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Excellence and Continuous
Improvement in Australian Local
Government
A Summary of Survey Responses from 155 Councils
OCTOBER 2010 BY SARAH ARTIST Program Manager: UTS Centre for Local Government
Excellence and Continuous Improvement in Australian Local Government
A Summary of Survey Responses from 155 Councils
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thankyoutoindividualswhoparticipatedinthissurvey,forawillingnesstoshareexperiencesandpracticesforthebenefitofthelocalgovernmentsector.
ThankyoualsotoGrahamSansomandRobertMellorfromtheUTSCentreforLocalGovernmentfortheirexpertiseandinput,andalsotoKarenPurserfromtheAustralianCentreforExcellenceinLocalGovernmentforherresearchdesign,adviceandsupport.
Excellence and Continuous Improvement in Australian Local Government
A Summary of Survey Responses from 155 Councils
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................1
ProfileofSurveyRespondents......................................................1
Q1ApproachestoContinuousImprovement ........................4
Q2ResourcingCoreResponsibilities .......................................5
Q3TheRoleoftheDepartments................................................7
Q4UsingCommercialTools.........................................................8
Q57FutureSupportNeeds ......................................................10
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Introduction TheAustralianGovernmenthascontributed$8millioninfundingforaCentreforExcellenceinLocalGovernmenttoenhanceprofessionalismandskills,showcaseinnovationandbestpractice,andfacilitateabetterinformedpolicydebate.AspartoftheGovernanceProgramintheadoptedAustralianCentreofExcellenceforLocalGovernmentProjectplanfor2010,theReviewofExcellenceFrameworksinLocalGovernmentprojecthasasitsgoal
anupgradedexcellenceframeworkforAustralianlocalgovernment.
Around70councilsinAustraliahaveadoptedtheAustralianBusinessExcellenceFramework(ABEF)todrivetheircontinuousimprovementprograms.Otherproductsandtoolsarealsoavailableandinusebycouncilstodriveexcellenceinarangeofways.ACELGhascommissionedtheUTSCentreforLocalGovernmenttoevaluatethetoolswhichfacilitateexcellenceinlocalgovernment,andtoconsiderfurthersupportanddevelopmentofthosetools.Consultationiscurrentlyunderwaywithkeyindustrycontactstoexploreopportunitiesforcollaborationinidentifingandaddressingtheneedsofcouncilsindrivingexcellenceinlocalgovernment.
InJune2010theAustralianCentreforExcellenceinLocalGovernmentdistributedanemailsurveyto554localgovernmentsacrossAustralia,invitingChiefExecutiveOfficerstodiscusstheircurrentpracticesinpromotingexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement.
A Profile of Survey Respondents 155completesurveyresponseswerereceived.Ofthe105respondentswhogavetheirpositiontitles,87ofthese(83%)wereChiefExecutiveOfficers.Theyrepresentedallstates,sizesandtypesofcouncils:
Victoria
NSW
WesternAustralia
SouthAustralia
Excellence and Continuous Improvement in Australian Local Government
A Summary of Survey Responses from 155 Councils Page 7
Up to 10,000 10,000 – 20,000 20,000 – 30,000 30,000 – 70,000 70,000 – 120,000 Greater than 120,000
metropolitan urban metropolitan fringe urban regional rural regional rural agricultural remote
Ruralagricultural
MetrourbanMetro
fringe
Urbanregional
Ruralregional
Upto10,000
10,000–20,000
20,000–30,000
30,000–70,000
70,000–120,000
Remote
Greaterthan120,000
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Q1 - Approaches to Continuous Improvement
Thisisthefirstquestionofthesurvey,anditaskswhethertheparticipantsconductanykindofformalizedprogramtopromoteexcellenceorcontinuousimprovement.Thesetermsarefairlygeneric,andtheresponsesareinfluencedbytherespondents’understandingoftheterms‐forexamplesomerespondentsmaywellconductperformanceappraisalsandcommunitysatisfactionsurveys,butnotclassifythemimmediatelyaspartofacontinuousimprovementprogram.Ofthe155responsestothisquestion,almostexactlyhalftherespondents(78)answered“yes”andtheotherhalfanswered“no”.
