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DPMC continues to focus on assessment of its capability across all business units, and on capability improvements in key priority areas.
Capability issues are central to DPMC’s ability to perform
its role and achieve its outcomes. The key capabilities
needed in the department are: attracting and retaining
high-performing staff; maintaining and enhancing agency
credibility; developing good networks and working
relationships; implementing effective infrastructure; and
delivering strong information-management.
DPMC depends on recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce, and on making the best use of their talents, experience and knowledge.
During the 2005/06 year, DPMC undertook its second annual climate survey to assess staff wellbeing and their views of the department – a key measure of organisational health. As with the previous year’s survey, there was a high level of participation in the 2006 survey: 79 per cent of staff responded. This strong response rate enabled the department to interpret the results as being a good reflection of views amongst staff.
The 2005 survey results had been positive, and 2006’s were even better. They demonstrated a year-on-year improvement in the four major climate indicators – clarity, drive, alignment, and confidence – and showed that DPMC staff were in the top quartile of respondents across the public sector.
At all levels in DPMC, staff have a widely shared understanding of the department’s purpose, goals and core operating principles. Together, these three factors define clarity – the collective understanding and articulation of what the department is about and how it goes about its business. People in the department display energy and drive, and are focused on results. Staff see a culture of cooperative effort and effective communication (though there is room for improvement), which are measures of alignment of processes and systems that support high performance. Across most of DPMC there is also a sense of optimism and a shared sense of worth, which denotes confidence in the department.
Highest-scoring items included: I am proud to say I work for this organisation; I am clear about how my individual role contributes to the organisation’s goals; our organisation’s values are relevant to my work; the department has high standards for personal conduct; personal honesty is a requirement to be a leader here; I like the work in my present position; I get a great sense of accomplishment from my work.
On the other side of the ledger, there are areas where the department could do better. Workloads and sufficient staff to do the work are two of the lower-scoring items, as are rewards for high performers, some unnecessary duplication of tasks, and red tape causing delays in some decisions. As DPMC is a small department of 120 staff and has six separate business units, the prospects for career progression within the department are also limited.
Following the 2005 review of capability and capacity in the
Policy Advisory Group and the Domestic and External
Security Group (DESG), actions have been taken on key
recommendations. Resourcing for DESG has increased; and
recruitment criteria for new staff in the Policy Advisory
Group place much stronger emphasis on relevant external
experience and the requirement for a high quality of written
advice. Improvements have also been made to the induction
and development of advisers in the Policy Advisory Group.
Staff wellbeing is an ongoing priority for DPMC, and in 2005/06 there were developments in a number of human resource policies and practices aimed at improving staff conditions of employment.
A DPMC project to review the department’s personnel manual, begun in late 2004, was completed in early 2006. This followed extensive staff consultation and consideration of all aspects of the personnel manual – including changes to employment legislation, remuneration and related benefits, leave provisions, safety and health, and other general conditions of employment. The revised Manual 2006 was distributed to all staff in January 2006.
Two other significant human-resource reviews occurred during 2005/06. The first was an assessment of the department’s performance management system, which involved an open staff-consultation process.
The assessment produced recommendations for a number of improvements to the current system, and these are currently being implemented for the 2006/07 performance year. A department-wide training and development audit was also undertaken during the year. This audit validated our current focus on delivering staff development primarily at the business-unit level – a focus made necessary by the differing technical skills and knowledge requirements within each unit.
Creating a healthy and safe work environment is an ongoing departmental priority. With that goal in mind the department’s Health and Safety Committee began preparatory work in 2004 to apply for primary-level status in the ACC Workplace Safety Management Practices Programme (a voluntary programme aimed at encouraging good-employer practices in workplace health and safety). This has involved a considerable amount of work by a number of people in the department, and has raised general awareness of workplace health and safety. In April 2006, DPMC obtained primary level status in the ACC Programme, and the plan is to consolidate the benefits gained from this achievement and to maintain a strong level of staff appreciation of workplace safety and health.
At the end of the 2005/06 year, the department published the David Henry report on the Review of DPMC Systems and Practices in relation to the Security of Sensitive Information, the independent review undertaken following the Cabinet paper leak. The report contains recommendations for tightening up aspects of the current recruitment, selection and induction processes and for more systematic staff training on security issues. These are key priorities for action in the 2006/07 year.
DPMC’s internal audit committee met five times in 2005/06. It main purpose has been to determine the adequacy, efficiency and effectiveness of the department’s management, financial and operating systems. Particular emphasis is placed on providing assurance to the Chief Executive that internal-control measures are working effectively. An independent chairperson from outside the department has chaired the committee since its inception in 2002.
The new DPMC Audit and Risk Committee was established
in late June and is in the process of developing a new charter
that will take the internal audit function towards a more
assurance- and risk-based focus.
During the year DPMC focused on initiatives identified in the previous year’s information strategy. This included remote access, more complete network integration, and better management of information.
The primary focus has involved selecting and implementing a new electronic document and records management system. Its implementation has been run in parallel with a related project of developing good recordkeeping practices in the department.
DPMC has continued to maintain a robust technical infrastructure with further software and hardware upgrades – such as introducing a new tape library and firewall, and expanding the capacity of the server room. Progress was made on integration, with Government House planning to integrate its networks next financial year.
Internationally there has been a huge increase in the number of viruses, spam, and cyber attacks, some of which were targeted specifically at government. This has required more internal resources to be spent on regularly increasing internal defences and patching software.
The Cabinet Office has focused on improving the use of its existing systems and developing new internal informationmanagement resources. In particular, refinements have been made to Cabinet Office systems for distributing and tracking Cabinet material. A secure online Cabinet and Cabinet committee workspace, which provides access to a range of Cabinet Office administrative information, is now available to departments and staff in ministers’ offices through the public sector intranet.