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Rudo Gwata-Charamba  Correspondent
A big thank you to my readers for your comments and questions. It was encouraging to receive feedback that gave an indication of interest in the subject plus the desire to improve, as a society.

There were questions, which this instalment will attempt to address, about how implementation of the Rapid Results Approach (RRA) leads to improved performance and, ultimately, improved service delivery.

There were also questions on the applicability of the approach to different sectors.

The RRA is implemented through the use of a series of small short-term, 100-day or less, results-oriented projects or initiatives, termed Rapid Results Initiatives (RRIs) to achieve dramatic outcomes with immediate impact using contributions from organisational members and existing resources.

The approach can be used in any sector and helps entities to cut up difficult, seemingly insurmountable challenges into achievable chunks, with each small project making a significant contribution towards achieving an urgent, compelling objective.

RRIs are ordinarily used when change efforts, within priority areas of an organisation, need to take off or to be accelerated and injected with a sense of urgency and with the maximum participation of stakeholders.

They are also an effective vehicle for modular large-scale change and their objectives include improving service delivery, accelerating the execution of development projects or institutionalisation of a strategy.

The approach was borne out of the realisation that in most developing or low-income countries, there is always plenty of untapped capacity for performance in organisations whose translation into actual performance is prevented by three main systemic barriers.

First, public service staff in these countries are perceived to be as incompetent or corrupt while these workers view themselves as victims of a dysfunctional system that encourages corruption and rewards inefficiency.

Consequently, public sector workers assume an identity that does not promote accountability and professionalism.

Secondly, the hierarchical structure of most public sector organisations in the same countries, coupled with the implicit rules for allocating credit and blame, make it unappealing for middle managers and front-line staff to commit themselves to performance goals.

Thirdly, the approach addresses a shortcoming that prevailed in the past relating to an implicit assumption, mostly made by the donor community, that staff in the public sector lacked only the technical capacity to improve in performance.

Efforts were thus made to just provide the “how to” of work processes, leaving out elements such as motivation or desire to improve that are often lacking, mostly due to a wrong work culture or mindsets that did not support improvement in performance.

The RRA addresses the shortcomings and stimulates high performance through the creation of a protected work environment where these barriers are temporarily neutralised.

In the same context, ownership, commitment of tasks and initiatives, as well as the assumption of a professional identity are possible, albeit without changing the system.

The initial progress and experience of success, enabled by this temporary process, create the energy, momentum, and confidence that the staff need to overcome these barriers to high performance.

Within this environment, the key success elements of RRIs encompassing a focus on transformational challenges, empowerment, use of stretch goals for achievement within the short-term, emphasis on accountability for results, driving experimentation and discovery as well as continuous learning and improvement, further help to improve performances.

RRIs are implemented by cross-functional teams comprising individuals who possess cutting edge knowledge of the issue or challenge to be addressed thus promoting the potential for success right from the outset.

A key benefit derived from the results-oriented nature of RRIs is that the focus on results, rather than process management, ensures that resources, namely time, talent, funds and materials, are channelled to the right tasks, which all stakeholders also understand and appreciate.

The collaboration of team members from different units further facilitates the reduction of e cross-functional inefficiencies as the whole organisation works directly towards achieving the mission and objectives of the organisation.

The teams are empowered to set their own highly ambitious goals which they actively pursue with considerable latitude.

Such teamwork and space helps to boost staff morale, engagement and loyalty primarily because people possess a built-in need to be autonomous, self-determined and connected.

Also, with the empowerment, which entails control over what, how, when, with whom, and even where they do what they do, staff are most likely to respond by performing at the highest levels, with commitment and engagement further enhanced as well.

The short lifespan of 100 days or less makes RRIs exciting and experimental, thus promoting innovation and continuous improvement.

Also, specific short-term performance goals make the achievement of success easier as staff awareness of what it takes to succeed increases.

The generation of success creates zeal to perform at higher levels leading to continuous improvement in service delivery as well as changed mindsets and the creation of a culture of performance.

The cyclical RRI process comprises the pre-launch or shaping, launch and implementation followed by scale-up phases, with each phase designed to neutralise one or more of the systemic barriers to performance.

During the shaping phase, key stakeholders jointly define areas of focus in line with the strategy of the organisation.

This is followed by a launch where the team sets its own achieving tangible, measurable, goals that stimulate innovation and experimentation.

It also defines the expected results which are real changes in the lives of the target population or their conditions (rather than activities and deliverables) and formulates a work plan.

The projects are implemented with continuous, participatory and rigorous monitoring to track and report on progress towards the achievement of results.

Best practices and lessons learned are identified throughout the life project to foster learning and adjustment as necessary.

At the end of the project, there is a final review after which final results are reported on and shared, again together with the information for learning purposes plus plans relating to ways of sustaining results over time.

Preparations are made to scale up the RRI in the same or different regions, as appropriate to ensure the spread of the enhanced quality service delivery.

The implementation of the RRA birthed remarkable transformation in the Kenya public service leading to use of the approach in all public sector institutions.

Typical success stories included the impact that RRIs had in the issuance of passports and on an HIV/AIDS programme in the health sector.

The Nairobi Passport Issuance Office launched the initial RRI aimed at improving the processing of passports.

The team re-engineered the associated business processes where it carefully studied the tasks involved, eliminating all sources of waste and inefficiencies as well as enhancing efforts towards increased production.

Explicitly, the team spent time deciding on how to simplify the work flow and quantifying the amount of additional applications that they would aim to handle as a result of the simplification.

Use of the re-engineered processes led to reduction of the issuance period from more than three months to 20 days and ultimately to 10 days.

Following this successful implementation in Nairobi, the RRI was scaled up to Mombasa and Kisumu where the same results were achieved and the improved process sustained.

Similarly, concern with the low rate of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) uptake, when the HIV/Aids pandemic was looming, led to the introduction of a pilot RRI by the National Aids Control Council (NASCOP) to increase the number of patients in one region, where uptake was lowest, by 50 percent from 2 580.

Strategies to achieve this result, including recruitment and training of more volunteer counsellors, staff added more hours to their work and strengthening of tracking and monitoring systems.

At the end of 100 days, the number had increased by 150 percent to 5 835.

The team went on to successfully scale-up the projects in all the other regions.

Subsequent studies showed a 0,5 percent reduction in morbidity and mortality due to HIV-related complications within three years.

The RRA process thus develops organisational capacity in real time through encouraging collaborative leadership and learning-by-doing.

In the same context, it also reveals cross-cutting or supporting activities (such as training or system enhancements) that are needed across locations to further enhance plus sustain both productivity and improved service delivery.

Likewise, the related processes allow staff the space, time and support to dig deep and unpack the details and indicators of the project that are expected to implement thus fostering a sense of ownership which, in turn, facilitates the necessary assumption of accountability for results.

The versatile nature and history of success of the RRA makes it a sound strategy for the high priority areas in Zimbabwe that encompass service and development programme delivery towards Vision 2030, as well as the institutionalisation of RBM.

 

Dr Rudo Grace Gwata-Charamba is an author, development project/programme management consultant and researcher with a special interest in Results Based Management (RBM), governance and leadership. She can be contacted via e-mail: [email protected]