Yes Tasmania Victoria Northern Territory NSW Queensland
South Australia
Western Australia
% 67% 67% 50% 46% 43% 37% 27%
Thefollowingframeworkhasbeendesignedinanattempttosortandgrouptheelementswhichrespondentsdescribedasmakinguptheircontinuousimprovementprograms:
1. DoesyourCouncilhaveasystematicapproachtopromotingexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement?Ifyes,couldyoupleasedescribeyourapproach,andoutlinethestaffandfinancialresourcesinvolved?
ADOPTING FRAMEWORKS AustralianBusiness
ExcellenceFramework BalancedScorecard HumanSynergistics NSWDLGBetter
PracticeProgram QualityAssurance
DESIGNING & IMPLEMENTING IMPROVEMENTS
Reviewofprocesses
Annualcorporateplanning
Continuousimprovementplan
BUILDING WORKFORCE MOTIVATION & CAPACITY
Employeerecognitionandawardprograms
Staffbonuspayments Performancemeasuresand
appraisals Leadership/management/
stafftraining
ENGAGING THE STAKEHOLDERS
Co‐ordinationandfacilitationstafforconsultants UnionInvolvement Organisation
developmentstaff Communitysurveysand
consultation Taskforcesandprojectteams
MONITORING AND REPORTING
Performancemanagementsoftware
Annualand/orquarterlyreporting
Staffinformationsessions
COLLECTING & ANALYSING ORGANISATION DATA
Performancecomparisonswithothercouncils
Employeeclimatesurveys Riskassessment Internalaudit Servicedeliveryreviews
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Q2 - Resourcing Core Responsibilities ThisquestionisameasureofamixoffactorswhichleadstoCEOperceptionsoftheleveloftimeandresourceswhichtheyallocatetotheseactivitiesascomparedwithothercouncilsinthesector.Theirperceptionsmaybeinfluencedby:
Thelevelofresourcesavailabletothemasacouncil,ascomparedtoothercouncils;
Thelegislativeenvironmentwhichmayrequirethemtofocusonparticularperformancemanagementactivities;and
Theeffortsandperformanceoftheirstaffineachareaascomparedwithothercouncils
Thefollowingchartpresentstheaveragescoreonascalewhichrepresentstheallocationoftimeandresourcestoeachoftheseactivities:
Activitieswithinthecouncilswhichrequireahigherlevelofresourcesincludecommunityconsultation,riskmanagement,longtermfinancialplanning,stafftrainingandcorporateplanning.Lessresourcesandstafftimeareallocatedtointernalaudit,serviceplanning,keyperformancemeasures,workforceplanningandqualitymanagementsystems.
2. Onascaleof1to5,where1is“verybasic”and5is“industrybestpractice”,couldyoupleaseclassifytheapproachinyourCouncilforallocatingtimeandresourcestothefollowing:
2.3
2.7
2.8
2.8
2.9
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.4
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0
Qualitymanagementsystems
Workforceplanning
Keyperformancemeasures
Serviceplanning
Internalaudit
Performancemanagement
Managementtraining
Communitysurveys
Corporateplanning
Stafftraining
Longtermfinancialplanning
Riskmanagement
CommunityconsultaKon
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Thefollowingtableaggregatestheparticipantswhoratedeachactivityaseither4or5,andislistedasaprioritywithineachstateif35%ormoreoftheparticipantsscoredtheactivityas4or5.Thecellcontainsatickifoveronethirdofrespondentsconsideredthattheyallocatedahighleveloftimeandresources:
Northern Territory NSW Queensland South
Australia Tasmania Victoria Western Australia
Staff training Management
training
Corporate planning Key performance
measures
Performance management
Community surveys Community
consultation
Service planning Workforce planning
Quality management
systems
Risk management Internal audit
Long term financial planning
Q3 - The Role of the LG Departments ThisquestionassessestheroleoftheDepartmentofLocalGovernmentineachstateforpromotingexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement,andalsothelevelofawarenessoftheparticipantsofthedepartment’sactivitiesinthisarea.MostoftheresultsforthestatesexceptfortheNorthernTerritoryandTasmaniawerevariable,butthestatewhichseemsmostactiveinthisareaisNSW.OtherstateswhichregisteredsomelevelofactivityincludeQueensland,SouthAustralia,VictoriaandWesternAustralia:
Yes Northern Territory NSW Queensland
South Australia Tasmania Victoria
Western Australia
% 0.0% 74.3% 28.6% 21.1% 0.0% 27.8% 15.4%
Ofthecouncilswhoeitherknewoforhadparticipatedinprogramswithintheirstates,theydescribedthefollowinginitiatives:
3. DoestheDepartmentofLocalGovernmentinyourStatehaveaprogramforpromotingexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement?Andhaveyouparticipatedinthatprogram?
