Stage one: taking stock

Taking stock of where you are with performance management is about analysing where you are now - taking account of existing evidence and assessing strengths, weaknesses, barriers and the legacy of previous change efforts.  You will need to be self-aware, honest, inclusive and willing to change.

Some councils bring together a review of their performance, along with recent external assessments, for example, CPA or an IDeA peer review.  Internal workshops to review findings and get a range of views on performance can also help to get a fuller picture of where you are with performance management.

We have created a Taking Stock workshop and assembled a number of tools which can help. 

Here's part of Lancashire County Council's approach to taking stock:

'We convened a workshop to brainstorm the performance management issues that were facing us.  We mapped out all of the actions which are part of the plan, do and review cycle with a view to indentifying and priortising areas of concern and then developing solutions. We then invited a representative from each directorate to a second mind mapping day in order to gain a wider view and reaffirm that teh the issues the [corporate performance] team had identified on the first day were those that people in the service also recognised to be issue.  The team went through the mind maps we had already created and confirmed the issues highlighted were correct.'

Joanne Platt, Corporate Performance Manager, Lancashire County Council.

Timing issues:

Taking stock doesn’t require lengthy elapsed time. You need to think through whom to involve and get some dates in diaries. But make sure people have some time to allow potential changes and ideas to sink in. You may need to wait for programmed meetings of staff to gain their input and feedback.

Before you move onto the next stage have a look at the Improvement Network’s route map checklist ‘Done the right things? Avoided the pitfalls?’ to confirm you’re ready.

Improvement journey home | Stage two