with
East Lothian Council has internally developed a new and more effective approach to improving individual performance levels which enables all employees to develop and maximise their potential and to help deliver and feel connected to, key corporate priorities. This approach was developed in-house through the ongoing involvement of service managers and the senior management team and involves employees at all levels, and across Council service areas. The new framework named Performance Review and Development (PRD), draws upon best practice research and provides an internal solution to develop the qualities needed in a rapidly changing local government environment to deliver high-quality services. PRD also provides a performance ‘line of sight’ between each employee’s role and the delivery of priority outcomes for our council and has helped underpin a change in culture and improved service performance.
PLANNING / · a clear rationale, defined processes and focus on stakeholder needs· contributes to organisation’s goals and addresses current or emerging challenges
Following reporting of dissatisfaction and low uptake of use of the Council’s previous individual performance review process,(as well as formal criticism through a previous Best Value audit report), a volunteer group of service managers and union representatives was formed with senior leadership provided by our Executive Director of Environment and professional support from the Organisational Development team. The role of this group was to develop a new approach for developing employee performance which would provide real value and be used consistently.This group then looked at some of the key issues such as auditing extent of use of the existing process and ascertaining problems/issues through consulting service colleagues, researching current practices across all Scottish and sample English local authorities and researching best practice research into effectiveness of approach. The objective was that the working group would then present key recommendations for a new approach and present these at our annual “Challenge for Change” conference of all senior managers, union representatives and elected members.
The group developed key principles and objectives for a new approach out of their research and consultation, e.g. needs to be:
- Flexible (for use across all services) and with clear, simple language
- Properly supported (focus on feedback and coaching skills for a quality, ‘two-way’ conversation)
- Links to key behavioural standards (East Lothian Way)
- Provides a ‘line of sight’ from individual to Council objectives
- A tool to develop maximum potential of all employees
- Support better performance management and a real focus on great service delivery
In particular, the group recognised through contemporary research, that whilst we needed a clear, simple and flexible framework, the critical factor in making PRD fully effective, would be about how well it was delivered at service management level and that development skills were therefore critical to this. The impact of behaviours and the need to develop appropriate behavioural standards across the Council (at all levels) was another core driver of PRD and the development of ‘The East Lothian Way’ to define these was a key element of PRD. This work drew upon current research into behaviours which impact on sustainable organisational performance and engagement. The draft PRD was further consulted on through positive discussions with trade union representatives and some of the language and toning reflected this input. A core part of our planning process was approval by our CMT of a project plan which detailed key steps, timelines, communications planning (across all services) and resource requirements, as well as outlining key objectives and aims of PRD (e.g. in line with key principles of the group) and evaluation stages to assess progress. The working group remained active throughout development and planning to oversee and input to the overall project and update reports on progress were provided to our Board and senior management team.
DELIVERING / · implemented in all relevant areas and across all the required stakeholders· carried out in a structured and logical way , using robust and sustainable methods
The next step was for a series of pilot trials of the new Performance Review and Development process to be undertaken across a representative range of services including areas which had never previously adopted the previous approach as well as services with good experience. This pilot phases involved approx 220 employees across services such as Catering, Estates, Property Management, and then a further 550 in Roads and Older Peoples’ services. In line with the group’s recommendations, support was provided on a bespoke basis for each service and involved development such as briefings, development workshops for both managers and employees and Q&A sessions. An agreed pilot stage project plan was developed following agreement with service managers for timing of the pilot, a communications plan and agreement on level and type of support for each area e.g. additional coaching support was provided to supervisors within the Roads team due to their lack of experience of one to one feedback, whilst other areas with an embedded supervision framework required less support in development but a stronger focus on communications and engagement.
