Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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Case study: Effective performance management by the board in DCSF‘DCSF, like its predecessor DfES, oversees a large-scale and complex deliverynetwork. DfES was one of the smallest departments but with responsibility forsignificant spend on the Government’s challenging agenda for children, familiesand young people. On top of DfES running costs and resources it had 18 NDPBsemploying 10,000 staff with annual running costs in excess of £500m. DCSFinherits much of this complex organisation and now has additional responsibilityacross government to achieve challenging outcomes for children. It is thereforeimportant that it has clear objectives and sophisticated management of itsdelivery chain linked to clear roles, responsibilities and accountabilities. Effectiveleadership by the DCSF board requires clear performance information and arelentless focus on delivery.Development of quarterly corporate performance reporting has enabled the DCSFboard to develop its capacity and willingness to challenge performance againstobjectives and PSAs, strengthening accountability across the department.Non-executive board members provide external challenge when the DCSF boardconsiders corporate performance, and they have been involved in a series ofchallenge panels focused on the likelihood of delivering PSAs. Delivery partners,including NDPBs, also have the opportunity to discuss performance issues forthe delivery chain as a whole through the DCSF Group (see the related casestudy on the DCSF Group on page 54), and their work is being aligned with thenew performance framework.Scrutiny of departmental risks is given by the Risk Committee, which includesall directors general and is chaired by the Director General Corporate Services.The Committee evaluates the most severe risks to DCSF in terms of delivery,operation and reputation. These are currently reported every quarter by thedepartment’s Permanent Secretary to the Secretary of State for Children, Schoolsand Families. This system of risk management is subject to additional scrutiny bythe department’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, which is chaired by one ofthe board’s non-executives and which has a majority of independent externalmembers, including the National Audit Office.Through the new system of improved quarterly reporting of progress against thedepartment’s new objectives and targets, the DCSF board will monitor theperformance of the overall schools and children’s system, the department andNDPBs. The department’s newly formed ‘corporate bridge’ enables staff in thedepartment to access and engage with information on the delivery of betteroutcomes for children, young people and families.’• The executive team is collectively assessed for a bonus against the achievementof corporate objectives and collaborative teamwork; there is positive feedbackabout a ‘more cohesive … more corporate and more effective board’ (DWP).28COMMON CAPABILITY GAPS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS
Case study: Collective leadership in DWP‘The Capability Review highlighted that the strong and clear structure of DWP’sagencies and supporting corporate functions had served the department well andhad delivered a great deal. But it also pointed out that there was a risk of poorlyjoined-up services for some of their customers, particularly those customers whosimultaneously use the services of more than one of their agencies.The review also noted that whilst there was very strong individual leadershipdemonstrated by the Permanent Secretary and his top team, there was less clearevidence that these individual strengths translated into coherent, collectiveleadership of DWP as a whole. One particular observation was that thedepartment’s executive team had yet to set a compelling vision for the future ofDWP. Whilst the Permanent Secretary had signalled his strong desire for a morecorporate approach, key delivery and policy decisions were often still being takenin individual business areas, rather than being reviewed, owned andcommunicated collectively by the team.In the department’s response to the Capability Review, the Permanent Secretary,Leigh Lewis, said: “Our current Business Strategy review is addressing these issues.But, in parallel, it is clear that we need increased collaboration across our topmanagement structure and that this must be led from the top by the executive team.”Since the review, DWP’s executive team has devoted significant time todeveloping and implementing the new business strategy and, in so doing, hasconsiderably strengthened its capability as a transformational leadership team.The keys to this have been top-level ownership of the transformation agenda,combined with a sustained focus on the needs of customers, irrespective oforganisational boundaries. The team has taken personal and collectiveaccountability for the business strategy and has supported the progress of the DWPChange Programme by driving the design of, and approach to, improved customerservices. Decisions about cross-cutting issues, such as joining up services forcustomers and driving waste out of existing processes, are made corporately, withexecutive team members prioritising customer service improvement.A powerful lesson has been learned. The more the top team has demonstratedits commitment to the corporate approach, the more effectively the businessstrategy has been developed, implemented and communicated. In turn, thefurther the strategy has progressed, the more the team has developed into acollective unit.As a result, DWP’s customers will soon begin to see changes to the way servicesare delivered. There will be more straightforward ways of signposting services tocustomers and handling their questions; common greeting and standards will bein place to help customers get a more consistent service; customers will not beasked to supply information that is already held by the department, and customerswill be able to access a secure DWP online account through www.direct.gov.uk.CAPABILITY REVIEWS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS29
Page 1 and 2: Capability Reviews:Progress and Nex
Page 3 and 4: This has been an excellent example
Page 5 and 6: 1. Tranche 1 departments: a year on
Page 7 and 8: Department for Children, Schools an
Page 9 and 10: This will act as an innovative and
Page 11 and 12: • ‘Managing for improvement’:
Page 13 and 14: Home OfficeStarting from a low base
Page 15 and 16: Department’s wider agenda. Develo
Page 17 and 18: Ministry of JusticeThe MoJ was crea
Page 19 and 20: A number of significant programmes
Page 21 and 22: 2. Common capability gaps: progress
Page 23 and 24: later tranches have not been able t
Page 25 and 26: or hinder it:‘lack of leadership
Page 27: All of these aspects came together
Page 31 and 32: • Engaging the wider SCS. This is
Page 33 and 34: Participants’ comments included:
Page 35 and 36: Consequently, the areas of focus su
Page 37 and 38: Building up the supply and demand s
Page 39 and 40: Case study: Development work with d
Page 41 and 42: Case study: A skills strategy for g
Page 43 and 44: The recent CSR has emphasised the i
Page 45 and 46: At six months after the review:•
Page 47 and 48: Our challenge now is to ensure that
Page 49 and 50: • a more comprehensive approach t
Page 51 and 52: The Tranche 3 report identified the
Page 53 and 54: Case study: The Home Office Strateg
Page 55 and 56: The group is expanding to include l
Page 57 and 58: • The Sunningdale Institute facil
Page 59 and 60: Exhibit 3: Change trajectoriesCapab
Page 61 and 62: original reviews. The re-review wil
Page 63 and 64: Departments increasingly have to wo
Page 65 and 66: LeadershipKey questions that test c
Page 67 and 68: DeliveryKey questions that test cur
Page 69: Capability Reviews TeamCabinet Offi

Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

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