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A Performance Management and
Accountability Framework
For Cumbria County Council
What we do to improve our performance.
Version 1.1: Refreshed – 19th July 2011
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Contents
Section Page
1. Our Performance Management Framework 2
2. Plans 6
3. Resource Allocation 10
4. Performance Measures 11
5. Performance Management, Monitoring & Reporting 13
6. Improvement Planning 22
7. Communication with customers, employees and trades unions 23
8. Glossary of Abbreviations 24
9. Appendix 1 – Data Quality Assurance Roles and Responsibilities
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1. Our Performance Management Framework
What follows in this document, is a description of the component parts of
our PMF to aid understanding and promote good practice.
It sets out clear accountabilities and responsibilities within the organisation for
PM.
It is designed to help Directorates tailor their approaches to meet Corporate
and Directorate needs, and sets out standards for the content and frequency
of performance reports.
It describes the roles of individual employees and the impact individual
performance has on the overall performance of the Council
It is a framework, and not a detailed instruction manual on how to manage
performance.
Performance Management – A Working Definition
To some people, performance management means collecting performance information. To
others it implies a personal appraisal. There are many definitions of performance
management; however the following is as clear as any:
“taking action in response to actual performance to make outcomes for service users and the public better than they would otherwise be”
Action may be at individual, team, service, corporate or community level. Improvement to
outcomes should benefit service users but does not always mean increased service levels –
sometimes better outcomes can mean delivering better value for money (VFM). Reducing
levels of service in one area may free up resources to be used more effectively elsewhere.
Put simply, performance management is what you do to improve and maintain good
performance. It involves gathering robust and accurate information about our performance
and understanding and addressing performance issues at every level of the organisation.
Managing performance effectively requires coordinated planning and review systems to
ensure that members, managers and staff can take action based on reliable information, i.e.
information that is complete, accurate, timely and relevant.
There are a number of benefits brought about by having an effective PMF in place. Member
and Officer roles, accountabilities and responsibilities around performance management are
made clear and Members and Officers are provided with the information needed to judge
the extent to which we are achieving our objectives. It helps each employee understand
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how their individual performance plan, developed through the appraisal process,
contributes to the achievement of the Council‟s aims and objectives. It also helps us meet
statutory requirements around providing information to central government departments
and inspectorates as well as fulfilling our duty „to make arrangements to secure continuous
improvement in the way our functions are exercised‟.
To be effective, a performance management culture needs to be embedded within the
council and reflected in how we operate and work together. To support this, a key
objective in our Workforce Plan is to develop an organisational culture that encourages
innovation and high performance practices. The culture of performance management must
be integral to all of our work, embraced by leaders at all levels, from members to managers
leading small teams and cascaded and shared with all employees. This ensures that
measurable activities at individual, team and service level translate into improved services
for people and communities.
As well as having the culture and leadership in place, it‟s important to get the support
systems and processes right. Plans and objectives need to be in place and appropriate
performance indicators, actions, programmes, projects and targets need to be developed
and implemented.
Continuous Improvement
As well as focusing all that we do on delivering better services for people, the council has a
duty to provide evidence that it is achieving continuous improvement, through a
combination of Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness. Consequently, all Members and
employees need to work together to ensure that performance management is part of our
daily work routine. Everyone has a contribution to make towards improving Cumbria, and
by implementing the performance management framework, this will ensure that measurable
activities at individual, team and service level translate into better services for our
communities.
If you require more detailed guidance on individual aspects of the framework please
contact the Performance and Programmes Team in the Chief Executive‟s Office.
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Key aspects of our Performance Management Framework
The central purpose of our Performance Management and Accountability Framework
(PMF) is to help us deliver better quality services to local people. This is achieved by
bringing together the following components of our framework:
Plans (objectives and priorities)
Resource Allocation (people, skills, budgets, property)
Service Delivery
Performance Management, Monitoring & Reporting.
Improvement Planning
Finally, wrapped around the above component parts is a requirement for continuous
communication with employees, service users, public and Trades Unions to ensure all of us
are fully engaged as stakeholders in the process.
