Governance International is a non-profit organisation specialising in spreading good practice across public services internationally, especially in Europe. Introduction to performance management - Davy Jones

A day in the life of a performance manager.. The thrill of victory Preparing to do battle The agony of defeat

“Performance management is what an organisation does to realise its aspirations” “What you do to improve and maintain good performance” “Performance management includes activities to ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner” It is NOT a particular system or IT product It should NOT be an add-on, something imposed on an organisation or people Simply, it is good management Definitions of performance management

Each country is unique Each has a specific constitutional, legal and policy framework Performance management in each country needs to reflect that particular context English local public services have been most highly centralised in Europe Let’s look at English public services… And then look at what we have learned… Beware “one size fits all” solutions

Local public services in England Mainly public a) Health services b) Police and probation services c) Social security and tax Privatised Water, gas and electricity Education Councils provide... Others provide…. Schools Refuse collection and street cleaning Social services Housing and benefits Libraries Planning

Centralised local public services Financially Legally Until 2000, local councils could only do what particular laws allowed them to do 75% approx council expenditure comes from central Government 25% approx only comes from local taxation

£180bn EXTERNALAUDIT PERFORMANCE INDICATORS INDICATORS GOVERNMENTINTERVENTION TOWN HALL INSPECTION How local services are controlled

Highly centralised system stifles local innovation and creates a lack of “ownership” by local agencies & staff What have we learned? Government departmentalism obstructs local agencies working in partnership on local issues Obsession with targets, indicators and inspections can lead to focus on process (“tick box”) not outcomes Performance management most successful where public agencies use it because it helps them do their jobs better

Performance management characteristics Focus on outcomes Citizen engagement Accountability for results Vision/ leadership Organisational culture - it’s everybody’s job

Understanding national context and policies Understanding and consulting local communities - demographics, segmentation users and non-users Articulating a local vision and strategy Developing a plan(s) to deliver that strategy Leading by example from the top Taking the organisation & staff with you Vision and leadership

The key focus should be on improving the quality of life and services for local citizens Partnership working is the key - very few important local issues are solved by one agency working alone Day to day service planning and finances must be linked to focus on outcomes Processes and the organisation’s own interests are secondary to this goal Focus on outcomes

Listening to citizens, service users, partner organisations and politicians is key - juggle the information to make choices Engaging citizens and politicians How can you know whether your priorities are the right ones if you have not consulted local citizens? How can you know whether services are good unless you have asked users (& non-users)?

Commitment from managers at every level and from politicians to results/outcomes essential Aligning processes and systems to achieve those results - removing obstacles Allowing managers to devise best way to achieve results Clarify responsibility for achieving the results Planning and performance measurement should be seen as “normal” and helpful Accountability for results

Aiming at good performance and focus on outcomes for citizens should permeate the whole organisation from top to bottom Performance management is not just something for specialists Performance management should not be seen as imposed by outsiders - Government, officials, politicians, managers Performance management is everyone’s job! Organisational culture-it’s everyone’s job

Formulate strategy Set objectives, standards and targets Develop action plans Resources, staff & budget alignment Monitor performance Using PIs Review performance and policies Continuous Service Improvement Performance Management Framework

“Performance measurement is the use of statistical evidence to determine progress toward specific defined organizational objectives” “Performance measurement indicates how well an organisation is performing against its aims and objectives” Lots of systems exist to do this Lots of organisations exist to sell them to you ! Find a system that works for you Definitions of performance measurement

Why measure? What gets measured gets done If you don’t measure results, you can’t tell success from failure If you can’t see success, you can’t reward it If you can’t reward success, you’re probably rewarding failure If you can’t see success, you can’t learn from it If you can’t recognise failure, you can’t correct it Osborne & Gaebler, Reinventing Government If you can demonstrate results, you can win public support

Focused: on the organisation’s objectives and aims Appropriate: to and useful for those using it Balanced: able to give a complete picture Robust: can survive organisational/staff changes Integrated: is part of the business/service planning Cost Effective: balances the benefits with the costs “Measure what you value, don’t just value what you measure” Good performance measurement is..

Performance information ResourcesInputsOutputsOutcomes Economy EfficiencyEffectiveness Value for money

Targets are the commitments made in advance to reach a stated level of service Specific: ideally to achieve something specific Measurable: a clear definition and way of measuring it Achievable: but also involving an element of challenge Relevant: linked to the organisation’s objectives Timely: have a clear timeframe for achievement “SMART” targets

Strengths of PIs Shining a light on performance highlighting variations tracking performance trends stimulate public debate

PIs have limitations too... Some things hard to measure Perverse incentive danger Only the what not the why PIs necessary but not sufficient for judgement

Relevant No perverse incentives Well defined Attributable Comparable Timely Reliable Cost effective What makes a good PI ?

Performance management essential to help your organisation to reach its goals Performance measurement is key to assess how well you are doing No system is perfect or works for everyone Win the “battle for hearts and minds” - show why performance management is everyone’s job It’s about the quality of life and outcomes for local citizens It’s about partnership working, citizen engagement and good management Summary

Contact Davy Jones

Break up into pairs for a short exercise on PIs ! 1)Each of you should define an outcome of your organisation and then set a PI related to this outcome 2)Ask your partner to do the SMART test and to check the quality of your PI 3)Discuss with your partner whether your agency can “control” the achievement of this PI or whether you need to work with other agencies to achieve it Group exercise