Scenario 2

“I know that we (an internal service functional staff) face the serious prospect of being outsourced if we don’t act quickly to improve our reputation within the business. I have decided to run a development programme over the next 12 months. Time and resources are limited. Where should I focus for maximum effect?"
(IT Director, Financial Services Company)

An Excellence Audit was used to survey a significant cross section of managers and the professional staff who make up the two main departments in this internal service function. The results identified a gulf between the managers’ point of view and that of their two main teams. The anxiety the managers had about the reputation of the function in the business was not shared by the team, which would have made a service improvement initiative rather fruitless! Instead the team cared about the deteriorating working atmosphere, their growing detachment from the decision making in the business, and the senior management’s erosion of the core “people” values in the business which had high ownership in the department.

As a result, the management team rethought their development plans, putting the early influence on explaining the need for a step change in performance and giving more staff direct exposure to customers, internal and external, and customer feedback. A collective appetite for improvement was installed. At the same time, projects were set up to streamline internal work processes, improve communication, and make decision making more visible. A modified reward and recognition system was put in place to ensure that the team stayed focused on the key performance aspects that needed to improve.

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