The full framework is shown on the next page.
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2. Plans
Our planning framework links community and corporate objectives via „a golden thread‟ through
to team and individual plans. By having a clear framework within which to work, priorities can be
identified, plans put in place to deliver these and each individual can identify how their actions
contribute to the delivery of improved outcomes for local people.
The Cumbria Community Strategy 2008-2028 sets out a vision and outcomes for Cumbria that
are informed by our „story of place‟, which describes Cumbria‟s characteristics and challenges.
The Council Plan is the overarching strategic document from which the County Council sets out
its business. It outlines our vision for the future, our underpinning values and key ways of
working. The strategic aims and objectives of this document are developed by Elected Members
and informed by public consultation. Mechanisms for their delivery – including key outcomes and
planned improvement – are set jointly with Corporate Directors. It provides a clear focus to the overall work of the council and is used to communicate priorities to staff and partners. The
diagram on the next page captures the key priorities, the underpinning aim and the aspirations
for Cumbria in our Council Plan 2011-14.
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What we are seeking to achieve for Cumbria
Our key
priorities
Our
underpinning
aim
Our aspirations
for Cumbria
Challenge poverty in all its forms
Ensure that the most vulnerable people
in our communities receive the support
they need
Improve the chances in life of the
more disadvantaged in Cumbria
We will be as effective and efficient as possible: we will prioritise services, targeting our resources where they are most needed; we will re-engineer
services to find new, different and more effective and efficient ways to do things; and, we will focus on our customers, putting people at the heart of
everything we do
For the economy:
We want Cumbria to be a place
with a thriving economy where
we challenge poverty in all its
forms
For the environment:
We want Cumbria to be a place
where you can live in a high
quality and sustainable
environment and you can move
easily and safely around the
county
For children and
young people:
We want Cumbria to be a great
place to be a child and grow
up in; a place of opportunity
where young people are able to
live happy and productive lives; a
place where young people will
want to live and work in the
future
For independent, safe and
healthy lives:
We want you to enjoy an
independent and healthy life
and to be safe from harm, with
more control over your life and a
say in the decisions which affect
you
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The Council Plan is the basis on which other plans (statutory and non-statutory) are built.
It provides guidance when planning essential services to the community and informs the
objectives of every directorate and member of staff. The council's budget is aligned to the
plan so that resources are matched to key priorities. The deliverables in our council plan
are reviewed every year to ensure that it always reflects the most important improvement
priorities.
Directorate Service Plans provide a vital link between council objectives at a strategic level through to individual appraisals, so that each service and member of staff knows how what
they do contributes to achieving our objectives. Directorate Service Plans are an essential
tool for making rational and co-ordinated decisions about levels and types of provision
where resources, finances, people and assets are used well, through clear links to financial
planning. They should be used as a framework for team discussions on performance and
provide an opportunity for the key issues to be highlighted to Corporate Management
Team, Directorate Management Teams and for Scrutiny reviews.
Statutory, Business Unit and Team Plans
Underpinning the directorate service plan each directorate may have a number of statutory
and non-statutory plans. In the same way that the directorate service plan is aligned to the
Council Plan, these supporting plans will have their objectives and performance measures
aligned to the Directorate Service Plan. Locality based objectives and activity will sit within
this level of plan where appropriate.
Individual Plans and Appraisals take place twice a year and are used to agree individual
work programmes and targets. The employee appraisal process is critical to the
Performance Management Framework.
The appraisal process enables employees supported by their line manager to:
agree their objectives, competencies and development needs so that they contribute to the Council‟s objectives
agree how their line manager will support them in achieving these work and
learning objectives
review individual performance against objectives and competencies throughout the year. Identifying potential barriers to success, addressing underperformance where
necessary, and recognising and celebrating success.
reinforce expected behaviours and outcomes required to achieve objectives
examine the impact of past learning and training on individual performance and
identify what skills they need to ensure continuous improvement and development.
This process ensures that every employee‟s contribution fits into the overall aims of the
Council and highlights how important an individual‟s performance is to the improvement of
the organisation.
