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Introduction

The Executive Council approved five flagships for the Province in October 2006 and they were announced in the 2007 State of the Province Address. The Accelerated Capacity Building flagship project (ACBfp) was launched in February 2008, and the ongoing Executive Development Programme (EDP), since 2006, was incorporated into the ACBfp.

The CEO of ACBfp was appointed in July 2008 and the Project Management Unit (PMU) service provider was appointed January 2009.
The purpose of this article is fourfold:

• To introduce the Accelerated Capacity Building flagship project (ACBfp) and how it will be implemented
• To highlight the importance of the project
• To provide an overview of the benefits
• To review achievements to date
• To present the future activities.

Why Acbfp? How does it link to service delivery? What makes an organisation effective and efficient in its service delivery mandate? The following are critical success factors:

• A common value system (e.g., Batho Pele)
• A service delivery management culture
• Effective human resource policies and procedures
• Human capital development of core service delivery skills
• Effective and efficient systems and processes (e.g., supply chain management integrity management)
• An effective and efficient management monitoring and evaluation system (i.e. performance management)

What makes a person / employee effective and efficient in his or her environment? Again we have critical success factors, namely:

• Skills – s/he must have the ability to do the job
• Motivation – s/he must want to do the job; and
• Resources – s/he must have the tools (equipment, systems, budget, people, etc.) to do the job.
• All of these elements need to be in equilibrium to ensure effective and efficient service delivery.

It is accepted that human capital development requires acceleration for the “Machinery of Government” to become more effective. This is reflected in the following:

• The State of the Nation Address (2004) identified capacity as a limiting factor
• Mpumalanga was the first to initiate an intervention (Skills Audit - 2005)
• The Inauguration Speech of the Premier of Mpumalanga – 2009
• The State of the Province Address – 2007
• The Mpumalanga Provincial Growth and Development Plan - 2009 to 2014
• The Provincial Programme of Action (G & A Cluster)

DPSA Guidelines

The MTSF Priorities for 2009 to 2014, in particular Priorities 4 and 10.

Objective and scope of ACBfp

The objective of ACBfp is to enhance service delivery in the Province, including Local Government level, through:

• Capacity building programmes targeting the leadership and management of the Province and Local government
• Improving organisational capacity by reviewing and redesigning indicated processes, procedures and systems.

The scope of the project includes the following elements:

• Human Resources where the focus is on people management (recruitment and retention strategies, performance management, health and wellness)
• Change Management deals with culture change to support service delivery, OD, communication and stakeholder management
• Review and Improvement of Systems looks at the improvement of cross cutting business processes and systems (e.g., records management, integrity management, supply chain management).
• Management Development focuses on key developmental areas (EDP, executive coaching, Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) for middle managers,
• Middle Management Development Programme (MMDP), Junior Management Development Programme (JMDP), and the Mpumalanga Management Centre)

How are we going to implement ACBfp?

The PMU will forge close working relationships with stakeholders with a view to:

• Jointly developing practical solutions
• Working together closely while implementing solutions
• Transferring skills
• Engendering a culture of continuous improvement.

The PMU is structured as follows:

The project has been divided into a number of phases, there is overlap, some are continuous and others are in a sequence. The PMU is currently busy with Phase II.

• Phase I: Project Communication and Mobilisation. (January, 2009 to December, 2011). During this phase the direction of the project is set by the PMU and the Project Steering Committee, the latter is representative of all stakeholders. Further, Internal Facilitators, again representing all stakeholders, are selected and trained in the project’s methodology. The project is branded, an ongoing communication strategy is implemented, and informative road shows about the project are conducted throughout the Province.
• Phase II: Analysis Phase. (March, 2009 to November, 2009). During this phase there will be a review of the existing situation, e.g., skill requirements, project plans, policies and procedures, organisation culture, perceptions of the Provincial Government, current cross cutting systems, etc. Reports and feedback will be presented outlining the results and conclusions drawn following these various studies.
• Phase III: Design and Development. (November, 2009 to February, 2010). Based on the findings in Phase II, programmes and initiatives will be developed to build on strengths and improve where necessary. The design of these initiatives will be done in a participative manner. Initiatives could include refining existing project plans, identifying key result and key performance areas, developing a performance management system, etc.
• Phase IV: Implementation. (February, 2010 to December, 2011). During this phase pilot areas for implementation will be identified where proposals will be tested and fine-tuned before implementation is rolled out across the Province.
• Phase V: Monitoring and Evaluation. (January, 2009 until December, 2011). As for Phase I, this is a continuous process. Initiatives will be measured and monitored against key performance indicators with a view to the monitoring, evaluation and management reporting system that will be put in place.. Where it is necessary, corrective action will be taken. The Internal Facilitators will have been prepared throughout Phases I through to V to continue after the PMU has left.

