Public Works Department

Published 10th May 2017, 3:44pm

Editorial - Pay Stagnation, Increased Retirement Retirement Age and EPM. What do they have in common ?

If you are someone who keeps their finger on the pulse of what is happening in the Civil Service or at the very least keeps abreast with PWD bulletins and information placed on the “HUB”, you would recognize the titles of several initiatives launched in the past few years throughout the CIG. It will take more than just awareness however to recognize that there is a common thread running through these initiatives which is manifested in an increased emphasis on productivity an efficiency. This emphasis was driven by a desire to “become a dynamic, modern professional and respected Civil Service(goals set by the DG a few years ago). In order achieve this change in the service, the DG and his team policy makers agreed to focus on four main objectives: 

· Being a fair employer

· Empowering and supporting managers

· Expecting professional performance and accountability

· Supporting professional development and personal growth of all civil servants

This editorial wishes to draw your attention to objective number three; this is because you would have realized that these three excellent initiatives mentioned above, launched by the Portfolio of the Civil Service, demand that the employee demonstrate a satisfactory level of performance and accountability for the tasks and duties assigned to him/her. Whether it was requiring that persons agree on expect ed performance, and conduct reliable and fair evaluations of performance or that only persons who demonstrated satisfactory performance gain the opportunity to have longer careers in the Civil Service, thereby securing their future and continuing to make a meaningful contribution, or whether it was that in order to access well needed salary increases which address the stagnation of pay over the past 7 years one must demonstrate that one has earned it by achieving at least a satisfactory score one one's most recent appraisal. It shows that the Civil Service is serious about the business of productivity and accountability.

The civil servant will have become aware that it is no longer acceptable to glide below the radar and that basic expectations must be met in order for one to participate in the  spoils of collective work. That each of us must give an account for our productivity and those employees who excel will be rewarded.

It is interesting to note that not only has the service embraced the philosophy of continuous improvement but its actions bear out an intent to make this concept a reality. It aims to do this through latching on to a new vision. A vision that inculcates the desire to be world class civil service that delivers, has outstanding customer experience, values its people and achieves excellence in everything we do; the  "new" strategic vision of the CIG Civil service.

It is clear that there will be a new status quo, one wherein civil servants will be required to demonstrate that they are delivering their share of outcomes, and pulling ttheir weight if they want to participate in the great things that are happening. It Therefore begs the question, where do you and I stand?

 Project Future & PWD

Members of the PWD’s Management Team  have been working on an initiative to examine ways in which PWD can improve its operations. We have a vision of the Public Works Department (PWD) becoming the service provider of choice for agencies needing design, constructions and maintenance services for public buildings and facilities. To fully achieve this, we need to make significant changes in a number of areas. Our Project Future initiative is about identifying how we can make these changes in our Strategic Assessment, we set out five key outcomes we’re hoping to achieve. They are centred on efficiency and productivity; customer satisfaction; procurement; national resilience and emergency management capability; and opportunities for technical and vocational training and promoting Caymanian employment.

A Strategic Assessment of project options actually combines two separate projects because the Recreational Parks & Cemetaries Section was recently integrated into PWD’s operational and management structure. One important thing explored in these assessments is what will happen if no changes are made to the way things are currently done. This is known as the “Do Nothing” option. Stakeholder consultations to date do indicate reasonable levels of satisfaction from a majority of our clients, who are pleased with the interest and commitment shown by most employees. However, there is clearly scope for improvement and we have found a need for greater quality assurance and to address the fact that there is still a perception of inefficiency carried over from previous years.

In order for PWD to stay relevant and meet the needs of our clients, we must find ways to reinvent ourselves while maintaining things that work well.