Redland - Public Sector

Public Sector

Our experience in continuous improvement, especially Lean service transformation and business process re-design, is available to public sector organizations through our consultancy and training services.

The only assumption which we bring to our work with clients is that all work organizations are unique, and that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach is likely to produce sub-optimal or even counterproductive results. For this reason, it is preferable for all continuous improvement initiatives to be undertaken as a bespoke programme of diagnosis, consultancy and training.

Having said this, we have often observed the following obstacles to the implementation of continuous improvement in public sector organizations:

Difficulty identifying the 'end customer' and defining service quality from the service user perspective. This is a pervasive issue in public sector processes which serve users who cannot articulate their needs, or who are 'silent' until engaged, or who are obliged to receive services mandated by law or regulation.
Multiple perspectives on the same service, contributed by processes which cross departmental and even agency barriers, and the different professional perspectives of involved parties.
The difficulty of eliminating waste from process steps which are necessary to fulfil regulatory requirements, but which add little benefit for the service user.
Misalignment between strategic and operational objectives.
Performance measurement techniques which use exclusively financial data.
Ingrained practices and behaviours which militate against systems thinking.

We have therefore distilled our experience of working with public sector organizations to overcome these challenges into the following courses, all of which have been validated by the CPD Certification Service (CPDCS):

Variants Key: Universal; Financial Services; Central Government; Local Government; Healthcare; Higher Education; Third Sector

Courses

Continuous improvement

Continuous Improvement for Public Sector Organizations

Variants: Central Government Local Government Third Selector Higher Education Healthcare (1 day - 9 hours)

This intensive one day course is designed to equip delegates from public sector service organizations with an overview of the main methodologies, and how they can be implemented in practice. Separate versions of this course exist for central government, local government, Higher Education, and healthcare. We will cover:

Statistical Process Control (SPC): the essence of SPC - data-driven decision making - is explored through the application of run chart methods to some real service process data.
Lean: the essential aspects of process mapping and elimination of process wastes are explored through case studies and the practical 'Lean factory' exercise.
Total Quality Management: the links between strategic and operational management are explored through a case study which illustrates Deming's Fourteen Points of TQM.
Kaizen: a range of continuous improvement tools and practices underpinned by systems thinking and a cultural commitment to increasing quality and minimizing 'defects.'

The main features which unite continuous improvement methodologies (systems thinking, cyclical cause-and-effect, customer defined quality, performance measurement and data-driven decision making) are therefore introduced in context. Delegates are empowered to view the methodologies holistically, choosing the tools and techniques which best suit the operations management issues they face at work.

A third-sector variant of this course is available, which stresses the relationship between quality, continuous improvement and accountability; activity-based costing; social impact and stakeholder management.

This course is aimed at managers in autonomous or semi-autonomous organizations who are faced with new resource, cost or structural constraints; and/or managers from public sector organizations which have not acquired significant experience of continuous improvement projects. For cohorts of senior civil servants and heads of service in local authorities, the Kaizen part of this course can be replaced with a consideration of Hoshin Kanri.

To find out more about this course and its sector variants, please contact us.

Continuous Improvement for Third Sector Organizations

Variants: Third Selector (1 day - 9 hours)

Designed as a broad introduction to continuous improvement for the third sector, this course provides a foundation in continuous improvement ideas from all four of the main methodologies (Lean, SPC/Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Kaizen). We will cover:

Statistical Process Control (SPC): the essence of SPC - data-driven decision making - is explored through the application of run chart methods to some real service process data.
Lean: the essential aspects of process mapping and elimination of process wastes are explored through case studies and the practical 'Lean factory' exercise.
Total Quality Management: the links between strategic and operational management are explored through a Third Sector case study which illustrates Deming's Fourteen Points of TQM.
Kaizen: a range of continuous improvement tools and practices underpinned by systems thinking and a cultural commitment to increasing quality and minimizing 'defects'.

This course is designed to meet the needs of Third Sector organizations by focussing on the contingent, project-funded nature of charitable and not-for-profit activity. The distinction between core operations and projects is critical here, and delegates will be encouraged to distinguish between processes which are durable and merit the CI approach, and those which are temporary. The challenges of managing CI with a volunteer or part-time workforce will be addressed, as will the management of stakeholders and clients such as central and local government agencies. For further information, please contact us.

