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Performance Improvement, vol. 48, no. 8, September 2009©2009 International Society for Performance Improvement

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) • DOI: 10.1002/pfi.20099

OUTSOURCING IN REVERSE: A CASE STUDYFROM THE PUBLIC SECTOR

Christine Marsh, CPT

At a time when many public organizations were looking to outsource their information

technology services, Torfaen County Borough Council in Wales took a strategic decision to bring

all information communications technology services in-house. The key challenge was

to bring together and integrate a highly skilled, complex, and diverse mix of existing internal

and external service providers.

AT A TIME when many public organizations were look-ing to outsource their information technology (IT) ser-vices, Torfaen County Borough Council in Wales took astrategic decision to have its internal information com-munication technology (ICT) operations take overallcontrol and bring all ICT services in-house.

The ICT operations services are provided to a diverserange of internal customers, which can be categorized asmembers, strategic, tactical, and operational. Also beingdeveloped were links with customers and stakeholdersoutside the authority, driving projects and systems toconnect with the police, local health boards, and neigh-boring authorities to collaborate on key initiatives withinWales.

The key challenge was to bring together and integratea highly skilled, complex, and diverse mix of existinginternal and external service providers. This also involvedthe human resource (HR) division in negotiating theterms and conditions for personnel moving from the pri-vate into the public sector.

According to the extract from the ICT ImprovementPlan 2007–2010, which was prepared, authorized, andpublished within the control of ICT operations, and notused for circulation other than within Torfaen CountyBorough Council:

These are challenging and exciting times for the ICTOperations Division and the Division as part of theResources Directorate under the guidance of PeterDurkin Director of Resources look forward to making amajor contribution to assisting Torfaen in becoming a leading Council through the improved and innovativeservices and infrastructure they provide and support.

This can only be achieved by harnessing the enthusi-asm, commitment and dedication of those who workwithin ICT Operations together with you the customer.

OVERVIEW OF THE ICT OPERATIONSDEVELOPMENT PROGRAMThis case study depicts a situation that relates to the chal-lenges faced by any organization that is undergoingchanges to working processes and practices. The pressureof always seeking increased efficiency and a return oninvestment is obvious. But the success of any project isunderpinned by the contributions and motivation level ofthe staff.

The objective of ICT was to create a new organizationthat would be capable of a broader range of service offer-ings, custom-designed to be responsive to the needs of anexpanded and diverse customer population, achievingcustomer satisfaction, and managing costs, all while oper-ating and delivering traditional services. This was not aperformance improvement project. My role was to sup-port the implementation of the newly designed orga-nization. My involvement over a 20-month period(March 2006 to October 2007) amounted to 25 days.

This case study, shows how ICT operations establishedits own culture and internal structure, recognized teaminterdependency, and clarified the roles and accountabili-ties of each service area. At the same time, it maintainedinternal flexibility to make appropriate adjustments as newneeds were identified.

I was given an initial briefing by Farooq Dastgir, head ofoperations. His ambition was to create a “one team”

20 www.ispi.org • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • SEPTEMBER 2009

approach, involving everyone within the new structure ofICT operations. He felt that this was crucial to support thecomplex internal integration that would be necessary, witha dual focus on intense performance improvement effortsand excellent customer service for ongoing service deliveryto a diverse and demanding customer base. During thetransition period, the ICT structure was realigned by iden-tifying three key areas of service delivery: core services,development and project delivery, and services and tech-nical. The organization structure in place after the realign-ment consisted of levels defined as follows:

• Head of operations: The most senior role, providingoverall leadership and guidance.

• Service managers: Three service managers to act as thelead officer for each service delivery area.

• Team leaders: Initially nine team leaders reported todesignated service managers.

• Team members: Approximately 58 members of staffcovered day-to-day core services, development andintegration of existing services and infrastructure,technical and strategic service support, mail andcourier services, and reprographic services (reproduc-tion, printing, graphics, and administration services).

