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Vanguard News - April 2008
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In this issue:
The book and the tour
Calibration tourism
Avoidable contact guidance bonkers
I put it to the minister
The minister is being groomed
NI 14 a 'classical' mistake
The classical sycophant
Audit Commission keeps ahead of the game
The paradigm is the problem
Coercing doctors to behave stupidly
How to engage ingenuity in the wrong things
***
The book and the tour
My new book (Systems Thinking in the Public Sector) will be published on April
11th. For information and pre-publication orders please go to: www.triarchypress.com
I shall be going around the country talking about this book - the argument about
how government has made services worse and wasted taxpayers' money needs to get
to the widest possible audience. I am very grateful to all those who have provided
me with spaces for the tour.
For places and dates go to: http://www.systemsthinking.co.uk/booktour.asp
***
Calibration tourism
A couple of weeks ago I went to a Cabinet Office event that was promulgating IT-led
factory designs as the route to improving public-sector services. As the new book
rips into the problems being created, I thought it would be worth checking the
regime had not yet realised the error of their ways.
I was not disappointed, nor surprised. Sir David Varney, prime minister's adviser
on reform, demonstrated his obsession with activity over purpose. He told the
audience we should benchmark call centre agent utilisation; apparently for every
man-hour 'bought' the best call centres get 49 minutes of work on the phone; he
told us some public-sector call centres lagged at only 12 minutes. Plausible stuff eh?
As I explain in the new book, my A-level physics teacher taught me not to assume
that if a man digging a road is resting on his shovel that he isn't being his
most productive; and Ohno taught me that we shouldn't worry about machines being
idle - what matters is what they do when the 'flow' comes along. With call
centres it's a bit different, but the principles apply.
Varney has a lot to learn. I hope he reads the book, he has his own chapter.
***
Avoidable contact guidance bonkers
Varney closed by saying he wanted to 'get into' the new idea of 'avoidable contact'
next. Regular readers will know this as National Indicator (NI) 14; it was originally
concerned with 'failure demand' (a Vanguard concept). Following the outcry from
systems thinkers it has been delayed and re-written. But the regime's guidance
is still completely bonkers.
The Vanguard team wrote some Vanguard guidance to NI 14, you'll find it on the
web site. One of the things the Vanguard team point out is that the major causes
of failure demand are the regime's targets and specifications. When Varney - the
architect of factory designs and 'standards' - realises this, it will either hurt
his brain or he will go into denial. Guess which is most likely?
***
I put it to the minister
During the event I told the Cabinet Office minister we were learning that lots of
failure demand was being created by the new 'flagship' public-sector factory
designs - HMRC (newsletters passim ad nauseam) and DWP. I explained we, as
taxpayers, were paying many times over for the failure: we pay HMRC and DWP to
get it wrong, we pay voluntary agencies and legal services organisations to help
these people (and claims that go all the way are found in favour of the claimant)
and we pay police and housing organisations to deal with other consequences of
the failure. As an example of 'avoidable contact' (to be correct, failure demand)
it is enormous. I put it to the minister that the primary cause was the design of
the new 'flagship' factories: dumbed-down front-ends, activity-managed
'back-offices'; managers obsessed (like Varney) with activity as cost.
I got a politician's reply. I have not given up; we are due to talk again this week.
***
The minister is being groomed
By his own admission the minister was only a few weeks into his new job. Opening
the event he told us how 'technology enables government', but with no examples
where it has to good effect; he told us how technology gives collaboration
'scale' with no examples of why this might be relevant to public service design;
he told us technology enables 'pin-point accuracy of service' without explaining
why this had not been the case with so many recent IT-led changes (failures) in
public services. He told us we were looking forward to a change 'beyond
comprehension' and we should 'want to be a part of it'.
I felt sorry for him. I suspect he has arrived into his new job and been groomed
by the bright young things who know nothing, whose careers are dependent on coming
up with 'ideas' that ministers can talk about. All this plausible junk fills his
head as he transforms from a typical down-to-earth labour politician to a New
Labour sound-bite junkie.
***
The paradigm is the problem
A reader wrote, reminding me of the heart of the public service factory problem. As
he said, factory designs assume it makes sense to break work into 'tasks' that can
be 'managed' by sending the work to those who have to do the 'tasks' in the right
order. Managers put rules into computers and thus computers effectively manage the
complexity. The list of thinking errors committed is long. The activity times
associated with the 'tasks' ignore variation; hounding workers for adherence teaches
them to 'cheat'; the standardised work processes and the rules put in by managers
stop the system from absorbing variety; the feeling the worker has of loss of
control creates counter-productive behaviour. I could go on (I often do!).
I am sure we will learn that the last - giving control to the computer - will be
at the heart of the problems in Terminal 5. Wherever we have worked in
organisations that control workers with computers we have learned you have to
turn the computer controls off to improve performance. It is, as Ohno taught,
using computers for something people are best at.
