10 July 2014
States of Jersey staff are finding out this week how progress on the Reform programme will impact on their work. The ‘Shaping our Future’ event is enabling employees to find out about the latest changes in the public sector by attending talks, browsing displays and talking to colleagues from across the States.
The States Chief Executive, John Richardson, said “The States is the biggest and most diverse employer in the island and we are serious about engaging directly with our workforce. This event represents one more step in the change process, demonstrating how staff are leading the work to ensure the public sector provides the most efficient service to customers.”
More than 30 exhibitors are showcasing their change projects using interactive displays and exhibitions, which are bringing to life a variety of projects being run in a number of departments.
Modernising
Senator Alan Maclean is the political lead for Reform, and he said “Earlier this year I said that we can’t afford not to modernise our public sector; that we need to be bold, creative and innovative and do some radical thinking. That process is now well underway.
“We are finding ways of controlling spending and delivering better services for less. And I’m pleased to see that the creative thinking is coming from the front line, where staff trained in the business process Lean have been examining their working processes and coming up with faster, cheaper, better ways to do things.
“For example, the Social Security department has been using Lean to deliver significant improvements. Changes have been made to application forms to reduce customer error, and a Change of Circumstances notification now takes three days or less to process, rather than 10 days, saving 973 staff hours.
Lean projects
“A Customer Services training programme for the Income Support team has reduced processing times and increased customer satisfaction. In Health, the number of forms required when appraising nurses has been cut from 11 to one; waiting times at the blood testing clinic are down by 50%, and changes in the way air mattresses are used has reduced the number required by 20%, saving £23,000 in one year. These incremental changes are important and they are spreading across the organisation.
“In addition to these tangible improvements we are seeing positive changes in both culture and behaviour across the organisation; for example, partnership working with our trade unions has been recognised at the Teachers National Conference.”
‘Shaping our Future’ ‘is being held at the Hotel de France, where as many employees as possible will be able to visit the displays detailing all the projects that are underway across the organisation.
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