Chief executive, Jobcentre Plus
In a year of political and economic change, what was your highlight of 2010?
My highlight of 2010 was also one of the most unique experiences of my career: the election period, and working with new ministers. I had experienced changes of administration before, while working as chief executive of Luton and Ealing local authorities, but the surprise of the election result, followed by the negotiations and the emergence of the coalition, was a genuinely exciting time. Following this, I worked with new ministers over the summer to show them how Jobcentre Plus helps some of the most vulnerable people in society. The hard work, commitment and impact of our staff in supporting people back to work was very clear to ministers, and was crucial in putting us in a really strong position for the next few years.
What is the biggest opportunity that coalition policies have created for the civil service?
The coalition government is committed to a reform agenda which raises real opportunities for the whole civil service. The Universal Credit will be designed to ensure that it pays to work, and the Work Programme will bring in expertise from the private and voluntary sectors to help people find work. These priorities fit with the strengths of Jobcentre Plus as an organisation. There are also major opportunities across government in the emphasis on devolving power to the front line and increasing localism.
This creates the opportunity for the civil service to deliver in a different, more locally responsive way. In Jobcentre Plus, we want to respond by testing new approaches and ways of working. Since our managers are well placed to assess their local area’s needs and labour market, we want to explore whether providing them with greater autonomy can improve outcomes for people looking for work. We are going to start testing this next year, and it could be the beginning of a real change in how services are delivered.
What is the most challenging management task facing the civil service now?
Working in Jobcentre Plus, I can never forget that thousands of people rely on us to support them in the search for work – the most important and most challenging management task will always be delivering for those people. That is why our vision is to be recognised as the best and most innovative public employment service in the world. However, it is also important to recognise this time of real uncertainty for our people, with significant efficiency challenges across government. Communicating the opportunities for the civil service, and for staff within it, whilst being sensitive to people’s natural concerns and worries, will be a real challenge. Sharing lessons from across the public and private sector to enable us to deliver in this context will be critical.
And what’s the key to succeeding in that task?
We can only continue to deliver in uncertain times due to the skills and commitment of our staff – the way that they continue to support our customers throughout is genuinely inspirational. We owe it to them to be as straightforward and honest as we can. Our leaders need to listen to staff and provide as much information as possible at every stage, and make a point of being visible, and supporting people through difficult times.
What was the best Christmas present that you’ve ever given or received? And the worst?
They are actually the same present! I was thrilled to receive vouchers for motorbike lessons for Christmas some years ago: they took me from never having ridden before to having a full licence for a 250cc-plus bike. However, just six days after buying a Ducati to show off my newfound skills, I wrote it off after skidding down the A40 – in retrospect, the vouchers ended up being a lot more expensive for me than any other gift I’ve given or received!