Dr. Jim Armstrong began his consulting practice in 1995 as James L. Armstrong & Associates. Since then, it has grown and evolved into The Governance Network™ .
More and more, consulting interventions are requiring an exploration of matters that go beyond the mechanics of resolving current management problems to help public sector organisations prepare and build organisational structures and teams to deal with tomorrow’s opportunities and challenges.
At TGN, their approach is both practical and unique. They work in partnership with our clients to understand from the outset their specific needs and requirements. This ensures that we treat each client differently and acknowledge their unique environment, opportunities and challenges, culture and values, as well as their business objectives and imperatives.
TGN does not apply 'off-the-shelf' products, or model to different organisations, regardless of need or fit. At TGN, we stand on our reputation for high quality service delivery that adds value well beyond our clients' expectations. Our success at understanding and meeting clients' needs is reinforced by the fact that most of TGN's work comes from repeat business and referrals from highly satisfied clients.
The following characteristics support the methodologies that TGN employs to help organisations reach a revitalised future:
Partnership with Clients. They make it our business to understand your business. We tranfer our knowledge and skills to you so that you can build and sustain the capacity required to manage change and achieve the results you want. When you succeed, we succeed.
Tailored Solutions. In each consulting or research engagement, we build on best practices from Canada and around the world - keeping in mind that no two organisations are entirely alike. They take the time to listen and work with you to develop and implement renewal strategies that fit your needs, priorities and circumstances.
Systems Thinking. They understand that organisations are made up of interconnected parts and practices and operate within a larger environment. When they recommend changes in one component, they explore and identify the potential need for corresponding change in others.
Network of Associates. They supplement our core research and consulting group by drawing on a large network of Canadian and international associates. From this talent pool, we build customised teams of experts that can tackle any combination of governance issues.
SERVICES
Modern Governance and Accountability
TGN possesses direct experience with a wide range of models and approaches. All levels of your organisation are included in the process to modernise your governance structures and to implement effective accountability mechanisms.
Accountability and governance go beyond finding new ways of doing things. TGN ensures all issues raised by change are properly managed and synchronised.
Their governance and accountability review process includes but is not limited to:
-Reviewing/cataloguing current structures, policies and practices in light of required outcomes;
-Assessing current approaches in relation to new environmental requirements;
-Designing the appropriate governance and accountability model;
-Identifying the model's strategic implications in relation to business planning, human resource management needs, communications and relationship management; and
-Formalising and implementing transition plans.
Strategic Human Resource Management (HRM)
TGN provides motivation and performance-enhancing solutions for people management, compensation, and training and development, including competency-based approaches, performance evaluation and internal communications.
Their expertise includes developing integrated HRM strategies that are designed to:
-Help realign the HRM function as a strategic business parnter
-Assist with the design and implementation of progressive approaches to labour-management relations
-Attract highly qualified employees through strategic business recruitment programmes
-Retain valuable personnel by aligning their needs with your organisation's current business needs and future directions
-Support proactive performance assessment programmes that combine personal objectives and organisational goals
-Create motivational recognition programmes that encourage performance in critical areas
-Establish structured succession planning for long-term employee stability and orderly transitions
Helping their clients ask important questions about their organisational culture and addressing the answers rigorously is the key to success in strategic HRM planning and renewal.
Organisational Effectiveness
Organisational effectiveness is the ability of an organisation to fulfill its mission by achieving its objectives through a combination of sound management, strong governance and a continuous rededication to assessing and achieving results.
TGN helps managers make their plans work through a variety of services such as:
Organisational Diagnosis – to provide creative and feasible solutions to strengthen the overall health and performance of organisations, using a variety of assessment tools focusing on three dimensions: people, processes and systems.
Process Improvement – to address workload issues, lower volume of backlog, increase productivity, improve customer service and lower costs by mapping core processes and conducting detailed analysis to modify, streamline, automate and/or eliminate key activities.
Organisation Design – to better position organisations to meet current and future requirements by identifying and strengthening key functions, and by developing, assessing and implementing alternative structure options.
Organisational Alignment and Measurement – to help translate an organisation’s strategy into measurable objectives and link them to performance indicators. Align management and employees with these objectives by cascading them down into the organization with tools such as measurement scorecards (e.g. “Balanced Scorecards” or “Dashboards”).
