Capability Reviews: Progress and Next Steps - The Civil Service

departments (SCS Survey 2006). It is these leaders in the SCS who are in largepart responsible for performance management of their own staff and also forcreating an environment where others manage performance effectively. Whilstdepartments are working to improve, this is a difficult process, requiring bothcultural and behavioural change (managers taking their responsibilities in thisarea seriously) and also process change (linking individual performanceconsistently to organisational goals). The challenge is to improve peoplemanagement as a routine part of effective line management and to increasestaff confidence that the skills and systems required to manage performanceeffectively are in place.• Better HR. Many departments now have HR directors who are making asignificant impact on HR and business strategy. Permanent secretaries andboards are engaging with this more seriously, with HR moving up the agenda.There is generally greater awareness that people issues are a core part of thebusiness and that HR is more than a transactional function. There is a growingunderstanding of the complexity and challenge of people issues we face in achanging world and labour market. This is both positive and vital. But there is stilla long way to go before Whitehall HR is ‘best in breed’, with professional skillsembedded throughout the workforce.• Skills development. Again, there are positive examples here. Of SCSrespondents, 54 per cent thought their Capability Review has been quite or veryeffective at developing skills to meet current and future challenges (OLRresearch). But most departments lack a clear skills baseline to build on and anunderstanding of their future workforce and its skills needs. This means that skillsdevelopment programmes are often short term and focused on technical skillssuch as programme management and finance.What is the centre doing to build skills, capacity and capability?This area is dealt with by a number of different players: the National School ofGovernment, Government Skills, CSCG and a number of heads of professionsituated in different parts of the centre and in departments. Considerable activity isunder way.• Government Skills, the Sector Skills Council for government, is fully operationaland has a remit for skills across the whole government workforce. It hascompleted a baseline skills audit of over 40,000 people and is developing a skillsstrategy for government. Government Skills is also considering the next phase ofProfessional Skills for Government, including plans to require all those in the FastStream and entering the SCS to have a broad range of experience.40 COMMON CAPABILITY GAPS: PROGRESS AND NEXT STEPS