Lean

Leading Lean Service Transformation

Variants: Central Government Local Government Healthcare (3 days)

This course makes inductive, practical use of context-specific case studies of successful Lean projects in the public sector. Following a practical introduction to Lean methodology, the course will provide delegates with an understanding of the challenges to the successful implementation of Lean in the public service environment, and how these can be overcome:

Defining service quality in the absence of a 'customer'.
Eliminating waste from highly-regulated processes.
Effective cross-functional and cross-agency working.
Consolidating process improvement.
Assessing and reporting the impact of Lean projects.
Sustaining enthusiasm for Lean.

The course is aimed at senior managers who will 'own' Lean projects within their organizations, or for staff at any level in public sector bodies which have the ability to make and implement strategic decisions (County Councils, NHS Regional Teams, NHS Acute, Foundation and Mental Health Trusts, Special Health Authorities). To find out more, please contact us.

Lean Service Transformation

Variants: Central Government Local Government Third Selector Higher Education Healthcare (2 days)

This course uses real-life examples of higher-volume, customer-oriented processes from the public sector. It is designed to equip staff in public sector organizations with the skills they need to carry out Lean service transformation projects in their own departments and workteams:

Value Stream Mapping.
Reducing process wastes.
Measuring and reporting process performance.
Effective cross-functional working.
Kaizen, '5S' and poka-yoke tools for increasing everyday effectiveness.

The course is aimed at managers who will conduct Lean projects within the higher-volume, lower-variety processes commonly found in local government organizations which focus on delivery to service users (District and Unitary Councils, NHS CCGs and Local Area Teams, Universities). Please contact us for further information.

Specialized courses

Introduction to Statistical Process Control

Variants: Universal Healthcare (1 day - 9 hours)

This intensive one-day course is designed to introduce operations managers and process owners to the seven classic statistical process control techniques. No prior knowledge or experience of statistics, process control or even high-school mathematics is assumed: each technique is taught inductively using real process data, and user-friendly Excel tools are provided. There is no requirement for delegates to use or understand statistical software such as R or SPSS. We will cover:

Ishikawa ('fishbone') diagrams.
Check sheet methods for process owners and supervisors.
Run charts.
Control charts (X-bar and R).
Histograms.
Pareto charts.
Scatter plots.

These tools are invaluable for identifying process problems as early as possible and taking steps to bring processes back into control. This course is available in two variants: universal (applicable to all high-volume service environments, especially where regulation or policy imposes strict quality and time constraints) and healthcare. The healthcare version of this course uses real case studies and data from healthcare delivery and commissioning contexts, and is fully compatible with the approaches and tools recommended by NHS Quality and Service Improvement. If you would like to know more about SPC methods and training, please contact us.

Statistical Process Control for Higher Education

Variants: Higher Education (2 days - 18 hours)

This course is designed very specifically with administration of Higher Education processes in mind. The first day-and-a-half of this intensive two-day course is designed to introduce university and college administrators to the seven classic statistical process control techniques. No prior knowledge or experience of statistics, process control or even high-school mathematics is assumed: each technique is taught inductively using real process data, and user-friendly Excel tools are provided. We will cover:

Ishikawa ('fishbone') diagrams.
Check sheet methods for process owners and supervisors.
Run charts.
Control charts (X-bar and R).
Histograms.
Pareto charts.
Scatter plots.

These techniques will be fully contextualized within HE practice with examples given of their relevance in day-to-day activities. Additionally, the first part of the course will cover:

Creating and interpreting multi-vari charts.
Monitoring and measuring key statistics relevant to NSS scores (UK only).

The second part of the course focusses on learning and teaching and is more relevant to academic module leaders and course leaders:

Assessment reports for external examiners - how to interpret descriptive statistics and inter-rater effects, how to distinguish between reliability (marking) and validity (question setting) problems in assessment data.
Using SPSS to produce descriptive statistics and check reliability of marking.
Design of examinations and assessments for core modules, using analysis of variance and factor models to examine patterns in assessment data.

Please contact us to find out more about this specialized course.

Introduction to Function Analysis

Variants: Local Government (1 day)

This short course will introduce operations managers and process owners to Function Analysis, which is an exceptionally powerful management tool used in the early stages of process design - whether these processes are intended to run many times (in ongoing operations), or just once (in projects). Function Analysis uses visual charts to analyse the how / why nexus in each stage of a work process - 'how is the function performed' vs. 'why is the next function performed'.

As a means of understanding the relationship between operational methods (means) and operational strategy (ends), Function Analysis is hard to beat. This course is especially relevant to managers who plan and implement projects; those who are expanding operations into new areas, designing new processes; and operational managers in authorities / agencies which are changing their service delivery processes as a result of new regulation. If this sounds like you, or managers in your organization, please contact us to find out more about Function Analysis.

