State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
Driving up engagement
levels is an effective and
well proven way to drive
better organisational
results.
level of engagement, the more likely they are to apply their best efforts to their work
and the greater the likelihood of them remaining with the organisation. Research
undertaken by The Gallup Organization has identified that organisations with high
levels of employee engagement experience lower turnover, better productivity, better
customer loyalty and other manifestations of superior performance.6
Driving up engagement levels is an effective and well-proven way to drive better
organisational results. The process is most effective when the focus of management
effort is put on implementing improvements once the survey results are known.
As agencies move to implement the survey during 2006/07, the SSC will provide
strategic support and advice upon request.
The SSC will use aggregated organisations’ results to evaluate progress against the
Employer of Choice goal and to inform strategy development and programme
planning.
Best practice recruitment tools
The majority of government agencies are making use of structured interview
techniques and psychometric tools to support recruitment. However, few agencies
report having clear protocols regarding the appropriate use of psychometric tools or
that they are undertaking on-going analysis to determine their predictive validity.
The SSC is supporting better practice in recruiting through the development of a
guide to best practice recruiting tools.
Agency engagement
An important aspect of the SSC’s work programme has been engaging with agencies
to communicate the Employer of Choice Strategy, share good practice and influence
take-up of the strategy initiatives across the State Services.
6
Thackray, John. “Feedback is for real”, in Gallup Management Journal, March 15 2001.
Available online at http://gmj.gallup.com/content/?ci=811
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G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
2005/06 was a very successful second year
of operation for the State Sector Retirement
Savings Scheme, a voluntary retirement
savings plan for State sector employees.
Highlights
•
•
•
•
•
2005/06 was a very successful second year of operation for the State Sector
Retirement Savings Scheme, a voluntary retirement savings plan for State sector
employees. Total membership at 30 June 2006 was 33,333, an increase of
17% on the previous year. A Super Week promotion was held in May 2006.
The Mainstream Supported Employment Programme celebrated 30 years of
facilitating the employment of people significantly disadvantaged by disability.
The programme facilitates the creation of two-year placements within the
State sector and provides support to programme participants and employers.
The 30th anniversary was marked by the publication of a book chronicling
the history and successes of the programme.
A second Internship Programme was coordinated to build the reputation of
the State Services as an employer of choice for new graduates. The Internship
Programme offers selected tertiary students meaningful work experience and
exposure to different areas of government work during their summer holidays.
42 interns were placed at 13 agencies and feedback from both the students and
the host agencies was highly favourable.
A team of young SSC staff promoted State Services careers during May 2006 at
Careers Fairs held by the universities of Auckland, Waikato, Massey, Victoria,
Canterbury and Otago. These promotions provided an umbrella presence for
all government agencies, many of which were not able to invest in running their
own booths. A new brochure, One Service, Thousands of Careers, was distributed,
and feedback rated it as an effective marketing tool.
A review of the New Zealand Government Jobs Online website was undertaken
and priorities to develop it as a modern, effective job site have been identified.7
The year ahead
Attention is now being focused on further developing ways to deliver the Employer
of Choice Strategy and to measure progress against the Employer of Choice goal.
A range of projects has been prioritised for implementation during 2006/07.
7
22
www.jobs.govt.nz
State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
Excellent State Servants
2
Overview
During 2005/06, the SSC provided strategic leadership to this goal through the
development of an Excellent State Servants Strategy to support government agencies
working collectively and individually to develop their employees for excellence. The
strategy was developed in consultation with the People Capability Sub-Committee
of the Advisory Committee on State Services and Human Resources (HR) managers
from Public Service departments, including the nine largest departments.
The strategy identifies key initiatives for which the SSC will be providing leadership
and, in some cases, directly delivering. Key programmes include the organisation
of leadership forums, facilitating a professional development programme for
HR-professionals and managing a syndicated procurement process to select a
research-based behavioural competency model.
The following are the main initiatives in the Excellent State Servants Strategy.
Leadership forums
The SSC has used a range of forums to bring together key groups, in particular chief
executives and senior leaders from across the State Services, to facilitate “conversations
that matter” – discussions that allow participants to gain new insights and build
a sense of a community of understanding. This programme is an important
component of the SSC programme to develop senior leaders in the State Services.
Professional development for State Services HR professionals
The SSC takes a lead role in lifting the capability of HR professionals within the
State Services and enhancing organisational capability in HR strategic planning.
Monthly forums were organised for State Services HR practitioners through the
reporting period. A four-day course on strategic HR management for the State
Services was run in partnership with the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand.
Syndicated procurement of a research-based behavioural competency model
A behavioural competency model is a tool to assist HR practitioners and
operational managers in aligning employee behaviour with an organisation’s
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G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
Agencies will determine their own
deployment strategy, however the SSC will
provide advice and support and will actively
promote the sharing of learnings.
strategic intent. Behavioural competencies include such things as delegation,
motivating others, composure, strategic agility, priority setting and negotiation.