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Appraisals take place each year in April/May and then six months later prior to the next
round of planning in October/November. The April appraisal focuses on achievements
from the previous year, with an objective setting process and forward plan, linked to the
Council Plan and Directorate Service Plan, for the forthcoming year. The October, or Mid
Year appraisal, reviews progress to date and re-alignment of objectives for the remainder
of the year, with specific focus on developmental needs which feed into the budget and
strategic planning cycle for the forthcoming year.
Further details of the appraisal process can be found at:
http://www.intouch.ccc/orgdev/appraisal.asp
http://www.intouch.ccc/bettermanagement/yourstaff/appraisalsystem.asp
Directorate learning and development plans
These are complied by pulling together the learning and development requirements arising
from the annual „mid year‟ employee appraisal process, which takes place in
October/November. As appraisals are based on Council Plan / Directorate Service Plan
objectives there will be a clear link between the council‟s strategic objectives and the
development activity provided.
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3. Resource Allocation The Workforce Plan sets out how the Council Plan will support and develop the
workforce to achieve our objectives and is central to the delivery of effective and improved
services. The Workforce Plan aims “to have the right number of people with the right skill
sets, attitudes and behaviours working in modern and efficient ways.” The Council aims to
achieve this through its workforce plan by adopting the five workforce themes as below:
Organisational Development - Effectively building workforce support for new
structures and ways of working to deliver citizen-focused and value for money
services, in partnership.
Leadership Development - Building visionary, ambitious and effective leadership which makes the best use of both the political and managerial role, operating in a
partnership context.
Skill Development - With partners, developing employees‟ skills and knowledge, in
an innovative, high performance, multi-agency context.
Recruitment and retention - With partners, taken action to: recruit and retain the
right workforce; address key future occupational skills shortages; promote jobs and
careers; identify, develop and motivate talent and address diversity issues.
Pay and Rewards - Modernising pay structures and improving flexibility and
productivity to reflect challenging budget and efficiency requirements, as well as
new ways of working; encouraging a total reward approach to promote high
performance in the new context.
The Workforce Plan will be reviewed and refreshed regularly alongside the Council Plan
and integrated into Directorate Service Plans.
Annual Budget sets out the financial resources that are available for each Directorate and
Service to deliver the Council‟s objectives and priorities
Asset Management Plan sets out how our physical assets, including property and
accommodation, will be used by the Council to support effective delivery of services.
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4. Performance Measures
Performance measures are used to track performance over time and to ensure objectives
are being met. Setting year on-year targets for performance measures is a common way of
achieving continuous improvement. Regular monitoring of performance allows actions to
be taken to manage performance back on track where relevant, and communicate
achievements to Members, employees and other stakeholders. When carried out
effectively, this enables the council to provide evidence of continuous improvement.
Linking Performance Objectives, Targets and Measures
Objective what we intend to achieve
Target the level of performance or rate of improvement needed
Performance Measure a measure that tells us whether we have reached out target
Outcome the result/consequence/impact of meeting the objective
(the end state)
Performance measurement
• Use fewer and more balanced measures
• Measure processes as well as results
• Measure teamwork as well as functions or departments
• Be creative in developing measures
• Make your measurements talk
• Make measurement your organisations ‘glue’
• Build consensus around a few best measures
Measures should be:
• relevant
• have a clear definition
• easy to use
• comparable
• verifiable
• cost effective
• anambiguous
• attributable
• responsive
• statistically valid
• timely
• action focused
It is important that performance can be measured for all of our plans:
o Council Plan
o Directorate Service Plans
o Teams Plans
o Individual Plans (Appraisal)
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Data Quality Strategy and Standards
Robust processes to secure good quality data are essential if the council and partners are
to be confident that information being used to assess performance, allocate resources and
ensure decision-making is based upon consistent, high-quality, timely and comprehensive
information.
Our Corporate Data Quality Strategy and Standards sit alongside the PMF and provide the framework to support performance improvement in data quality:
http://www.intouch.ccc/bestvalue/pmf.asp
Quality assurance systems need to be in place throughout the organisation. They should
provide reassurance that performance information is reliable and ensure that there is a
clear trail of evidence for all our data.
