Public Sector

How can we build capability within a government agency to deliver strategic reforms while improving the capability and performance of staff across all levels of an agency?

We have deep experience working with public sector organisations to improve their performance and internal capabilities. We do this by addressing their “wiring”. To achieve a lasting impact, how individuals, and therefore the organisation, perform and accomplish results must be examined and optimised. It includes the combination of an organisation’s systems, processes, staff, accountabilities, capabilities, skills, disciplines, and individual behaviours.

How can we support government to implement transformations within or across government agencies, to implement major policy and other reform?

We have deep experience in working with public sector agencies to implement major transformation programs—to implement policy reforms, improve their back office operations and implement cultural change across the organisation.

• We understand the challenges of implementing transformational programs within government, including the need to ensure that:
• Project planning is coordinated across multiple workstreams, noting resourcing and delivery dependencies and critical timelines
• Planning and delivery issues can be identified and resolved quickly, before they escalate
• Monitoring and reporting frameworks are transparent and effective
• Departmental staff develop the capability to implement the transformation into the future themselves

Our expertise in transformations includes:

• Program guidance and coordination: management of large‑scale program offices (PMO) that coordinate and track the progress of transformations, with complex stakeholder relationships
• Operational performance improvement: reviewing existing operations within a business and partnering directly with clients to change and improve operations
• Organisational design: working with organisations to design and implement structures and ways of working to make them more effective and efficient
• Process improvement: examining core processes within organisations and working directly to redesign them for effectiveness and efficiency
• Customer service: enhancing customer experience and outcomes, including designing client centred service delivery

For our digitally enabled operational transformations, we leverage data analytics and automation, ensure robust management systems and coach staff for performance to help our clients achieve sustainable results.

How can we maximise the effectiveness of a government program or function through operational improvement?

At times, policy, design and administrative challenges can lead to a poor experience for users ‑ including inadequately designed interfaces, large backlogs, long wait times, arduous processes and inconsistent support. Increasingly, governments are committing to improvements that place the customer at the heart of the design and delivery of government services.

We specialise in working with our public sector clients to improve their operations. We do this by:

• Providing assurance for government programs
• Improving program planning, design and delivery
• Optimising grants programs so they are delivering their policy objectives

We have designed and remediated government programs in a number of jurisdictions, improved user experience as more services become digital, cleared backlogs in administrative decision‑making processes and simplified processes through automation.

We also supported state governments in the rapid rollout of support packages to communities during the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Delivering capital and infrastructure projects can involve significant challenges, from supply chain disruptions to delays resulting from shortages in labour. How can governments and major projects gain effective control of capital spend?

Government infrastructure spending is a powerful economic growth lever. However, increased spending and accelerated timelines come with many issues and risks. From supply chain disruptions to the significant disconnect between supply and demand in the infrastructure sector, delivering projects on time and within budget is a challenge.

We work with public sector clients to plan, review and remediate capital and infrastructure projects. For example, financial and execution risks can be mitigated within weeks through effective portfolio prioritisation, re‑sequencing and program intervention.

We rapidly assess the potential to improve the value delivery of each major program such as the capacity to reduce the critical path, rein in costs (for instance, by reducing scope that adds little community value), mitigate risk and subsequently increase economic stimulus.

Governments may wish to review their costs across portfolios, agencies, or in specific areas of spend such as procurement and asset management.

We can help identify saving opportunities in a responsible manner that will not adversely impact service delivery. We do this across a range of areas including procurement, asset management, grants programs and other areas of operational expenditure.

For example, we help our clients move along a procurement maturity roadmap in phases to drive the lowest price outcomes, with a focus on tracking and capturing savings. This leads to building capability in the organisation that enables innovation and optimises the total cost of ownership. From here, we incorporate collaborative sourcing to drive value from partnerships across the wider value chain. Benefits are tracked through to the bottom line and reviewed frequently to drive action.

In this way, our impact is defined by changing behaviours and tailoring processes and tools for outcomes that make a lasting impact.