The new Chief Executive of the States of Guernsey has admitted his personal mandate and that of the civil service “is huge” and he wants to lift the lid on what really happens within it.
Speaking at yesterday’s Chamber of Commerce lunch, in his first public appearance since being appointed the boss of 5,000 other individuals, Boley Smillie said one of his priorities is to rebuild any broken trust between the public and the civil service.
“I think there’s a big piece of work to do about building trust and confidence in public service,” he acknowledged. “I don’t come from a position where there should be a problem with that anyway. I think a lot of it is about perception. I think that’s my job to deal with that.
“I also think that as a as an organisation, we are just doing way too much. Prioritisation is a big issue. If you think of something like the health mandate at the moment, where I guess many people would accept and recognise that must be one of the most difficult day jobs. On top of that, the model needs reform. It needs a sustainable model into the future. and you’re asking those same people to come up with that.
“Then there’s things like construction projects that need to happen, and that’s a common theme across the civil service and the public service. There is an insatiable appetite to want to do more which is really which is really positive. There’s obviously strong political ambition, and we’ll see much more that after the election, and of course, we have a community which is always wanting more, and better in positive way. When you combine all that together, it’s the recipe for something, and that’s been a key observation I’ve had.”
Being interviewed by Martyn Dorey in front of business leaders, industry insiders, and others, Mr Smillie also admitted that the public sector is doing “way too much” and that needs addressing through prioritisation and possible privatisation too.
But he added that individuals who are already doing their best should be highlighted too.
“I think there should be more accountability, and I think people in the public service want more accountability as well, but positively so we need to create an environment where people are set up to succeed again.
“It’s linked to a couple of things, making sure we’re not over committing, we’ve prioritised properly, and making sure people are equipped to deliver what they need to deliver, and then telling everyone. Because experience tells me that if you communicate what it is you’re trying to achieve, that actually motivates everyone a little bit more to get it done. I see a real synergy between what everyone’s calling it for, and what people want. Again, in terms of one of the areas I’d like to be measured on, is to create a culture where actually it’s about success. We all want the public service to succeed. We all want success for Guernsey, so let’s not talk about accountability in the context of failure. We should be focusing on how we make things happen, not the reverse.”
Mr Smillie told the Chamber lunch audience that another of his personal priorities in his new role is to “open the doors a little bit” to show the public what happens within the public service sector.
“We often internally and externally talk about the civil service as a collective, and I think that’s something we need to change, because when you get inside and see everything that goes on, it does change your perspective.
“I have to say there are some very, very good people, very talented people, within civil service. I almost don’t want to give examples, for fear of missing someone out, but take something like our international relations team, doing an amazing job behind the scenes, looking after lots of difficult issues that most of us aren’t aware of every day. But it’s a really talented organisation.”
Mr Smillie joined the public sector from the post office at the start of the year and his induction process is ongoing, he said. But he already knows what some of his longer term priorities will be.
“One of the key objectives I feel like I’ve set myself is to open the doors a little bit more to the public service and show everyone what’s going on behind closed doors.
“Sometimes it’s a difficult place to be. There’s a lot of feedback, sometimes constructive, sometimes not so. And I’d rather us receive that constructive criticism, or otherwise, on the basis of what actually happens, rather than the perception of what happens. And I think as an organisation, we need to take more responsibility for the narrative of that. We need to open the doors a bit more and show everyone exactly what goes on.”
Acknowledging the perception of some that the public sector is too large, and the civil service in particular employs too many people, Mr Smillie referred to the ‘elephant in the room’.
“I found in my first few weeks, is that you walk into a department to meet people for the first time, and you are expecting three or four people, and there’s actually 30 or 40 people.
“You initially think ‘what on earth can all of these people be doing?’, and then 10 minutes later, you met them all, they’ve explained, and you’ve walked away with a lot more understanding.”
“It’s a huge organization, and I’ve got to get that point across,” he added.
“Can we be more efficient? Of course, we can. There’s loads of things to do, to be more efficient. Will that in itself fix Guernsey’s financial challenges. No. And that’s the truth.
“There are lots of people that are doing a really good job with the right support we will deliver really good things for Guernsey. That’s not a new thing, that’s already happening, which is, which is really positive.
“I want to be measured based on, I guess, a successful organization, and how people perceive that to move forward, but based on what’s actually going on, not what people like to assume.”