Directorate Management Teams, Service Managers, Directorate Performance Lead
Officers, the Performance and Intelligence Team and Management Audit all have roles and
responsibilities around the above requirements. It is important that each group understand
their respective roles as set out in the tables in Appendix 1.
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5. Performance Management, Monitoring and Reporting
To ensure that our performance is managed effectively, we will use a set of Performance Scorecards to track progress, celebrate success or take appropriate corrective action. To
ensure all of this works effectively, we have assigned the following accountabilities and
responsibilities for performance:
Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Council
The Council is ultimately responsible for the overall performance of its services, and
accountable to the electorate and Government for the resources used to deliver services.
It approves the Council Plan each year and this is done through the annual budget and
strategic planning process. The Council will receive 6 monthly information and annual
reports.
Cabinet
The Cabinet determines the projects and activities that will be undertaken by the council
to deliver its objectives. Cabinet will also receive a quarterly progress report, in the form
of a Corporate Performance Scorecard, to track achievement of Council Plan and
Workforce Development Plan priorities.
Corporate Management Team
The Corporate Management Team (CMT) has overall management responsibility for the
performance of the organisation. CMT is responsible for signing off Directorate Service
Plans and delivering Council services. CMT also has overall responsibility for ensuring that
performance information used in decision-making is „fit for purpose‟ and reliable. CMT will
receive the quarterly progress report on the Corporate Performance Scorecard and will
agree any remedial action required to get performance back on track, acknowledge and
communicate successes and achievements and sign-off the scorecard prior to presentation
to Cabinet.
Corporate Directors
Each Corporate Director has overall management responsibility for the performance of
their respective Directorates. Accordingly, at least on a quarterly basis, Corporate
Directors and their Directorate Management Teams (DMT) would consider the content of
Directorate Performance Scorecards, agree any remedial action required to get
performance back on track, acknowledge and communicate successes and achievements,
and sign-off scorecard prior to presentation to Cabinet portfolio holders.
Assistant Directors
Each Assistant Director has overall management responsibility for the performance of their
respective Directorates. Accordingly, at least on a quarterly basis, Assistant Directors and
their Directorate Management Teams (DMT) would consider the content of Area
Performance Scorecards, agree any remedial action required to get performance back on
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track, acknowledge and communicate successes and achievements, and sign-off scorecard
prior to presentation to Cabinet portfolio holders.
Cabinet Members (Portfolio Holders)
Each Cabinet Member has an allocated portfolio of services and activities for which he/she
takes responsibility. On a quarterly basis, each Cabinet Member will have access to a
quarterly progress report, in the form of a Directorate Performance Scorecard and/or
Area Performance Scorecards to track achievement priorities within their respective
portfolios. The content of these scorecards should be used by Cabinet Portfolio holders,
Corporate Directors and Assistant Directors to monitor and manage Directorate and
Service performance.
Local Committees
Each Local Committee will receive a performance report on a quarterly frequency that sets
out progress toward delivery of the functions devolved to the Committee. Additionally,
each Local Committee will receive an Area Performance Scorecard that sets out key
service performance for that area. Local Committees would review the performance of the
Area Scorecard content, highlight any concerns and opportunities for improvement.
Managers
All Managers have a responsibility to lead and support individual employees and teams to
achieve success and to improve services. Managers are expected to encourage individuals
and teams to challenge the status quo and are expected to support employees to exploit
opportunities for achieving continuous improvement. Supporting employees to participate
in problem solving teams would be one way of achieving this (see paragraph 7).
All Managers also have a responsibility to conduct appraisals for staff within their team,
which includes the setting of performance objectives, with the involvement of employees,
identifying actions and targets for the current year, together with any relevant
training/personal development needs. Managers should involve employees in the setting of
service and personal objectives and targets, and Managers are responsible for implementing
formal procedures and support mechanisms to address persistent cases of
underperformance.
Managers, Employees and Appraisals
All employees are responsible through their appraisal or performance and development
review to contribute towards the organisation‟s strategic goals and objectives. Managers
are also expected to use the appraisal process to encourage, support and enable
employees to achieve improvement, to foster a culture of success and to ensure that there
is transparent accountability for use of Council resources.