Critical success factors for the implementation of the project include:

• Commitment and involvement from senior management
• Shared vision of flagship objectives
• Participation by all stakeholders
• Dedicated capacity (Internal Facilitators) to work with the PMU for sustainability and skills transfer
• Communication and regular feedback
• Timeous access to required information and documentation
• Availability of key personnel for consultation
• Availability of officials to attend training or development programmes
• Speed in submitting information needed.

The key benefit that will be derived from the project is improved service delivery through the following:

• An established management model and centre that capacitates the management / leadership of the Province
• A changed culture to support service delivery
• Improved systems to support continuous improvement
• A well structured performance management system that enhances skills;transfer, retention and employee health and wellness
• Skills transfer from Service Providers to officials
• Measureable improvement in the image of Mpumalanga Province
• A monitoring and evaluation mechanism for project elements.

Achievements to date and future activities of the Accelerated Capacity Building Flagship Project

Activities that have been concluded, are in progress, or are planned include the following:

Human resources and change management

In order to ensure communication regarding the ACBfp is ongoing the following forums have been established to communicate the PMU progress:

Monthly Project Steering Committee meetings are held to provide guidance to the project and to monitor the implementation process. These are attended by representatives from each department, SALGA, and the SDF Co-ordinator for Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs. The outcomes of the Project Steering Committee are summarised and circulated to the Heads of departments to keep them informed on progress.

Bi-weekly Internal Facilitator’s meetings are held to facilitate implementation of project activities and to ensure that skills transfer from the PMU to each department takes place. A second training session for Internal Facilitators is being scheduled.

Road shows to departments and its Senior Managers have been undertaken, and are ongoing. The purpose is to inform them of the project and its status. This is currently being cascaded to lower levels. The recent presentation to Health which focused on how the Department of Health’s needs within the flagship’s mandate can be addressed proved successful. Other presentations done this last quarter included; the Department of Education, Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, and the department: Economic Development, Environment and Tourism.

To ensure that the key stakeholders are informed of the status of the PMU, road shows to DBSA, LG Seta, SALGA have been undertaken. A road show to Local Government is in the process of being scheduled.

There has been ongoing implementation of communication and stakeholder plans. Changes to the stakeholder plans are continually being reviewed to ensure that the stakeholder plan reflected the currently reality.

To ensure ongoing communication a web page has been developed and is located on the MPG website. Various project related activities have been published internally by departments, namely, Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison as well as the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism. The flagship is currently having discussions with the Communication unit in the Department of Education in order to broaden its communication footprint.
The draft retention strategy has been prepared and was presented to PMC. The PMU is in the process of looking into an integrated approach to attraction, engagement and retention (E.g., business processes, recruitment and selection, employee climate/morale; health and wellness, absenteeism, staff turnover, and sustainable pools). A retention strategy for ADP participants has been developed. This, along with the results of the current Employee Opinion Survey, will feed into the final overall retention strategy, already drafted.

The draft retention policy was presented to the Unions in June 2009.

An internal employee opinion survey has been piloted in the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison. A total number of 114 officials were surveyed to ensure a 95% confidence level. The findings of the pilot survey were presented to the HOD and management team of Community Safety, Security and Liaison. Preliminary findings of the pilot survey were also presented to the Project Steering Committee and the CEO of the ACBfp also presented to the PMC. The roll out of the employee opinion survey to the other departments is currently being scheduled. The planned roll out will survey 3 712 of the 72 660 officials in the MPG. This will ensure the norm of a 95% confidence level in results is achieved. The PMU will team with and provide training to Internal Facilitators and Steering Committee members in this regard. HRM and HRD officials will be approached to assist in the roll out of the survey. Throughout this process officials will be kept informed of their involvement and when they can expect feedback. This initiative has top management support.

