I work for a county council and part of my job is to improve the way we manage performance (business plans, developing people etc). My background is private sector financial services where there are strong corporate cultures pushing people to achieve corporate goals and tough sanctions if people don't comply. In the county council I have neither and would appreciate some support (coaching?) in how to involve/engage managers. Can you help?
jackie rigby
7 Responses
think of “selling techniques”
Jackie
I am currently involved in a programme with a governement funded body where there has been no history of managing performance but simply of allowing poor performance to go unchecked and virtually ignoring good performance until it ceases!
I have found that the single most effective method to engage managers is to get them to identify the “cost of delay”.. the longer you leave a problem the bigger it gets…the longer someone who is performing is left unrecognised the sooner they will get demotivated. It is also often pointed out that “I inherited a poor performer”; in that case the “cost of delay” is actually seen more effectively.
I hope this helps…feel free to contact me if you want to discuss it more
Rus
Sounds familiar!
Hi Jackie
This scenario sounds very familiar – I am working with a similar situation myself at the moment!
The root cause, in my client organisation, of managers not managing performance is poor leadership. The policies are good, as are the procedures, and the unions have all signed off on them. trouble is, people don’t follow them, and managers are not held to account. There is a culture and a lot of history & inertia to overcome – people simply aren’t held to account. This is not helped by job definitions and priorities that are so open to interpretation that people can ‘hide’ in them and easily make the case for certain actions being the domain of ‘somebody else’.
In this context I am not saying that the very good advice I am sure you will receive on this matter will fail, but your expectations may need ‘adjusting’ – herding cats up hill and juggling treacle are not tasks that can be achieved quickly, or cleanly, and I suspect your situation, like mine, is little different!
The one positive thing that has struck me is how many people do a super job with insufficient resources and unattractive pay!
I have begun to engage a small number of groups and their managers to look at outcomes and to become more aware of some likely realities around the Children Bill and the Gershon Report. I am using a mix of MBTI to help people look at the benefits of diverse approaches and work styles, and Six Sigma (yes, really!!) to bring some focus and objectivity to improving efficiencies and so reduce workload-related stress. In one team in particular (Child Protection) we are seeing some early but very positive signs.
Good luck!
Getting managers to buy in.
Managers are exactly the same as any other human being. Telling them what they ought to be doing only has one result.
That result is to increase their resistance to doing whatever it was they were told to do.
In order to get the managers engaged they have to see a benifit, a win, for them selves as a result of engagement.
This is done by creating the environment that allows the workforce to take ownership of what they do . When this happens their performasnce becomes amazing and the manager has to ask what he can do to support that performance.
This may sound simplistic but it is a repeateble strategy with documented results.
Try the local authority networks!
Jackie
There are SOCPO meetings run on a regional basis and there will be lots of local authority managers with the same issues. Try looking out your nearest meeting. They have a Pay and Employee Relations working group which might provide some decent ideas.
It’s at http://www.SOCPO.org.uk.
If it’s a coach you want to ensure you don’t go mad in the process, try Fiona Eldridge at the Coaching and Communications Centre, enquiries@coachingandcommunication.com.
Hope this helps
Help is at hand
Jackie,
At West Sussex County Council Tony Droar and Marcia Fellowes have very successfuly run an advanced management development programme based on self-directed learning principles.
I met Tony and Marcia last week because I have done similar in the private sector and wanted to swap stories and experiences.
They have kindly published their work with the CIPD which you can find on http://www.cipd.co.uk/helpingpeoplelearn/researchinpractice_6.asp. I can also put you in touch if you would like.
Regards
Roger Martin
01993 813721
Chance of good practice to share?
Roger,
I was interested to hear about West SusseX CC’s programme. Are you able to share the root causes behind the driver for this management programme, and are they linked to the measures of success the programme presumably used? I’m hoping there’s an example of good practice to be gleaned here!
Kind regards
some help?
Martin,
I am afraid I am not close enough to this project to answer your questions. A case study of it is on the link I gave in my last posting on this topic. I can also give you Tony or Marcia’s contact details offline if you wish. I see you have the same std code as me – you don’t live in Woodstock do you?
Roger