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CAPAM CONFERENCE 2013 THEME: Public Service Research and Innovation: A Quest for Sustained Service Delivery. Case study: Climbing the hill of innovation and change: The case of passport issuance in The Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons in Uhamiaji Presented by
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CAPAM CONFERENCE 2013THEME: Public Service Research and Innovation:A Quest for Sustained Service Delivery Case study: Climbing the hill of innovation and change: The case of passport issuance in The Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons in Uhamiaji Presented by Jane W J Mwangi Senior Principal Lecturer Kenya School of Government, Nairobi
The case study Climbing the hill of innovation and change: The case of passport issuance in The Ministry of State for Immigration and Registration of Persons in Uhamiaji At a concurrent session titled “Case Studies in Innovation and Research” at Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA) Pretoria, South Africa, 04 – 06 March, 2013
Quote Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. (Arnold Bennett)
The presentation • The case study • Introduction • Background • The scenario • Key challenges • Strategy & Outcomes: Key Drivers of Change • Strategy focus • Action areas • Key success indicators • Sustainability • Discussion points
Introduction • Importance of strategic leadership that focuses on achieving results through innovation. • Department of passport issuance realised that some of its strategies were lethargic. • Need to initiate new approaches, reengineer processes.
Background • The Ministry is a service provider charged with controlling exit and entry of persons in Uhamiaji. • It derives its mandate from the Constitution, Citizens Act, Immigration Act, Uhamiaji Aliens Restriction Act, and Visa Regulations. Cont’
Background The Department’s core functions include: • Control and exit of travellers; • Facilitation of travel of citizens; • Validation of documents • Collection of fees for various services and • Issuance of passports and other travel documents.
The scenario • To institute changes in: Attitudes, practices, processes and procedures at the work place; • The ministry undertook a turnaround in transformative leadership from process to results focus. • Appropriate strategies were required to simplify access and retrieval of documents.
Key challenges Cont’ • The passport section used a manual operating system which caused congestion in halls and a backlog of unprocessed passports. • Middlemen and agents thrived on handling documentation and “facilitating”passport acquisition throughbribes. Cont’
Key challenges • Fraudsters thrived on technology to “facilitate” the processing of counterfeit documents. • Negative media reports and frequent customer complaints highlighted several instances of: • Poor service delivery; • Use of lost and forged passports; • Inadvertent issuance of passports to non citizens and • Issuance of more than one passport to the same person. Cont’
Key challenges • Primary documents and records such as birth certificates and national identification cards were not regularly updated. • Retrieval of documents was hectic. • Delays in issuance of passports. • Poor working environment. • Suspicion and mistrust among employees.
Improved Quality Reduced Waste The Need for Speed Less Pressure on the Staff/ motivated staff Reduced Costs Happy/satisfied Customer Necessitated by need for ..
Strategy and Outcomes: Key Drivers of Change • SWOT analysis revealed the need for top leadership commitment to achieve results and willingness to address the weaknesses in the manual operating system. • Needs assessments indicated that staff had unutilised basic computer skills. • Shifting to a computerised passport processing system was viable thus, restructuring was urgently required. • A 2001 workforce analysis showed the need to recruit 1758 competent officers - 82% increase.
Strategy and Outcomes: Key Drivers of Change Contd • The Department undertook 100-days Rapid Results Initiatives (RRI) in 2006, 2008, and 2010. • This identified the review of passport management system as a key thematic area of change. • The RRI team sought to improve the passport processing to clear passport backlogs interalia short term outputs.
Strategy focus • Identify strategies to keep, track and retrieve files securely and easily; • Review staff work patterns and recommend suitable reporting and departure schedules; • Reduce waiting time for delivery of passports and other travel documents;
Strategy Focus • Determine suitable communication strategies for information dissemination. • Sensitize clients and staff against corruption. • Enhance working relationship between management and staff.
Action areas • Flexible work schedules were introduced to speed up passport processing. • New work schedule gave staff the option to work between 7.00 am - 2.00 pm or 2.00 pm - 8.00 pm shifts. • Passport issuance was also decentralized from the capital city to five other towns Cont’.
Action areas Cont’ • Staff was issued with uniforms to reduce imposters. • Vetting of the passport application forms was relocated next to the cash office, while related service points were relocated next to each other. • Ergonomics and Gemba Kaizen principles were applied to make logistical changes. • Aesthetic appeal of the banking hall, customer care, employee & cash offices were also improvedCont’
Action areas Cont’ • Glass partitions replaced the solid concrete walls, enhancing transparency and accountability. • New government requirements that all offices be clean and adopt open plan format provided impetus for change.
Key success indicators • Improved service delivery reduced passport processing turnaround time from 20 to 11 days for new passports, and 14 to less than 4 days for renewals. • Average number of days taken to issue passports reduced by almost 50% between 2003 – 2010: Table 1: Average number of passports and days taken to issue PassportsCont’
Key success indicators contd • Department recorded the lowest number of customer complaints in 2008 (Public Complaints Report, 2008). • Number of brokers has reduced and shorter customer queues have eased congestion reducing reported incidences of corruption. Cont’
Key success indicators contd • Decentralisation of services from three to five more upcountry towns eased service delivery. • Opening up of Diaspora offices in London and Washington further reduced congestion at Ministry headquarters and hastened the process. Cont’
Key success indicators Contd • Higher employee satisfaction resulted from extensive training, flexible work schedules, open plan offices and aesthetic appeal of work environment. • There was ease in data capture and retrieval, daily update, access to critical information, fewer files lost and tracking eased. • Issuance of temporary passports & travel permits was done on the spot at border posts for deserving cases.
Sustainability • Ensure proactive customer feedback, data analysis systems, reporting and information sharing strategies and timely recommendation of action. • Put in place mechanisms to ensure systems are not pegged to personalities. • Succession planning policies put in place since many young employees have been recruited. Cont’
Sustainability Contd • Leadership commitment to streamline and set time limits when each processing activity must be completed. • Top Management support through facilitation of human and physical resources. • Set clear staff performance targets through the appraisal system.
Sustainability Contd • Effective customer care desk established to boost corporate image and reduce negative media reports. • The department implemented recommendations made by the Anti Corruption Commission on measures to eliminate corruption.
Conclusion Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity. (Michael Porter) Using the words of Porter, how well placed is your organization in driving the research and innovation agenda in your country and this continent at large?
Discussion points • Key Drivers of change and innovation. • Contemporary strategies for leading innovation and change. • Key Success indicators of innovation and change. • Leadership challenges in instituting and sustaining innovation and change
