Generational Diversity and Agile Working in the Public Sector

To date there is still too much office working in the Public Sector and not enough 'working where the work is', which for the Public Sector is working with the public. It is important to recognise that the Public Sector is on a Cultural journey which will require working differently, and in some cases counter-intuitively.

When 'working where the work is', technology is a great enabler. However there continues to be cultural barriers which link to a need to let go of some control, which understandably is counter-intuitive for political leaders, as well as the expectations of the different generations in the workplace.
Baby Boomers and - to some extend - my generation, Generation X, have become used to an office space we have been able to 'personalise' to our individual needs. In the current climate, office space is a high cost to any organisation, not just the Public Sector, and needs to be reviewed so that organisations don't compromise on their people (talent). In recent years, Generation X has been making more demands for equality, flexibility and work/life balance, however further economic pressures are demanding more compromise around the way we work. Equally access to ever-changing technologies has raised different workstyle expectations for the younger generations that are now sharing our workspaces.

The economy is pushing the Public Sector to think more carefully about the needs for efficiencies. Technology is a great enabler and should be led by the younger generation as the rate of adoption of the use of new technologies is 'speeding up' and will in turn enable new innovations. The younger generations - by the very nature of how an organisation works - are more likely to sit in the front line, hence a need for bottom-up innovation.

The culture set by Top Managers (likely to be Baby Boomers and Generation X) is important to consider as it highly depends on Top Managers' individual ability and willingness to recognise and embrace - not necessarily adopt - these generational changes and expectations, which will feel like a loss of control and in real terms is counter-intuitive, but - as you can see - extremely important.

Managing a virtual workforce requires organisations/managers to trust their front line workforce and embrace the use of technology and social media. This is all part of a wider cultural journey and  remains an enormous challenge for the Public Sector who are trying to get used to being more open and transparent, meaning a counter-intuitive 'loosening of the reins'.

Related blog - http://www.publicservice.co.uk/feature_story.asp?id=23073

The importance of openness and transparency for the Public Sector - a simple metaphor

When money and resources were plenty, our personal accountability is often forgotten about and environmental sustainability goes out of the window. Why? Some may call it 'greed', I call it a human hoarding instinct which in pre-historic times helped us survive however in the modern world can have serious economic and environmental implications. The metaphor below sets out a simple lesson in the importance of being open and transparent in the current climate.

 

When money was plenty, the world created gas-guzzling 4x4s and demand for them grew as they promised safety and reliability. The negatives, i.e. impact on the environment by guzzling the earth's resources among others, were given little consideration. Today, with much more openness and transparancy about the state of the world's resources and the environment, many people are taken more personal accountability and are wanting to minimize the strains on their pocket, wishing to purchase a car which is less costly to run and kinder to the environment.

 

So how does this metaphor help the Public Sector to prioritise its activities? Similarly, at times of plenty the Public Sector has created a number of luxury services at no 'direct' cost to the customer. In the current climate, Council needs to consider prioritising their services to cope with financial constraints and needs to more openly and transparently communicate their financial reality with the communities it supports.

 

The result of not communicating will lead to communities not fully accepting and supporting the changes, and a continuation of legal and costly challenges triggered by the changes in service provision. 

 

The Commissioning approach, if it includes a full commitment to openness and transparency, will act as an enabler of this prioritisation exercise for the Public Sector. It will allow the Public Sector to analyse its activities in light of financial, economic and environmental sustainability and current demands for services.

Staying afloat - helping organisations survive financial difficulties

Is your organisation experiencing financial challenges? Not unusual in this day and age as financial pressures have affected us all in one way or another. Metaphors can really help you to prioritise your activities and outcomes and how to communicate to your employees. It may help you to think about a ship at risk of sinking. What is the first thing you do?

There are three behavioural options: 'denial', 'panic' or 'analyse, plan, act and review'.

Denial will only mean that those in positions of power and others who depend on them will be caught out. Denial stops communication about what is likely to happen, stops the seeking of highly-needed support and the resulting non-action is most likely to mean the ship will sink with many ill-prepared casualties.

Panic causes more panic. It is infectious and soon ends in chaos. Panic can translate in not knowing where to start, lead to knee jerk and therefore ill-informed decision-making. Reactivity has a negative effect on those who rely on the direction of those in positions of power. The likely result - a sinking ship and ill-prepared casualties (unless you are lucky to be surrounded by others who are more resilient).

The only winning formula is to 'analyse, plan, act and review' in other words, take a step back, get 'all hands on deck' to analyse the damage and trust everyone's commitment to do everything in their power to prevent the worst case scenario. Asking everyone to support the outcomes will also mean they will be more resilient and ready for any further changes (even if it means that the sinking of the ship could not be prevented).

If you find that your workforce are not acting in the way you would expect in an organisation dealing with uncertainty, it is likely that clear, honest and transparent communication is needed or that the communication is not being cascaded by those who lack the resilience needed to cope and lead others in these ever-changing times.