Measuring Process Performance

Variants: Central Government Local Government Third Selector Healthcare (2 days)

In many public sector organizations, operational performance is all too often measured and communicated in purely financial terms. This is understandable given the intense focus on budgeting and financial accountability, but it obscures the relationship between quality, efficiency and cost; and neglects the opportunities for efficiency which arise from a more customer-oriented approach to defining quality and measuring process performance. In this course, we will cover:

The 'gap model' of customer-defined quality .
RATER measures of service performance; designing and using SERVQUAL and SERVPERF-type measures of customer quality perceptions.
The relationship between the classic operations performance dimensions of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost .
Aligning performance measures with operational strategy .

This course is ideal for operations managers in functional departments, process owners, and senior managers who have acquired new responsibility for quality and performance outcomes. The course is equally appropriate to staff whose departments serve internal customers (support services like HRM, ICT etc) and those whose departments serve the ultimate, external customer or service user. Sounds interesting? By all means contact us to find out more.

Strategic Continuous Improvement

Hoshin Kanri for Public Sector Leaders

Variants: Universal Central Government Local Government Third Selector (2 days)

Hoshin kanri is a powerful methodology for strategic alignment within organizations. It is compatible with Balanced Scorecard™, tableau de bord and other 'dashboard' methods. However, hoshin concentrates on the way in which operational performance measures are decided upon and how they relate to organizational strategy, rather than reactive management in response to dashboard data. The course covers:

Operationalizing strategic goals using appropriate performance indicators.
Co-ordinating hoshin with functional departments and process owners.
Setting appropriate milestones for each hoshin project.
Drawing up the four types of hoshin table: reviews, strategy implementation, business fundamentals and annual planning.
Conducting hoshin reviews.

This course is aimed at senior managers in public sector organizations who have responsibility for planning and implementing strategy. HK has annualized processes which align very well with the budgeting and planning activities of public sector organizations. To find out more, please contact us.

Total Quality Management for the Public Sector

Variants: Central Government Local Government Healthcare (2 days)

Total Quality Management (TQM) is 'based on all members of an organization participating in improving processes, products, services and the culture in which they work' (ASQ). It is essentially a framework for continuous improvement and is highly suitable for public sector applications. Over the two days of this course, senior managers will be introduced to the following key components of TQM:

Deming's 'Fourteen Points' - effectively a manifesto for organizational change and improvement based on TQM principles. These will be illustrated using real examples from public sector practice from the UK, Europe, USA and Singapore.
Embedding the 'plan-do-study-act' (PDSA) cycle in organizational systems and practice .
Creating a culture of managerial responsibility for quality .
Making decisions based on the correct analysis of the right kinds of process data .

Extensive use will be made of cases from United States and Singapore central and local government, where TQM is widely used and highly successful as a managerial support for continuous improvement and systems thinking. To find out more about TQM, please contact us.

Simulations

Local Authority Process Failure

Variants: Central Government Local Government (Real time + ½ day debrief)

The scenario features a catastrophic failure of controls at a local authority waste-to-energy plant, and the ensuing industrial and environmental accident. The scenario plays in real time over two days, with participants intermittently taking the roles of key local authority and DEFRA decision makers and stakeholders. The scenario is designed to 'branch' so that the decisions made by participants have consequences which change the 'storyline'.

Following the simulation, a half-day debrief will be carried out with participants. This can have various foci depending on the client's requirements:

Systems/process failure and its consequences.
Decision-making systems and their consequences.
Inter-departmental and inter-agency co-operation.
Risk management.
Stakeholder management.

Our scenarios utilize Conducttr, a real-time pervasive simulation software. You can find out more about Conducttr simulations on this site, or alternatively contact us for further information.

Healthcare Supply Chain Failure

Variants: Central Government Healthcare (Real time + ½ day debrief)

This scenario features a potentially catastrophic failure in supply chain management in the NHS. It is based on a real-life issue which arose in 2012, when a series of strong earthquakes in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy resulted in almost complete loss of productive capacity for the company which supplies the NHS with renal dialysis tubing. The scenario is designed to 'branch' so that the decisions made by participants have consequences which change the 'storyline'. The scenario and supporting materials were designed in collaboration with a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.

Following the simulation, a half-day debrief will be carried out with participants. This can have various foci depending on the client's requirements:

Supply chain management failure and its consequences.
Decision-making systems and their consequences.
Inter-departmental and inter-agency co-operation.
Risk management.
Stakeholder management.