Evaluations were then undertaken across the pilot areas to develop a greater understanding of how effective the new process was at this early stage. The evaluation feedback fell into three themes; the language used, and the layout and accessibility of the new documents. A common comment was that the documents were “too wordy” and terminology was unfamiliar. As a result, corporate communications were asked to review the material to meet ‘Plain English’ standards. The layout was improved with suitable options for printed and electronic formats, clear guidance notes and a new colour coding system to distinguish employee categories of PRD.Following the pilot evaluation stage, the new PRD process was presented to the following ‘Challenge for Change’ conference, with ‘break-out’ sessions arranged around the new format. A paper outlining an implementation strategy leading up to a full corporate roll-out, was fully endorsed by our senior management team. This plan included a detailed communications strategy (to reach all employees across services), e.g. TeamTalk newsletters, employee briefings, trade union updates, email updates etc, as well as tailored development support such as training sessions on ‘How to conduct an effective PRD’, team development sessions, briefings and additional coaching and feedback skills development.PRD started to roll-out corporately from April 2010 (with the previous scheme being withdrawn) and was phased in during each service’s annual cycle of reviews during 2010/11. Each service area was provided with bespoke development support and assistance as required during roll-out. By May 2011, a further evaluation exercise was planned and undertaken to review the effectiveness of PRD and a quantitative and qualitative survey was undertaken to assess this.
Development of PRD was kept cost-effective and sustainable through use of in-house resources (e.g. communications and design, developing an electronic version for web (as preferred option) and only printing required paper versions through our internal print-unit (to sustainable environmental standards) and use of internal trainers. (No external consultants or organisations were used at any stage of development).
INNOVATION + LEADING PRACTICE / ·Demonstrates leading practice, and is capable of replication elsewhere·Achieves genuine innovation or new ways of working
The approach taken with developing PRD reflects best practice and current research into the effectiveness of performance reviews. By incorporating not just task objectives, but also behavioural standards for all employees (as part of a change on organisational culture through ‘The East Lothian Way’), this approach incorporates some of the key research drivers of performance, i.e. that whilst development of skills, knowledge and experience are very important, performance levels, customer service and delivery of outcomes are hugely affected by behaviours and working relationships, (e.g. McLeod 2009 report: ‘Engaging for success, enhancing performance through employee engagement’) which highlighted the link between performance outcomes and engagement/behaviours/culture.
This internal partnership approach to developing PRD was critical when implementing the new framework and provided a new and flexible framework around which to frame a ‘quality conversation’ on individual performance, behaviours and development, as well as giving them a connection to the ‘bigger picture’.From our research across public and private sectors, it was clear that organisations often primarily concentrate on changing the ‘process’ in a constant cycle of change, however, recent research clearly demonstrates that the critical factor in individual performance management is the skill of the manager in leading an effective conversation on performance and development, e.g. The Work Foundation report: ‘What makes for effective performance management?’ concluded that: “Typical of many organisations….where process can take up most time and resources, but only add a small amount of value. This can be particularly dangerous where little or no attention is paid to improving managers’ skills in managing performance” and that “organisations place too much emphasis on revising and ‘tweaking’ the process. This may be at the expense of other activities that have more impact”.
Our approach was therefore to internally develop a clear and flexible framework that could be used across services, but to concentrate resources and support through development in order to make PRD really effective, and to enhance employees’ potential and performance, whilst also maintaining engagement during challenging times for local government(and thus avoid constantly ‘re-inventing the wheel’ of a new process). We wanted to take a new and innovative approach to enhancing service delivery. A large support programme of development and training has been a core part of the roll-out with services being offered a tailored range of support to help.The difference between PRD and most performance reviews is that it rests on the basis of a ‘mutual discussion’ and dialogue between manager and employee, and considerable support has been provided to managers to skill up on coaching and feedback techniques to foster a ‘quality conversation’ rather than be seen as a ‘form-filling’ exercise. The result has been that many employees have been engaging with business objectives for the first time through this mutual dialogue about performance and development.
