"A high performing public service is committed to creating public value, is cost effective, meets peoples' needs and is focused on results, measures itself against those results, builds efficent operations that deliver what the public and government want, seeks high levels of productivity, is led by people who are accountable, is collaborative, responds to new challenges and opportunities, confines itself to what it can do best and looks to continually improve as part of doing business--and looks at world best practice."
-John Whitehead, Secretary to the Treasury.

So how do we improve the performance of New Zealand's public sector?

This Monday John Whitehead, Secretary to the Treasury, spoke at a seminar at the Victoria University of Government about the challenges facing the public sector. He warned that the public service would fail if it continued to do what it has done previously, and that now is the time to consider new ideas and approaches to productivity.

Whitehead outlined five key reasons why it's essential that New Zealand has a high-performing public sector:

• The public sector is a vital to the economy and well-being of New Zealanders, and its services are necessary for society to function.
• We need a focus on the level and quality of government spending, considering the deficit track and mounting debt.
• The public sector needs to slow the rate of growth in spending.
• The public sector needs to understand how to get the most out of its resources, and use what it has more effectively. Performance monitoring is key for both managers of agencies and those at the centre for making big decisions. We also need more information around performnce, that links the resources recieved to the actual results of the programmes.
• Best practice must be adopted when delivering activities. "Better performance requires innovation, and sometimes things just don't work out. Better to have tried and lost than never having tried at all."

In his speech, Whitehead continues to address what needs to change and most importantly, how those changes can take place. Essentially, Whitehead explains that the public sector should be "clear about what we are trying to achieve; thinking about the customer and organising to deliver the right outcomes; getting the best price for the public; producing the right quantities and standards (rather than gold plating); and being explicit with the public about what we are doing and the trade-offs involved."

The full transcript of Whitehead's speech, Public Sector Performance is available on the Treasury website.

7 Things to improve public sector performance

In response to John Whitehead's speech, the PSA have put out a press release on improving the public sector. As Brenda Pilott, PSA National Secretary says: “We have a different recipe and have listed seven things needed to produce real and sustainable improvements in public sector performance that will benefit the public and the country as a whole."

The list includes taking privatisation off the agenda, getting the best from public sector workers, and respecting their professionalism. 7 Things to improve public sector performance is available online from Stuff.co.nz.

For more information, you can download a copy of the PSA’s ‘State of the Future: Strong Public Services for Tough Times’.