Our scenarios utilize Conducttr, a real-time pervasive simulation software. You can find out more about Conducttr simulations on this site, or alternatively contact us for further information.

General courses

Operations Management for Functional Specialists

Variants: Universal (1 day - 9 hours)

Operations management is the Cinderella of managerial professions. Functional specialists such as management accountants, lawyers, marketers and human resource managers all have clearly articulated professional standards and methodologies, which are often associated with desirable professional qualifications such as CIMA or CIPD. The management of operations, however, has no such clearly defined professional status - there is a common perception that operations are simply equivalent to the service delivered to the end customer, or that operations are what an organization 'just does'.

This is a very damaging pre-conception and one which causes work organizations to lose a lot of money. For larger companies operating in mature markets, controlling operating costs is one of the best routes to improved margins and profitability, once new routes to market have been exhausted and commitment to existing technologies and practices makes innovation hard to achieve.

This intensive one-day course is analogous to a 'finance for non-financial managers' course, but works the other way round - it is designed to give functional specialists an insight into the methodologies and practices associated with successful operations management:

The input-process-output model and its implications.
The relationship between the classic operations performance dimensions of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost.
Describing and measuring the scope of the supply chain, the operation and the process (the three levels of operations management practice).
Using methods such as activity-based costing to help unite financial and operational decision-making.
A very practical and case-study oriented examination of operations disciplines such as process design, continuous improvement, the 'strategy pyramid' and job design.

For further information, please contact us.

Kaizen Toolkit

Variants: Universal (1 ½ days)

Kaizen (kai, change + zen, wholesome) is a set of practices and a cultural outlook which underpin continuous improvement in organizations which have adopted, or which are adopting, a more focused approach to process design. This course is ideal for process owners and operations managers. We will cover:

Root cause analysis.
Aligning practices with policy and regulatory requirements, avoiding the necessity for multiple sign-offs and duplication.
Monitoring workflow using swimlane boards and visual indicators (kanban).
5S practices to increase efficiency of the physical work space.
Poka-yoke failsafes to improve accuracy and reduce re-work rates.
Establishing and running quality circles.

If your organization or department could benefit from Kaizen training, we would be interested to discuss this further - please contact us.

Innovation in Service Provision

Variants: Universal (1 day)

This course is aimed at process owners and junior managers in large, functionally-structured work organizations. Our ICON methodology is used to help understand process changes from the perspective of customers/end-users:

Impact of proposed innovation, using stakeholder, financial and operational models. For financial impact reporting, full compatibility with IRIS standards is assured.
Contribution to the 'service package' received by the customer: techniques to understand the degree to which innovations align with and support customer definitions of quality.
Originality : the extent to which examplars and resources exist for the planned innovation - is it feasible, or worthwhile, to pursue completely untried and unsupported ideas?
Novelty: various techniques for explaining, coaching and overcoming customer or service-user resistance to new ideas.

The ICON system is conceived as a rigorous and robust methodology for 'doing' innovation in the content of large corporations and public sector agencies. The course can be delivered either as an introduction to ICON, using case studies to demonstrate the four stages; or it can be arranged in support of a specific service innovation project within your organization. For further information, please contact us.

Managing Organizational Innovation

Variants: Universal (1 day)

This course is aimed at senior managers in large, functionally-structured work organizations. Organizational innovation (structural, technical and regulatory change) is considered through the prism of the ICON methodology:

Impact of proposed innovation, using stakeholder, financial and operational models. For financial impact reporting, full compatibility with IRIS standards is assured.
Contribution to organizational and / or functional strategy: techniques to understand the degree to which innovations align with and support organizational strategies.
Originality: the extent to which examplars and resources exist for the planned innovation - is it feasible, or worthwhile, to pursue completely untried and unsupported ideas?
Novelty: various techniques for explaining, coaching and overcoming resistance to new ideas within the organization.

The ICON system is conceived as a rigorous and robust methodology for 'doing' innovation in the content of large corporations and public sector agencies. The course can be delivered either as an introduction to ICON, using case studies to demonstrate the four stages; or it can be arranged in support of a specific innovation project within your organization. For further information, please contact us.

Commissioning, Managing and Doing Without Consultants

Variants: Universal (1 day)

Using a panel of experienced management, strategy and operations consultants, we will address some of the most common experiences (and frustrations) which senior managers experience when dealing with external consultants, and how these can be overcome. Please contact us for further information.