SMS conference 2003
Foreword by the Minister for Public Service and Administration
The Senior Management Service (SMS) is a cadre of Public Servants who play an important role in translating government priorities into policy and service delivery to all South Africans. They play a significant role in ensuring that government decisions are realised and implemented. It therefore becomes imperative that Senior Managers come together as a group, learn from each other through sharing of success stories, best practices and challenges, and at the same time develop common understanding and interpretation of the direction that government is taking.
SMS members are in the forefront of change and transformation. This requires innovative ideas, strategic thinking and leadership.It is therefore necessary to continuously equip Senior Managers with knowledge to jointly address obstacles that may block continued growth and generation of ideas for better service delivery.
The annual conference is one of the great initiatives where public and private sector managers, international and continental guests and speakers, get together to stimulate meaningful debates and commitment among all stakeholders in order to achieve this strategic objective.
SMS conference: Putting the event into perspective
Introduction
The SMS conference is planned to be an annual event since the introduction of the SMS framework in 2001.The first SMS conference was held on the 14 and 15 of March 2002. The theme of the conference was Moving the Public Service from policy to implementation. The conference was held for two days in Durban and international speakers were invited.
The intention of the conference is to draw as many SMS members as possible, however due to financial constraints only about 500 members can be drawn to the conference.The idea is to rotate the conference from province to province annually and later let the host province own the conference with regard to the theme and accommodation arrangements.DPSA will co-ordinate and arrange the guest speakers.The profile of the conference will depend on the theme for that particular year.
Aim of the annual conference
The overall aim of the conference is to create a platform and an opportunity for SMS members in the public service to convene as a group for the following reasons:
- To allow the SMS members to meet with other colleagues to share experiences in order to adopt best practices.
- To create an opportunity for SMS members to meet and share experiences with international and continental speakers with regard to SMS issues.
- To invite business leaders who could share business practices and principles that can benefit SMS members.
Motivational sessions
- To create and opportunity for the SMS members to meet with the Minister for the Public Service and Administration (MPSA) in order for her to address them on issues of concern and to motivate them.
- To create an opportunity to meet other motivational speakers who can boost the morale of SMS members.
- To develop a culture of professional and ethical behaviour.
- To promote service delivery, efficiency and effectiveness in the Public Service.
- To create a forum for debate and discussion on the professionalism of the SMS.
- To evaluate the new dispensation of the SMS in order to identify gaps and interventions that can close those gaps.
- To create learning sessions for SMS members.
- Review new developments in the SMS.
The theme of the conference for September 2003: Towards an intergrated public service
Background
The theme relates to priority given to fast-tracking the delivery of government services in a faster, more convenient, less expensive, more accessible way to all the people without emphasising the department which offers the service.The government is moving toward service centres where the public can access good service as quickly as possible.These service centres entail strategic leadership, comprehensive information and mobile technologies, financial planning, training and development and anti-corruption vigilance in order to succeed.It is on the basis of this strategy that the theme focuses on the need to create the conditions for effective leadership and the need to agree on a set of interventions for the medium term, encompassing a clear uncontested vision of where we want to take the public service.The implications thereof are continuous support and improvement in capacitating managers to deliver a better service to customers and accelerating leadership and management development in order to increase accountability, implementation of programmes and regulatory issues. The theme seeks to identify best practices for good leadership and management of the public service and to develop a model for development of managers.
Objectives
The objectives of the conference is to bring together senior managers from all levels in order to:
- Share, deliberate and examine current trends and dynamics in the public service with regard to service delivery mechanisms.
- Make a meaningful assessment of current levels of service delivery and the reasons for the levels achieved and to identify areas for improvement and good practice in order to incorporate these within departments.
- Deliberate on implications for managers in their leadership and management roles.
- Recognise centres of excellence and share success stories in the form of case studies.
- Deliberate on leaders who make a difference and acknowledge and encourage emulation of excellent work among managers.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement in the delivery of services and adapt to new styles of leadership and management.
- Share and agree upon the role of managers in mitigating the impact of AIDS on service delivery
The theme hopes to draw attention to a number of sub-topics such as the following:
1. Strategic leadership for an integrated public service
Leadership and performance management are the key to success for many organisations. There are different styles of leadership that can either break or make the organisation. It therefore becomes important for senior managers to share knowledge about leadership and management behavioural styles and to adapt towards best practices.
- Implications of leadership and management development for an integrated public service.
- Envisioning, empowering and energising as elements of leadership.
- Applying different styles of Leadership, in different situations.
- Effective leadership and management of government Institutions.
- Leadership that get results, a focus on knowledge, finance, speed, customer-centered service.
- Identifying, recruiting and retaining good leaders in government-making high performances stay in the public service (A focus on competencies, training and development, successful planning and career management)
- Curbing corruption and mal-administration in an integrated way.
- Recognising the important role of leaders as change agents, coaches and mentors (A focus on equity issues-women, disabled, HIV/AIDS and life threatening diseases)
- Better and continuous improvement of quality service.
- Increasing leadership excellent through benchmarking.
- Emotional intelligence, a recipe for good leadership that get results.
- Total quality management(TQM).
