Managing MAF's Performance
Developing our Capability
MAF's internal capability is what empowers us to make a real difference for New Zealand. This year our medium term organisational development strategy focused on three key initiatives - leadership, people and support - consistent with the State Sector Development Goals. Below are the results of our key work programmes under each initiative. In addition to these organisation-wide developments, MAF's business units also undertook their own capability development activities.
Leadership
Our Leadership Development Project aimed to drive a common understanding and support for leadership in MAF. This year, we carried out a number of activities under the project:
- Managers co-created a new competency framework that differentiates between management levels and provides a more transparent development pathway to managers;
- Provided managers with tools to support new managerial competencies;
- Facilitated self-assessment sessions for managers using the new competencies;
- Nominated a selection of managers to undertake a 360 degree feedback process through the Leadership Development Centre; and
- Analysed managers' 2005/06 performance management and development plans to determine how well the tool was being used to later assess performance and identify development interventions.
MAF's Strategy and Performance Group has been supporting the decision-making of our Strategic Leadership Team since early 2006. This year we focused on developing MAF-wide processes and systems to help in planning, budgeting and reporting. The group also co-ordinated the Budget New Initiatives process, facilitated a MAF-wide environmental scan, revised MAF's outcome set and developed a framework for measuring MAF's performance against our outcomes.
Our Strategic Leadership Team began a relationship management project focusing on developing strong relationships with a small group of stakeholders who interact with MAF at a whole-of-organisation level. The project aims to develop a shared understanding of the expectations each organisation has of the other and, what each can feasibly deliver within that context.
People
We developed a three-year capability strategy in 2005/06 that contained a set of MAF-wide goals. This year our major focus was on a number of leadership development initiatives (see above) and the development of staff competencies.
We held a series of workshops for our managers to co-create a set of management competencies, and develop a competency profile for MAF as a whole, using the Lominger competency definitions. This will provide the foundation, and underpin our investment in talent management and succession planning from July 2007. This year we identified two sets of three core competencies:
| MANAGEMENT | ALL MAF STAFF |
| Building effective teams | Integrity and trust |
| Hiring and staffing | Ethics and values |
| Developing direct reports | Self development |
Employee engagement is positively correlated with staff retention, productivity and stakeholder satisfaction. The Gallup Organisation conducted a survey which provided data on employee engagement throughout the organisation. The survey also measured the effectiveness of MAF's leadership development activities and gauged our leadership capability. About 70 percent of staff responded to the survey and managers were trained in interpreting the results and developing action plans with staff. The results of the survey indicated:
- satisfaction and engagement was slightly below the world-wide average for organisations taking the survey for the first time;
- about eight percent of workgroups were in Gallup's international “best practice” groups;
- employees are connected to MAF's mission and committed to quality work; and
- most employees are not fully clear on role expectations and feel they are not receiving adequate feedback on job performance and development.
During the year, we renegotiated the collective employment agreement with the Public Service Association (PSA) and began the Annual Remuneration Forum. The collective agreement covers terms and conditions (but not remuneration) of MAF staff who are PSA members. The Annual Remuneration Forum will influence our approach to Pay and Employment Equity.
TREATY GUIDELINESIn June 2007 we developed a Treaty of Waitangi Issues Analysis Guide and accompanying workbook and distributed it to staff. Our Māori Strategy Unit developed these resources to help our staff understand and identify if, and what, Treaty issues exist within their day-to-day work. |
Support
Project Outlook is a group of projects aimed at “refreshing” MAF's IT infrastructure to upgrade our equipment and standardise communications and management software. We began the delivery phase of Project Outlook this year, which included:
- migrating software infrastructure from Novell to Microsoft;
- refreshing desktop, laptop and some server hardware;
- refreshing remote access capability;
- determining the optimal hardware leasing and capital depreciation structure; and
- re-negotiating our contract with hardware suppliers and if necessary conduct a Request for Proposal.
As a result of Project Outlook, we now have an IT architecture that allows us to carry out software upgrades and replace hardware in a continued, evenly spread cycle, avoiding future large-scale IT capital infrastructure programmes.
