"We have just completed our first alignment cycle. It is already changing our culture and creating an environment of open discussion, clear expectation and focus. Our staff is connecting with our strategy, understanding how they integrate with the rest of the department, clarifying expectations and committing to deliver on critical work."
John Clarkson, Deputy Minister, Gov. Manitoba
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The Focus Process and Our Guarantee...
Any public sector organization that adopts our FOCUS Process will improve
effectiveness, mitigate risk, optimize capital expenditures and build stronger teams...our
customers have proven it and we guarantee it.
The Challenges in Public Sector…
Budget shortages and too much work, public demand for transparency and accountability,
a retiring workforce, a changing political environment, constant restructuring,
central control, internal protectionism, ministerial requests…these are typical
pressures for government departments. In many ways, not so different than the challenges
faced by many of our industry clients. We believe that one of the key differences
and biggest challenges in the public sector is the challenge of prioritization.
There is too much work for the resources available, but how do you say “no”? What
is practical and common sense to the administration can be spun out of control by
the media and political arena.
Goals are also difficult to define, and often goals cut across government departments
and even different levels of government as well as non profit organizations. Industry
also has the Social Responsibility to give back to the organizations where they
work. These organizations are all trying a make a difference to the well being of
their communities and only by working together will they truly achieve sustainable
results.
Staffing challenges can also be different…unions and other pressures make it difficult
to create consequences for underperforming staff. There is also a leadership challenge…Leadership
is key to creating or changing corporate culture, but how do government organizations
compete with higher paying industry opportunities.
The Result…
When governments cannot mitigate their challenges it impacts community
services and the efficiency of spending. The bottom line is different than industry,
but the symptoms of reactive, misaligned government organizations is the same: missed
targets and deliverables, high staff transition, consistent operating cost and capital
overspending, work duplication and rework, as well as overworked and frustrated
staff.
What Does Success Look Like…?
The successful government departments are the ones that are able to ‘FOCUS’
on their critical work. We have been told that government organizations will never
achieve the organizational performance and success that can be achieved with industry…we
disagree. In fact, it can be as good and better…and we have already proven it.
In an aligned organization, each staff member, team leader, manager, and executive
is connected to the goals and strategies of the organization and knows how their
group contributes to the whole. They are personally committed to the plan because
they were involved in creating it. Each group is focused on their priorities…a visible
list with clear deliverables and accountability. Individuals are clear on what they
need to deliver by when, and their team is committed to helping each other meet
their commitments. Priorities change to adapt to the changing environment and new
learning. Regular reviews are held to ensure that ‘we do what we say we are going
to do’…no one hides from accountability in this organization, no one wants to. This
becomes a competitive process to attract and retain staff and leaders.
In these organizations communication is not accidental, but carefully planned through
a series of coordinated meetings….effective meeting rhythm is the key to ensure
everyone contributes to and stays connected to the plan. A key characteristic of
these meetings is the candid, open discussion that occurs…they are anything but
boring. Teams align around their goals and include others outside their departments
and organizational boundaries.
The plan is visible and dynamic and not gathering dust on a shelf. There is one
version of the truth…and information from the plan is readily available for all
to see….everyone contributes to keeping it up to date. New team members quickly
get up to speed on the strategies, goals, priorities and their accountabilities.
Organizational memory is preserved in transition. Staff and leaders will say, “This
is the best team I’ve ever worked on…and we made a difference.”
The FOCUS Process…
To meet the challenges of the public sector, Tecskor has, with our public
sector clients, developed the FOCUS Process. FOCUS is similar to the Top-10 Process
used in Industry, but it has been adapted to the unique nature of government and
then validated over many years with public sector clients.
In the FOCUS process, every group conducts annual strategy sessions. They bring
in outsiders and shared services to help them understand the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats of their team and their area of responsibility. They come
away with a shared understanding of their current state and a shared commitment
to their future state, as well as what they need to deliver in the next quarter
to be successful in the future. These groups then meet three times per year to lookback
on their commitments and to realign their deliverables for the next quarter. Monthly
FOCUS meetings are held to review the priorities along with new ideas and opportunities.
They focus on the critical work…working as a team to mitigate barriers and clarify
actions. On a weekly basis, teams meet or report on an exception basis.
Instead of meeting in asset teams focused on producing areas, public sector staff
meet around goals or strategic drivers. This creates the opportunity to include
different levels of government and non for profit organizations to participate in
the process.
Tecskor believes so strongly in the “Government by Networking” philosophy (Eggers
& Goldsmith September 2004), that for any public sector organizations that commit
to the FOCUS process and hosts the PEAK software, we will then gift the software
to the non for profit organizations that are participating in the process.
The key to the FOCUS process is regular meeting rhythm, strong leadership that creates
open conversation, and the FOCUS Software called PEAK. Every team maintains their
goals, milestones and work plans in the FOCUS Software. There is a symbiotic relationship
between process, leaders, and software that is required to achieve success and a
new level of performance…we call it our ‘secret sauce’.
Commitment to the FOCUS process and PEAK will help you…
- develop and stay connected to the plan to enhance innovation, collaboration and motivation.
- focus on critical work and deliverables to effectively use resources.
- adapt to a changing environment by reassessing and resetting priorities.
- break down barriers to help achieve cross department goals.
- execute budget more efficiently - achieve objectives and stay on plan.
- proactively identify and mitigate strategic risks to help avoid missed expectations.
- enhance communication and reporting to improve decision making and reduce frustration and conflict.
Call Tecskor at 1-(888)-832-7567 or
sales@tecskor.com to see how we can help you deliver your plans.
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View the public sector brochure.... |
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