Each member of staff will agree specific performance targets as part of their annual
appraisal. This should identify actions and targets for the current year along with any
relevant training/personal development needs. Employees should be involved in the setting
of service and personal objectives and targets.
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Overview and Scrutiny
The Scrutiny Management Board has the responsibility to take an overview of performance,
to review and scrutinise the performance of the Council in relation to its policy objectives,
performance targets and/or particular services. The Scrutiny Management Board will have
access to the Corporate Performance Scorecard and Directorate Scorecards (for Chief
Executive‟s Office, Resources and Organisational Development) on a quarterly basis, where
it will scrutinise any exceptions to performance and it will make recommendations on
areas of concern to Cabinet.
Each Scrutiny Board has the responsibility to review and scrutinise any area of the
Council‟s performance or its policy objectives. The Scrutiny Boards will receive the
relevant Directorate Performance Scorecard/s on a quarterly basis, they will scrutinise any
exceptions to performance and it will refer any recommendations on areas of concern to
the Scrutiny Management Board.
Management Audit Unit & Audit and Assurance Committee
Reviews the major risk areas for the council and identifies potential threats to the effective
delivery of services and the achievement of objectives. The Audit and Assurance
Committee, through the work of the Management Audit Unit, ensures the council has
adequate controls in place. One element of the control environment includes measures to
ensure performance information is reliable and the systems which support them are
robust.
Chief Executive‟s Office
The Chief Executive‟s Office provides advice on both maintenance and implementation of
the performance management framework, and is responsible for maintaining the Council‟s
data quality assurance strategy. The team is responsible for coordinating the production of
the Council Plan and co-ordinates and supports the timely production of Corporate
Performance Scorecards for Council, Cabinet and CMT.The quarterly reporting cycle, with
responsibilities and accountabilities for performance management is covered in the next
section of the framework.
Our Performance Scorecards
We have a robust corporate performance monitoring and reporting system to ensure we
regularly and comprehensively monitor resources, performance and risk at service,
directorate and corporate level.
To achieve this, the Council operates a system of integrated Performance Scorecards:
Corporate Performance Scorecard
Directorate Performance Scorecards
Area Performance Scorecards
Corporate support for developing and maintaining the scorecards
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PerformancePlus (P+) provides a single council wide database for storing and reporting
performance and risk information in a consistent way using common standards across the
council. It is an interactive system that holds both numerical and text based information.
PerformancePlus is being developed to hold the core data set for the Corporate,
Directorate and Area scorecards, this core data set will feed a variety of mechanisms for
performance reporting and interrogation.
The following section describes the scorecards
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The Corporate Scorecard
Scorecard Individual or
Body
Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility
Corporate Performance
Scorecard
Cabinet
Quarterly Progress toward
achievement of the Council
Plan and Workforce
Development Plan.
Cabinet –
Collectively
accountable to
Public for use of
Council resources.
Cabinet –
Responsibility to
determine how
expenditure on
services should be
undertaken.
CMT
Quarterly Any remedial action
required to get performance
back on track, Acknowledge
and communicate successes
and achievements, and Sign-
off scorecard prior to
presentation to Cabinet.
CMT – Collective
management
accountability for
use of Council
resources.
CMT – Collective
management
responsibility to
deliver services in
line with Cabinet
priorities.
Scrutiny
Management
Board
Quarterly Review and scrutinise
performance using the
Corporate Scorecard &
Directorate Scorecards from
Chief Executive‟s Office,
Resources and
Organisational
Development.
(tbc) Highlight any areas of
concern to Cabinet.
Initiate specific pieces
of performance led
work as part of a
single SMB work
programme.
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The Directorate Scorecard There will be one balanced scorecard per Directorate. There will be common basket of performance indicators for the Resources
and People perspectives which Directorates can add to. The performance indicators for the Customer and Processes perspectives
will be unique to each directorate.