An external customer survey has been designed where implementation will make use of CDW’s and Batho Pele Co-ordinators. This is on hold until the socio-political climate in the Province becomes more appropriate.

Management Development

The following has been accomplished:

The training material for the Middle Management Development Programme and the Junior Management Development Programme has been reviewed. The PMU met with Regenesys on 20 July 2009 to discuss proposed changes to the MMDP. Subsequently follow up meetings were held with Regenesys to review progress. Progress meetings were held with Regenesys on 29 July 2009 and 18 September 2009.

In terms of the evaluation of the MMDP training package the following documents were used:

• Skills Audit for Middle Managers (MTB3671B) – Sithole/ Vutivi/ Price Waterhouse Coopers – 15 November 2005
• Mpumulanga Middle Management Development Programme Developed by Regenysys Management Research and Development – October 2008
• Specification: Request for Proposal
• Technical Proposal submitted by Regenesys
• Public Service Middle Management Competency Framework (MMCF)

The following competencies were reviewed:

• applied strategic thinking
• problem solving and decision making
• developing others
• impact and influence
• customer focus and responsiveness
• managing interpersonal conflict and resolving problems
• networking and building bonds
• planning and organising
• team leadership
• budgeting and financial management
• project management.

Gaps were identified in the training material. These gaps were discussed and agreed with Regenesys. These gaps formed the basis of the changes to the training material.

In addition the training programme is being tailored to needs of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government. It was requested that the individual and group exercises be relevant to the work situation of the middle managers. Further, it was also requested of Regenesys that the training material be focused on practical application in the work place as opposed to a theoretical document.

During discussions with Regenesys, the issue of accreditation was addressed. Accreditation of the training material was not a prerequisite in the initial tender’s terms of reference. It has been agreed with Regenesys that the Project Management Module of the Middle Management Development Programme will be credit bearing.

The same source documents as used in the evaluation of the middle management training material were used to evaluate the Junior Management Development Programme. A meeting was held with the University of Pretoria on 19 August 2009 to discuss changes to the JMDP training manual.

The training material was reviewed against the following competencies:

• concern for others
• creative thinking
• diversity citizenship
• problem analysis
• self management
• team building.

The changes to the JMDP and the MMDP training material will strengthen the training material and ensure that the officials attending the training will be able to practically apply the programme outcomes back in the work place.

Currently the MMDP and the JMDP programmes have been suspended pending the updating of the training manuals. To date four groups of middle managers have completed the MMDP and seven groups of junior managers have completed the JMDP. The programmes will resume once the agreed changes have been effected.
The skills strategy of the Province is in the process of been reviewed. The purpose of this review is to understand what internal capacity / skills are required for officials to be effective.

The review process includes the following documents:

• Mpumalanga Province Human Resource Development Strategy
• The DPSA Strategic Human Resource Planning
• The DPSA Public Service Mentorship Programme
• Human Resource Development for the Public Service
• Public Service Commission – Report on the evaluation of training needs of senior managers in the public sector
• The Presidency - Republic of South Africa Medium Term Strategic Framework.

The findings of this review will inform the internal training requirements of the Province. A strategy document will be produced once the review has been completed. This strategy document will inform the way forward on what skills are required and what approach should be used to capacitate officials.

The skills strategy will inform the future of the Management Development Model that is being developed for the Province.

