Our Purpose
To make the lives of those we serve better
Our Vision
To be a World-Class Civil Service
Our Mission
We are dedicated to supporting the elected government by delivering caring, modern and customer-centred public services and programmes, which deliver value for money.
Introduction
During the past 6 years (2012-2017), the Cayman Islands Civil Service has made significant strides “to create a dynamic, modern, professional and respected Civil Service that supports good governance, serves the community and positively contributes to the ongoing economic and social development of the Cayman Islands”. Whilst this focus has yielded significant results in some areas and increased internal and external confidence (see Building on Past Successes), the top-down approach has not adequately addressed systemic challenges facing the Civil Service after a prolonged period of austerity.
As the world economy recovers, it is imperative that the Civil Service builds upon recent strengths in governance to go beyond demonstrating compliance to also realise greater proficiency in the delivery of the elected Government’s policies and priorities and in so doing, bolstering the continued wellbeing of the people of the Cayman Islands and ensuring its international competitiveness.
Recognising this, the Deputy Governor sponsored the Strategic Reforms Implementation Unit to develop our 5-Year Strategic Plan which allows the Civil Service to move from an incremental approach to a more comprehensive and joined up strategy which:
- would draw on broad-based consultations as opposed to being driven top down;
- was focused on the case for change allowing stakeholders to participate in a shared vision;
- used an appreciative inquiry approach to identify and promote Civil Service strengths and increase employee motivation;
- was customer-centric, in recognition that we are primarily a service organisation;
- would address the need to resume investments in the people, technology and training necessary for the Civil Service to be better equipped at serving the public and elected officials; and
- would challenge antiquated mindsets about what leadership means, recognising that our approach to engagement must evolve to meet current expectations of how citizens want to be served and employees want to be led.
Stakeholders from the public and private sectors have spoken and we have listened. This strategy to become a World-Class Civil Service reflects a shared aspiration for Civil Servants to consistently perform at their best.
Extensive consultations revealed that whilst the Civil Service has many exceptional employees who deliver outstanding results, the quality of our service delivery is inconsistent.
So the challenge we face is making our exceptional moments, our norm. Invariably, people have diverse thoughts about what it means to be a World-Class Civil Service. As we engaged our stakeholders through a process of appreciative inquiry, we drew upon the traits that were consistently identified as being present when our Civil Service performed “At its Best”. Through the delivery of the 5 priority Goals within our Strategic Plan, we will make these “Exceptional Moments” our “Business as Usual”:
- Customer Experience – Our customers offer high praise and look forward to utilising our services and our elected leaders value our work to deliver their policies and objectives;
- Leadership - Civil Servants are highly engaged and motivated to achieve results and to make a difference in the lives of those they serve,
- Talent Development – Civil Servants are skilled, competent and qualified, in the right position at the right time;
- Communication – We achieve awareness and buy-in for government’s policy priorities among internal and external stakeholders; and
- Governance Practices – We deliver results whilst maintaining the confidence of those we serve.
The purpose of this plan is to provide a clear and comprehensive structure of how we intend to work over the next five years.
It focuses on building the capacities and capabilities that are needed to achieve our new vision of a World-Class Civil Service that delivers an outstanding customer experience, values our people and achieves excellence in everything that we do.
Implementation of this Strategy will be centrally supported by the Portfolio of the Civil Service and the Cabinet Office, as the plan is heavily focused on harnessing civil servants’ potential to exceed our customers’ expectations.
The Strategy comprises 5 Goals (ie. strategic themes), 15 Objectives (ie. programmes of change) and numerous initiatives (ie. discrete projects).
This is an exciting time to be a civil servant, as collectively we embark on this journey to modernise the delivery of public services and empower our staff to make a difference in the community we serve.