John Manzoni
Chief Executive of the Civil Service
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
As a new entrant into the civil service in February, it certainly took a little time to adjust to the different environment. It’s a unique and exciting place, and I have met some tremendous people dedicated to their work. Most of my time within government to date has been spent with the Major Projects Authority (MPA), understanding the huge range of projects which we’re undertaking. I have been surprised that a majority of them are transforming things, not buying or building things.
It became clear that a focus needs to be on improving our internal capacity to manage these projects – whether it’s project leadership itself, or specialist skills such as digital or commercial. This experience highlighted for me the need to accelerate how we build and nurture those skills inside the civil service, which I have retained as a priority in my new role as chief executive.
October brought on a new set of challenges and opportunities as I took on this role, and I have spent the first months working hard to align the cross-government agendas from a functional perspective into the plans and projections of the departments to help us create better and better public services at cheaper cost. That imperative will remain whatever happens next May.
What are your department’s top priorities in the last months before the general election?
We know that the pressures of ever-increasing efficiency won’t go away, and may even become more pressing in the next Parliament. Our challenge is to create a path, department by department, and for the government as a whole which meets our goals in terms of policy objectives, and yet at the same time does it within a very tight cost envelope. And just working harder won’t do it – we have to come up with ways to do it smarter.
I believe that smarter means we will have to collaborate more across government, sharing services and premises, finding new ways to approach things, and embracing a digital future which will enable a massive change in the way we deliver services to the public. It is no small change, and we have to do it at the same time as running our everyday business. We need to support our people and build their skills, confidence and leadership to undertake that challenge. What I have found really encouraging is that the leadership of the civil service understands, and is completely up for the challenge.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
There are two great things about Christmas – being together as a family, and brandy butter – and it’s a close-run thing as to which one wins! I’ve never actually said ‘bah humbug!’ – but I shall start from now when I read a long piece of paper, get to the end, and can’t understand what it’s telling me. Short and to the point is good!