Following the principles of human performance tech-nology (HPT), it was vital to get commitment to achiev-ing the goal of a one-team culture in these ways:

• Ensuring that people management properly supportednew operating procedures to deliver high-quality ser-vice to all customers.

• Establishing a partnering relationship with everyonewithin ICT operations at all levels and covering allfunctions.

• Identifying, designing, and developing appropriateinterventions such as 360-degree surveys, workshops,and facilitation of discussions.

• Ensuring an effective solution with observableimprovements within the parameters of the likely needfor further restructuring.

It was essential to get buy-in from every member ofstaff if the integration process was to be effective. Staffmembers needed to understand and own the new processrequirements and the new “way we do business aroundhere.” The team leaders established the following missionstatement: “To provide a quality service for ICT cus-tomers—both internal and external.” To achieve this goal,I researched, designed, and delivered a program thatwould take into account the following factors:

• The restructured ICT division was in place prior to myinvolvement.

• New roles and responsibilities had been allocated, yetthey might need further clarification within the con-text of the new structure.

• The ICT Improvement Plan for 2007–2010 wasalready being compiled, led by a business supportmanager, where the objectives were set as follows:“The plan will set out a framework of plannedimprovements that will enhance the service providedto customers, whilst at the same time delivering addedefficiencies in the form of value for money andimproved quality of service.”

• Further obstacles and potential opportunities werelikely to be discovered as part of the process of evolv-ing into the one-team culture.

I proposed that a staged approach be used for a devel-opment program to equip all levels of staff, within theICT division, with the necessary tools to deliver their ICTimprovement plan for 2007–2010. This would allow for afeedback and evaluation process as the project progressedand enable adjustments as needed. The overall aim was toensure a consistent approach, so that everyone wouldcover the same elements and agree on common standardsand values throughout all levels of staff within the newICT operations structure.

Stage 1 consisted of two parts: Leadership into theFuture, for the head of ICT operations, and Focus on theWay Forward, for the head of ICT operations and the ser-vice managers. Stage 2 contained the team leaders’ devel-opment program, Links in the Chain, for the servicemanagers with team leaders. And Stage 3 was the teammembers’ development program.

STAGE 1

Leadership Into the FutureAn initial focus session was held with the corporate direc-tor and the head of ICT operations. It was decided that itwas important to gain essential feedback on the currentleadership style as a way of confirming what was workingand to identify areas that needed to be addressed.

A 360-degree survey was designed with the head ofICT operations, so he could obtain performance guidance

It was vital to getcommitment to achieving the goal of a one-teamculture.

Performance Improvement • Volume 48 • Number 8 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 21

ward prior to making a decision—for example, ICToperation’s strategies, standards, and policies; budget;and staffing (or resources)

• Green, or own areas of responsibilities, which referredto decisions that can be made without consultation,although feedback on actions taken may still berequired to keep everyone up to date—for example,current projects, day-to-day work plans, and IT stock(materials and equipment).

STAGE 2In Stage 2, the development program for team leaders wasdesigned and implemented. The title, Links in the Chain,emphasized the incorporation of an immediate feedbackloop at the end of each module of the program. In thisstage, service managers attended a preplanning session tocustomize each module of the program to match theirworking environment. Then service managers and thehead of ICT operations participated at the end of eachmodule to take questions and offer guidance and support.The business support manager was responsible for theorganization of all events and attended every session toensure an objective overview. A “tool kit” containing keymodels used during the training sessions was distributedto support comprehension and further skills develop-ment. Figure 2 provides an over-view of this program.

The program had these elements:

• Personal profiles. Behavioral profiles were completedby every member of ICT operations to provide a com-mon language when discussing behavioral impactzones; increase self-awareness; understand any differ-ences in approach; be able to manage those differencesmore effectively under the theme, “Different equals

FIGURE 1. DECISION-MAKING PARAMETERS

for fulfilling this critically important strategic role.Participants were chosen from a selected range of interfac-ing roles, including the chief executive, corporate direc-tors, strategic directors, council members, ICT servicemanagers, administration, and suppliers. Key focus areasfor this feedback were customer focus and commitment,values (trust and ethical dealings), service quality and reli-ability, leading change, and effective communication.