BIOSECURITY TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMMEWe completed phase one of a series of projects collectively called the Biosecurity Transformation Programme. This aims to build a “fit-for-purpose” biosecurity system which is more effective, responsive and adaptable. A key project was the structural integration of our biosecurity functions which will "go live" on 1 July 2007. The five other projects in the programme are:
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We completed the Voice-over Internet Protocol implementation programme which aimed to reduce telecommunications complexity and costs by creating a MAF-wide national telecommunications network. For MAF's 26 main locations (metro sites) this meant new phones, DDI numbers and voicemail. We also moved to one mobile supplier and integrated cell phone dialling with desk phones. As a result, zero cost calls will apply between metro sites, MAF mobile phones and metro desk phones.
We continued to embed MAF's new financial management software - Finance One - into our management and planning systems. Finance One will improve management reporting, project accounting purchasing and contract management.
We began a project to examine how we recruit staff with a view to developing information on how to generate efficiencies. It aims to identify good practice and incorporate any learning from the project into the current set of recruitment guidelines.
We formally incorporated risk management into the MAF planning and budget cycle. We developed an Organisational Risk Profile for MAF through a process of workshops. This resulted in a more consistent understanding of the role of risk in planning and reporting and a tool kit is available to ensure the process is continuously and consistently applied.
We reissued MAF's Organisational Procurement Policy in order to incorporate government procurement policy changes (i.e. the Mandatory Procurement Rules which took effect on May 2006) and address deficiencies highlighted by Audit NZ. We also amended our Organisational Agreements Policy to incorporate the Procurement Policy changes.
State Sector Development Goals
MAF's approach to the State Sector Development Goals has been to view them as a part of our planning context. In developing our capability as an organisation, we seek to achieve these goals internally, which contributes to their achievement in the wider Public Service.
Our key initiatives in 2006/07 relating to each Development Goal included:
| EMPLOYER OF CHOICE | Implemented a leadership development programme. Conducted Gallup Engagement Surveys and associated action planning. Joined the SSC's intern programme. |
| EXCELLENT STATE SERVANTS | Developed a MAF-wide staff competency framework. Reviewed organisational recruitment guidelines. |
| NETWORKED STATE SERVANTS | Completed the refresh of MAF's IT infrastructure. Created a MAF-wide national telecommunications network. |
| ACCESSIBLE STATE SERVICES | A Treaty of Waitangi Issues Analysis Guide was distributed to MAF staff. The Outcome Performance Monitoring Framework was developed. |
| CO-ORDINATED STATE AGENCIES | Undertook joint work with MfE and other departments on Climate Change, the Water Plan of Action and Sustainable Land Management. Developed a shared services arrangement with the new NZFSA. |
| TRUSTED STATE SERVANTS | Commissioned research into New Zealanders' trust in MAF and the link between this trust and perceptions of performance. Implemented guidelines for MAF staff when dealing with conflicts of interest. |
Connecting with our Stakeholders
In our Statement of Intent we noted that MAF needs to build and maintain strategic relationships, partnerships and collaborations to best achieve our outcomes. We cannot achieve our outcomes without the contribution of others - relationship management is therefore one of our key functions.
This year we began a relationship management project to ensure we engage strategically with our key stakeholders. The project focused on developing strong relationships with a small group of stakeholders who interact with MAF at a whole-of-organisation level. We identified a lead relationship manager for each stakeholder - one with a co-ordination and facilitation role for a group of MAF staff who have ongoing relationships with the stakeholders in a number of areas. While this project is currently focused at the whole-of-organisation level, there are other stakeholders who must be proactively managed through a similar process at the business group level. We need to do further work to develop a strategy for closer engagement with our wider stakeholder group, including our biosecurity stakeholders.
Stakeholder feedback
MAF is a large organisation engaging with stakeholders across a range of sectors. This makes external views of our performance highly important. We value our stakeholders' opinions and they are a key measure of our success. As part of our annual performance review process we asked a selection of stakeholders for feedback on our performance over the year. This is the second time we have done so. This year we interviewed a different set of stakeholders than last year, but asked a similar range of questions.
Some common themes and issues arose from these interviews:
Last year stakeholders told us MAF has improved its performance and developed a more professional approach in recent years. Stakeholders again commented positively about the improvement in our performance.
