Author Archives: lancingfarrell

55 – Local government performance appraisal 2/4. Why do we do it?

Posted on by

Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                                   480 words

line in sand

Well, often we don’t as previously discussed. Not all organisations complete them for every employee and in some organisations it is simply a compliance exercise. Even when you do have a performance review system, it may as easily not improve performance as the team at Utopia showed this with unerring insight. I suppose the relevant question is why do we think that we need performance appraisal?

I don’t think it is because we know that it works and helps to align effort and ensure accountability in delivering on organisational objectives. I think we do it because we are bound to do so by industrial agreements and because it creates the illusion of control. Looking like we are in control is as important in local government as it is in other public services. Continue reading →

54 – The four decision hats. What are your councillors wearing?

Posted on by

Posted by Whistler                                                                          630 words

I was in a workshop about Edward De Bono’s six thinking hats recently when it occurred to me that we could do with some decision hats in local government. Councillors could wear a different hat for each of their roles. This way they would be clear about what capacity they are acting in, and any onlookers would know as well.   Alternatively, a different hat could be worn to signal the type of decision being made. Here is how it could go.

Let’s start with hats representing the role or capacity that the councillor is acting in. Obviously, gender will influence hat selection for some councillors. I will do my best to select hats with universal appeal.

george washigtonWhen acting as politician, part of the local government to make decisions affecting constituents, a range of hats are potentially available. Continue reading →

53 – Coffee, basketball and privatisation. What significance could they have for Australian local government?

Posted on by

Posted by Colin Weatherby                                                                                    1000 words

the barista economy

Image from The Age, 11 March 2015

On the 11 March 2015 there were three articles in the Melbourne Age newspaper on different topics that each held a message of potential relevance for local government.

The first was ‘Welcome to the barista economy’. The article is based on a speech by Christopher Kent from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) who looked at changes in household expenditure patterns over the past 30 years.

One thing is clear: we are spending a lot more on ‘services’ than we are on ‘stuff’. The share of household spending on services is up from 53 per cent to 65 per cent of household consumption.

The RBA explains the increased spending on services as a result of cheaper goods because of better productivity and more goods coming from ‘emerging economies’. The world has become better at producing goods and people now have more money to buy services, which in effect is buying time. We can afford to employ someone to perform tasks when our time is better spent on other activities, we don’t have the skills, or it improves our quality of life (e.g. leisure).

The barista connection highlights the growth in service industry jobs. Coffee shops are everywhere. Having a coffee has become part of every outing.

I think that the significance for local government is twofold. Continue reading →

52 – Local government performance appraisal 1/4. What are the issues? (or 5 reasons it doesn’t work)

Posted on by

Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                             700 words

performance - rowing

This is the first in a series of four posts on performance appraisal. The central idea is that current performance appraisal systems are not effective.

To begin with, the annual performance appraisal process (sometimes called the performance development plan (PDP) or staff development scheme (SDS)) is often not carried out in local government. When it is, people have usually been compelled to do so or they are simply ‘ticking the boxes’ and being compliant. I have often thought that this is important evidence that the process is not helpful. People ‘vote with their feet’ – if they thought that performance appraisal was useful and that it added value, they would be doing it.

Continue reading →

51 – An ABEF OSA. What is it and do you need one?

Posted on by

Posted by Colin Weatherby                                                               900 words

puzzled

The Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF) provides a systematic way to think about your organisation and its improvement. It identifies seven categories of organisational activity that are systematically analysed when you conduct an organisational self assessment (OSA) to determine the approach, deployment, results and improvement. This examination of approach, deployment, results and improvement is called the ADRI cycle and it is similar to PDCA and other improvement cycles except that it focuses on outcomes not actions. So, that is what it is.

Do you need one? (And, more importantly, what will you get if you have one).

Continue reading →

50 – The last 23 posts (26 to 49). What have you missed?

Posted on by

Myer music bowl - banner crop

The crowd is building – almost 1000 views.  This post, along with Post 26, provides an overview of topics discussed by writers so far. It is an index and a chance to quickly catch up with what you have missed.

Post 26 provides a brief overview of the first 25 posts. Key themes were local government services, complexity, defining customers, productivity, some emerging characteristics of people and councils, changes in Victorian local government since the 1990’s, integrated planning (several posts), policies and strategies, some books you should read, rate capping, the role of the Council Plan, the role of councillors, what a high performing local government organisation might look like, how to make high performance happen, and local government budgeting. Phew.

