TOGETHER and the Leadership Academy

Report: 8
Date: 6 December 2007
By: the Director of Human Resources on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

Following on from the MMP Oversight Meeting in March 2007, the purpose of the current report is to provide members with an overview of the ongoing progress of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Leadership Academy, a fundamental aspect of the "Together " approach. The report also illustrates how the Leadership Academy is contributing towards the success of the MPS in delivering the strategic outcomes and performance ambitions coordinated under the Met Modernisation Programme (MMP).

A. Recommendations

That members note the contents of this report.

B. Supporting information

Strategic Context

1. The MPS must be capable of responding and adapting to a changing crime environment and continued pressure to seek efficiency and effectiveness improvements. Underpinning work to meet these challenges is Together. Together describes our style of working. It is about how we aspire to be when delivering London’s policing service.

2. Following a successful period of unprecedented growth in capacity, the MPS must now focus on the accompanying organisational capability that is needed, particularly around people skills and leadership, to meet the changing demands of a modern police service. People are our most important asset and how we lead, manage and develop our workforce is a key factor in how the MPS performs and how it is perceived both internally and externally.

3. However, evidence from such sources as the Morris Inquiry, MPS exit interviews, the Service Review and the corporate values consultation exercise has highlighted that the MPS has further work to do to enhance the skills of our managers so that they can effectively lead their teams to better provide policing services; in particular to make the most productive use of financial and people resources under their command. The MPS must ensure our managers are trained and skilled to manage these resources in a way that the MPS would wish and both the MPA and London council-tax payers would expect. This will be key to eliciting the full benefits of the MPS Transforming HR Programme and the Modernisation of Finance and Resources Services.

4. Enhanced management and leadership will also impact upon the way the MPS works with its partners and the diverse communities of London. Complimenting the Citizen Focus approach, it is envisaged that more cohesive relationships will be built with partners and citizens in order to provide the highest quality service possible.

5. The opening of the Leadership Academy (LA) in June 2006 was a significant step forward in the delivery of leadership excellence for the MPS. To help focus and tailor Leadership Academy products, five key impact levels of leadership have been identified (see Table 1).

6. A number of core elements feature at each of the five impact levels: values based leadership and feedback, people skills, performance coaching and action learning.

Table 1: Key leadership ‘impact’ levels within the MPS

Progress: Key Deliverables Financial Year 2006/2007 (Programme Year 1) MPS Values

7. Launched by the Commissioner in February 2006, the MPS values and behaviours were developed through consultation with approximately 5500 MPS staff and other key stakeholders. These behaviours show our citizens, partners and colleagues how we expect the values to be ‘lived’ in our day-to-day activity to enable improvements in MPS employment practices and service delivery.

Leadership Programme For Team Leaders

8. This is mandatory training for all newly promoted team leaders, with police officers and staff training together on core components. The course content is based on a full Performance Needs Analysis (PNA) embracing the findings of reports such as Morris, CRE, Taylor and Ghaffur. Full attendance of all modules is equal to 9 days covering people skills (3 days covering performance development, attendance & welfare and standards & fairness) and values based leadership (6 days, including values based feedback and coaching skills 6 months after initial module delivery). The programme has the capacity to provide for in the region of 1200 staff each year.

9. A full evaluation of the programme is currently being undertaken in conjunction with the MPS Learning and Support Unit. Full findings will be available at the end of the calendar year, however, headlines from the emerging findings highlight the following:

• 94% of delegates are satisfied upon completion of the programme
• 70% of delegates feel that the programme has made a difference to their job performance
• 68% of delegates felt that the programme was worthwhile and a valuable use of time (however significant differences are shown between police officers and police staff, with 90% staff responding positively compared to 57% officers)
• Higher non-attendance rates amongst police staff
• Some emerging concerns regarding delivery of the programme in the existing modular format

TeamMet.com

10. TeamMet.com is a web based learning facility to enable the continual professional development of managers and provide them with ongoing support from the Leadership Academy. This is not intended to be an e-learning provision. It is an interactive website that not only supports students through their learning programmes but will ultimately provide the wider organisation with an easy to search database (‘know how’) of a vast library of knowledge (maintained fully up-to-date by the Leadership Academy and a variety of MPS Subject Matter Experts working within the field). This will allow good practice to be fed straight back into the organisation and accessed by those who need it in an innovative and dynamic way.

