operational efficiencies back into delivery of services to citizens is closely aligned to a systematic view of organisational performance management. Operational efficiencies remain top of the agenda, as does finding unique ways to automate processes like resources, cross departmental programmes and budgeting," adds Mapundi.
He continues: "Being able to take a single view of your department, track, manage and report on departments project by project, and drill down to resource efficiencies at a granular level - through the implementation of proper performance management metrics - is indeed the utopia which many agencies are angling for."
As a result of the traditional silo mentality, it remains a challenge for organisations worldwide to collaborate efforts across departments, sharing resources and cutting down costs.
Getting your staff buy in
When taking issues such as performance management and Activity Based Management (ABM) to the staff of an organisation, the words Big Brother begin seeping through the halls, as individuals still resist having a magnifying glass placed on their work efforts. This cultural resistance to performance measurement is not a phenomenon exclusive to South Africa, as the survey indicated that it remains one of the biggest challenges facing public sector organisations around the globe. Employees don't like being watched and they do not like sharing the information that they do have.
"It's all about communication, being able to communicate cross departmentally is critical to the success of any organisation. Many companies guard their intellectual property to the hilt, and government is no different," states Mapundi.
Knowledge to any organisation truly is an asset, and the silo mentality comes in when individuals become guarded if they do not know how the information will be used, or if they can trust who will be using it.
"If you want to squash the view of 'what's ours is ours' in your department then you need to ensure that it is a top down as well as a bottom up approach. Top management need to promote sharing and collaboration and articulate this as a strategy, as opposed to a dictatorial way of doing things. People buy in to things that are bound to make their jobs easier, but resist change for the sake of change," says Mapundi.
Technology obstacles to performance management
The biggest technology obstacle to public sector organisations around the world is the ability to integrate systems from a number of different vendors. Over one third of the agencies who responded to the survey indicated that insufficient information and inferior data are major inhibitors to performance management success.
"In South Africa it is not the amount of data but the ability to cross use this data among departments while ensuring data quality and data integrity that is the major problem. This makes being able to crunch and reuse data a difficult task unless the right reporting and mining tools are in place to exploit the possibility of hidden information," adds Mapundi.
Another critical technology obstacle as cited by survey respondents include the amount of red tape that needs to be waded through before reaching purchasing decisions. Cost of technology is also a determining factor when purchase decisions are made. Mapundi warns that it is not how quickly you purchase, but what you purchase that will allow you to take advantage of better system collaboration.
The road to technology nirvana
"In our experience the most successful public sector organisations are the ones whose first steps are ensuring the seamless flow of information from multiple systems and across departments. These departments are then able to get an accurate view of their information by focusing on data integration and cleansing.
"They are also the departments which ensure their technology purchases support organisational goals. In other words, begin with the end in mind. The end result is meeting improved and relevant performance management goals, departmental alignment, process and operational efficiencies, and ultimately massive cost savings. All of which translate in improved service delivery to the customer - the citizen," concludes Mapundi.
|
Features 
Press Releases
