DHA Turnaround Strategy

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DHA Turnaround Strategy
Challenges in Re-engineering State Institutions
for Enhanced Service Delivery

29 July 2004
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Background

• Department emerging from a very difficult
  disruptive period
• Two DGs left in quick succession Serious
  tensions previous DG Minister paralysing
  effect on Department
• Had an acting DG for a long period controversy
  delay in appointing a candidate added to
  instability
• On top of this, Department has history of severe
  under-resourcing
• Staffing establishment determined in 1995
• Could not then have anticipated the pressures on
  immigration management rendering of civic
  services

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Critical role of Home Affairs

• Provide documents needed by citizens to access
  govt services such as education, health care,
  social grants, pensions housing and to exercise
  democratic human rights
• Private sector also relies very heavily on Dept
  to confirm identity of citizens foreigners in
  terms of financial services, employment etc.
• Role in facilitating desired immigration key in
  promoting economic development, investment,
  tourism and international relations
• Also plays critical part in preventing undesired
  immigration controls who enters and visits our
  country. Must also prevent illegal immigration
  RSA very attractive destination for undocumented
  foreigners

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Home Affairs A window to our country Govt

• First point of contact of foreigners with South
  Africans Immigration officials at ports of entry
• Their frustrations in standing in our long
  queues, being exposed to our poor infrastructure
  and receiving second-class client service
  invariably shape their perceptions of our country
  Government
• Same applies to our citizens - all of them have
  to utilise services of Home Affairs at some point
  or another
• Other government departments also highly
  dependent on Home Affairs service delivery

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Turnaround Programme

• DGs orientation presented opportunity to take
  stock of state of Home Affairs
• After about four months in office, DG shared his
  observations with rest of management
• Senior managers agreed that Department would
  collapse if a comprehensive turnaround programme
  is not introduced and if substantial additional
  resources are not obtained
• Three areas of critical capacity that have to be
  addressed in order to turn the Department around
  these cut across all levels and all components
  of the Department

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Critical Capacity Requirements
People
Technology
Infrastructure
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People

• Review has been conducted of the Departments HR
  requirements
• The study indicated that we need to double our
  present staff establishment
• Minister has already approved expansion of
  establishment from 7 500 posts to
• 11 700 - likely to increase by another 2 500
  after review of remaining components
• Only around 6 000 posts presently filled - this
  will increase to around 6 800 in current fin year
  
• Additional funding to be provided over medium
  term
• Staff recruitment project being complemented a
  number of initiatives

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Infrastructure

• Most of our offices are in a state of disrepair.
  Some also badly located, perpetuating unequal
  access to services
• Signage poor, queue management non-existent and
  acute shortage of basic equipment and furniture
• Poor quality of infrastructure reflected in the
  quality of our service delivery
• To address these shortcomings, number of
  interventions introduced

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Technology

• Department is custodian of databases of national
  importance and administers a large number of laws
  and regulations yet it effectively functions in
  IT pre-history, very much paper-based
• Business processes totally outdated
• Available IT systems have been developed in
  isolation and are antiquated
• Nothing short of an IT revolution therefore
  needed
• First step has been to plan this revolution
  resulted in an IT strategy called IT ingwe
  consists of a number of complementary projects
• Information Systems Management Board created to
  ensure that IT systems development are driven by
  service delivery requirements

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Other IT Ingwe Projects

• Electronic Document Management
• Workflow System
• Enterprise Resource Management
• Browser-based Systems
• Enterprise Systems
• IT Security
• Information Management
• Policies Procedures
• Service Management Support
• Change Management

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Key Interventions

• Apart from the three areas of critical capacity,
  the Turnaround Strategy focuses on the key
  weaknesses in the Departments services and
  processes
• Teams have been formed to focus on all of these
• Not all of them relevant for this discussion, but
  important to note that each one is an essential
  building block for the Home Affairs of the future

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Other Turnaround Focus Areas
Lead- ership
Client mgt
Counter corruption
Finance Procurement
GPW
Immigration
Civic Services
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Transforming the Immigration Branch

• JCPS Cluster has recommended that transformation
  of SAs immigration capacity should be
  prioritised - At Jan 2004 Lekgotla Cabinet
  concurred with this recommendation
• Will be a medium to long term programme, but a
  number of quick wins under way
• Preliminary estimates of costs over short, medium
  and long term done - working with Treasury in
  developing phased implementation plan
• Project team formed to unpack in more detail the
  requirements for a transformed Immigration Branch
  (particularly personnel logistical
  requirements)
• Number of challenges identified

