ASSESSMENTS QUESTIONS
• Who carries out PSIF assessments?
The entire self-evaluation process is conducted in-house by dedicated EFQM qualified officers from within your own organisation. The assessment teams should number 6-12 officers dependant on the size of the service area involved. Support and training is available from our partners, Quality Scotland, in order to ensure that the assessment is conducted according to the PSIF rigorous standards. On occasion, and in the early implementation stages, experts can be identified from our partner organisations or from more experienced participating organisations to assist in the process at a corporate level.
• What are the scoring options?
Scoring can be done at a sub-criteria level e.g. 1a or on an individual question basis.
If the Improvement Plan is the priority outcome of the self-evaluation, the preferred method of scoring is at sub criteria level.
To do this, score the first question in the sub-criteria e.g. 1a1 and then hit the ‘replicate’ button on the e-tool page and it copies the scores over for the other questions under 1a. Then, click on the ‘save’ prompts that appear and at the end it will tell you the number of questions that have been replicated.
Scoring on an individual question basis will pinpoint more precise detail but will take longer in terms of time taken to assess the service.
If benchmarking or making an award submission is a key priority, meaningful improvement and robust evidence is more critical than the scoring.
• How important is the scoring?
At the heart of the rigour and robustness of the Public Service Improvement Framework lies the RADAR scoring system. RADAR consists of four elements- Results, Approach, Deployment, Assessment and Review. As part of the assessment process, the team will reach consensus on a score which indicates the stage of excellence that particular element of the organisation has reached. The scoring mechanism is very robust and reflects the longer term journey into excellence. It is useful for benchmarking purposes and identifying areas for improvement but should not become the ultimate priority of the assessment team.
• What do you mean by corporate assessment and service assessment?
Corporate assessment refers to a PSIF assessment undertaken by the Corporate Management Team. This can include Elected Members, Board Members etc. Service assessment refers to a self-evaluation undertaken by a discrete team who deliver a specific service either to their own customer base or to the wider community.
• If I’m doing a corporate assessment, how many questions would I need to work through? Do all corporate assessments use the same questions?
For Corporate Management Teams, we have an example corporate assessment framework to use in the initial stages of PSIF implementation. The question set is reduced from the full framework to approximately 32 to 36 high level questions, reflecting each key area allowing CMTs to identify potential areas for improvement in line with the framework. The corporate assessment framework can also be applied to departments within organisations that wish to undertake a high-level departmental assessment.
• Who would facilitate a corporate assessment?
This can be done by the organisation’s own officers although it can be difficult to challenge your own management team. Therefore, we can offer organisations direct contact to external assessors who can be used for any corporate assessments. Our partner organisations can assist with providing an assessor or you could use an assessor from a partner organisation using PSIF to share best practice.
• What is a realistic timescale to implement PSIF?
Timescales vary from organisation to organisation and are dependant on the size and scale of services delivered and the existing expertise within that organisation. Most PSIF organisations are implementing PSIF throughout their entire structure over a 3 year period. Organisations can look to align their assessment programme with existing planning and improvement processes/cycles.
• How often should the improvement plans be reviewed?
Improvement Plans should be reviewed on a regular basis. To ensure that the necessary steps are being actioned to achieve both short and long term goals, it is recommended that plans are reviewed at least quarterly.
• How should Elected Members be engaged with PSIF? Should they take part in the corporate assessment? How have other councils approached this?
Again, a flexible approach can be taken with the inclusion of elected members. It is good practice to ensure that elected members are aware of the use of PSIF within their council and the anticipated benefits. Some organisations have included them within the corporate assessment team from the outset, some have carried out awareness sessions at an early stage but not involved the Members directly in the assessment. Advice can be given on request but the involvement of Elected Members should reflect the culture and current operating arrangements of the organisation to ensure success.
• What are the options for introducing PSIF into the organisation?
PSIF can be introduced on a pilot basis rather than introducing a full blown programme of service assessments straight away. Typically, pilots would be based on trialling PSIF within 2-6 service areas. Most organisations now starting PSIF have adopted this approach.
• How do you decide which Service Areas to start with?
You should create a set of priority criteria such as:
• Directors / Heads of Service who are most enthusiastic for continuous improvement activity
• Services that have impending audits / inspections to prepare for
• Front line services that have never used a self-evaluation approach
• What are the key milestones / activities for planning a self-evaluation?
The key activities that are typically undertaken by a PSIF organisation when planning a self-evaluation are set out below, and the duration from start to finish is normally around 8 weeks:
1. Manager engagement session (duration – no more than two hours)
This should include the Director/Head of Service/Senior Manager in the service that will be undertaking the self-evaluation. The PSIF Lead Officer should present an overview of PSIF and explain how the self-evaluation will be carried out. Domestic arrangements, such as recharging arrangements for room bookings and caterings should also be agreed. By the end of this meeting, the PSIF Lead Officer should have the names of the individuals who will be part of the Service Assessment Team.
2. Meet Assessment Team (duration – no more than 30 minutes)
The purpose of this meeting is for the Lead officer or Lead facilitator to make initial contact with the Assessment team and to discuss the training they will be undertaking.
3. Full staff briefing with everyone involved in targeted service area (duration – no more than 1 hour)
This session will be led by the Director/Head of Service/Senior Manager, and it will include an overview of PSIF and what will be involved in the self-evaluation.
4. Awareness Training for Assessment Team (duration – 4 to 6 hours)
This is typically delivered by the PSIF Lead Officer or other member of the PSIF Project Team.
5. Mid-Point Progress Check (duration – 4 hours)
This typically takes place to review progress either between all team members and the Facilitator or with a key team member and Facilitator. If this is a positive session, it can be the start of consensus for the areas covered. The purpose of this session is also to capture all issues for escalation where necessary.
6. Consensus Day (duration – 6 hours or 2 x ½ days – this can be variable)
This session required all team members to review their evidence identification and to assign relative RADAR scoring to all elements of the PSIF.
7. Improvement Plan Session (can include mop-up of Consensus day issues) (duration – 4 hours)
This involves the Director / Head of Service / Senior Manager, the whole team and the Lead Facilitator. All identified Areas for Improvement are prioritised and Improvements identified to progress the team along the journey to Excellence. At the end of this session, there should be a completed Improvement Plan which assigns each improvement to a Senior Responsible Officer with related timescales, resources and measures of success.
• What should be agreed with Service Managers prior to undertaking self-assessment?
The lead facilitator/lead officer should agree the following with service managers:
- which departments/ Service Areas will be involved in the beginning of the assessment
- the timescales for the self-assessment
- the names of those that will be in the Assessment Team
- the approach e.g. scoring and priorities
- the time commitment and time of involvement
- the budget arrangements e.g. service would be re-charged for room booking, catering etc
- the method of communication and giving feedback
- the approach to reporting
• How do I prepare my implementation plan? What is expected?
Once your application to join the PSIF partnership has been approved by the PSIF Operational Board, the IS PSIF team will meet with the relevant individuals within your organisation to assist you with your implementation planning. The PSIF community of practice provides templates and advice with regard to drafting an implementation plan. Your colleagues in the other PSIF organisations will also provide practical advice and support as required throughout your improvement journey.
• What format should the report to the service take?
Some organisations offer reports to the CMT on a regular basis, others use their existing service planning/improvement processes. There are also PSIF organisations who present their findings to an internal QA team for challenge. There are many alternatives and we would welcome any other suggestions which work in each organisation