2. From indivual to institutional (team) performance ,management
When we talk about performance management we tend to concentrate on individual performance rather than on team or departmental performance. Merit awards and performance bonuses are awarded to individuals, this encourages people to work in silos and try had to protect their turfs.This also translates to departments working as individual departments rather than an integrated public service departments. It is for this reason that the best ways to encourage co-operation among departments, components and units must be looked at.The feasibility of delivering a service in an integrated way using Project Teams and/or Matrix systems need to be encouraged in and among departments. Departments can consider putting systems in place in place on how to recognise team and departmental performance while still recognising individual performance.
When a Head of Department achieves a merit or performance bonus, it is an indication that his or her department is also doing well and achieving its goals beyond expectation.The questions arises whether the team players in the department itself and recognised for its achievements.Another question of interest is whether there are standards against which teams/units/components and departments are measured whether they can be recognised for exceeding expectations.Is there a correlation between individual performance reward and team/departmental performance? It becomes important to look at how departments work and how they can recognise and reward performance in an integrated way.
Focus areas:
- Incentives, non-monetary and monetary rewards.
- Towards a fair process of recognising and rewarding individual, team and departments performance.
- Accelerating service delivery and encouraging co-operation among departments, branches, components, units through the Matrix system.
- Model for public service performance excellence (international and national perspectives).
- Accelerating ownership and commitment as a retention strategy.
- Utilising performance management as a leadership, management and organisational development tool.
- Strengthening institutional performance by creating a conducive environment.
- Releasing the creative energy at all levels of the organisation.
- Instilling a learning culture that is conducive for boundaryless co-operation in the public service.
- Restructuring, monitoring and evaluation.
3. Integrated finance, budgeting and planning
If we are to succeed in moving towards an integrated model of public service, then integrated finance, budgeting and planning is essential.
- Towards an integrated budgeting and planning model.
- New ways of making organisations more effective.
- Implications for human resource management practices.
- Implications for public finance management practices.
- Implications for planning and training and development.
4. Service delivery innovation / E-government information management
- Focus areas
- Citizen-centred service delivery focus
- Single-window service delivery (feasibility?)
- Frontline offices
- Mobile technologies
- Information technology and information management as strategies for improving information sharing in the public service.
5. Towards an integrated human resources management
Building an integrated resource function that works collaboratively with departments to attract, retain and develop a competent and motivated workforce in the public service is one of the new ways of making organisations more effective.This could be a successful way of seeing a transformed public service through an integrative process.
Focus areas:
- Benchmarking against high performing organisations in the private and public sector interns of the following: Training and Development;Relationships and Trust, Job Satisfaction, Service Delivery; Leadership; Policies, Strategy and Procedures; Reward, Recognition and Performance ; Diversity; Change Management;Change which has occurred;Management Information, and Performance Excellence.
- Improving people management through an integrated human resource management.
- Strategies for human resource management and development with special focus on employment equity (women empowerment, people with disabilities and HIV/AIDS and life threatening diseases.)
6. Integrating three spheres of government
The challenges facing us with regard to service delivery cut across all of the above sub-topics and there is a need for integration. It is on the basis of the above that the challenges need to be spelt out and understood by all and possible solution proposed that could be implemented.
Conference manual
A comprehensive conference manual containing case studies and all speaker papers will be included as an insert in the Service Delivery Review.
Monday 15 September
Chair Person: Ms T Cele; Deputy Director-General, Department Education, Gauteng.
- Opening and welcome
Rev. M A Stofile; Premier, Eastern Cape.
- Overview of 2003 SMS conference and feedback on 2002 inaugural SMS conference
Mr A. Rapea; Executive Manager, Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
- Keynote address
Ms G J Fraser-Moleketi; Minister for the Public Service and Administration
- A reflection on challenges and possible solutions in integrating three spheres of government
Ms S Chaba; Deputy Director-General, Department of Public Transport and Roads, Gauteng
- Integrated finance, budgeting and planning
Mr L Kganyago; Deputy Director-General, National Treasury
- Strategic leadership for innovative service delivery
South African Police Service (SAPS)
- Towards becoming a development state - A focus on poverty alleviation
Ms G Rapholo; Executive Manager, Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA)
- Strategies to overcome corruption
Mr K Hoosain; Corporate Executive Manager, Office of the Auditor-General
- Cabinet decision making structures and process in relation to service delivery
Mr W Smith; Chief Director and Secretariat, Presidency
Tuesday 16 September
Chair person: Ms K L Sebego; Deputy Director-General, Department of Public Works, North West
- Enhancing service delivery through public private partnerships
Ms Dlamini; General Manager, ABSA
- Towards an integrated Public Service A special focus on service delivery innovation and government information management
Mr K Hlahla; Chairperson, Government Information Technology Office (GITO)
- Government's road-map to black economic empowerment
Mr M Buthelezi; Department of Trade and Industry
COMMISSIONS :
- Intergrated human resource management and Development
Ms O Diseko; Senior Manager, Department of Public Service and Administration(DPSA)
- Enhancing service delivery through information management systems
Mr M Mtsweni; General Manager, State Information Technology Agency (SITA)
- Anti corruption and professional ethics - A Focus on effective risk management
Prof RM Levin; Acting Director-General, Office of the Public Service Commission
Wednesday 17 September
Chair Person: Mr D Hindle; Deputy Director-General, Department of Education
- Summary of Key issues
Ms Colette Clark; Director, Gauteng Department of Education