RESULTS + IMPACT / · a convincing mix of customer and internal performance measures· clear line of sight to the delivery of better outcomes for communities
· a full range of relevant results– either already achieved or with potential to deliverover time
A further evaluation of PRD was undertaken during May 2011, using both quantitative analysis (through a short structured survey) as well as further in-depth quantitative analysis (through sampling interviews). The overall response rate was 97%, as services really engaged in this work to review PRD. 107 responses were received from an initial 110 sent out to the services involved in the original pilot areas, to gain a better understanding from those services with most experience of PRD, (i.e. a target of 50% of 220 employees involved from the initial pilot areas). A further 20 in-depth qualitative interviews were then held from response samples in order to provide more detailed analysis and understanding of initial responses. Some key results were:
- 86.0% agreed it was important to have a PRD
- 89.6% were clear about the purpose of having a PRD meeting
- 94.4% thought their manager was effective at conducting the PRD meeting
- 89.7% agreed that both they and their manager were prepared for their PRD meeting
In terms of qualitative feedback, themes emerged of:
- The importance of investing in time for PRDs and that this time was valued by employees
- Levels of support around training and development and guidance information were raised as positive issues
- Managers conducting PRDs were mentioned positively in terms of good prior organisation and preparation, and making sure the conversation was fully two-way
- In relation to impact, responses highlighted it made people think positively about their work and individual contribution (and how this linked to the Council’s bigger picture), as well as feeling supported by their manager
Feedback quotes:
“It made me feel proud about my work, what I do and what I want to strive to do”
“It has made me more aware of the big picture, the impact on the Council. The East Lothian Way has made a big difference to the team”
“Had a huge impact on staff feeling supported as I am thinking about what staff have done rather than looking at the tools. It has made people open up more”
“It is an opportunity to discuss any issues about performance through a two-way discussion”
“Good way of discussing any training and development, giving goals for the coming year to work towards”
“Really worthwhile. It is a chance to think about how you are doing things”
The evaluation results and feedback therefore demonstrates real progress against the original key principles and objectives of this project.It is also relevant that over the last year, that overall employee engagement scores across the Council have risen, despite being a very challenging financial climate and period of service reviews. Positive responses were up overall with 2011 scores demonstrating an overall 3.4% increase in positive responses compared to 2010. Key results relating from the 2011 council-wide survey were:
- 92.6% agreed that “the people I work with are committed to doing their best”
- 89.0% agreed that “I know how my job contributes to Council objectives”
- 85.7% agreed that “there is a good fit between the job I do and my skills and abilities”
- 89.9% agreed that “I am clear what is expected of me at work”
Customer impact evidence (how PRD has made a difference).
An additional measure of impact was that in the Council’s separate customer care survey, it was identified that there was an increase of 24% of employees/managers now discussing ourdefined customer care standards, as a result of the new PRD framework being introduced (as customer service is a core areaof PRD). This change has also directly impacted on our customers’ perceptions of our services. Our 2011 Residents’ survey (conducted in May/June 2011 across 1,853 residents) found a dramatic shift in customer perceptions of our services:
- 94% of respondents were satisfied with the level of customer servicein 2011 (2009= 75%)
- ….(with ‘very satisfied’ category at 66%, up from 32% in 2009)
- 94% reported that they were satisfied with the friendliness of staff in 2011 (2009= 79%)
- ….(with ‘very satisfied’ category at 71%, up from 37% in 2009)
This evidence clearly demonstrates that our customers believe our staff are performing well,with our PRD approach and its focus on great service delivery,central to this.The shift in performance and culture of the Council also resulted in the winning of a national award for ‘Best Workplace’ in November 2010, beating other finalists such as BSkyB and Aegon UK, with BSkyB later visiting the Council to review our work, including our PRD project.
In summary, this new approach to developing our workforce through PRD has helped provide a significant shift in both attitudes and service performance for our customers, and has helped re-connect employees to the bigger picture of strategic outcomes that the Council is delivering on both now andfor future challenges.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012 Page | 1
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012 Page | 1