In 2003, Business Excellence Australia added a new range of awards at the category level. In April, the City of Perth was announced as the inaugural winner of the Category Level Award – Knowledge and Information. To achieve this, the City of Perth received the highest evaluation score for that category in Australia covering both private and public sector organisations.
Organisations participating in the Awards in the Knowledge and Information category were required to demonstrate a high level of performance in their collection and interpretation of data and information; their integration and use of knowledge in decision making; and how they create and manage knowledge.
Perth’s strategy for business improvement and long term success
The City has been using the Australian Business Excellence Framework since 1997 as a tool to monitor and plan its progress towards achieving long term goals. The City’s Business Excellence journey has taken the organisation through a Foundation in Business Excellence Award in 1998, a Progress toward Business Excellence Award in 2000, and now the Category Level Award for Knowledge and Information in 2003.
Evaluators found Council’s staff to be enthusiastic, open, proud of what they were achieving and striving to do better
Initially, the Awards process involved the preparation of a detailed submission which was rigorously evaluated. This was followed by a site visit. This is not an automatic part of the evaluation process as not all organisations receive a site visit. The people who participated in the site visit were representative of all staff at the City. The visit started in discussions with Frank Edwards, Chief Executive Officer, and was followed by the evaluators sitting in on the monthly managers’ session – a forum for the City’s management to share information and keep abreast of critical issues for the organisation. The rest of the day was spent with staff who collect, use and share data and information on an operational level, and staff who manage information and information systems.
Feedback is vital to improvement
The City of Perth was the only Local Government recognised in the 2003 Awards. Recognition is a bonus but the greater value from entering the Awards is the comprehensive feedback received, which includes the identification of strengths and opportunities. Some of the significant strengths identified in the City’s feedback report included the following.
- Strategies for the collection, and use of data and information in decision making that are well deployed throughout the organisation and are backed 100 per cent by the Executive Management Team. It has become the way of doing business across the organisation.
- The Corporate Record Keeping System is used to electronically capture, catalogue, store and share the large majority of documents involved in the organisation’s business including correspondence, minutes, invoices, cheques, approvals documentation, plans and reports. The system automatically and electronically keeps track of workflow and prompts responses within a defined time span.
- The information technology strategies of the City are clearly linked to organisational goals, and to the management and sharing of data, information and knowledge. The tools currently in use include a well developed Intranet and an attractive and useful Internet.
Perth’s vision for knowledge management
Each Business Unit has developed a comprehensive set of Performance Indicators that is tied to the Unit’s Strategic Responsibilities. These indicators were developed in consultation with managers and staff. Each Unit produces annual business plans and reports monthly against their Key Performance Indicators. Monthly reports are monitored by the Chief Executive’s Office and improvements are made on a regular basis. In addition to a general staff induction, the City conducts a record keeping induction program that is designed to introduce new staff to information management practices at the City in a consistent way.
This program provides new staff with information about the City’s information management systems and procedures, how to create full and accurate records and the record keeping responsibilities of each new employee. Staff are also provided with hands on training of the City’s Electronic Record Keeping System.
Our People Our Plan, the City’s Human Resources strategy, aims to turn strategy into results. Core Issue 6 of the seven Core Issues identified in the Plan aims to improve organisational performance through the development and use of learning. To support this, there is an active Corporate Learning and Development program. This has gained greater focus in the last two years, actively involving all staff. This program has an important link to the activities of the Knowledge and Information category as the development of staff is directly related to the development of the organisation’s knowledge base.
Corporate Knowledge Program
Through the Corporate Knowledge Program the City aims to achieve results through knowledge management. Significant achievements to date include the following.
- All incoming mail is scanned into the City’s Record Keeping System to improve access to information, more efficiently route documents, and ensure the capture of all significant records.
- Electronic documents and emails are captured into the City’s Record Keeping System at the point of creation by document authors (partially rolled out, planned for completion around mid 2003).
- Procedures have been registered into the City’s Record Keeping System and published on the Intranet for easy access.
- Corporate record keeping procedures have been revised and quick reference cards provided to all staff.
- Information audits conducted across the organisation to improve staff understanding of the information assets of the organisation and to encourage information sharing.
- Awareness among staff of the importance of good information management practices has significantly improved as a result of a series of staff workshops.
The City welcomes invitations to benchmark processes or services and learn from others
All organisations that are committed to the Australian Business Excellence principles and framework are happy to share their knowledge and learn from others. In May, six Council staff members attended a Study Tour hosted by Fremantle Ports, winner of the Bronze Award in this year’s Australian Business Excellence Awards. The City in turn will be hosting a Study Tour on 24 October 2003 and invites interested organisations to participate.
City of Perth staff have started to consider the opportunities for improvement identified in the evaluators’ feedback report as they are keen to implement these improvement ideas and continue the City on its path to Business Excellence.
For further information contact Noelene Jennings, Director Corporate Services, telephone (08) 9461 3138.
