Speech to State Services Senior Leaders Development Conference

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning.

I am pleased to have been invited to open this conference "Transforming Service Delivery - Focus on the Frontline."

As you are now well aware, the frontline is the focus of government, and consequently my focus as Minister of State Services.

So I would like to encourage you to make full use of this conference programme today:

• Ÿ to gain new ideas


• Ÿ to hear examples of proven methods and results for transforming service delivery


• Ÿ and to gain information and contacts that will enable you to work, individually in your agencies, and collectively across the State sector, to improve frontline services for New Zealanders.

Our challenges:

This year so far has been challenging - for government, for the State Services, and for the individual New Zealanders we serve.  Next year is going to be more challenging.  And the years after these will be more challenging still.

I'd like to talk to you about some of these challenges.

Our first challenge is fiscal:

We are looking at a decade of deficits.  A decade of being in the red.  A decade of having to do more - with existing resources.  We are now in a time of permanent restraint.

The global situation has changed significantly in the months since the election.  The collapse of the global financial markets is a significant challenge that faces all New Zealand businesses, and households - and the government is no different.

Prior to this year New Zealand had enjoyed a decade of budget surpluses and, consequently, the State Services have become accustomed to managing to expanding baselines.  This golden age is now well and truly over.  The challenge for you now is to manage within restrained baselines - without compromising on the quality of your service to New Zealanders.

Our second challenge is citizen expectations:

New Zealanders have high expectations of their State Services -  and their expectations are only going to increase in a world with improving opportunity for government - citizen connectivity, and global leaders who text, Twitter and email their taxpayers.

Alongside this we also have a population that is growing older, is more ethnically diverse, and who have growing expectations about what personalised customer service really means.

Our third challenge is employee engagement:

You will be well aware that disengaged and disinterested employees decrease performance - both individually and as a sector.

This means driving better productivity will be directly related to your teams' engagement.  How are you going on that front? 25 agencies are now measuring employee engagement using the Gallup Employee Engagement survey.

There are some groups showing excellent progress but just four government organisations have achieved results that are better than the worldwide 50^th percentile.

Just four agencies are doing better than the average? I don't think that is good enough: do you?

Currently, about 60% of employees overall indicate they are not engaged.  How are you going to deliver better services with less resources with those levels of engagement?

New overseas evidence shows that employee disengagement is accelerating as the world economic crisis bites deeper.  International research from the rather grandly named Corporate Leadership Council - a US based organisation of senior HR executives - says the ranks of highly disengaged employees doubled worldwide between 2007 and 2008.

The Council says disengaged and disinterested employees cost performance and undermine service.  When you're worried about the future even when you have a job, you're less productive.

We cannot afford for this to happen in the State Services.

And this is particularly enormous challenge for you as senior leaders in a time when many of you are initiating restructurings in your departments, and some of these are unfortunately resulting in numbers of surplus staff.

We know that New Zealand's State servants are committed to doing their very best for New Zealanders.  However, even the most ultra-modern State Services will still struggle if there isn't active employee engagement in all aspects of State Services.

Our priorities:

Alongside these challenges, the Government has a number of priorities.

Our first priority is to focus on the front line:

This government is less interested in strategic visions, overarching frameworks, and blue sky waffle.  Our priority is improving the services we provide to the public within the constrained resources we have inherited.  We are looking to the State Services to assist us in achieving this objective.

We want a tighter focus on the programmes and policy that will deliver results, and an emphasis on the things that make a tangible difference to the lives of New Zealanders.

Whether it is in our health system, education, social services, or central government departments, the Government wants to see improved frontline service delivery.

The second priority is value for money:

Every tax dollar taken out of the pay packets of hard working New Zealanders must be spent where it counts - wisely - efficiently - where it can do the most good - to assist the New Zealand public to get on with their businesses and their lives.

The third priority is providing services with a customer focus:

Better public services come from an understanding of the users of those services - their needs and their expectations.  This understanding needs to be applied from the development of policy right through to the delivery of frontline services.  A successful user-focus needs commitment not just from frontline staff - but also from management, strategy and policy teams.

Our opportunities:

We are in decade of change.  A decade of having to do more - with limited resources.

However - it's not all bad news.  You've heard the challenges and the priorities - now let's talk about the opportunities.

Change is never easy.  But it can be exhilarating.  And it overflows with opportunities.

We have the opportunity now to think about things differently, to approach things differently, and to do things differently.

So, as you listen to the speakers at this conference - and as you return to your workplaces - you can:

• Ÿ think about things differently


• Ÿ approach things differently


• Ÿ do things differently

Firstly in the delivery of services:

You have an opportunity today to take a look at different approaches for the achievement of service delivery for New Zealanders.

In this environment where you are having to do more with restrained resources, there may be opportunities for departments to work together to deliver better services and make the most each tax dollar spent.

An example of cross departmental innovation in my other portfolio, Health, is the Whanau Ora programme.  We are working on a pilot of the scheme whereby those involved in the provision of social services to the public will be providing familles and whanau with a range of information regardless of the agency providing the information.  For example, a nurse may provide information about housing and education as well as immunisation, recognising that a holistic approach is more likely to bring about longer-term improvements to health and wellbeing.  The services will be better suited to the individual's needs, and we will be removing layers of bureaucracy that both the public and the government agencies have had to tolerate.

And it doesn't just have to be the government that looks at ways to improve or provide the delivery of services - the private sector may also have a role to play.  Have you looked at this as an opportunity for your organisation?

It's now time to consider different approaches to service delivery for New Zealanders - and to engage with your Ministers on them.

Secondly, through employee engagement:

Employees are the State Services most important asset - and our greatest cost.

It's a pretty obvious statement, but the more engaged people are in their jobs - the more committed they are to their work and their workplace - the more likely they are to go above and beyond the call of duty.  We see this in action every day, with staff helping each other out with heavy workloads, or looking for ways to perform their job more effectively and safely.

As highlighted earlier, we know that declining levels of employee engagement undermine employee morale and the service those employees provide.

So what is the best solution to disengaged employees? People.  The same research I indicated earlier finds that employees will re-engage with their jobs if organisations encourage good management, who empower staff to have greater active input and decision-making in their work.

Now is the time to take the opportunity to look at the management of your organisations and to ensure enthusiastic commitment for staff engagement - for without this we can not hope to have efficient or effective frontline service delivery.

Thirdly, in engagement with your ministers:

I encourage you to take the opportunity to engage in frequent and open communication with your Ministers, ensuring that you understand their requirements.  As the world changes rapidly around all of us, it is very important to be working closely with your Ministers to provide the outcomes for New Zealanders which they have campaigned on, and believe are the priorities.

I encourage you to be part of the solution - not part of the problem.  Highlight the problems to your Minister and be prepared to provide them with a range of solutions to choose from, to achieve the desired outcomes for New Zealanders.

As the pressure mounts in this current environment New Zealanders are looking for results.  Your focus, work and energy need to be directed towards tangible, measurable outcomes for New Zealanders.  You need to be working cooperatively as public servants to improve frontline services for New Zealanders - whether for individuals, businesses, or sectors.

And be unafraid of challenging your Ministers, or providing them with new ideas.  Difficult times call for innovative solutions.  Remember that your conversations with Ministers are two way conversations - in which we expect you to inform the government of the facts, actively discuss the challenges, and provide the solutions.  There should always be opportunity for robust advice - and robust debate about that advice.

So, I encourage you to take as much away from today's conference as possible, lead your organisations from the front, and to maintain your strong and focused commitment to improving New Zealand's State Services.

New Zealanders are relying on you to continue delivering the frontline services they need to survive - and thrive - in these challenging times.