Welcome to my first blog as Head of the Civil Service. I hope that you find it useful in giving you an insight into my world and the things that I get involved in. I see my new job as being about providing visible leadership to the Civil Service at a challenging time as well as being a champion of change.
I am very aware that the vast bulk of the Civil Service is outside Whitehall and indeed outside London. For this reason I plan to get out and visit staff across the country. My main visit day is Friday and I will try to keep you posted through the Civil Service website where I am visiting.
With some 440,000 Civil Servants it will not be physically possible to get round and see you all in person so I need to use other ways to communicate as well. Social media is a great way to do this and at the same time as starting this blog I have also joined Twitter. If you would like to you can follow me here: @sirbobkerslake. I understand that using social media is intensely personal and it only really works if you do it yourself. My diary is pretty busy and this is a big time commitment but I will try to use as much as I can and I am sure that it will reap rewards.
I have only been a Civil Servant for 18 months but I have already been able to see its enormous strengths. At the same time we are going through quite profound change at every level. My job is to stand up for the strengths of the Civil Service and ensure that we have the capacity to meet the priorities of the Government. I look forward to getting your ideas and views through this blog and via Twitter.
Today I am kicking off with Francis Maude a staff consultation on our proposed Civil Service Reform Plan. Please do get involved. We are much more likely to get it right with your input.
Sheffield
Last weekend I was at home in Sheffield and what a great advert for the region my weekend was! The great weather we have had recently has certainly made a difference.
On Saturday, I went out for a walk in the Peak District. Here are a couple of pictures of my walk up Mam Tor.
We got our dog Mollie when we first came to Sheffield 14 years ago and I fear that she won’t be able go on walks like this for much longer.
The paragliders were out in force:
In the evening I went to a brilliant performance of Michael Frayn’s play Democracy at the Crucible Theatre and on Sunday I went to Yorkshire Sculpture Park to celebrate a close friend’s 60th birthday. They have recently installed a whole new set of sculptures by Miro. The photo below is the nearest I could find that had a connection with Easter. I hope you all enjoy the Easter break.
In your work on the Civil Service Reform Plan I wonder if the opportunity is being taken to gain the insight of the significant number of Senior Civil Servants who, like you, have been recruited from outside the Civil Service. I believe that at between 2004 and 2008 over 30% of SCS were recruited from outside. They must represent a significant source of valuable opinion and potential solutions.
Dear Sir,
I had the privilege to be at the same degree congregation at U of Warwick in which you were conferred Hon LLD. My daughter graduated in that same ceremony with a PPE, biased in Economics. My son completed 1st year in law, at another British university.
In The Sunday Times dated 22Jul12, there is piece entitled “Foreign students key to UK business”. I agree whole heartedly with your business leaders that the UK should not curtailed the international students quota in your migration policy. Your top UK universities have always been destination of choice for international students.
These students in turn bring on more vibrancy, skilled sets, diverse ideas for the betterment of all. Thank you.
* Both my wife and I studied in the UK yonder years ago.
[...] the Government Digital Service; and the head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake, tweeting, blogging and looking at engaging even more broadly. We have new social media guidelines empowering all [...]
Sir Bob,
I currently work as a civil servant – how can I contact you about a matter other than through this blog?
Hi John – I will contact you via email to pick this up.
Thanks
Chris
Bob
Not much to say since 29 March!
I thought a blog was current.
Dear Bob:
Hi, I’m from Perú, and I’m researching about civil service systems around the world. Please, could you give some link or information about the british civil service scheme? So, how UK structures the civil service? it’s a grading scheme grounded in the payment?
Thank for your answer!
Greetings from Perú!
Arturo.
[...] the Government Digital Service; and the head of the Civil Service, Sir Bob Kerslake, tweeting, blogging and looking at engaging even more broadly. We have new social media guidelines empowering all [...]
Dear Sir Bob,
I was reading at the weekend the unwarranted criticism of the civil service flexi time scheme. I have bogged how beneficial this system is to the civil service and the goverment.
Civil Service Flexi Time
Monday, 21 May 2012 09:33
This week in the news both the Telegraph and the Sunday Mail reported, “Civil servants are being permitted to take up to three extra days’ holiday a month”!