Excellence and Continuous Improvement in Australian Local Government
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NEW SOUTH WALES “ThePromotingBetterPracticeProgram,bothvoluntaryand
imposed…”“(which)includesanassessmentagainstbestpracticeguidelinesandareportcontainingrecommendations”
“TheIntegratedPlanningandReportingframeworkaimstoencouragelongertermthinkingandcontinuousimprovement”
QUEENSLAND “legislativereformpushingtheprocess”
“Regularreporting&assessingthestandingofeachlocalgovernment”
SOUTH AUSTRALIA “FinancialPlanning,AssetManagement,GoodGovernance”
“Rangeoftrainingseminars,accesstoqualitypractitioners,modeldocumentsacrossarangeofneeds.”
VICTORIA “AnnualCommunitySatisfactionSurvey;Circularscontainingadviceonbestpractice;ConsultationbyGrantsCommission;andPerformanceMonitoringbyEssentialServicesCommission.”
WESTERN AUSTRALIA “Capacitybuilding”
“Executivemanagementprogram”
Q4 - Using Commercial Tools
Thisquestionaimstofindoutthespendingpatternsoftheparticipantsinoutsourcingvariousaspectsoftheirexcellenceandcontinuousimprovementprograms.Thequestionnominatessevencommonlyusedproducts,andasksparticipantsaboutcost,satisfactionlevelsandproviders.Thefollowinggraphdepictsthepercentageofthe128surveyrespondentscompletingthequestionwhohavepurchasedthetoolslistedoverthepastfiveyears:
4. Inthepastfiveyearshaveyoupurchasedanyofthefollowingcommerciallyavailabletoolsforpromotingexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement?
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Thefollowingchartindicatesthelevelsofsatisfactionwitheachofthetoolspurchased:
Participantswereaskedhowmuchtheyhadspentonpurchasingeachofthetools,anditisperhapsrelevanttonotethatthenumberofresponsesineachofthesecategoriesisrelativelysmall.Thevariationinresponsesthereforereflectsthediversityoftherespondingcounciltypes(particularlyvariationinsizeofcouncil),aswellasapossiblevariationinthelevelofcommitmenttoeachofthetools.Thefollowingtableshouldthereforebereadasasampleofexpendituresoneachtool,withtheaveragecostrelevantonlytothesampleandnotabletobeextrapolatedacrossthesector:
7%
20%
27%
28%
34%
36%
59%
0% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Qualityawards
Culturalchangetools
Businessexcellenceframeworks
Managementcoaching
PerformancemanagementandreporKngsoRware
Consultantreviews
Managementtraining
60%
74%
85%
88%
89%
93%
96%
0% 10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
Qualityawards
PerformancemanagementandreporKngsoRware
Businessexcellenceframeworks
Culturalchangetools
Managementcoaching
Consultantreviews
Managementtraining
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Number of responses:
Lowest value:
Highest value:
Average cost:
Business excellence frameworks 9 12,000 370,000 110,778
Consultant reviews 11 20,000 80,000 35,182
Cultural change tools 7 5,000 1,000,000 202,857
Quality awards 2 2,000 70,000 37,500
Management training 16 2,000 150,000 44,938
Management coaching 5 3,000 30,000 17,000
Performance management and reporting software
9 15,000 200,000 69,444
Participantswerealsoaskedtonameconsultantsorproviderswhohadsuppliedthesetoolsorassistedintheirimplementation.Thefollowingliststhesuppliersandconsultantswhowerementionedseveraltimes,aswellasthenumberoftimestheywerecited.Again,giventhediversityofcounciltypesrespondingandthesmallsizeofthesample,thisisnotnecessarilyindicativeofthesectorasawhole:
AustralianInstituteofManagement–7 AustralianContinuousImprovementGroup–3 ArchersfieldConsulting–3 HumanSynergistics–9 IntegralDevelopment–3 Interplan–5 Outcome/PerformanceManager–10 Proteus–3 RobPalmer–4 SAIGlobal–17
Qs5, 6 &7 - Future Support Needs
ACELGhasconductedothersectorconsultationsrelatingtothistopic,andthisquestiontestedthesectorsupportforsomeoftheideaswhichhavebeengeneratedelsewhere.Inparticular,theLocalGovernmentBusinessExcellenceNetworkhavecontributedsomeofthethoughtsandideaswhichshapedthelistoffuturesupportneeds.Inthesurveytherewere123respondentswhocompletedthisquestion,andeachwasinvitedtochoosemultipleresponses:
5. Whichofthefollowingwouldbeusefulinsupportofyourcouncil'spursuitofexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement?