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Counter-Corruption

• Department is target of criminal syndicates
  because of the nature of our services
• Department also experience convenience
  corruption - clients pay for better service
• Holistic plan has been developed in conjunction
  with partners such as SAPS, NIA, DPSA OPSC
• Our highest priorities
• Protecting women against the scourge of
  fraudulent marriages
• Improving our analytical investigative
  capability
• Effectively communicating our successes in
  cracking syndicates and bringing perpetrators to
  book
• Developing proper corruption prevention and
  reporting procedures for both the public and
  members of staff
• Introducing whistle-blowing mechanisms
• Developing partnerships forums with the private
  sector (e.g. Banking Council) aimed at countering
  corruption involving Home Affairs
  documents/services
• Dealing decisively with corrupt officials

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Client Management

• Need to instill a client-centred approach in the
  way that Department operates
• Preparations under way to establish a Client
  Service Centre
• Beat practice project Queue management, signage
  and corporate colours
• Client is always right campaign
• These, together with our efforts to improve our
  work environment, processes, systems, equipment
  etc should make a major contribution to improved
  service delivery

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Review of Successes Challenges

• Projects review recently undertaken to assess
  progress made by respective project teams in
  terms of milestones agreed upon and intended
  impact
• Highlighted challenges and constraints
  experienced by the individual projects
• Identified trends and cross-cutting issues
• Evaluated management of the Turnaround programme
  as a whole and specifically, the role of the
  Turnaround Programme Office

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Program Project Management
• Project team members stretched between
  line-function work and project work Impacting on
  those who started out enthusiastically
• Initially 64 projects identified - varied in
  size, scope, complexity impact
• Reporting on so many projects tedious their
  resourcing challenging
• Have proposed that only the critical few be
  managed in a more formal way - other change
  initiatives to be normal line management
  responsibility
• Reporting system introduced for all strategic
  issues and change initiatives - to be expanded
  into a comprehensive M E system
• New program project governance structure under
  consideration - this includes a project
  management centre of excellence

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Business Process Reengineering and Restructuring
• Creation of the new structure for the DHA has
  placed pressure on the BPR function to assess
  roles and change the existing processes
• Many of the current processes that are employed
  in the core functions of the DHA can be improved
  and these changes to processes will enhance
  efficiency and effectiveness
• Need for IT to understand the business
  requirements based on improved rather than
  outdated processes and develop the IT system
  development timetable based on business needs
• The TAS requires a new organisation of work. This
  includes reviewing and updating of job
  classification, design and grading

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Communications Function
• The Turnaround Strategy proposes the creation of
  a new way of thinking and operating. The breadth
  and depth of the change has not been recognised
  by all staff and many who are in the provinces
  have gone on with their lives and seen little
  change
• Communications function of DHA has a central role
  to play in communicating with both staff and
  external stakeholders
• Need to focus on
• Strategic changes and their implementation
• Interactive two-way communication

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Change Management
• The TAS is a massive transformation process and
  change programme
• Need to coordinate and consolidate change
  management and transformation activities - ensure
  change is integrated/facilitated and a holistic
  approach is adopted
• Information sharing, gaining knowledge and
  understanding of the organisation required to
  facilitate change - give people the power to
  contribute and adapt the vision of leadership
• Need for creating knowledge and learning

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Teaming
• Start teaming in own business unit and in
  projects where team members depend on colleagues
  and trust their delivery
• Need for managers/staff/team members to know how
  to talk, support, listen to each other and know
  how to solve problems together
• Leadership
• The challenge of changing leadership practices is
  integral to the TAS - need for leadership
  development throughout the organisation

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Understaffing
• Employment of additional staff at all levels a
  dependency affecting service delivery and morale
• The ability of the DHA to attract and retain
  staff who are committed to the change process is
  critical for long term sustainable transformation
• Recruitment of additional managers key to
  strengthening capacity and sustain change
  initiatives

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Performance and Development Management
• Performance management (both organisation and
  individual) as support to drive service standards
  and meet delivery measures
• Clarify performance expectations across
  organisation
• Recognise employees for their contributions
• Address development needs

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Cross-cutting Challenges

• Integrated Plan to Expand Capacity
• All indications are that significant additional
  resources will be forthcoming in the next 3 to 5
  years
• An integrated plan to expand the departments
  capacity in all of the above related areas is
  required
• The need for such a plan has been recognised in
  the Strategic Plan, however the challenge lies in
  its implementation

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Conclusion

• Turnaround Strategy ambitious but absolutely
  necessary
• DHA cant do it alone
• Number of partnerships already formed. Include
  DPSA, CPSI, DPW, Stats SA, BAC, IOM, UNHCR
• Request colleagues to join hands with us
• Website www.dha.gov.za
• E-mail corrie.smit_at_dha.gov.za