Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of my job is having the opportunity to frequently meet civil servants the length and breadth of the country – to not only hear about the great work that’s being done but also to see it for myself. I am reminded every day of the talent, ambition and ability that exists in abundance across the organisation.
But crucial to building a civil service able to meet the challenges of modern government is that this talent needs to be grown and developed.
Those of you who caught yesterday’s news will have seen the Prime Minister before the Liaison Committee where he commended the Civil Service for all that it has achieved:
“The Olympics were brilliantly delivered. There was a fantastic civil service effort to deliver a really successful G8 conference. Pensions have been reformed. There has been massive public spending reduction and reform of the civil service. The National Citizen Service has gone from nought to 100,000 young people in just four years. Free schools have been set up from nowhere.”
But the Prime Minister also rightly acknowledged that there is still more that we can do as an organisation. It is our responsibility as civil servants to “build on the successes and learn from the failures” and ensure that we are delivering across the board.
For me, improving our capabilities is at the heart of achieving this.
Ensuring that we are the best we can be is good for us individually and collectively – particularly as we look to build a more efficient and effective organisation – and I believe that this begins with a proper assessment of our skills and learning needs. This is why, in the run-up to the mid-year review period, I’d like to say something about development plans.
In particular, prior to mid-year reviews taking place I would like to ask you all to complete the 15-minute self-assessment tool available via Civil Service Learning. This enables you not only to match your skills against the Competency Framework and identify areas for development, but also to receive advice on the types of learning that are best-suited to help you achieve your goals. Over 120,000 of you have completed the self-assessment already, but I am keen for everyone to do this by the end of September.
But this is only the start of the journey. Far from being a one-off exercise, I want the self-assessment to act as the blueprint for a real and meaningful programme of development. Since the launch of the Civil Service Reform plan, the range of opportunities on offer to civil servants has grown considerably – whether your preference is for e-learning, coaching and mentoring or even shadowing, the wide range of opportunities on offer will enable you to choose the blend that works for you.
I recognise, however, that the reality of life in busy departments means that setting aside the time to take advantage of these services is far from straightforward. I’m therefore very keen for line managers to treat the creation of a learning and development plan as being just as important as objective-setting; to discuss and agree next steps, and to look to create the opportunities for all staff to take full advantage of their five days’ learning and development entitlement for the year.
Just as the public deserves a civil service that is able to deliver efficient, high-quality public services, civil servants deserve to work in an organisation that encourages each and every member of staff to seize the opportunities that will allow them to flourish.
So what will your development plan look like? I’m meeting with civil servants in Apex Court in Nottingham tomorrow to hear about their plans and as I continue to meet many of you on my travels in the coming months, I look forward to hearing about the development targets you have set and the tools you’re using to achieve (and even surpass) them.