Organizational processes in public organizations in general, and in local authorities in particular, pose unique challenges:
a. Local authorities are political organizations led by elected officials and operated by a professional-administrative echelon. This requires an organizational system and professional and effective modes of action capable of rapidly translating the strategy of elected officials into effective implementation with transparency to the press and social media. We help divisions and executives to understand the situation, formulate work plans accordingly, and enlist the support of the organization, with an understanding of the organizational complexity typical of local government agencies.
b. In the public sector, there are sometimes groups of senior employees who have risen from the ranks of the system and have had very little exposure to other organizational cultures. This poses challenges to the organization of dealing with burnout, motivating employees and maintaining it long term, personnel development, professionalism and regeneration within a system of labor agreements and relationships providing only limited flexibility in determining salary terms, shifting employees and providing incentives. This calls for constant communication and a high level of cooperation with the workers’ union. We place a great deal of emphasis on imparting tools for motivation and renewal, and often expose executives and workers to visits and encounters with a wide range of organizations and learning sessions.
c. The organizational culture in public organizations is undergoing processes of change. Values from the world of business as well as new technologies trickle down, often through customers, to the public sector. The exposure of a public organization to the business sector and to the gaps between them, whether through encounters or through the consultation process, allows for re-examining basic assumptions, challenging and removing historic barriers (such as removing bureaucratic barriers in the transition to online services, for example) and developing a positive attitude. The regulatory role of many public organizations sometimes causes them to treat customers stringently and in putting up excessive bureaucratic barriers. Correct and responsible risk management will enable organizations to remove some of these barriers and create alternative check and control mechanisms.
d. Local authorities always face the need to reconcile competing needs of different target communities, such as residents and businesses, different age groups, different family situations, etc. We help them deal the dilemmas and conflicts. In addition to clear values and policy, it is important to establish a dialog of involving the public through an array of different channels of communication.
e. A broad scope: a local authority engages in a wide variety of subjects and areas of activity. To ensure that organizational processes in local authorities are effective and efficient, we help re-prioritize activities and focus on the Archimedean points – finding the subjects and divisions in an organization where intervention will effect a significant and highly visible change.
f. Social sentiment in recent years towards government corporations and agencies has been highly sensitive to the use of force and authority by the authorities against the individual. The social networks and media rapidly spread information about wrongs (real or perceived) committed against individuals, thereby generating a strong and immediate impact. Public outrage erupts in response to a perceived experience of arbitrariness, lack of empathy, and indifference to the plight of an individual or an injustice done to him. Dealing with this atmosphere requires making sensitivity to the individual and service-oriented communication skills (especially in setting service limits) an integral part of the organizational culture, and creating mechanisms for personal and organizational attentiveness to a customer, conducting a dialog with him, and providing a solution to his needs.