Planning has been progressed to facilitate a syndicated procurement process to
select a research-based and commercially advantageous competency model for
agencies to use. Agencies will determine their own deployment strategy, however,
the SSC will provide advice and support and will actively promote the sharing
of learnings.
Agency engagement
In addition, the SSC has worked with agencies over the reporting period to share
good practice and encourage uptake of the Excellent State Servants programme
initiatives. Individual briefings have been held with representatives from 33 agencies
to build the SSC’s understanding of each agency’s people capability plan and
strategy, and their understanding of SSC’s People Capability Strategy, the rationale
for it and initiatives within it.
Highlights
•
2005/06 saw a 70% increase in the numbers of registered trainees and modern
apprenticeships through the Public Sector Training Organisation, which
continues to develop a proactive leadership role in learning and development in
the government sector.
• As part of the leadership forum programme, two conferences, titled Devcon
2005, were held in Auckland and Wellington to bring together and introduce
new ideas and developments to chief executives and senior leaders from across
the State sector. The conferences were attended by 588 senior managers, the vast
majority of whom reported the conference to be a useful event.
• Over the reporting period, 32 new participants joined the Executive Leadership
Programme operated by the Leadership Development Centre. The Leadership
Development Centre is governed by a board of Public Service chief executives,
which includes the State Services Commissioner.
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State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
•
The State Services Commissioner represented the New Zealand Government
on the Board of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government.
The SSC successfully negotiated the Emerging Issues Project with the School
of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. This initiative is part of
the Strategic Tertiary Alliance between the SSC and Victoria University of
Wellington that was implemented in 2003. The Emerging Issues Project
involves 32 agencies, mainly from the Public Service, contributing funding
over a three-year period for targeted research on public policy issues.
The year ahead
Over the 2006/07 year, the SSC will be progressing key initiatives in the Excellent
State Servants Strategy. Progressing the syndicated procurement of a behavioural
competency model, and supporting its implementation by agencies will be a
major priority.
Planning has been initiated for an evaluation of progress against the Senior
Leadership and Management Development Strategy, to be undertaken in 2008.
During 2006/07, SSC will continue to promote the Executive Leadership
Programme to a diverse range of senior State servants across New Zealand.
- Coaching and Mentoring
The Leadership Development Centre will pilot a Maori
Programme, Maranga Tira, in the first quarter of 2006/07. It is intended that the
pilot will run for nine months with 20 participants. At the end of this time, it will
be evaluated and a decision made whether to proceed and, if so, in what form.
25
G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
3
Networked State Services
Overview
The Networked State Services goal is about the use of technology to transform the
provision of services for New Zealanders. This goal will also enable State servants to
more easily and securely communicate, collaborate and share information online.
E-government Strategy
Over the year, the SSC has continued to lead the development of strategy and
policy to support the Networked State Services goal. The E-government Strategy,
which outlines work programmes to be implemented across the State Services, was
updated following consultation with Public Service chief executives, chief information
officers and key individuals from information technology industries.
E-government Interoperability Framework
The SSC has also continued developing and operating all-of-government standards
and infrastructure to build a comprehensive and coordinated approach to the
management of information and communication technologies (ICT). The
continuing development of the E-government Interoperability Framework (e-GIF)
is a key component for enabling ICT development across the State Services.8
The e-GIF framework and standards are a key component for enabling
New Zealanders to access multiple services delivered by one or more government
agencies via the Internet. Ultimately, users (if they choose) will be able to provide
information to government once, with the data being seamlessly shared between
agencies where appropriate and agreed.
An innovative example of the use of interoperability standards is the integrated
service offered by the Companies Office – a unit within the Ministry of Economic
Development – and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). This service allows
New Zealand citizens to incorporate a company and apply for an IRD number
online, in a single seamless transaction that interacts with both agencies, requiring
the user to provide the information at a single point and only once.
8
26
www.e.govt.nz/standards/e-gif
State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
During the year the SSC
completed the build of
the Government Logon
Service.
Government Logon Service
During the year, the SSC completed the build of the Government Logon Service.
For New Zealanders and businesses that choose to access government services
online, the Government Logon Service will allow the use of a single logon across
multiple services without identity data being exchanged between agencies. This will
improve ease of use, convenience and security for citizens and businesses; offer
affordable access to high-quality authentication technologies to agencies; and
deliver significant cost savings across government. The service has recently
completed testing and is currently being implemented by government agencies.