Focus on the Way ForwardThe head of ICT operations felt that the 360-degreeprocess was beneficial in helping him to be a moreresponsive head of service. This feedback was shared withthe corporate director and the internal departmentalmanagement team.

The next focus was the development of the servicemanagers’ roles because further clarity was required onthe scope of their accountability. The very nature of thebusiness meant that there was always a need to be flexibleand responsive to handle ad hoc workloads. However, theday-to-day need for planning and organizing everyone’songoing core activities and workload in the different ser-vice areas remained.

Therefore, the next key focus area was to empowermanagers to manage their service areas. This was neces-sary to provide managers with greater clarity of eachother’s roles and responsibilities, while also confirming orestablishing appropriate authority levels when it came todecision making.

If effective management of ICT operations was to beachieved, then clear ownership needed to be establishedwith regard to the decision-making parameters for service managers. This would reduce undesirable andinefficient duplication of effort. Furthermore, clear com-munication channels needed to be implemented toremove what was perceived as “intrusive monitoring.”This was to be an ongoing iterative process, as the servicemanagers’ roles and responsibilities evolved and wererealigned over time.

The format of red, amber, and green decision-makingparameters (see Figure 1) was accepted in principle as theperceptual model to drive the necessary clarification ofauthority for decision making in all areas of managementaction:

• Red, or no-go areas, which referred to decisions thatcannot be changed and simply have to be managed,such as strategic policies and current legislation—forexample, corporate strategic key projects and varia-tions and adjustments required to the ICT three-yearwork plan that are outside the direct control of ICT.

• Amber, or needs discussion, which referred to seekingconsultation and obtaining agreement on the way for-

Note. A visual representation of the varying degrees of involvement within eachdecision-making parameter.

22 www.ispi.org • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • SEPTEMBER 2009

projects were enhancing to the transition under way andwere important indicators of the buy-in that was estab-lished through the interventions described in this article.We look at two of them here.

The first was the official customer satisfaction surveyconducted by an external body, the Society of InformationTechnology Management, which was founded in 1986 asthe professional association for ICT managers working inand for the public sector. However, it is limited to every 3 years. One had just been completed in 2006, and thecouncil had gotten a score of 4.7 out of 10. Another onewould not be held until 2009. Therefore, when an internalstudy, the customer care 360-degree survey, was proposed,it gave ICT the opportunity to undertake an informal self-assessment (for internal use only) of perceived levels ofcustomer service. This proposal is an important exampleof the commitment and involvement of the ICT opera-tions staff. It was put forward by the team leader of thefront desk operation, and it enabled the group to keep acustomer service focus in the interim period.

The second project, led by the service manager and twoof his team leaders, was designed to improve communica-tion by producing a 3-year work plan for their areas. Thiswas put on display as a reference point so that other peo-ple could see what work was in progress, delays that werebeing encountered, and future work in the pipeline. Theoutcome was an increased understanding of their work-load and improved communication between themselvesand others who interacted with them within their definedareas of responsibility.

STAGE 3Initially some team members were concerned that theywould feel out of place in a group with such a wide rangeof disciplines and skills. It was vital that all staff participateto eliminate bias and prevent the loss of critical informa-tion. We did not want nominated representatives or just a

FIGURE 2. OVERVIEW OF THE TEAM LEADERS’DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

Behavioral profiles werecompleted by every memberof ICT operations to providea common language whendiscussing behavioral impactzones.

different, not necessarily wrong”; and create allies, notopponents.

• Roles and decision-making parameters. An integralpart of the design of the program was how peopleundertake and complete their roles and responsibili-ties. It was important to highlight the varying levels ofinterdependency within ICT operations.

• Torfaen policies. Because they were already coveredwithin existing training courses, participants were sim-ply reminded of their importance.