“When I first started, MAF was not highly regarded in the boardroom. This has changed.” (Anonymous)
However these views were tempered by comments about MAF still being perceived by some stakeholders as being risk averse and bureaucratic.
“Sometimes the old MAF comes through
- overly bureaucratic, boxing at shadows and unable to apply the 80/20 rule - but this is the exception to the rule.” (Meat and Wool NZ)
Many of the stakeholders interviewed raised the issue of what MAF's role is in relation to the sector, and our relationship with other government agencies. Some indicated that we should be facilitating industry contact and entry into the 'Government machine', others indicated that MAF should be a promoter of sectors in the government (and more broadly).
“Is MAF the conduit between the sector and government, or is it the other way around?” (Wood Processors Association)
There were also calls for better integration between MAF and ERMA, and with Customs at the border. One research stakeholder thought MAF should be exerting more influence over FoRST regarding the research funding available to the sectors. This feedback highlighted the ongoing importance of MAF identifying and working with key agency partners.
“MAF's role is to find a coherent national way forward that covers economics, environment, market and reasonable practicality.” (Otago Regional Council)
Our need to have good working relationships with stakeholders was highlighted in all interviews. While there had been improvements, most believed there was room for further improvement in our communication and engagement with industry.
“We are very encouraged with MAF's initiatives of late that look at ways of improving the interface.” (Nursery and Garden Industry Association of NZ)
“We want to be able to make suggestions, challenge MAF's thinking, while respecting that Government and its agencies 'make the calls.'” (Auckland International Airport Limited)
A number of stakeholders were also clear that MAF needs to better understand our stakeholders' business realities and operating context when developing initiatives.
“We appreciate MAF is responding to national imperatives, but there needs to be recognition of the Auckland International Airport context when MAF is finding ways of achieving its outcomes.” (Auckland International Airport Limited)
“Our beef with MAF is the consultation process and what we believe to be policies that are established without any regard to the reality of how they are going to look when they get finally rolled out.” (Port of Tauranga)
Feedback on our staff was generally positive with favourable comments on the quality of both regional and head office staff. There were, however, concerns about the regularity of change in key personnel and the need to recreate relationships with MAF.
“The constant morphing of MAF is confusing and makes it hard to 'pin the tail on the donkey' as key contacts keep shifting.” (Nursery and Garden Industry Association of NZ)
The general impression gained from stakeholder feedback was that while our performance has improved, there are some key changes we could make to lift it to the next level.
“MAF has a lot of capability, and if it can vary culture and focus more on the strategic (decision-making and direction) it will be a government department that will leave others in its wake.” (Otago Regional Council)
Walking the Talk on SustainabilityMAF is a Sustainable Development Agency - committed to the Government's goal of sustainable development for all of New Zealand. A major focus of our work with the agriculture, food and forestry sectors is ensuring their long-term sustainability. The use of New Zealand's natural resources by these sectors is of increasing interest both globally and locally. As a leader in sustainable development, MAF has also begun to look at our own behaviour and how we use our resources. We have committed to Govt3, a programme run by MfE to encourage more sustainable business practices among central government agencies. Over the year we stepped up our commitment with a key achievement being the development of a Sustainable Business Strategy for MAF. This has been submitted to MfE, and will allow us to report our progress against its goals each year. Our first “hands-on” challenge was recycling at our Head Office in Pastoral House. A Waste Audit revealed about 86 percent of our waste could be either recycled or composted. As a result, we rolled out a new recycling system at Pastoral House. Glass, paper, plastics and cans are now recycled, food scraps and even the paper towels in the bathrooms are composted! We anticipate the next Waste Audit (October 2007) will show a marked decrease in the amount of waste sent to the landfill from Pastoral House. Other initiatives over the year included completing our first Govt3 baseline survey, moves to reduce paper use, some changes to procurement practice and contracts, several well-attended staff seminars and looking into our energy use and vehicle fleet. The next major challenge will be to assess and decrease MAF's carbon footprint as part of New Zealand's carbon neutral public service. |
Contact for Enquiries
Strategy and Performance Group
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0738
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