As well as the completion of the Government Logon Service, the programme
delivered a suite of Authentication Standards earlier this year. The standards will
improve the quality and consistency of each agency’s authentication strategy.9
Agency support and engagement
Another priority for the SSC over the reporting period has been to support
collaborative and individual agency efforts to progress initiatives to achieve
e-government goals. The SSC continued to work with Public Service senior leaders,
service delivery managers and IT practitioners to develop common policy approaches
and standards in relation to the use of technology and promote the use of e-government
infrastructure, systems and services.
Highlights
•
The Government portal (www.govt.nz) offers New Zealanders access to grouped
services from a range of Government providers, across a range of channels (for
instance portals, websites, in person, call centres). The portal received almost
two and a half million visits over the year, with over half of those visits resulting
in referrals to other government websites.
• The initial design phase for the Government Shared Network (GSN) has been
completed. The GSN will enable government agencies to communicate,
collaborate and share information at high speed, securely and cost effectively.
9
www.e.govt.nz/services/authentication
27
G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
•
•
•
A new version of the Public Sector Intranet was implemented in June 2006.
The Public Sector Intranet is a secure website through which all government
employees can easily and securely collaborate and share information. It supports
cross-agency collaboration, a sense of community and shared interests, and acts
as a knowledge bank for the State Services. At 30 June 2006, employees of 32
Public Service agencies and 11 government agencies in the wider State Services,
had access to the Public Sector Intranet.
The Syndicated Procurement Project was successfully transferred to the Ministry
of Economic Development on 30 June 2006, with 143 agencies actively
participating in one or more of the 28 syndicated contracts. Agency savings
have exceeded targets, with total savings to government over the last three years
estimated at $9.6 million. Syndicated procurement deals have been established
with Microsoft, Vodafone and Telecom and are being actively managed by the
SSC on behalf of all government agencies.
As at 30 June 2006, a total of 50 Shared Workspaces were supporting
information sharing and collaboration by members from 126 public sector
agencies including local government authorities, health authorities and tertiary
education institutions.
The year ahead
During 2006/07, the SSC will continue to develop and promote strategy and policy
to progress the Networked State Services goal.
The continuing development of all-of-government e-government standards and
infrastructure will be a priority as we move towards implementation of the GSN
and the all-of-government Authentication Programme.
The SSC will continue to engage with agencies to facilitate alignment with and
usage of e-government infrastructure, systems and services.
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State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
Coordinated State Agencies
4
Overview
This goal is about ensuring that the total contribution of government agencies is
greater than the sum of its parts. It is about government agencies demonstrating
improvement through the Managing for Outcomes programme, including joint
outcomes and other shared accountabilities across clusters of agencies. It is about
State servants supporting coordination in pursuit of results and working together.
SSC’s primary contribution over the reporting period has been to promote and
provide leadership to ensure the joint pursuit of joint outcomes are contributing
positively to New Zealanders’ experience of State Services.
The SSC has been collaborating with other central agencies, the Department of the
Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Treasury, and chief executives coordinating
agency contributions to Government’s three themes announced in March 2006 –
economic transformation, families – young and old, and national identity – to
ensure that the public management system supports Government’s priorities.
During the year, the SSC worked with the Treasury to update guidance to departments
on managing for outcomes and supported agencies in collaborating to achieve joint
outcomes.
This goal is about ensuring that the total
contribution of government agencies is
greater than the sum of its parts.
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G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
SSC, with the other
central agencies, has an
important role at a system
level in promoting Crown
entity performance.
Crown entities are a large part of government and are critical to improved public
sector performance. SSC, with the other central agencies, has an important role at a
system level in promoting Crown entity performance. With the Treasury, the SSC
produced guidance for Crown entities on managing for results10 and producing
statements of intent.11 The SSC coordinated quarterly meetings to share best
practice between the departments that monitor Crown entities. The SSC produced,
with the Treasury, guidance for these departments in their roles of supporting
Ministers’ engagement with Crown entities (covering the key areas of board
appointment and induction, strategic direction and planning, and performance
monitoring and reporting).
In addition, advice was provided to Ministers and departments on machinery of
government, including the allocation and coordination of functions to and between
the agencies.
The year ahead
Over the next year, the SSC will continue to set expectations and support the
chief executives of agencies charged with coordinating agency contributions to
the Government’s themes.
10 Planning and Managing for Results – Guidance for Crown Entities (SSC, 2005) –
www.ssc.govt.nz/planning-for-results-crownentities
11 Preparing the 2006/07 Statement of Intent – Guidance and Requirements for Crown Entities (SSC, 2005) –
www.ssc.govt.nz/guidance-crown-entities-06-07-soi
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State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
Accessible State Services
5
Overview
This Accessible State Services goal is about enhancing access, responsiveness
and effectiveness, and improving New Zealanders’ experience of State Services.