11. Hosted via the Internet (rather than the Intranet) the site is accessible from outside of the MPS workplace enabling staff to use it in a more flexible manner. The site is also being developed to host an on-line values based feedback process, which will generate cashable efficiency savings that can be redirected into increasing LA delivery in other areas.

Hydra Operations

12. Major emergencies, critical incidents and the investigation of serious crimes are typically complex, initially chaotic and often challenging to manage. These incidents require a team-based approach in which the activities and efforts of the staff involved are effectively co-ordinated and properly directed. Good communication, effective use of resources and information and a clear command policy are essential if the many problems arising from such incidents are to be identified, prioritised and resolved. Training officers to develop these command skills requires a learning environment where the complexity, chaos and challenge of a real incident are recreated. The aim of the Hydra simulation system is to bring police command training to life and provide staff with experiences of incident command within a training setting that are readily transferable to the real-world of a live policing event.

13. A number of simulation products are delivered through the Leadership Academy, specifically:

• DOCIT: Duty Officers Critical Incident Training (delivered within the Team Leader programme and as a stand alone product),
• SMoCIT: Strategic Management of Critical Incidents (delivered under LA Local to SMT groups and as a stand alone product)
• Designated Senior Officer (DSO) training
• MACIE: Multi-agency child protection immersive exercise
• Hostage Negotiator’s course

Financial Year 2007/2008 (Programme Year 2) LA Local

14. LA Local takes the products and services of the Leadership Academy to the workplace. Ensuring bespoke design to meet the specific needs of an OCU and providing deliverables across all impact levels is vital for sustaining the momentum and credibility of the Together approach. A five-stage approach has been developed to shape these local interventions comprising of the following components:

• SMT development including immersive critical incident exercise, team profiling and values based feedback. This results in the development of individual and team action plans. Coaching and action learning facilitate learning and development
• Values based profiling of the OCU and analysis of other performance data including attendance / complaints / grievances
• Steering group established to promote engagement and ownership
• Tailored integrated interventions (e.g. delivery of people skills modules, values challenge discussions, action learning)
• Evaluation to capture and maximise on learning

15. In conjunction with TP, four Boroughs have been identified to participate as evaluation sites for LA Local: Hillingdon, Hackney, Greenwich and Wandsworth. SMT development is also being undertaken with Central Communcations Command Lambeth.

16. Early activity is focusing significantly on community and partnership working. Cross Borough networking activities are taking place, community information is being fed into the Borough diagnostic and relationships are being developed with external organisations. The Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate is working in partnership with the Leadership Academy to offer practical interventions to support Boroughs and improve performance.

17. Developing our understanding of what works, a full evaluation across the above sites will measure and track performance impact. Subject to the findings of this evaluation, it is anticipated that the full LA Local model will be rolled out across further (B)OCUs, at a rate of between 8-10 per year (within existing resource constraints). Over a 3-year programme, all BOCU SMTs will receive LA Local support.

Command Leader Development Programme

18. Based on a full Performance Needs Analysis (PNA), the Command Leader Programme comprises a number of modules (see Table 2) focused on key areas that determine effective performance at the Command Leader level. In a tangible example of working together, individual modules are led by different business areas and delivery coordinated by the Leadership Academy. Across the programme, a range of delivery options have been used, catering for different learning styles and enhancing the delegate experience.

Table 2: Components of the Command Leader development programme

19. Management Board have approved that all Command Leaders must attend the Values Based Leadership module (the first in the programme). However, delegates may be able to seek exemption from certain other modules if they demonstrate competency against the learning objectives and have line management approval.

20. The first Values Based Leadership module was delivered in April 2007, where 30 Command Leaders took part in values challenge discussions, values based feedback and performance coaching. Syndicates also form Action Learning Sets to promote a problem solving approach working as a collaborative and supportive team for 6-9 months, as well as acquiring co-coaching capability. Subsequent leadership modules have been delivered in June and October (residential and non-residential options), and a review day for the first cohort will be held in January 2008.

21. Early delegate feedback shows high satisfaction rates with the Leadership module (above 85% of delegates). Participants have highlighted the importance of having ‘time out’ to explore personal leadership effectiveness and drill down into the values of the MPS. The Commissioner’s open and personal approach during his presentation / Q&A has received specific positive feedback.

22. All in the Command Leader group will be given the opportunity to attend the relevant programme modules over the course of 07/08 - 08/09.

