The States of Guernsey has reached an important milestone in its programme of Public Service Reform.
Having made significant improvements in its technology and digital capability, the Reform programme will now see engagement begin with employees across the civil service on a restructuring to create improved and more efficient services.
Enabled by the better use of technology, meaning more services are delivered online, the restructuring will create a more modern public service which operates a single point of access in a way that puts the customer first and means their interactions with government can be done through a ‘one-stop, tell us once’ approach.
As well as improving Islanders’ experiences, the restructuring will improve development opportunities for staff and improve the flexibility and resilience of teams within the States of Guernsey.
From today (6th September 2021) and over the coming weeks, conversations will be held with all those employees who may be affected by the restructuring.
Deputy Heidi Soulsby (pictured), Vice-President of the Policy & Resources Committee said: “We are lucky in Guernsey to have a first-class civil service with employees who I know, from first-hand experience, care very deeply about their community and work incredibly hard to support Islanders and make this the wonderful place it is to live.
“In these past two years, the achievements of our civil servants cannot be overstated. They have played a key role in delivering one of the world’s most effective Covid-19 responses, managed the impacts of Brexit and in the middle of all that, organised a general election that was the first of its kind. But we also know that there are huge financial pressures facing the States and we need to be as efficient as possible, especially as we consider the need for tax rises on our community.
“It’s not fair to ask Islanders to pay more unless we’re doing everything possible to minimise costs. We also know that some of the day-to-day interactions with government can be clunky and cumbersome and they need to change to reflect the digital age we live in. So as we work to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, the time is right to move forward with this restructuring as part of our Public Service Reform.”
Mark de Garis, Interim Chief Executive of the States of Guernsey said: “This is a big and important change for our organisation, and change is never easy. I know some of our colleagues will feel unsettled as we go through this restructuring process. Their managers and our human resources team will work with them because we want to be transparent, fair and honest with all of our colleagues.
“These reforms are part of a carefully developed plan which commenced during the last term of government. They will improve and help our public service teams deliver the vital services they perform for our community. Public servants make the machinery of government work, they’re the ones who keep the wheels turning no matter what challenges are thrown at them and there have been plenty of those as we have seen throughout the pandemic. They don’t do it for praise – and honestly, they don’t get even their fair share – but they do it because they care for their community and they’re passionate about what they do.
“My ambition as we restructure is that we continually improve and modernise our services, making the experience of dealing with government a better one for Islanders.”
