In his first few months as Chief Executive and Head of Public Service, Boley Smillie has been getting to grips with the vast remit of the public service and meeting as many of the teams as possible.
At this month’s sold-out Chamber Lunch, attended by more than 120 members of Guernsey’s business community, Boley sat down with former Chamber president Martyn Dorey to address challenges faced by the public service and what we can expect going forward.
One of the top focus areas for Boley in leading an organisation of more than 5,000 employees is prioritisation. Considering the States’ broad agenda, Boley said it is important to prioritise – and push back on certain workstreams in order to deliver on projects that will truly make a difference. While he said this was a difficult task, it is a non-negotiable one to ensure that Guernsey’s public service continues to thrive and progress, and that islanders build trust in the States as a whole.
“We don’t have a talent problem, what we have is a capacity issue”
Key to building trust between the public sector and islanders is positive relationships with politicians. With the Guernsey election just months away, Boley hopes that providing clarity on what the island needs to deliver over the next political term will help drive a collaborative approach to the issues and mandates that will define the next assembly.
“If we have that clarity, then people will start to buy into it and help us shape it.”
Martyn posed the question of whether there was anything Boley considered ‘wrong’ within the sector, which he took as an opportunity to light-heartedly point to the recent fascination with the stowaway squirrel and news that the Bathing Pools diving board may soon be removed. Jokes aside, Boley used this as an example to point to these issues consuming time and resources – which further exacerbates being spread too thin.
Boley also felt there was a need for further transparency of the service’s objectives and how they planned to execute important plans to build trust.
“I want everyone to be open about what they’re doing and why. You don’t get to work in public service without scrutiny, which is why people choose to work in it. It’s nice to feel like you are making a difference.”
As the island’s biggest employer, collaboration and efficient cross-communication between departments, and with the private sector, is vital. An accountant in the audience informed the panel that working closer with the public service to support on certain challenges, such the revenue service backlog, had potential to make significant positive change. This was met with nods of agreement from fellow audience members, Boley was confident there was a need for closer collaboration between the public and private sector.
Quoting management consultant Peter Drucker, Martyn referred to the saying ‘culture eats strategy for breakfast,’ as a segue into how Boley intended to have a positive impact on the culture within the public sector team.
In response, he said “We can shape the organisation so that everyone in it feels they have contributed to it. We want them to feel that change is something they are part of, rather than something that is happening to them.”
The future of our public service, under the leadership of Boley Smillie, could come to be defined by efficiency and productivity, and in turn see a positive shift in public perception and trust of the service.
