So which are you a sucker or a rip off merchant? Did you lead your organisation into a Private Finance Initiative that looked attractive at the time or did you negotiate the deal that means the money will keep rolling in for decades? Did you resolve the problem of updating the organisations IT systems or were you the one who sold them a Rolls Royce when all they wanted was a mini, did you find the away of cutting over heads rather than services or did you win the lucrative contract with the punitive get out clause to provide support services?These days being the chief executive of a public sector organisation means collaborating with the private sector. Collaboration has both negative and positive connotations. Collaboration between public sector organisation and with the voluntary sector is seen positively but collaboration with the private sector is viewed with suspicion. According to a recent survey by the management consultancy Hay Group whilst public sector leaders predict an increase in public –private collaboration they oppose and even resent the trend. In their report “Relationship Counselling” they record the concerns of senior managers about the effect such increased collaboration will have on public services and that senior managers refute claims that the private sector can deliver public services more effectively. There is a strong feeling in some parts of the public sector that collaboration with the private sector is a necessary evil. Those who have worked their way up through the public sector are very uncomfortable about doing deals with the private sector. Past experience has left many senior managers feeling that slick private sector operators have taken advantage of public sector organisations, that members have been seduced by glossy presentations and the promise of painless budget savings and officers have been out manoeuvred by cleaver sales techniques and smart lawyers.It is not inevitable that the predatory private sector will rip off the naive public sector but a long term relationship will require both sectors to put aside their prejudices and find ways of collaborating which allow for profit and social benefits.In the past social services have tried to frame contracts with the private sector to reflect public sector values whilst accepting that companies need to make a reasonable profits. Local Authorities view themselves as model employers with favourable pay and conditions, opportunities for staff development and a commitment to equal opportunities. They have however found that they can’t tell private sector companies what they should pay their staff or who they should employ. They have had more success in offering financial incentives to employers who invest in staff development. The idea is that contracts allow for premium payments for organisations that for example have over 50% of their staff with an NVQ in care. The argument is that not only does this help skill up the local workforce but means staff turnover is lower thus allowing for more consistency in care from better trained staff. The two biggest complaints from service users are the high turnover of staff and the lack of experience of staff resulting in personal care being provided by a succession of inexperienced strangers Of course this only worked whilst the premium was financially attractive once local authorities decided they could only afford the basics then they had no leverage.This experience has convinced many that only financial incentives will make private sector organisations adopt public sector values.Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future published by http://www.russellhouse.co.uk/