• Performance management. Performance managementprinciples were integrated into all aspects of the teamleader sessions. The intent was that this would all linkback to their decision-making parameters.

• Feedback process. Any suggestions for increasing theefficiency and effectiveness of ICT operations, identi-fied as a result of the development program, were cap-tured and documented for future dissemination.

The value of these exercise, was confirmed as illus-trated by the following comments from team leaders:

“An appreciation of dealing with others and respectingtheir point of view.”

“More confidence in team leader tasks/role.”

“Developing a closer understanding with team leadersand direct interface with service managers.”

“Hope this will form a basis to build on—would begreat to revisit in 6 months to gauge improvements/progress or not!”

Additional projects were undertaken by professionalsworking within ICT operations as an ongoing part of thedeveloping performance improvement culture. These

Performance Improvement • Volume 48 • Number 8 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 23

• Obtain clarity on their own individual roles andresponsibilities and those of all other functions.

The objectives were met through three modules.

Module 1: Personal ProfilesPersonal profiles had been completed by the head ofoperations, the service managers. and team leaders, andthe results were shared with the team members. When theservice managers and team leaders came in at the end ofeach session, they were given the results of the team mem-bers’ personal profiles.

Module 2: Links in the Chain and ICTOperations as One TeamIn a previous session, service managers and team leadershad completed relationship maps to show the scope oftheir involvement in ICT operations, dealing with bothinternal and external customers. A different approach wasproposed for the team members’ sessions. It was felt thatan activity-based exercise with visual examples wouldprovide a useful vehicle not only to allow the team mem-bers to detail their tasks, but also to collect additionalfeedback on any obstacles they perceived in their ability tofulfill their roles.

Links in the Chain, shown in Figure 3, is based on aservice manager’s concept, taken from the car industry,about the sequence of activities, parallel processes, andinterdependence among the various service areas.

FIGURE 3. LINKS IN THE CHAIN

selected sample to form a focus group. We needed toensure that everyone would have the experience of inter-acting with team members from other areas of ICT oper-ations. Each made a specialized contribution to the successof ICT. This was the very challenge that had to be faced ifwe were to achieve the goal of creating one team.

Therefore, each part of the team members’ develop-ment program consisted of three stages. Each module wasrun in four duplicate sessions with team membersselected from mixed disciplines. The previous format wascontinued with the feedback loop at the end of each mod-ule. Team leaders or service managers, or both, partici-pated in all feedback sessions. Again, this immediateinvolvement provided the opportunity to take questionsand offer support and guidance where necessary.Furthermore, it supported the development of relation-ships within ICT toward the goal of one team. Thisapproach was not without challenges or cost, but theclient felt the investment was extremely worthwhile. Forexample, the business manager had to take into accountthe logistics and related cost of taking staff out of theirfunctional roles to attend.

The program had the following objectives:

• Share the models already used by the head of ICToperations, service managers, and team leaders.

• Increase awareness of their personal behavioral traits(including their impact on others).

• Gain an understanding of others.

24 www.ispi.org • DOI: 10.1002/pfi • SEPTEMBER 2009

team decided that Stage 3 of the team members’ develop-ment program be used to initiate the production of adraft code of conduct for ICT operations, bearing inmind their situation regarding customer interface, servicedelivery, the technical nature of certain services, thestrategic importance of ICT, and the need to project aprofessional customer care attitude to the customer. Theysaid:

We feel that this is an ideal opportunity to obtain buy-in from the bottom up, rather than the other wayaround and gives us an insight as to how the teammembers think on this matter. Also, team leadersrequested to participate in these meetings.

The development, adoption, and publication of theICT operations division code of conduct was a significantachievement and signaled that division staff had made thefirst observable step toward a “one team” approach with acustomer service focus.

SUMMARYThe objective of the ICT development program was tosupport the transition to a new organization withexpanded service offerings and an even more diverseclient base, while simultaneously operating and providingtraditional service offerings.

