IT Professionalism

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IT Professionalism

• Mary Wintershausen
• Socitm08

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Transformational Government Professionalism theme

• Coherent, joined-up leadership and governance
• Effective portfolio management of the technology
  programmes
• Development of IT professionalism and skills
• Strengthening of the controls and support to
  ensure reliable project delivery
• Improvements in supplier management
• A systematic focus on innovation

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Government IT Profession Competency Framework
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Lifecycle diagram
Can we use the skills we have differently Do
people have skills we are not using
Are people doing the right things Can we increase
productivity
Can we develop our teams and individuals to work
more effectively
What does the service need to look like What
competency groups will we need
What opportunities are there when people
leave Can good induction help with performance
What skills are missing How do we find
specialists
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Skills are key

• Understand the skills you need to deliver the
  service and prepare for the future
• Understand the skills you have available across
  the organisation
• Identify any gaps and how to fill them in the
  available timescales
• Is the structure correct?
• What options have we to acquire the necessary
  skills?
• How quickly can we achieve this through
  development?
• Can we deploy our current skills more effectively?

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Use of the skills frameworks

• Write useful job descriptions and role profiles
• Identify right skills for development
• Set correct criteria for recruitment and
  selection
• Measure skills available against the skills
  needed and identify gaps
• Select the right individuals for projects
• Diagnose strengths and development needs
• Define future requirements
• Provide a common language

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Leeds City Council

• Achieved consistency in what is expected from
  staff
• Assessed skills gaps and areas for improvement
• Improved usage of ICT training budget
• Proactive scheduling
• Advice and guidance for training requests
• Average 6 days training per annum per employee
• Linked appropriate training to skills
• Gained a quantum leap in staff satisfaction

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Role profiles
Core behaviours based on Council values
Generic skills eg report writing
Practitioner skills Government IT Profession/
SFIA
Role-specific skills eg Java, C
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Generic skills

• Not defined in the models
• Each council may have its own set
• May only apply to senior levels
• Government IT profession uses a set of
  professional skills for government that apply to
  the senior levels
• Leeds CC has developed generic skills in the same
  format as SFIA and the Government IT Profession
  framework

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Generic skills Leeds CC

• Managing self and personal skills
• Time management
• Communication
• Decision making
• Influence/leadership
• Embrace quality and diversity
• Adherence to policy and procedure
• Providing direction
• Managing risks
• Objective setting
• Facilitating change
• Managing change
• Internal business process improvement

• Working with others
• Working relationships
• Team management
• Using resources
• Managing finances
• Procurement
• Workforce planning
• Developing staff
• Health and safety
• Achieving results
• Managing projects
• Customer service
• Performance management
• Marketing

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Required and acquired skills

• REQUIRED skills DEFINE
• Traditional job description
• Role profile (special project perhaps)
• Recruitment profile
• The skills required to do the job effectively

• ACQUIRED skills DESCRIBE
• Skills acquired over many years as an IT
  practitioner
• Skills acquired in other life skills and
  activities
• BUT assessment and confirmation may be difficult

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Development plans

• Respond to the actual and perceived needs of the
  council
• Cover all skills, competences and behaviours
• Include development of experts as well as missing
  skills
• Address retention as well as immediate needs
• Software can support the whole appraisal/review
  process and personal, team and service
  development planning

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ASPIRE

• Software developed by Leeds City Council, based
  on product from NICS
• Part of a longer-term culture change programme in
  ICT
• Supports the use of SFIA and the Government IT
  Profession framework
• Provides a browser-based tool for use by everyone
  in ICT

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ASPIRE

• Create job roles using SFIA/Government IT
  Profession skills framework and generic skills
  tailored to your needs
• Assess skills and provide evidence
• Approve evidence
• Manage appraisals online
• Set development objectives
• Manage training
• Assess individual skills against any role in your
  organisation

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ASPIRE pilot

• Partnership between Cabinet Office, IDeA, Socitm
  and Leeds City Council
• Six council users of the SFIA / Government IT
  profession framework pilot the use of ASPIRE
• Other councils users of SFIA involved for
  comparative analysis
• Produced material to support your business case
  for implementing skills-based role analysis,
  including readiness assessment, road map, case
  studies, value proposition

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ASPIRE pilot outcomes

• Alignment of corporate appraisal processes with
  industry-standard, nationally recognised
  technical and professional skills framework
• Easy access to reliable and structured
  information about skills and individuals
• Better use of available development opportunities
• More useful supervision sessions for managers and
  individuals
• More accurate evaluation of ICT roles in
  comparison with other roles within the
  organisation

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ASPIRE package

• The ASPIRE browser-based tool used to manage
  skills and development objectives
• Our proven implementation service to guide you
  through the process
• Training delivered by experts in their field
• Exclusive access to the Aspire Members Club
• Find us at the IT Professionalism stand 30 see
  a demo of ASPIRE and use your voucher to get more
  information

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At Leeds City Council

• The implementation of ASPIRE in Leeds has been a
  key driver in the rapid rise in staff motivation.
  With clear aims, objectives and goals, staff are
  more business and individually motivated and
  focused, in turn this has contributed to
  increased customer satisfaction. So its a win
  for staff, our service and our customers.
• Dylan Roberts, Head of ICT

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Professionalism programme aims

• The right people in the public sector with the
  right skills to plan, deliver and manage
  technology based change
• A career for IT professionals of equal value to
  the individual and to government
• The opportunity for IT professionals to reach the
  highest levels of the public service

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Continuous improvement
We have the right skills People are deployed with
care
We know what weve got We know what we need
Roles mapped to external benchmarks Better budget
management
Promotion decisions are objective Better
communicated
Assignments are often stretching Development is
appropriate
Better communication Right people at interview
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Any questions?

• ?

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What are your aims?

• To be a consummate professional
• or
• to remain a gifted amateur?
• (at the very best)

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What to do now

• Register your interest at www.cio.gov.uk/itprofess
  ion
• Check out the available information at
• www.sfia.org.uk
• www.socitm.gov.uk
• www.aspire-gov.co.uk
• Tell your colleagues
• Start planning
• Come and find us on stand 30