First of all this is not true, civil servants can get up to three extra “Rest days” a month. For anyone working shifts, you understand the difference. This is a brilliant system for both the staff and employers. The operation is more efficient and the benefits far out way the disadvantages.
How Flexi time works?
Flexi time allows the employee to work at a time of their choosing within the company’s rules. This means that by working more hours together, they can have more time off together. They are perfectly entitled to these extra days off, they are working their contracted hours, they are fulfilling their contract to do the work they are being paid for. The advantages to the employer are even more than those to the employee.
The point you should be noting is that first of all most civil service work is not time critical, by that I do not mean that they do not have to meet deadlines rather they can do the work just as effectively at 7a.m. as at 9a.m. There are, of couse, some time critical jobs like call centres etc. where starting work at 7a.m. not 9a.m. would not be applicable.
The advantages of Flexi time
First of all for the individual;
■There is a better work-life balance,
■Less commutes,
■Less fatigue,
■More days off,
■Lower sickness.
Benefits for the company include;
■Better motivated workers,
■More efficient and effective operation,
■Less fatigued workers, so less errors,
■They get people working overtime hours without paying overtime rates,
■Fewer facilities required,
■Lower sickness.
Put like that the real question is why isn’t everyone doing it?
We promote flexi time to our clients if it is appropriate, because the benefits to both parties, far out way the disadvantages. In the individual’s case it means they won’t get as much overtime pay, and the company has to ensure that the system is not abused.
However you don’t just have to have flexi time, to get these advantages. Shift work means that with the right shift pattern you could get over 10 weeks off per year. We have set up shift patterns where a three month holiday is possible.
You can find this blog at http://www.oranalysts.com/contact-us/blog
My Regards
Dr Moore
The IBM Center for the Business of Government is sponsoring a study in the US on collaboration between appointed and career SES executives in the federal agencies. As a former SES member, author, and college teacher, and author, I am the project leader for the study that includes interviews with selected SES members in the US.
Because the UK has a long-respected professional public administration core and history, the study also includes interviews with key UK leaders.
Is there any chance that I can interview Jeremy Heywood and/or Bob Kerslake in London in July 2012 as part of the study
Bruce Barkley
Nice idea, but sad to see only one post after about 6 weeks.
Can I add my voice to those noting that the MOD IT system blocks much content, even from other government sites. Any chance of replicating this blog somewhere on gsi (government secure intranet) where we in the MOD would be able to see all of it? In fact there is a Civilblog site for just this kind of thing, but it’s closing in August due, it would appear, to lack of resources.
What’s your thinking on how often you will blog? Cant follow your tweet at work (MOD)
Great to see the great and the good writing blogs and are also accessible via Twitter(I’m a follower). Our HR Directors in DWP also have a blog page and it is keenly followed, providing insight and a bit of humanity.
Great idea for you to do a blog – particularly if you are actually writing it yourself! But like many others, we are barred from accessing Twitter so cannot see your tweets. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could be treated as adults and allowed to access things like this?
Thanks for starting a blog – looking forward to gaining more insight into your role, and seeing more photos! It’s also great to see you seeking ideas for the civil service reform plan – personally, my greatest bugbear at present is our antique browser (IE6), but at least it seems the comments function on this site works ok.
Helen
The Ministry of Defence bars its people from accessing Twitter and most other social media sites such as LINKEDIN.
Its good to know that we can access this site.
I’m less interested in your private life (with all due respect – I love the YSP!) and more interested in events that will change our life at work.
Changes in Government-wide HR, developments on pension reform, as well policy (future use of PFI and use of the Government Procurement Service).
Also shanges in the Gateway Review process for Projects and progress with the Major Projects Authority.
The problem with a lifetime of service in the MoD is that one can feel distanced from the Civil Service as a whole. Making a connection seems important.
I’m always reassured when someone Senior is willing to show that they’re a real person too!
I’m reading your blog from within the MOD, and have immediately come up against the kind of problem that hinders cross-CS communication – the MOD filters won’t let me see where you’re to visit nor will deliver the twitter feed.
Within the MOD we’re only just managing to look out from the confines of our own Service affilations and the idea of belonging to the wider Civil Service remains alarming to many, particular those of the worker-bee grades. To feel ‘not included’ may cause those to give up on your blog at the first attempt.
I look forward to reading more.
Dear Mr Kerslake
I am happy to see you are trying to communicate with as wide a section of the civil service as possible.
