The Comprehensive Spending Review is being presented to Parliament and we now have a better picture of what is involved with the public sector cuts.
It is still early days but here are some of the issues which public sector managers and their human resources departments have to communicate.
1 Formulation of vision. Any successful change management and redundancy programme has to give some kind of meaning and healing through the pain. Already some bodies are doing this by focusing on the tax payer and asking for their input. Everyone needs to answer David Cameron's question. "How can we do things differently and better to give value for money?" The Government is not off to a great start as they have been dictated by the defence establishment – hence the decision to build two aircraft carriers, showing weakness in the face of intimidation by contractors and it clear that welfare will bear the most of public spending cuts which is questionable.
2. Management of Sickness Absence. One of the key weakenesses in the public sector is the persistenty high level of sickness absence in the sector. It is worth reflecting that there are positive examples of best practice which have been shown including where there is unionised labour. Can any public sector bodies deliver?
3. Introduction of Agreed Performance Management Standards. The issue of performance management addresses the need for the public sector to provide value for money and is a way for organisations incurring redudancy costs. The priority for organisations is to agree defined performance management standards.
4. Mininmisation of Redundancy. Redundancies costs money, can be demeaning and lead to conflict. Public Sector bodies need to start factoring in-direct costs of redundancy and seeking to minimise this.
5 Effective Conflct Resolution. The battle lines between trade unions governement is being drawn. The argument is simply this. Can reduction of the deficit be done in a more humane way. Irrespective of whoever is right, government, management and unions have a wider issue to consider. They are going to have to work together in the future. As a priority, effective conflict resolution including mediation needs to be introduced to provide effective governance in these turbulent times.
Justin Patten, Mediator