Summary: Working in the public sector has attracted some negative publicity in recent times. In this edition of the show, I talk to three people in the know, to find out what public sector managers really think. To listen to the podcast, click the grey arrow below. Jo Hennessy is Director of Research at Roffey Park,nbsp;the executive development and research institute and shenbsp;talks about the findings of their latest Management Agenda research. Now in it's 11th year,nbsp;the annual survey canvasses managers views and experiences across a wide range of organisational issues and of almost 500 participants, 25% were from the public sector. The key findings for the public sector are: HIGH LEVELS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT - public sector managers enjoy a better work-life balance, more flexible working and worknbsp;lessnbsp;hoursnbsp;than their counterparts in the private services sectornbsp;in order to be seen to be successful A HIGH PREVELANCE OF CHANGE - 92% of managers in the public sector have experienced change in the last two years compared with 78% in the private services sector. The public sector managers also said thatnbsp;there is room to manage change much better in their organisationsnbsp; HOW UNDERPERFORMANCE IS TACKLED -nbsp;only 4% of public sector managers said that this isnbsp;dealt with effectively HIGH LEVELS OF BEAUROCRACY - 66% in the public sector against 45% in the private services sector Accordingnbsp;to Jo, thenbsp;challenges facingnbsp;public sector managers include: HOW TOnbsp;CONSOLIDATE THE BENEFITS OF CHANGE HOW TO MANAGE EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION THROUGHOUT CHANGE HOW TO ENSURE SOME REVIEW AND LEARING FROM ANY CHANGE PROGRAMME To get a copy of the Management Agenda 2008 reportnbsp;visit www.roffeypark.com/research/managementagenda.htmlnbsp; To give an 'insiders view' I talk next to Jan Parkinson,nbsp;Managing Director of the Local Government Employersnbsp;and Sian Thomas,nbsp;Joint Acting Director of NHS Employers. Jan is surprised bynbsp;the Management Agendanbsp;findings and they don't reflect her personal experience of working within the public sector. She agrees that there is some change weariness, but points to LGE research that shows public sector managers are very good at handling change.nbsp;Jan also states that the best managers she has ever met have worked in the public sector,nbsp;thisnbsp;she believes, is becausenbsp;the issues they face are so complexnbsp;that theynbsp;have to benbsp;incredibly innovative to deal with them. Jan'snbsp;advice to HR Managers looking to improve performance in the public sector includes: DEVELOP A SUITE OF HR POLICES AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE COHERENT ANDnbsp;ALIGNED TO THE SAME GOAL GET SENIOR MANAGERS TO BUY INTO THOSE POLICIESnbsp;nbsp; Sian is also taken aback by the report and feels that although the survey sample sizenbsp;is reasonable, the NHS Employers own research of 300,000 NHS employees indicates that the day-to-day challenges faced by them, are the very reason why people come to work in the public sector. They have found that change is a motivator for a lot of people, as isnbsp;a sense of massive responsibility early on in their careers. She does agree that bureaucracy is the biggest demotivator andnbsp;that middle and morenbsp;junior staffnbsp;find a lack of controlnbsp;somewhatnbsp;limiting. Sian's advicenbsp;to HR Mangers looking to tackle areas of weakness includes: SHAPE THE CULTURE - organise practices around a sense of well-being DEVELOP TALENT AND SKILLS - it's a critical role for HR SUPPORT LINE MANAGERS - in managing change To find out more aboutnbsp;Local Government Employers visitnbsp;www.lge.gov.uk or NHS Employersnbsp;visit www.nhsemployers.org Listening to the show is simple, you can do it in a number of ways and you donrsquo;t need an iPod or MP3 player. Simply click on the grey arrow underneath the show heading and it will play through ...