Programme Leader Development

23. The intervention for Programme Leaders features three learning modules; Values Based Leadership (delivered by Bill Griffiths), Leading Change (delivered by Jake Chapman) and the Role of the Senior Responsible Owner (to be delivered in conjunction with SMPD). The programme was launched in September 2007 with delivery of the first Values Based Leadership module.

24. The objective of the 2-day Values Based Leadership exercise is to identify the practical realities of improving corporate working and taking values based leadership forward for the groups the LA describes as Programme Leaders (those with responsibilities for co-ordinating the work between (B)OCU level and Management Board). Mixed groups of twelve police officers and staff attend, forming two syndicates with a third group comprising 1-2 Management Board member(s) and other senior external managers. The Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner also attend for a strategic discussion over dinner, accompanied by the Director of HR. The module is supported by values based feedback, performance coaching and (externally facilitated) action learning.

25. All Programme Leaders will have the opportunity to participate within the development programme over the course of 07/08 and 08/09.

Portfolio Leader Development

26. The current Commissioner’s Leadership Programme will continue to be delivered to Portfolio Leaders for the remainder of the 2007 calendar year. Building on this, and on evidence obtained through an updated PNA (focused on the key knowledge, skills and abilities required to perform effectively at this level), a new modular based programme is in the process of being designed for Portfolio leaders. This will include Values Based Leadership, people skills and role specific skills (e.g. financial management) .It is anticipated that a pilot programme will be ready for delivery by March 2008.

Performance Coaching

27. The Leadership Academy coordinates a pool of skilled internal and external coaches to support MPS managers in improving personal effectiveness. Coaching is centred on performance related goals ideally set in consultation with the individual’s line manager. Performance coaching features within the Command Leader and Programme Leader development programmes, as well as within the existing Commissioner’s Leadership Programme. Through LA Local, coaching is provided to key role holders. A coaching skills module has also been designed. This product will promote the concept of coaching conversations between leaders and staff at every level.

28. The Leadership Academy is in the process of developing a coaching course, accredited by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), which will be managed and delivered internally for those staff wishing to become coaches. If successful, the MPS will become the first public sector organisation to be awarded the EMCC standard. A selection process will operate for this course to ensure that the training investment is effectively directed towards those staff who possess the core skills to enable them to coach effectively.

Open Access Events

29. Facilitated by the Work Foundation, external speakers have been used for some time as part of the alumni programme attached to the Commissioner’s Leadership Programme. Events are very popular and invariably oversubscribed. The Leadership Academy is now expanding the target audience for external speakers, moving towards a principle of more open access including those who have not necessarily previously attended an LA programme. The programme of speakers will also now be organised internally, achieving cost efficiencies that can be redirected into increasing the scope of the LA programmes.

Product Accreditation

30. Feedback obtained during the consultation on the values highlighted training accreditation as an important issue for staff in determining training quality and value. In response, the Leadership Academy has commenced some pilot activity with the Centre for Learning & Development at Birkbeck College, part of the University of London. Birkbeck College operates an academic credit system based on the nationally established Higher Education credit framework. This framework provides a set of specifications for valuing, measuring, describing and comparing learning achievement. Building on the LA Team Leader Programme, delegates can undertake additional study to qualify for either a Graduate Certificate or a Birkbeck Certificate in Continuing Education.

Leadership Academy Products: Delivery Trajectory

Table 3: Trajectory of delegate numbers across the LA product range

Table 4: Leadership Academy key impact level coverage at the end of financial year 2008/2009

Managing Demand

31. All products described within the current report will be contained within a Leadership Academy prospectus, available through TeamMet.com.

32. The Leadership Academy is currently unable to satisfy the demand for its products and therefore the potential to bring about a step-change in MPS leadership capability is constrained within current resource allocation. As awareness of the Leadership Academy spreads, demand is increasing. The partnership ethos underpinning Together provides an imperative for the Leadership Academy to explore ways in which it can engage other stakeholders to act as drivers for change.

33. In order to effectively manage the supply and demand balance, a tasking model is under development. The vision is that this model will provide an (non bureaucratic) open and transparent mechanism for allocating limited LA resources in line with business and customer needs, where the return on investment will have maximum impact. Specific examples of recent work undertaken include Hydra’s support to the counter terrorist command and the TP ‘kicks’ project.

34. Preliminary research suggests that MPS Training Managers would welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with the Leadership Academy by accrediting their own staff to deliver LA products locally. Scoping work is ongoing in this area. Further development of the concept could see the creation of inter-agency partnerships and begin to realise the commercial potential of the Leadership Academy by entering into franchise or licensing arrangements with partner agencies and / or commercial organisations.

