Targets damage public sector morale

The
increase in targets to improve service delivery in the public sector is
demotivating staff and failing to achieve its aims, claims a Government
watchdog.

An
Audit Commission report recommends that targets are cut to give staff greater
autonomy and freedom to concentrate on the quality of service delivery.

Marie
Cleary, HR manager at Poole Hospital NHS Trust, said: "The Government
should be more sympathetic and stop beating us around the head with performance
management targets and publicising them when we don’t meet them."

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The
report also finds that the increased use of the private sector to deliver
public services has hit morale among public sector employees who are having to
work alongside private sector staff on different terms.

Public
sector employers must communicate the value of their reward package to staff,
including final salary pension schemes, so employees are aware of the benefits
of working in the sector.