The goal is focused on improving the attention that State Services agencies pay
to New Zealanders’ expectations and experience of service delivery. If agencies are
increasing their capacity to learn from New Zealanders’ views of what works, and
what does not, in terms of access to, responsiveness and effectiveness of services,
then those services are more likely to make a difference for and meet the needs of
New Zealanders.
During the year, the SSC undertook a pilot study relating to access to and
responsiveness of government services in Rotorua. The Rotorua Research Pilot
contributed information about the Accessible State Services Goal for the State of
the Development Goals Report 2006. The results of the pilot were also published in
a separate report.12
With all the caveats applying to small pilot studies, the findings from the Rotorua
research indicated that government agencies use a combination of formal and
informal systems to identify those people not accessing services to which they
are entitled, and those not fulfilling their obligations.
The research found that there are multiple ways that the public access services.
For example, young people accessing Career Services use text messages on the
Internet. However, both the agencies providing services and the users of the services
stated that they get more out of a face-to-face visit.
Many people interviewed told SSC researchers that they needed to use an
intermediary in order to get the services they wanted. The intermediaries cited
included the Citizens Advice Bureau, Community Law Centre, Salvation Army
and local Electorate Office. The research found that, while people knew the correct
12 Accessible State Services – Rotorua research pilot report (SSC, 2006) – www.ssc.govt.nz/accessible-report06
31
G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
government agency to go to, they had not always received the help they expected
and so had then gone to an intermediary – either on their own or because they had
been referred there by the agency.
Barriers to access typically include lack of information, geographic or physical
location, financial costs (including the cost of getting to services), ethnic or cultural
inappropriateness, lack of access to the Internet, unsuitable opening hours, and
confusion about which organisation provided the appropriate service. To a greater
or lesser extent, the researchers found all of these barriers in Rotorua.
People participating in the study described some call centres as ‘challenging’ and
there were comments about the lack of privacy in open plan settings.
The year ahead
Further targeted qualitative research will be undertaken in one or more geographical
locations to build on the Rotorua research pilot. New research to enable the SSC to
better measure New Zealanders’ experience and satisfaction of State Services will
also be undertaken.
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State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006 G.3
Trusted State Services
6
Overview
As well as being a goal in its own right, strengthening trust in the State Services
and reinforcing the spirit of service will be an ultimate outcome of the collective
achievement of all the Development Goals.
There are two aspects to the leadership role that the SSC is providing in relation to
the Trusted State Services goal:
•
working with agencies across the State Services to support
them in reinforcing standards of integrity and conduct, and
• measuring New Zealanders’ confidence in the integrity of
State servants and trust in State Services agencies.
A highlight of the last year was an engagement to find out how integrity and
conduct issues were managed in Crown entities. Based on information collected
during the engagement with Crown entities, the State Services Commissioner has
now decided to exercise the responsibility given in the State Sector Act and set
standards of integrity and conduct for employees of Public Service departments and
selected Crown entities. The engagement programme and process to develop the
standards are is discussed in Part One of this report.
The year ahead
During 2006/07, a survey will be conducted to measure levels of trustworthiness
of State servants. The results will be published and areas for development identified.
Work with a broad range of stakeholders will be undertaken to shape standards of
integrity and conduct for State servants.
The SSC will work with agencies to assist them in implementing the standards and
to provide advice as agencies work to strengthen organisational integrity.
The SSC will monitor progress against this goal and will be encouraging
departmental chief executives and Crown entity chairs to ensure that all their
employees maintain proper standards of integrity, conduct and concern for the
public interest.
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G.3 State Services Commission Annual Report | 2006
Section 2: Performance
Introduction
This section of the Annual Report sets out financial and non-financial performance
through a series of statements, as required by the Public Finance Act 1989.
The first statement is the statement of responsibility signed by the Deputy State
Services Commissioner as Chief Executive and countersigned by the Chief
Financial Officer.
The second series of statements encompasses the statement of service performance,
levels of service achieved, and financial information on the costs of the activities
undertaken. They are grouped under the four classes of outputs that the
SSC produces.
The third series of financial statements sets out the accounting policies, statements
of financial position, movements in taxpayers’ equity, financial performance and
cash flows.
This section of the report has been audited by Audit New Zealand on behalf of the
Controller and Auditor-General.
Statement of responsibility
In terms of the Public Finance Act 1989 I am responsible, as Chief Executive of the
SSC, for the preparation of the SSC’s financial statements and the judgements made
in the process of producing those statements.
I have the responsibility of establishing and maintaining, and I have established and
maintained, a system of internal control procedures that provides reasonable
assurance as to the integrity and reliability of financial reporting.
In my opinion, these financial statements fairly reflect the financial position and the
operations of the SSC for the year ended 30 June 2006.
Tony Hartevelt | Deputy State Services Commissioner
29 September 2006
34
Anne Smith | Chief Financial Officer
29 September 2006