Together Benefits

35. As part of the MPS business planning process, Together has articulated three strategic objectives for the 07/08-08/09 financial years:

• To deliver a demonstrable improvement in the quality of leadership
• To put the MPS first and work across boundaries bringing different groups / teams together to achieve goals
• To ensure that the connection between operational activity and the Values is clear to all staff

Members of the Together SMT are currently working with the Business Group planning teams to formalise what activity individual Business Groups will be undertaking to support delivery of the Together objectives.

36. Working with the MMP Benefits Team, four programme level benefits have been put in place for Together:

• Improved capability in leadership and people skills
• Maximising staff potential
• Less silo working
• Improved organisational learning and information sharing

Benefits mapping workshops have been held with individual LA project teams to determine how specific project outputs will contribute to programme level benefits, in turn, organisational performance.

37. In looking at the potential benefits of Together, a significant amount of research was undertaken focusing on how public (including other police forces) and private sector organisations demonstrate the return on investment in improving leadership and management capability. As a result, it became apparent that, due to the very nature of the work, it would be difficult to use existing quantitative performance indicators and there would need to be a heavy reliance on qualitative data.

38. Demonstrating the impact of Together was a key driver in the development and launch of the new MPS staff survey Your Views Count in addition to the need to better understand the relationship between staff experience and other areas of performance. The survey is administered in partnership with MORI and individual survey items have been mapped against the four benefit areas detailed in Paragraph 37 above. The Commissioner has defined the five ‘pillars of performance’ as: crime reduction, detection / disruption, user satisfaction, public perception and staff satisfaction. The key anticipated impacts of staff perception are on enhanced detection / disruption activity (via improved productivity) and improved police-public interaction, which would respectively impact on crime reduction and perceptions of the broader public.

39. In the private sector the links between staff attitudes and performance have been acknowledged for some time. There is not a linear relationship between overall job satisfaction and performance rather a need for ‘hygiene factors’ (pay, conditions, training) to be in place for a reasonable level of performance to be expected, with ‘motivational factors’ driving high performing companies. This relationship is reflected in the ‘learning and growth’ perspective of balanced scorecard systems.

40. MORI, on behalf of the Improvement & Development Agency, carried out sample based staff surveys in local authorities assessed as ‘excellent’ or ‘poor’ in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment. There were strong links between overall satisfaction and the assessment of performance and the key links were:

• Satisfaction with input into work planning
• Opportunities to show initiative
• Line managers willing to listen to ideas
• Feeling kept well informed
• Feeling that change is well communicated and managed

The factors shown to support excellent performance are clearly aligned with the MPS values and Together.

41. Your Views Count is sent to a structured cross-section of staff on a rolling programme. This enables meaningful quarter on quarter comparisons that will assist the MPS develop an understanding of the impact of major organisational change and will also support the investigation of the links between the pillars of performance. Furthermore, it gives the capability to track the impact of high profile events, as the actual date of response is captured. This approach also provides the opportunity for an OCU level results breakdown, which will become available at the end of a year’s surveying from a suitably designed sample. To give the required OCU-by-OCU comparison (with a minimal sample of 100 staff per OCU) around 8,000 surveys are required to be completed each year. For planning purposes, a 50% response rate has been assumed, which means 16,000 staff will be given the opportunity to participate each year.

42. The first set of survey results is now available, based on 2,350 responses received in August and September 2007. At 37%, the Phase 1 response rate is lower than we hope to reach in future surveys but is large enough to draw some initial views. Management Board members have been asked to reinforce messages regarding survey completion in their respective business areas to ensure this increases for future quarters.

43. The structured element of the Your Views Count survey is grouped into five themes:

• Working for the MPS
• MPS Values
• Where I Work
• My Line Manager
• My Job

44. Almost 60% of respondents were satisfied with their current job and the majority agreed that they are helping to make London the safest major city in the world. The proportion agreeing that they had a healthy work-life balance was marginally lower than the public sector norm group, however this may to some extent be a reflection of the shift working and unpredictability of working in the emergency services.

45. Statements regarding MPS teams living the values were very positively responded to. At least three quarters of respondents agreed with each of the value statements. ‘In my team we take pride in delivering quality policing’ was particularly well rated (82% agreement).

