Sweeping cuts will cripple public services, warn worried managers

19 February 2010

The survey of 1,554 managers reveals over two-thirds believe their teams are operating at full capacity with little or no room for efficiency savings. They worry that blanket cuts to public sector budgets will leave them unable to deliver frontline services.

The report, ‘Leading change in the public sector’, found over two-thirds (69%) of managers had experienced budget cuts in the past year. The overwhelming majority (89%) expect further major cuts in the next 12-18 months in the form of headcount reduction (49%), streamlining processes (49%) and reduced training and development budgets (48%).

When asked to predict the impact of these cuts, managers anticipated higher workloads (73%), lower morale (69%), increased stress (67%) and reduced quality of service for customers (52%).

Amidst these concerns, managers recognised that increased financial pressure would bring real opportunities for the public sector to improve working practices. In particular, over half (51%) are looking forward to innovating more creative solutions to service delivery. Cuts will also provide a welcome opportunity to improve teamwork and communication (48%), deal with inefficiency (42%), make important decisions (31%) and manage out poor performers (28%).

Penny de Valk, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), said: “The research dispels many of the myths about the public sector and its managers, including the belief that it has remained untouched by the economic downturn. The fallout from the recession has already affected budgets and resourcing levels and will continue to do so, potentially at the expense of crucial public services and staff wellbeing.

“Despite concern about the impact of cuts there are positive signs here. It is heartening to see that public sector managers are up for the challenge that awaits them, and confident they can achieve major savings through greater innovation and more effective performance management. Rather than having their budgets salami-sliced from afar, managers need the freedom and support to deliver radical changes to service delivery. The question is whether government, senior management and policy makers will enable them to do so.

Now, more than ever, we need to develop public sector managers and support them to drive innovation, productivity and performance, so that vital day-to-day services do not suffer.”

Future concerns

Leading Change in the Public Sector reveals that the months ahead will intensify the pressure on managers. When respondents were asked to anticipate the main challenges of the next 18 months, they identified budget constraints (57%), increased workload (49%) and resourcing constraints (37%). Other crucial areas of concern are personal job security, making redundancies and headcount reductions.

The research also reveals that:

* Despite their concerns, managers are surprisingly upbeat, with 70% either satisfied or very satisfied in their role.
* Over half of managers believe senior management team do not understand their teams’ functions and responsibilities, while 31% think their bosses are ill-equipped to deal with budget cuts.
* One third of respondents might leave the public sector in the next 12-18 months, with a quarter of those citing redundancy as a possible reason.
* Surprisingly, there is considerable support for targets (69%) as long as they are realistic localised targets.
* The main sources of dissatisfaction are bureaucracy/red tape, lack of resources, unrealistic budget cuts and failure to deal effectively with underperforming staff. 
* Public sector managers are surprisingly ambivalent about a change in government, despite 77% believing that this will happen and the majority thinking that any culture. shift will be a negative one. Respondents from organisations with over 1,000 employees are the most negative.

Ends/..

For further information and interviews please contact:
Rebecca Griffiths or Ellie Backhouse at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666
rebeccagriffiths@colmangetty.co.uk/ ellie@colmangetty.co.uk

Notes to editors:

The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) is Europe’s leading management organisation. We believe that good leadership and management holds the key to organisational effectiveness and social and economic prosperity.

Our fast-growing community of over 30,000 practising leaders and managers, gives us a real insight into the issues affecting the management community day-to-day, both in the UK and globally.

Each year we help over 85,000 practising and aspiring managers to fulfil their potential and achieve success through a range of flexible leadership and management development solutions.

Backed by an in depth programme of research, ILM operates internationally, improving leadership and management skills, across all sectors, from financial services to the armed forces.

Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM)
http://www.i-l-m.com/

FreshMinds
Leading Change in the Public Sector  was carried out by FreshMinds Research. FreshMinds Research provides organisations with inspired thinking and analysis that helps them understand their customers, competitors and markets.

FreshMinds were short-listed for every major research industry award last year and were named ‘Best Agency’ at the MRS Research Excellence and Efficiency Awards in 2006 and 2007.
http://www.freshminds.co.uk/

About the research

Methodology
The report is based on responses to an online survey of ILM members working in the public sector, conducted by research consultancy FreshMinds in December 2009 and January 2010, and commissioned by the Institute of Leadership & Management.

The survey, including a combination of open-ended and closed questions, was drawn up collaboratively by FreshMinds and ILM. There were 1,554 respondents, and the sample was a good representation of the wider population of public sector managers.

There was a balanced geographic spread of respondents regionally throughout the UK while respondents ranged across all age groups with the highest percentage coming from the 45-49 age range.

Sectors
The public sector managers represented a wide range of industry sectors. Local government accounted for the largest proportion of respondents (31%) followed by health (19%) and education and training (18%).

Respondent profile
The managers covered a wide range of seniority and management experience. Three quarters of respondents had been managers in the public sector for more than two years, and nearly half (48%) for more than five years. Over half (58%) were first-line managers/supervisors, with just 1% CEOs or equivalents.

Size of organisation 
Over half (53%) of the respondents were managers of organisations with over 1,000 employees while 24% worked in organisations with between 250 and 1,000 staff.
Regarding length of tenure, 63% of respondents had been employed in their current organisation for at least five years, and 38% for more than 10 years. Only 13% of managers had been employed by their current organisation for less than two years.

Finally, 65% of respondents had worked in the private sector previously, with 46% of these in a managerial role.