|
|
|
| Making
sense of OE tools |
| |
Public agencies
have mixed reactions about organisational excellence
(OE) tools. Some see adopting the tools as a fruitful
journey, while others find the documentation and
reporting a pain in the neck. But what exactly are
these OE tools about and why are more and more agencies
using them? Let us shed some light on these questions
and clear up the misconceptions that you might have
about these tools.
(Click to find out more)
ISO is a word derived from the
Greek word “isos”,
meaning “equal”.
ISO (International Organization
for Standardization) is a global
organisation with 151 member countries.
There is one representative organisation
per country. SPRING Singapore
(Standards, Productivity and Innovation
Board) represents Singapore at
ISO.
ISO and SPRING do not provide
ISO certifications like ISO 9000
and ISO 14000. Organisations are
certified by private certification
bodies.
As the national standards body,
SPRING provides a national standardisation
framework that helps industries
in the development, adoption and
implementation of standards in
Singapore. Industries can be strategically
involved in the development of
international standards, such
as the ISO 9000 family of standards,
through membership in the national
standards committees established
by SPRING, under the guidance
of an industry-led national Standards
Council.
By using national/international
standards, local enterprises can
gain access to their export markets
and thereby enhance their competitiveness.
There are more than 20,000 certified
organisations worldwide. In Singapore’s
Public Service, more than 50 agencies
are certified.
| • |
ISO
certification is all about
documentation and keeping
records. |
| • |
ISO certification
can sometimes produce consistently
bad products or services. |
| • |
ISO certification
means more work for officers. |
| • |
ISO
certification is not all about
documentation. It is about
continually improving the
documented processes. ISO
does not specify what needs
to be documented. It is up
to the organisation to decide
on the vital processes that
should be documented. |
| • |
Bad products/services
are due to bad processes.
ISO mandates that the processes
be regularly reviewed to take
into account factors such
as customer feedback, resource
needs, improvement activities,
process performance and changing
circumstances. This feedback
loop will help to correct
“bad processes”. |
| • |
ISO certification
does not mean more work for
officers. Instead,
it means greater efficiency
by cutting down unnecessary
procedures. |
Standardisation ensures consistency
and improves efficiency in the organisation.
This in turn ensures that public
agencies deliver excellent products
and services to their customers.
|
People Developer Standard
A systematic framework for an organisation
to review human resource practices,
adopt a structured approach to staff
development, improve the effectiveness
of training, and achieve better
business results.
As of March 2005, 70% of public
officers work in PDScertified agencies.
More than 300 private agencies in
Singapore are
PDS-certified.
| • |
Employees
have to attend courses that
are a waste of time. |
| • |
Staff
have to do a lot of unnecessary
paperwork and documentation,
including completing pre-
and post-course forms. |
| • |
PDS
mandates that staff and employers
take an active interest in
training and development,
and that staff attend a minimum
proportion of planned training
sessions every year. Training
need not be confined to classroom
training. It can be any activity
that contributes to staffs’
learning and growth. |
| • |
PDS requires
supervisors to take part in
selecting relevant courses
for their officers, such as
by conducting regular pre-
and post-course reviews. The
pre- and post-course review
mechanism ensures that staff
do not go for training that
is a waste of time, and that
the benefits of the training
can be manifested at the workplace.
These mechanisms aim to reduce
training wastage. |
PDS gives national recognition to
organisations for being progressive
and forward-looking in developing
their people. PDS also helps to
create a motivated workforce which
contributes to better business performance.
Satisfied employees are in turn
better able to satisfy customers.
|
Singapore Quality Award/ Class
This programme provides organisations
with a framework for achieving business
excellence. The framework has seven
dimensions: Leadership, Planning,
Information, People, Processes,
Customers and Results. The SQA has
stricter certification criteria
than the SQC.
About 70 public agencies and 300
private organisations have attained
the SQC.
Attaining the SQC requires too much
documentation and unnecessary paperwork.
The documentation is part and parcel
of putting in place a framework
for excellence. When initiatives
are real and impactful, documentation
is usually not a problem.
Documentation allows an organisation
to “stock-take” its
state of health and review its
strengths and weaknesses, and
provides an opportunity to devise
a concrete plan for improvement.
An SQA/C organisation has in place
a comprehensive framework to achieve
excellence in the seven key areas.
This should enable it to enjoy
greater productivity, increased
employee and customer satisfaction,
better financial performance,
and enhanced competitiveness.
SQC organisations also get to
participate in SPRING’s
special business excellence journey
programmes that help in their
continual development.
|
Six Sigma is a management approach
towards making improvements in strategic
processes. It also provides a methodology
and a set of tools to improve these
processes.
Some 30 public agencies have used
Six Sigma. There are also prominent
private sector users and Six Sigma
is increasingly being used in the
services industry.
| • |
Six
Sigma is a rigid approach
that comprises five phases:
Define, Measure, Analyse,
Improve and Control (DMAIC). |
| • |
Six Sigma
is all about complicated statistical
data. |
| • |
Six Sigma
is only for the manufacturing
sector and is not really relevant
to the Public Service |
| • |
The
DMAIC framework is a generic
framework that can be modified
to suit different circumstances. |
| • |
Six Sigma
is about continuous improvement
based on empirical evidence,
hence the need for data. Only
necessary data needs to be
collected. |
| • |
Six Sigma
is effective in raising the
quality of processes and systems.
As long as there are processes
and systems, Six Sigma could
be useful. This would be the
case whether the organisation
is in manufacturing, services
or the public sector. |
Six Sigma allows an organisation
to get better quality at lower costs
by improving its process capabilities.
Many organisations that used Six
Sigma have reported vast improvement
in staff morale, product quality
and profitability.
|
Balanced Scorecard
This is a management system that
enables organisations to clarify
their vision and strategy and
translate them into action. Instead
of emphasising purely financial
goals, the BSC advocates a balanced
approach to looking at other areas
of significance, e.g. financial,
internal business processes, learning
and growth, customer, etc.
The public agencies using BSC
include the Subordinate Courts
and Ministry of Finance Headquarters.
BSC involves many pointless key
performance indicators (KPIs).
Only KPIs tied to customer or
company performance requirements
should be tracked. These KPIs
represent a clear basis for aligning
all activities with the company’s
goals. The indicators may be evaluated
and changed to better support
the goals.
BSC helps to communicate an organisation’s
vision, strategy and performance
expectations to all staff. BSC also
aligns its day-to-day activities
to its corporate strategy. |
|
Get
more information
To learn more about these OE tools,
visit:
If your organisation is keen to adopt
any of these OE tools, please contact
the PS21 Office at PSD_PS21@psd.gov.sg. |
|
|
|
| |
| |
| By
Calis Chuan & Agnes Chew, PS21 Office |
|
|
|