EXHIBIT 1

EXAMPLES OF PERCEIVED OBSTACLES FROMTHE REPORT SUBMITTED AT THE REVIEW MEETING

IN ICT PLAN? FACTOR THEME YES OR NO

Planning Ad hoc

• Ad hoc work, delays project deliverables

Priorities System integration

• Conflict of priorities

• Impact of changing priorities on training course development

Resources–– No feedback from usersStaff

The links-in-the-chain exercise was conducted to pro-vide team members with the opportunity to gain anoverview of all ICT operations’ key functions. Within thiscontext, each person defined his or her own task andcould see how his or her contribution supported overallservice quality to internal and external customers. Thisexercise empowered everyone involved, as it became clearthat each participant provided value. Supporting com-ments included the following:

“We now have a better of idea of what those things areand how they fit together into ICT overall.”

“We are all in this together. So it’s in everyone’s bestinterest that each of us is successful, because only thencan we all be successful.”

After the presentation sessions, participants were askedto capture the factors that they felt had an impact on theirproductivity. The points that were raised were capturedfor future dissemination and further discussion.

Here are some of the responses generated as part of theevaluation process:

“Interaction required by different sections to providethe service (sometimes taken for granted).”

“Gained a good understanding of other people’s work-loads and pressures.”

“Key roles and blockages within my team and alsoother divisions in ICT.”

“Saw opportunities for better intersection working.”

“It will be interesting to find out how our commentshave been received and if they are taken on board, con-sidered or implemented.”

Review MeetingA review meeting was held with the head of ICT opera-tions, service managers, and the business support man-ager. They reviewed the input from module 2, whichincluded factors and common themes identified by each service area that were perceived to decrease theirproductivity. Although many factors may have already been featured in the draft ICT improvement plan (seeExhibit 1), this meeting gave team members the opportu-nity to contribute their own views and provided a checkto ensure that all relevant ideas were included in the ICTimprovement plan.

Module 3: Planning and ConsultationThe business support manager explained module 3 in thisway. Following various discussions, the management

Performance Improvement • Volume 48 • Number 8 • DOI: 10.1002/pfi 25

tomers, and the ICT team is considered to be one of thebest and supportive teams with a can-do approach.

In addition, the head of ICT operations was required towork on an important Torfaen County Borough initia-tive, “Building and Enabling Tomorrow’s Torfaen.” Hewas able to accept this role because he knew he could relyon the expertise and commitment demonstrated by theICT operations staff with the well-established and sup-ported one-team approach. One of the service managerswas selected to cover the operational role of the head ofICT in his absence.

Related Reading

Panza, C.M. (1989). Picture this, your function, your company.Morristown, NJ: CMP Associates.

CHRISTINE MARSH, CPT, is the principal of Prime Objectives, Coaching and PerformanceImprovement Consultancy based in Cheltenham, England. She has worked with a wide range of blue-chip multinational and public sector organizations improving performance in leadership, processanalysis, internal and external communication, and the impact of interpersonal relationships on achiev-ing business objectives. She gained her commercial experience and expertise in supply chain manage-ment with a national food retail chain. Changing career tracks, she entered the world of humanresources. As staff development manager responsible for the career development of 4,000 staff, sheinitiated a modular approach to staff training. She was subsequently promoted to human resourcemanager, jointly responsible for 10,000 staff. She may be reached at cmarsh@primeobjectives.com.

Feedback from participants suggests that they gainedvaluable role clarification in the context of other interfac-ing processes and positions. It was felt that performers atall levels within the ICT operations gained ownership ofthese outcomes, because they were an integral part ofthe process of articulating requirements and identify-ing the current and potential obstacles to performance.

Assessment and realignment of roles and responsibili-ties are ongoing to meet changing business needs, ensurethe most effective use of all individuals’ strengths and tal-ents, and give the opportunity and support for personaldevelopment plans.

The head of ICT operations stated:

The ICT Development Program assisted us to re-launchour service and team building. Within a short periodof time, the ICT Division has become the mostrespected and valued service provider for our cus-