Post 27 discusses ‘risk farming’ – the practice of top management spreading risk around the organisation in the name of good governance to avoid personal accountability. Tell me you have never seen it happen. Continue reading →

49 – Rate capping. Four workarounds we can expect to see.

Posted on by

Posted by Whistler                                                                          320 words

illusion

Image from http://serendip.brynmawr.edu

All the talk about rate capping and the impact on local government services has started me thinking about what happens every time there are legislated changes to the way councils operate. We find workarounds. Rather than putting our efforts into being better at providing the services that communities expect, we put our energy into workarounds to protect the status quo.

Workaround number 1. Service lives for assets will be pushed out unrealistically to reduce the annual depreciation cost. Instead of depreciating assets over 50 years they will be depreciated over 100 years, effectively halving the depreciation cost.

Workaround number 2. Staff numbers will be cut to make budget and agency staff and consultancy costs will rise significantly. A lower cost but permanent part of the workforce will be replaced with a much more expensive but temporary workforce. The over expenditure will be offset by workaround number 1.

Workaround number 3. Asset sales will be included in the budget. This will usually be land determined to be surplus to requirements (probably used as open space at the moment) or the vehicle fleet (which will then be leased). It is unlikely that the land will actually be sold and this will be explained in notes to the annual report as an unforseen problem. Never mind, put them in again next year. I worked at a council that successfully did this for a decade. Selling assets like the fleet will probably realise a loss but provide some short term cash while increasing long term costs.

Workaround number 4. CEO and Executive salaries will be frozen. No Consumer Price Index or ‘performance’ increases. This sounds fine and could be an example of leadership from the front to control wage increases across the organisation.  But keep an eye on their contract renewals. Typically this is where top management makes up for any lack of annual increase and the details are usually confidential.  No increases for several years and then a big increase on rehiring.

48 – Emergency management is a hidden talent. Why wait for a disaster?

Posted on by

Posted by Parkinson                                                                                       540 words

emergency flooding

In Victoria, all local governments have a statutory role in responding to municipal emergencies. They must have a committee including local emergency response organisations, and a plan that is maintained and audited. Dozens of staff are inducted and trained in emergency management and, along with their organisational leaders, are a virtual team that can be activated immediately when required. They hold exercises under various scenarios to test their ability. Emergency management is a capability that each council must create and maintain. And they do. Often very well.

It has been said that the public service is at its best in an emergency because tribal conflicts are set aside, the purpose is clear and agreed for once, and the rules become ‘flexible’ in order to be able to react to whatever the emergency brings. Under these circumstances, the public service becomes a responsive, powerful and focussed force. Why do we wait for an emergency to perform at our best? Continue reading →

47 – Core services in local government. What are they?

Posted on by

Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                              560 words

In an earlier post I discussed local government services and how they can be defined. This post discusses the concept of ‘core’ services delivered by councils, particularly in relation to the potential impact of rate capping (see here, here, here and here). Councils will be looking to reduce the rate of growth in expenditure and many will have to reduce current levels of expenditure. It will not be possible to maintain delivery of all services at current service levels. The starting point is likely to be a discussion about what makes a service a ‘core’ service.

A working definition of a core service is anything the council does that it is compelled to do under legislation. For example, hold elections and form a council, make and enforce local laws, provide a town planning service, control building development, inspect food premises, ensure there is a road to every property. Councils have no choice but to provide these services. Councils also have to prepare some statutory plans, for example the Public Health Plan. The State government has passed legislation to ensure that they do. The council is an authority.

The next category of ‘core’ service are the universal services provided to all citizens. Continue reading →

46 – Labor’s rate cap to hurt services and infrastructure, ratings agency warns’. The Age, 27 February 2015.

Posted on by

Posted by Colin Weatherby                                                         900 words

 slices of cake
Image from http://www.that-is-good-crap.com

This article follows an earlier piece in The Age,  ‘Plan to cap council rates at inflation could lead to service cuts and job losses in Victoria’ on 23 February 2015. Both articles are about the planned legislation in Victoria to restrict councils to rate increases at or below the Consumer Price Index from 2016 unless they seek an exemption from the Essential Service Commission. Some councils have already started to cut jobs to reduce expenditure ahead of rate capping. Others are forecasting cuts to their services and reduced maintenance or renewal of community infrastructure.

This is occurring at the same time that the State government is shifting more costs onto councils and national grants to councils are being frozen. I have previously posted on rate capping (see here , here and here). As you can imagine, rate capping is dominating talk within local government circles. Continue reading →