46. Responses to the items within the ‘Where I Work’ section of the survey were more positive than the MORI public sector norm group. Of note, 82% agreed that they were clear on the priorities for their team. In common with other organisations, consultation on management decisions was rated rather poorly, however agreement levels on being kept informed of developments have risen since Morris.

47. Statements regarding line managers were positively responded to. The majority agreed that their line manager values their contribution (75%), provides opportunities for face-to-face discussion (75%) and empowers them to do their job (67%). ‘My line manager gives regular and constructive feedback on my performance’ received a more moderate agreement level (58%), this area is being directly targeted by the introduction of values based feedback as a core component of Leadership Academy products at all levels.

48. Responses in the ‘My Job’ section varied. However, where MORI public sector norm group data was available the MPS performed favourably. Training and skill use questions were positively responded to. The provision of good career opportunities was rated notably lower although in line with the comparator group.

49. The survey invites two free text comments, regarding (a) the best thing about my job and (b) the one thing that would make my job better. Teamwork was by far the most frequently cited best thing (31% of respondents) in addition to a number of positive comments centring on the theme of making a difference. The most frequent area cited as ‘would make my job better’ was better / more supportive management. Resource availability and bureaucracy were other themes raised.

50. It is hard to compare the emerging results from Your Views Count with previous data, as there has not been a comparable MPS survey for some time. In addition, a number of the questions contained within Your Views Count are new items that have not previously been administrated within large-scale surveys. The last relevant comparator survey is Morris (2004) and where we are able to compare Your Views Count items directly with Morris the results are favourable (as shown in table 5).

Table 5: A comparison of Your Views Count and Morris responses

51. Individual benefits profiles have been drawn up for each of the four programme level end benefits. These show how each benefit will be measured and tracked. Statistically significant targets have been set for year on year improvements to the staff survey measures. Although the benefits profiles in their current form focus solely on corporate level survey data, this will be supplemented through the findings of individual product evaluations e.g. LA Local and the Team Leader Programme. These evaluations incorporate additional local data sources relative to a given target group (e.g. assimilated values based feedback information, focus groups, team effectiveness inventories and public surveys). It will also be possible to analyse the results of the Your Views Count survey according to a number of different variables (e.g. the different leadership levels, police staff - police officers). This will enable us to explore potential differences in the perceptions of the groups relative to the investment of LA interventions at a given level.

52. Expectation management is also important regarding the timeframe for the realisation of anticipated benefits. ‘Cultural change’ initiatives such as Together are long-term approaches that need to be committed to (especially from the top team) and sustained in order to deliver maximum benefit to an organisation. To facilitate this, a senior Director of Leadership features within the Transformed HR Command Team.

Conclusion

53. As one of the current MPS strategic priorities, Together is a significant programme, driving massive cultural change in an organisation with more than 50,000 members of staff. The approach is solidly founded in the values and behaviours, which are the building blocks for a range of interventions spanning all levels of leadership within the organisation. An increasingly collaborative approach is being taken to product concept and design resulting in the highest quality products. Signs of change are already appearing in the organisation and the Leadership Academy ‘footprint’ at the end of 08/09 in relation to staff coverage will be a large one. This will provide a critical mass or tipping point, which, reinforced by the integration of the values in our management processes, gives confidence that within 3 years we will start to see changes that can be measured. However, the more we do, the faster we can bring about the changes we want.

C. Race and equality impact

1. Representatives from the Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate (DCFD) have been closely involved in the development of the MPS Values and subsequent LA products to ensure a consistent approach with, for example, the development of the MPS Diversity Strategy. DCFD and the Leadership Academy are also working in partnership through LA Local to offer practical interventions to support Boroughs and improve performance. To ensure an effective ongoing relationship, a member of the DCFD Command Team sits on the Together SMT.

2. A community and equality impact screening process was conducted as part of the Business Case for the Leadership Academy. In accordance with the guidelines and on the basis of this initial screening, the decision was taken that a full impact assessment was not required at that time. However, the community and equality impact screening has subsequently been reviewed within the Together governance framework and an equality impact assessment will now be undertaken for each of the key projects being delivered under Together. These will be made available to the MPA when complete.

D. Financial implications

In March 2006, the MPS Investment Board approved a business case to supplement existing leadership development resources. This established a new total budget for the Leadership Development Directorate of £5.94 million. All current and planned programmes are being funded from within the existing budget.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report authors: Bill Griffiths, Director of Leadership Development and Alex Felton, Head of HR Change Team, MPS

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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