Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsHR practiceHR strategyEmployee opinion surveys

Capability reviews of Department of Health, Department for Transport and Crown Prosecution Service finds Whitehall still lacks people management skills

by Personnel Today 10 Jul 2007
by Personnel Today 10 Jul 2007

Poor people management and leadership continue to hinder government departments, the latest round of Whitehall capability reviews has revealed.

The Department of Health (DoH), Department for Transport (DfT), and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were scrutinised by a team of assessors put together by the Cabinet Office.

HR performance at the CPS came in for particular criticism, with the report stating there was “a lack of passion for [the] learning and development of all staff and core management capabilities, talent management and succession planning are under-developed”.

Only 53% of staff at the CPS thought their team was well managed. The assessors said the department lacked a clear, holistic plan for developing its people.

The results of the review will come as a major blow to the service and its HR director Ros McCool, who joined in January from the Home Office, replacing Angela O’Connor.

However, the review did acknowledge the CPS had made great strides in its approach to diversity issues, and was now one of the best in Whitehall.

The DoH did not fare much better. Its review stated that staff morale in the department was low, and that there was a “sense of disenfranchisement” among staff. Skills gaps in specialist areas were also identified.

The DfT’s review highlighted problems with performance management and a failure to hit diversity targets. “The department is seen as unattractive to the full range of potential recruits,” the report stated.

The role of the department in overseeing HR and other business processes in its agencies was labelled unclear, with some “duplication and inconsistency”.

The DfT needed to develop what the review called “a forward-thinking HR strategy” as a matter of urgency, the assessors concluded.

The reviews bring the number of evidence-based assessments of government departments’ capabilities to 15 in areas such as leadership, strategy and delivery.

In April, after the last round of capability reviews, the Cabinet Office team said it found “too frequently” government departments were not managing their people effectively enough.

“This is not simply a question of HR functions, but is about line management, starting at the top of departments,” its report said.


Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Visa applications centres closure plan raises fears of more potential terrorists getting jobs in the UK
next post
Human resources salary survey: the demise of HR bonuses

You may also like

CV fraudster stripped of earnings after lying about...

19 Aug 2022

Migrant workers to be asked to fill care...

19 Aug 2022

HMRC employee without driving licence wins disability discrimination...

19 Aug 2022

Huge profits at owner of P&O Ferries in...

19 Aug 2022

Personnel Today Awards 2022 shortlist: Apprenticeship Employer of...

19 Aug 2022

Women’s health, the workplace and ‘big data’ –...

19 Aug 2022

Oven-Ready HR Reheated part 1: Gethin Nadin, Charlotte...

19 Aug 2022

Will the Scale-up visa increase the UK’s flow...

18 Aug 2022

Fall in number of students accepted on degree...

18 Aug 2022

Travel disruption: employers’ questions answered

18 Aug 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+