Scorecard Individual or
Body
Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility
Directorate Performance
Scorecard
Corporate
Director
Quarterly
Any remedial action
required to get performance
back on track, Acknowledge
and communicate successes
and achievements, and Sign-
off scorecard prior to
presentation to CMT
Corporate
Director –
accountable to
Chief Executive for
resources used to
deliver Directorate
plan.
Corporate Director -
responsible for
overall performance
of the Directorate.
Responsible for
ensuring Directorate
performance is
managed at DMT and
Cabinet Portfolio
holder is fully
engaged.
DMT
Cabinet
Portfolio
Holder
Quarterly
Achievement against
priorities within their
respective Cabinet
portfolios.
Cabinet Portfolio
Holder –
Accountable to
Cabinet and Public
for use of
Directorate
Resources
Cabinet Portfolio
Holder – Responsible
for holding
Corporate Director
to account for
Service Plan
Performance
Responsibility to
influence Cabinet to
determine how
expenditure on
services should be undertaken.
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The Directorate Scorecard continued
Scorecard Individual or
Body
Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility
Directorate Performance
Scorecard
4 Scrutiny
Boards
Quarterly Review and scrutinise the
performance of the
Directorate Scorecard
content (Children‟s Services,
Adults and Local Services,
Environment and Safer &
Stronger Directorates).
To Scrutiny
Management Board
for delivery of the
Board‟s work
programme.
Highlight any
concerns and make
recommendations to
SMB.
Initiate specific
performance led
pieces of work for
inclusion in the Board
work programme.
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The Area Scorecard There will be one scorecard per Local Committee area and each scorecard will contain performance information from our public
facing services. All area scorecards will contain the same performance indicators in the Processes, Resources and People
perspectives, the Customer perspective performance indicators will reflect the local priorities for that area. The scorecards will be
presented by the Assistant Director linked to each Local Committee.
Scorecard Individual or
Body
Frequency Purpose of Scorecard Accountability Responsibility
Area Performance
Scorecard (1 for each of
6 Local Committee
Areas)
CMT
Quarterly
Any remedial action
required to get performance
back on track, acknowledge
and communicate successes
and achievements, and Sign-
off scorecard prior to
presentation to DMT
Assistant Director -
accountable to
Corporate
Director for
resources used to
deliver Directorate
service plan in the
area.
Assistant Director –
management
responsibility for
overall performance
of their service in the
Area.
DMT
Portfolio
Holder
Quarterly Achievement against
priorities within their
respective portfolios.
Cabinet Portfolio
Holder –
Accountable to
Cabinet and Public
for use of Service
Resources in the
area.
Cabinet Portfolio
Holder – Responsible
for holding
Corporate Director
to account for
Service performance
in the area.
Local
Committees
Quarterly Review the performance of
the Area Scorecard content
and highlight any concerns
and opportunities for
improvement.
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6. Improvement Planning
There are a number of opportunities for individuals and teams to identify areas for
improvement , including:
appraisal (personal performance & development review).
use of customer feedback
regular monitoring of contracts and service level agreements
audit and inspection recommendations
benchmarking performance with other organisations
value for money analyses
service reviews
risk assessments
self-assessments
Problem Solving Teams
The Business Improvement Team based in Organisational Development is a corporate
resource to assist the Council and its component Directorates and Services to improve
service delivery, reengineer business processes and to realise efficiency savings. While
much of the team‟s work supports large strategic programmes, such as the various „Better‟
initiatives, the team is also available to work with managers in tackling specific problems
and challenges.
One element of this approach is to provide the tools, techniques and skills required to
apply some core techniques against real problems in the workplace. The team will deliver
facilitated training across the Authority in order to embed and disseminate the approaches
available. This training will help staff
– Understand how and why a structured approach to problem solving is beneficial
– Be able to utilise & adapt a simple problem solving structure
– Be able to explore and define problems
– Be able to explore, develop and implement creative solutions
– Be able to review and apply learning to subsequent problems
In addition, the Business Improvement Team is available to work on service specific or
cross-cutting projects which have the potential to improve service delivery and/or generate
efficiency savings. The approach taken is one of facilitation and support in order that the
problem and the solution remains with the Directorate and the skills of the team
complement rather than replace. This work can include hands-on support, the provision of
“communities of practice”, access to other practitioners and the sharing of best practice
and lessons learned from previous improvement projects along with dedicated programme
management and support.