Competencies Design – to form the core of a fully integrated human resources management framework by developing competencies and competency-based HR management approaches, focusing on the organisation’s mission, values and strategic objectives.
All of TGN's projects are integrated with organisational effectiveness.
Innovative Service Delivery
Alternative service delivery (ASD) mechanisms offer speed, cost and quality advantages. Governments worldwide are recognising the benefits of creating both arm's-length arrangements such as agencies and other parastatal organisations and parternships with other government departments, jurisdictions and sectors.
TGN helps highlight activities where ASD can deliver significant advantages over current practices. A business case analysis, combined with our first-hand experience, identifies value-tested choices that are proven with other government organisations. We ensure new arrangements:
-Fully comply with policies;
-Provide opportunities for appropriate accountability;
-Abide by HRM practices; and
-Include in-place values and ethics frameworks.
An orderly transition and a rigorous performance management system will translate performance information into value-for-money assessments. As the programme advances, we will provide ongoing support to ensure new ASD refinements achieve organisational, governance and accountability objectives.
Organisational Integrity
Ethical decision-making is critical to engendering public trust. Therefore, system-wide policies and guidelines, advisory services and training programmes on the ethics environment are needed.
Values-based initiatives that help set out customer expectations and empower employees require several key factors:
-Articulating values-based and ethical expectations with respect to behaviour and decision-making, and translating these into tailored policies and guidelines;
-Clearly communicating expectations to employees, customers and stakeholders; and
-Setting up an infrastructure to support the initiative such as an ethics office and training programmes.
We can provide advice to assist with developing practices and approaches. As well, TGN can help design values-based recruitment strategies, establish ethics policies, and provide new tools and training programmes - all geared to help take ethical performance to a new level. TGN brings unparalleled experience in helping to address emerging ethics and values management issues.
Leadership Development
Assessments and coaching services help executives see themselves through the eyes of others and allow a long-term plan to expand their capacity to lead. TGN's approach to continuous development strategies reflects our clients' concerns about succession planning and change management.
Their leadership assessment programme is based on a hands-on approach. Leadership profiles, a package of leadership self-examination materials and meetings with TGN consultants allow executives to explore personal goals and aspirations. Input resulting from confidential interviews with peers, superiors and subordinates leads to a comprehensive leadership assessment report that is used as a basis for a personalised development plan to meet specific objectives.
TGN consultants are well versed in active listening and challenging thinking and provide objective analysis and advice. In short, we help turn feedback into positive change and personal growth.
Performance Measurement and Outcomes
In today's complex world, results are rarely achieved in isolation but rather through partnerships - making it much more difficult to report on outcomes. TGN has been working to integrate emerging approaches, such as Outcome Mapping, to bypass potential roadblocks and present a true evaluation framework that assesses outcomes and behavioural and capacity changes.
They utilise a three-stage process:
1. Identify the Vision - Interviews and workshops pose questions regarding stakeholders, desired long-term changes, behavioural and relationship factors, and key success indicators, all of which lead to a detailed evaluation framework.
2. Monitor Performance - TGN provides a comprehensive real-time monitoring process to gauge success with the use of progress indicators, developed in Stage One, and supplemented by traditional performance measurement tools.
3. Evaluate and Report - With a blend of comtemporary evaluation techniques and tools, we work with you to identify results, including sustainable outcomes exhibited by capacity building or behavioural change. We also help you to use the evaluation findings to determine programme design or priority modifications that may increase the quality or scope of results.
TGN has applied this process to governance improvements, capacity building, and social and economic policy activities successfully, both in Canada and abroad.
Public Sector Modernisation
Good governance is the single most important factor in bringing developing nations from the margins to the mainstream of the international community. A professional public service guided by a clear vision leads to reforms that are achieved within realistic time frames.
A successful programme includes the following:
-Bringing together visionary leasers to design the future options that they will share with their citizens.
-Assessing existing governance structures and identifying
changes for modernisation.
-Developing strategies and an interim master plan that will be discussed with stakeholders.
-Implementing plans, measuring progress and communicating results.
They help leaders understand the complexities, develop and implement plans, evaluate progress and provide support to see the process through to completion. Experience has demonstrated that system-wide change only happens when the client drives the programme. We are pleased to provide a quality framework that strengthens the senior ownership necessary to achieve true transformational change.
