Publications

Capturing the power of engagement in DWP

Lean service with PA Consulting Group

Reduced clearance times, increased quality and increased productivity

DWP faces a demanding agenda. Ministers expect a range of policies to be achieved quickly and with minimum cost and disruption. Central change initiatives and targets aim to deliver modernisation, policy outcomes and higher service standards – timeliness, accuracy and customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the current efficiency backdrop – significantly reduced headcount and budget – make this tough job seem almost impossible.

Delivering headcount reductions is not the challenge: often they are simply fact. The real challenge is delivering the business with the staff that are left, and joining up ground level delivery with the strategic plans for modernisation and service targets coming down from above. Managers fear that, far from meeting new performance targets, they will see increasing processing times, worsening error rates and falling customer satisfaction.

Can this challenge be met? Traditionally, cost cutting is seen as a time to retrench. To make a step change in performance during major headcount cuts seems an improbable outcome. Yet there is evidence that this outcome can be achieved. ‘Lean service with PA’ can be applied to deliver improved performance by engaging with staff to change the way they work at ground level. This creates both a step change in performance and also has the added benefit of creating an internal resource with the capability to sustain and increase the improvement.