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7. Communication with Employees, Stakeholders, Customers and Trades
Unions
Our workforce is the critical factor in performance management. Ensuring people are
involved and informed at every stage is vital to maintain a high performance culture.
All employees should have their views sought and acted upon regularly, so that they have a
greater understanding and ownership of the council‟s priorities.
We are committed to keeping people informed and we provide regular updates about our
performance and the services available. The channels we use to deliver this performance
information include:
Your Cumbria – our residents‟ newsletter
Newsroom - our employee newsletter
Update – regular update of current news for staff
Corporate Messages – by e-mail or fax
Local and national media
Residents‟ and Community Voice surveys
Website and intranet
Employee Relations Framework and Joint Consultative Groups – The Employee Relations Framework is the mechanism for the council to hold discussions
with it‟s recognised trade unions. Within this framework Joint Consultative Groups
(JCG‟s) have been established at Directorate, HR, Corporate and Member level.
The County Council JCG is the highest level of this framework within which the council
will carry out it‟s obligations to consult and inform the recognised trade unions on matters
of strategic and corporate importance affecting the workforce.
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8. Glossary of Abbreviations
CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
CMT Corporate Management Team
DMT Directorate Management Team
PI Performance Indicator
PM
Performance Management
PMF Performance Management Framework
SMART target This is a target that has the following characteristics:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-based
SMB Scrutiny Management Board
VFM Value for Money
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Appendix 1
Data Quality Assurance: Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Responsibility
Dir
ect
ora
te M
anag
em
ent
Team
s
Serv
ice M
anag
ers
Dir
ect
ora
te P
erf
orm
ance
Lead
s
Chie
f Execu
tive
‟s O
ffic
e
Perf
orm
ance
Team
Man
agem
ent
Audit U
nit
1. Ensuring that there is an overview of the balance of indicators being presented, on a regular basis, that best
reflects the environment in which the service is operating.
2. Owner of the performance measure and is responsible for developing measures and associated targets that are
linked to Directorate Service Plans and the Council Plan
3.
Ensuring that there is a written, up to date record of the system used for collating performance information. This
must include sources of information, internal and external to the Council, when information is collected, in what
format and from whom.
4. Accountable to the Chief Executive for the adequacy of systems used for collecting performance information
5. Carrying out a rolling programme of systems checks to ensure that the systems in place for generating
performance information are regularly tested and fit for purpose.
6. Ensuring information accuracy and that adequate checking arrangements are in place.
7. Updating Directorate Performance Lead Officers on any changes to Government guidance.
8. Passing information relating to changes in Government guidance or definitions to relevant Service Managers.
9. Ensuring that all staff and external bodies involved in generating information understand the latest guidance and
definitions for performance measures, ensuring that there is a written record of guidance and a written definition.
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Data Quality Assurance: Accountabilities and Responsibilities
Responsibility
Dir
ect
ora
te M
anag
em
ent
Team
s
Serv
ice M
anag
ers
Dir
ect
ora
te P
erf
orm
ance
Lead
s
Chie
f Execu
tive
‟s O
ffic
e
Perf
orm
ance
Team
Man
agem
ent
Audit U
nit
10. Challenging what the performance information is telling us, ensuring that where applicable, Service Managers
provide explanations for the causes of variances from estimates and targets.
11. Challenging the Service Manager, where applicable, to develop an action plan to remedy a variance and bring
performance back on track to meet a target.
12. Preparing and reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to Service Managers
13. Reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to Directorate Management Teams
14. Preparing and reporting action plans resulting from audit reviews of performance measures to the Audit and
Assurance Committee on a regular basis.
15. Challenging the balance of performance measures being used to measure performance in particular Service Areas
and against Corporate priorities. In this way best practice from other authorities could be shared.
16. Using performance measures from Council and Service Plans to prepare an annual performance report for
Cabinet.