Minutes:
The Policy Manager provided a demonstration of the Council’s Performance Measures Dashboard. During this demonstration she highlighted the following for Members’ consideration:
· The dashboard had taken time to develop. The aim of the dashboard was to present performance data in a new and meaningful way in line with the Council’s systems thinking approach to service delivery.
· Officers could upload data onto the dashboard and use the facility to monitor performance and the impact of any changes to services.
· Members would have access to the dashboard via their iPads and access would also be available via a sunray computer in the Members’ Room.
· In 2016 Officers were aiming to make sections of the dashboard available to the public on the Council’s website.
· The main page of the dashboard listed the Council’s strategic purposes. The strategic measures data underpinning each of these strategic purposes was also accessible.
· Many of the strategic measures were supported by capability charts which enabled viewers to monitor performance trends. There was often additional, written information for each measure which provided context.
· Contact details would be provided for the lead Officers for each measure to enable Members to direct any enquiries to the relevant person.
· Some of the measures could not suitably be monitored in a capability chart. In these cases other visual images had been used, such as maps, though sometimes no images were appropriate.
· Some strategic measures were underpinned by supporting measures. By viewing these measures collectively it was possible to obtain a more nuanced understanding of the performance of services in particular areas.
· There were a number of operational measures on the dashboard which were accessible by team. Many of these would primarily be available to officers to use for day-to-day service delivery purposes and not all would be accessible to Members.
· A number of the operational measures reflected joint service performance statistics for Bromsgrove District and Redditch Borough Councils.
· The dashboard was continually evolving. Officers suggested that they would be happy to meet with elected Members to discuss the dashboard and methods for interpreting data contained within it.
· Officers confirmed that there was limited financial information on the dashboard at present. It was anticipated that this data would be added in due course.
· Visitors to the dashboard could develop a “My Dashboard” facility. This could be used to monitor the measures that were of interest to the individual.
Following the demonstration a number of issues were discussed in further detail:
· The source of the data and how it was measured.
· The potential for questions from Councillors to help Officers to ensure that appropriate contextual information was provided in respect of each measure.
· The breadth of data available to view on the dashboard and the need to be selective in order to make use of the facility in a constructive manner.
· The potential for colour coding to be used on the dashboard to make it easier for Members to ascertain whether performance was good, poor or satisfactory. Officers explained that a decision had been made to use annotations rather than colour coding.
· The number of measures on the dashboard.
· The potential for members of the Corporate Management Team (CMT) to monitor performance in relation to a number of key measures.
· The approach adopted by other Councils towards monitoring service performance. Members were advised that as the majority of Councils continued to produce more traditional quarterly performance monitoring reports.
· The safeguards in place to ensure that Officers did not opt to focus on areas where they knew performance was good.
· The type of issues monitored in HR operational measures. Members were keen to ensure that the number of employees who received Performance Development Reviews (PDRs) was monitored within this data set.
· The potential to link staff appraisals to performance in respect of the measures.
· Members requested further clarification as to whether they would be required to enter a separate password on their iPads in order to access the dashboard.
RESOLVED
(1) To receive the next Planning Application Backlog Data report in February 2016 in the same format as usual; and
(2) That the demonstration be noted.