Implementing best management practices in public sector

THE recently announced royal decrees ignited hopes in Saudis to witness a transformation in how the government is planning to perform and achieve.
How these change are going to affect the government’s performance is yet to be seen.
The changes are welcome and we all hope that steps will also be taken to address the problems of management in the public sector. There is a great need for a shift in the management style.
Complicated, bureaucratic and consisting of many sub-structures and hierarchies as it usually is, a government is nothing but a form of organizations that adheres to the same general concepts and rules of change management.
The indicators that are signaling a desire to change in the recent Cabinet shuffle can be summarized in the following: The appointment of young and technocratic minds at the helm, and dissolving a number of committees that were presuming different responsibilities within the ranks of the government.
The selected young ministers, with their private sector experiences, are expected to challenge the crawling and slow-paced pulse that is usually associated with governmental work. They are expected to shake the system, to bring innovation, fast decision-making, and pursuit of better results and enhancements that are usually sought after in the private sector. On the other hand, dissolving committees is meant to fast track ideas into products and services, cutting back the time of discussions and turn it into a time of proper planning and monitored execution.
Despite all that, good intentions alone do not drive change. Concrete change needs proper management and well planning.
To realize our hopes of this shuffle, I believe two ingredients should better be added to the mixture.
Firstly, there is aligning the strategy of the entire government with the individual performance of the ministries. What is the country’s strategy for the coming five to 10 years? What are we good at to back it up and improve it? And what are we lacking so we could target it and plan to reach it?
Secondly, there is the need to measure performance. Once the strategy is laid out and understood, it is broken down into measured objectives. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and balance scorecards are common terminologies that are used on a daily basis in the private sector, and it might be the time they are introduced into the public sector as well. The gap between the public and private practices in terms of management and measuring performances is getting smaller and smaller.
Drafting a strategy and measuring the performance of projects and operations serving this strategy is a guarantee for consistency, for understanding risks and adapting to it, and finally to realize the goals of that strategy. Several governments around the world had started to apply such practices; Dubai government, for instance, is a pioneer in adapting the private sector practices into the government field, and they are remarkably successful to the point that the products and services of the government is now setting standards even for the private sector.
For that, with these changes taking place in the Saudi government, we are hopeful for a better performance, an enhancement in the way the government is delivering its projects, being agile in accepting and interacting with change and improving its services.
Where there is a will, there is a way; the will seems to be there, the resources are available, and we are only hopeful for a better way to realize the dream.