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RESPONSE FREQUENCY COUNT
Example tools and templates 72% 88
Case studies 68% 84
Executive training and coaching 58% 71
On-line community of practice 48% 59
Guide for involving councillors 46% 56
Profile of commercially available products 38% 47
Peer reviews 34% 42
Local government awards 24% 29
Noneoftheseideasreceivedeitherunanimoussupportorresoundingrejection–supportlevelsrangedfrom24%‐72%,withthemostpopularbeingtheexampletoolsandtemplates,casestudiesandexecutivetrainingandcoaching.Thisquestionwasanopen‐endedquestion,andallowedrespondentstoaddtothepreviouslistwiththeirownideasfortheprovisionofadditionalsupport,and28respondentsansweredthisquestion.Severaltooktheopportunitytoprotestagainstthelackofresourcesforundertakingthiskindofwork,andaperceptionthatitwas“extra”additionaleffortwhichdetractedfromtheircorebusiness:
Moremoney!HavepreviousexperienceinCIPprogramsbutdifficulttojustifyresourcesappliedtosamewhenwedon'thaveenoughmoney/stafffortheneededreplacementofbasicinfrastructure.
Noneoftheabove.Weneedhelpwiththebasics,nottheextras.
SomeparticipantsmadecommentswhichreferredtomodificationstheywouldliketomaketotheAustralianBusinessExcellenceFramework:
Asharedframeworkforcontinuousimprovement,thatdoesn'tcostafortuneinhavingtoengageconsultantstointroducetheirproprietaryproducts.
AsystemwhichrecognisestheVASTdifferencesbetweenalargemetropolitancouncilandasmallerruralcouncil
6. Whatelsemightbeusefultoyouinsupportofyourcouncil’spursuitofexcellenceandcontinuousimprovement?
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Othernewideasunrelatedtoexistingproductsorresourcesincludedthefollowing:
Workshopswithcompaniesthathaveachievedexcellenceandpracticaltipsandtricks
Qualitativeandquantitativeresearchinthelocalgovernmentsphere
Networkingandinformationsharingopportunities
ManagerexchangeswithotherCouncils(Australia&overseas)
Benchmarkingandnetworkingopportunitieswithnationalandinternationalleaders
Thisquestionwasanotheropen‐endedquestion,and54respondentschosetoarticulatetheirhighestpriorityforadditionalsupport.Thefollowingrepresentsthemeswhicharoseamongstseveralrespondents:Funding Resourcestoundertaketheworkofcontinuousimprovementwasthemostcommonlymentionedrequest.SomerequestedfundingfromtheDepartmentofLocalGovernment,otherideasincludedasharedhumanresourcebetweencouncilsorsubsidiesforstafftoundertaketraining.Examples and case studies Anotherfrequentlymentionedrequestwastheneedforreadilyaccessibleexamplesandcasestudies:
Mainlytoolsandtemplatesthatsmallcouncilscanusegiventheirlimitedresourceswhencomparedtolargercouncils
Intergovernmental co-operation Theissueofpartnershipswithotherlevelsofgovernmentwasalsoraisedasimportant:
PositiveSupportfromStateGovtagenciesinatrueandgenuinepartnershiptodeliverservicestoourcommunities.
Integration Relatedtothepreviousissue,severalrespondentsraisedtheneedfortheintegrationandreformoflegislativearrangementstoshapeandunifylocalgovernmenteffortsinthisarea.
Themeanstoincorporate/integratethecontinuousimprovementcyclewithinexistingframeworksandexpenditures.
Someverystrongdirectionsbystatedepartmentsoflocalgovernmentthatalmostmandatethisasacoregovernanceprogramasistheircorporateplanning(eg.integratedplanningreforms).Formanyinlocalgovernmentlegislativereformwillbetheonlymethodtoinstigatechangeinthisarea.ThereisarealneedtoraisethebarnotsotobecomparedwiththeprivatesectorbuttopositionLGasanareaofgovernmentthatshouldbeexcellentinitsownright...
7. Whatwouldyoumostliketoseeintermsofadditionalsupportinthisarea?