***
NI 14 a 'classical' mistake
At the same event I met the Cabinet Office person responsible for NI 14. It has
been her job to develop the definition by running workshops with those who will
have to implement it. I told her that what she was about to do would create
massive waste and would fail to achieve purpose, and I explained why. She told
me this was just my opinion. I said many systems thinkers in the public sector
would stand their ground on this issue, and she replied for all the people I
could muster to support my 'point of view', she could muster equivalent support.
I said it was Socrates who first said you cannot find the truth by counting heads
and she told me she needed no advice on that as she was a classics scholar.
So there you have it. Qualifications for promulgating management practice in the
public sector? A scholarship in classics. A free copy of the new book to the first
reader who sends me (I think it was) the Petronious quote on how re-organisation
stops anything improving.
***
The classical sycophant
Unaware, at this event, I found myself at the launch of the new 'customer service
standard' - son of 'Charter Mark'. The presenter, noticing my presence, remarked
to the audience that I had said much against Charter Mark and wanted my view on
the new standard. I was obliged to say I thought it was awful; more of the same,
doing the wrong thing righter.
It drew an attack from a member of the audience who happened to be a top manager
in a public service organisation festooned with awards (Charter Mark, Investors
in People, top-star ratings, Beacon status et al). He told me all these things
were useful because they help you 'challenge' what you do. Poor man, he has no
appreciation that 'challenge' with bad theory is worse than no challenge. But I
guess he sees his future in terms of the regime and the regime loves sycophants.
And no one can tell me why it is that Charter Mark needed a son.
***
Audit Commission keeps ahead of the game
I went from the Cabinet Office event to a meeting of local government chief
executives. I arrived early, so listened to their proceedings. The big issue
right now is 'CAA' - the new region-wide assessment vehicle being promoted by
the Audit Commission. It struck me that in the time I have been involved in the
public sector we have had CCT, Best Value, Star Ratings, CPA and now CAA. The
Audit Commission narrative is that each has served its purpose and assessment
needs to be continually improved. I think the truth is the Audit Commission
keeps coming up with new ideas that don't work and to avoid being found out
they invent new inspection regimes. You can never be blamed if you keep ahead
of the game.
***
Coercing doctors to behave stupidly
A reader writes:
'I damaged my knee. I went to the GP who referred me to a hospital and, as part
of the process, took me through the options under the 'patient choice' initiative.
Basically I could go to just about any hospital in London, but guess what I
said? I'd like to go to the nearest one to where I live.
After the consultation he gave me a survey to complete along with a freepost
envelope to return it to Ipsos MORI (the research company lucky enough to be
riding this particular gravy train!). The survey says...
'You were given this questionnaire because your GP has referred you to see a
specialist at a hospital'. The questions are:
Q1 Think about when your doctor referred you to see a specialist. Did your doctor
talk with you about a choice of hospital for your appointment? Yes / No
Q2. Are you male or female?
Q3. How old are you?'
That's it, no other questions.
I read it and just sat staring at it. I cannot possibly imagine why this survey
exists other than to 'prove' that the patient choice initiative is a roaring
success. As for the research company, how can they sleep at night knowing that
they have colluded with such a waste of money, do they have NO professional pride?'
He also told me there is a freephone number to call (available in 11 languages)
and a website for anyone who needs help filling in the questionnaire. If people
need help with these questions they ought to go straight back to the doctor.
***
How to engage ingenuity in the wrong things
The stupidity of using surveys to coerce people to do the wrong things with
customers began in the private sector. I was sent an example by a reader who
took delivery of a new car and then got a call from the dealer:
'Nothing to worry about sir, just a courtesy call to ensure all is well with
your new car. Also, to ask if you could rate our service as 'outstanding' on
your [manufacturer's name] questionnaire when it arrives. If you have any reason
not to, please ring me to discuss. It may seem a petty request but we get paid
on the results.'
The last time I took delivery of a new car the man who brought it was insistent
he showed me things while I was insistent that I'll find out later from the
manual (I was busy). He persisted to the point that he irritated me. Only when
I received the 'customer satisfaction' survey did I see why. The survey asked
if he had done the things he was trying to do.
In their attempts to improve customer service car manufacturers make the customer
experience worse. And it is tragic to have to note that this even applies to the
ones you would think would be the last to ignore Ohno's teachings.
***
Thanks for reading!
John Seddon
john@vanguardconsult.co.uk
Author: 'Systems Thinking in the Public Sector', available from Triarchy
Press: www.triarchypress.com and 'Freedom from command and control: a better
way to make the work work' available from Vanguard (www.systemsthinking.co.uk)..
Available in the US from: http://www.productivitypress.com/productdetails.cfm?SKU=3276
Vanguard Consulting: Developers of the Vanguard Method, helping organisations
change from a command and control to a systems design. Beware of imitators, as
Vanguard has developed solutions for sectors others claim to be able to provide
the same service. If providers are not accredited to the Vanguard Method you
should not expect a Vanguard service.
***
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