I would like to ask you to seriously consider the impact the government’s spending review is having on our workforce, so as to ensure that the on-going hardship and sacrifices civil servants are currently enduring are not just short-term measures, but will lead to solid positive change for the long term. I wish I could be assured that I am losing my job and benefits for a worthy cause and not just to fulfil a manifesto that will be reversed at the next public election.
Best of wishes
Dimitrios
Dear Bob Kerslakes,
Please would you kindly look at the way the Two Ticks system of recruiting disabled candidates for the civil service works?
My son Jesse who graduates from Oxford Brookes was eliminated from the fast stteam entry as apparently he failed the test. The basic entry requirement for fast stream entry is a degree. As I am sure you will know, the Two Ticks system guarantees disabled applicants who meet the criteria an interview. It is surprising that a test seems to be used to weed out candidates.
I would suggest that the civil service in its search for greater diversity will sometimes wish to consider applicants from non-conventional backgrounds and would advise that any tests be used to inform interviewing panels not to eliminate peope with potential.
Yours sincerely,
Andy Erlam
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Welcome!
Note that it is not only the UK Civil Service watching your activities, they are also being observed from Australia where senior bureaucrats are also closely considering and trialling how to make best use of these channels to deliver value in government.
You may wish to liaise with some of the leaders here in this field, who are progressively learning how to use social media channels to improve staff and public engagement, service delivery and transparency.
Twitter is great, and blogging is fine. But the really potentially useful tool for civil servants in their work is LinkedIn with its capability of serving as a discussion forum among respected invited networks. I hope that LinkedIn is no longer a barred social network in the UK Government as it still is in others I come across in OECD work.
great to read about your challenges and to see you using the amazing tools the internet provides. the uk really could be world leading if we get all your peers and colleagues doing the same – thank you sir bob!
Welcome to the digital world Bob!
Always lovely to see SCS engaging and reaching out to those of us that aren’t in your direct sphere of influence. But that’s the great thing about social media, you can make connections with people, influencers, thinkers from all walks of life and from anywhere in the world.
And if you’re really lucky, sometimes you even get to meet in real life and exchange ideas face to face over a coffee, or a pint. I’ve met some fantastic people from the Twitterverse and those that I now count as firm friends. Hopefully you’ll get to experience the same connection with people and remember, you only get out of Twitter and Social Media what you put into it. So don’t be shy!
:-)
Bob,
The Blog and your engagement with Twitter is a great step forward that will be much appreciated by Civil Servants – and others – across GB. I hope people from outside the Civil Service will read your blog and recognise that the vast majority of civil servants work outside Whitehall. That they work hard to deliver essential services to the public and businesses as efficiently and effectively as policy and Departmental boundaries will allow. I hope you will be able to build on the baby steps taken already to allow civil servants to have a successful career in a region moving between departments within their travel to work area.
Fond regards
Alexis
Great 1st blog!!
Let’s hope it is sustained – often in the CS they arent – and with the enthusiasm this one demonstrates
I look forward to meeting you at one of your visits to your Whitehall colleagues ‘up north’
If you are writing your tweets and blog posts yourself then this is a very welcome development. Good luck – I hope you enjoy it. Do try and interact with your readers when you can, otherwise you are missing out on half the power of social media.
Hi Bob
Congratulations on your new role. Good Blog. It is great for people to see a personal side of their leaders. Hoping that you remember me from Hounslow days. Anjana
Congrats on the entry into Social Media, you will only find it, useful, fun and a massive change from the controlled way we normally operate. If you want to hear how we are trying to help transform the way public sector does IT with G-Cloud, just shout.
Chris
Great to see you blogging Sir Bob. I tried it with our senior civil servants from Bangladesh in April and they derided it as a learning tool! :-)
Now how can I get hold of a senior UK civil servant to come and talk to our next cohort of senior civil servants who are coming to Telford from Dhaka for 6 weeks begining September 10th? They are very desirous of discussing reform with their peers but we have never achieved a quite ‘peer’ meeting before though we’ve been to the Cabinet OFfice with previous cohorts. They are on a programme funded by DFID, called MATT2 (management at the top) – http://www.matt2.org – which is all about civil service reform. They are all one or two steps down from Permanent Secretary!
Thanks for hearing me out – hope you get to do some good walking soon
Thank you!