ENGAGING EVERY STAFF MEMBER AND DEVELOPING A PURPOSE DRIVEN ORGANISATION FOR ACCOUNTABLE SERVICE EXCELLENCE

The KwaZulu Natal Department of Transport has taken a bold step ahead of traditional public service entities in its approach to capacity building and human resource development by embarking on a holistic, systematic organisational development program that strikes a balance between gaining commitment of every employee and the continuous improvement of processes towards service excellence. Capacity building links numerous elements to achieve the desired outcome of improved service delivery or competitiveness. The challenge facing the organisation is to translate these key elements into accountable service excellence - meaning that results, people and workplaces should be judged and found to be world-class by any measure. This is being achieved through the implementation of the Mission-directed Work Team (MDWT) program, which has globally recognised best practice tools and techniques that assist leaders and their teams to - establish business focus resulting in simultaneous improvement of quality, speed of delivery, cost effectiveness and morale; create a safe working environment; streamline their structures; identify and eliminate waste thus enabling value to flow; and create a learning organisation. In the context of capacity building, any organisation can buy machines or set up infrastructure, but its people that make the difference! Some of the key elements to unleashing the collective creative capacity of the people in an organisation is to create a purpose driven organisation and a service-centric culture; establish goal alignment; involve people in measuring, managing and improving their own performance; focus on innovation and continuous improvement; and to create an environment that is charactised by teamwork, participation, flexibility and learning. 1. BACKGROUND “Pen-pushers and guardians of rubber stamps, thieves intent on self-enrichment, bureaucrats who think they have the right to ignore the vision of Batho Pele, who come to work as late as possible and knock off as early as possible” this is how President Thabo Mbeki described some employees in the public service as he emphatically highlighted the importance of addressing the issue of culture in his State of the Nation Address on 6 February 2004.