The proposed management model that is being developed has three focus areas:

• The first area is the management development aspect. The Executive Development Programme, the Middle Management Development Programme, The Accelerated Development Programme and the Junior Management Development Programme form part of this management development. The concept is that the various management development programmes build on each other. For example the Middle Management Development Programme builds on the Junior Management Development Programme.
• The second focus area is the identification of the core skill requirement at the various levels of management. The information obtained from the review of the skills strategy for the Province will assist in the identification of the core skills required. The core skills that are identified will be integral in the training of the various management levels.
• The third focus area of the proposed management model is the transitional skill requirement at each level of management. This will ensure that managers are equipped to move up the management ladder.
  The pilot phase of the impact assessment has been completed. It was agreed that the remaining officials, who were part of the original skills audit and who have completed the EDP programme, will be assessed. Twenty two candidates have been identified and the impact assessment is currently being conducted on these candidates. The targeted date for the completion of the impact assessment is the end of November 2009.

The EDP programme has come to an end. Khaedu is ongoing. An analysis of the EDP is currently being conducted to establish the overall performance of EDP. A report for each department will be developed based on the analysis. This will include the officials who have successfully completed the EDP, those who have assignments outstanding, and those who have not completed either module two or module three.

Once the impact assessment has been completed a report on the findings and the analysis of the EDP will be submitted to the applicable forums.
The Executive Coaching Programme is ongoing and has been extended to October 2009. The programme was extended in order to give the participants time to complete the programme with their respective coaches.

Feasibility study into the establishment of a university

The Premier requested the flagship to investigate the possibility of establishing a university in Mpumalanga. As part of the investigation the ACBfp perused previous reports and legislative requirements, frameworks and consulted with various stakeholders. The findings of the initial investigation were summarised in a memorandum.

Education and NIHE were also tasked by the Premier to investigate the feasibility of a university. The memorandum was presented by Education to the Social Cluster to clarify the roles of the various role players. Currently the flagship is in the process of clarifying the mandate with Education and the Office of the Premier.

Processes and systems (Business Process Re-engineering - BPR)

The PMU was tasked to look at transversal systems and processes. A number of systems were identified. These systems and processes are:

• recruitment and selection
• performance management systems
• supply chain
• records management
• integrity management

It was agreed that the PMU would focus initially on the Recruitment and Selection processes and the Performance Management and Development System.
Focus Interviews were conducted with the process owners. The process owners for the recruitment and selection and performance management development system were the transversal policy guidelines custodians in the Office of The Premier and the Human Resource Managers across all departments. The purpose of the focus interviews was to familiarise the PMU with the human resource practices in the Directorates. This was followed by the compilation of area sequence packs with process owners. The area sequence packs provide detailed information that includes function, structure, processes, systems, and key stakeholders within and outside of the process area.

The policy guidelines on the recruitment and selection system as well as the performance management development system, as prescribed by DPSA and MPG, were reviewed. These policies were reviewed to ensure that the key aspects were fully captured in the development of process mini-flows.

The development of process mini-flow maps entailed capturing the current practices of recruitment and selection as well as performance management. The process mini-flow maps were developed by the PMU in conjunction with the Human Resource Practitioners in the Office of the Premier. The completed process mini flows were circulated to the Human Resources sections of all departments. The purpose of this was for the departments to validate the process flows and also to indicate where they differed.

“Live” documentation was used to develop a “brown paper” (a graphic representation of a system) of the process mini-flows. This was presented to the HR Forum and agreed. The brown paper was also presented to the Project Steering Committee.

The recruitment and selection as well as the performance management development processes were critiqued and areas for improvement were identified. The critique process consisted of a number of workshops. The participants at these workshops included the process owners, the ACBfp PMU, BPR subject matter experts, and members the HR Forum. Process Critique Workshops for recruitment and selection were conducted on 24 and 25 June and 28 July 2009. The performance management development critique workshop was conducted on the 11 August 2009.

A time line was developed to demonstrate the length of time the recruitment and selection process takes, and the average time to complete this process is 88 days. Further, it was estimated that there are approximately 62 days of non productive time in these 88 days.

A process manual for recruitment and selection has been drafted by the PMU, and is being piloted by all departments. The key elements of the process manual are:

• Section 1 – the work flow
• Section 2 – the process schedule
• Section 3 – the activity table

The PMU is currently reviewing the Supply Chain Management (SCM) process. The focus interviews have been concluded and the next steps are to map the master process mini-flows and to critique the current process.

The ACBfp BPR value is depicted graphically below.




 

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