Crossing Sectors Case Study 2

Barbara Moorhouse, Director General of Finance, Ministry of Justice

Barbara’s career began as a company accountant with TI Group plc. Since then she has held a number of high profile strategic financial and Chief Financial Officer roles. She joined South West Water plc immediately after privatisation and found her experiences in leading the financial direction of the company in its transition from a public to a commercial organisation, valuable.

She took up her first Group Finance Director role in a public listed company in 1997 at Morgan Sindall plc. In recent years she has been Chief Financial Officer in two international technology companies – Kewill Systems plc and Scala Business Solutions N V. Barbara became Director General of Finance at the Ministry of Justice in May 2007. She started this post at the Department for Constitutional Affairs in March 2005.

Barbara’s advice to anyone thinking of switching from the private to the public sector is to be very selective about where you apply. Having built a very successful career as a Chief Financial Officer in the private sector, she was used to occupying a high profile and pivotal role at the heart of the organisation. She was not prepared to make the move into the public sector and find herself shunted into the back office, with little or no influence over the strategic direction of the organisation. The opportunity to influence policy debates and manage the interface between policy decisions and the budgetary framework was essential for Barbara.

Key motivations

Having come through a period of financial difficulties, the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) had re-focused and re-prioritised by the time Barbara had decided to join its ranks. She was particularly attracted by the fact that finance had been given an influential strategic role within the DCA. She feels that this is part of a wider shift to prioritise resources and promote performance management within central government generally.

Another motivating factor for Barbara was the opportunity to work within an intellectually challenging environment where decisions and outcomes have real impact on the quality of life of the general public. This scale of challenge and “real-life” impact is rare in the private sector.

Sharing her experience

Barbara had only been in her new job for two weeks when she agreed to share her thoughts on switching sectors, so whilst an in depth analysis of the cultural differences was not possible, she did agree to share her initial observations.

Barbara feels that when considering a move to the public sector it is important to be clear about the differences and don’t think that you can just apply private sector disciplines and practices in every situation. It is a very different environment, the public sector is often responsible for services and functions that are not and cannot be economically viable within ‘normal’ commercial rules. The business skills honed during years in private sector practice can be utilised to great effect, but you cannot run all functions as bottom-line focused commercial enterprises.

Perhaps the biggest difference is in the level of complexity within the public sector, greater than that found even in the largest conglomerates. Working your way through the labyrinthine connections between government departments can be challenging. For Barbara, it is like a spider’s web of inter-connected relationships and influences, there are no obvious boundaries. This huge nexus is unparalleled even in the larger private sector companies, where at least most of the separate parts are united in a common, profit-oriented purpose.

The single common purpose cannot be guaranteed within the public sector where priorities and motivations are more subtle, nuanced and variable.

Barbara says: “Increasingly, the public sector is embracing the challenge of improving customer services and this is where there is a higher degree of commonality between the sectors. My division has a wide range of internal and external customers – the need to identify their needs and expectations is critical in prioritising our workload. The Department is also accountable to the general public and it is very important to me that we are seen to deliver cost effective, high quality services. My experience in the commercial sector means that I can bring my skills and expertise to add value and strategic direction to the Department.”

The key differences between sectors

Another significant difference for Barbara is the scale of the leadership and people management role that she has in her current post. The span of control has prompted her to review her previously successful people management and leadership skills to assess how well they translate in this new environment. Identifying the best points of intervention to achieve coherence, visibility and effective communication will take some time.

Coming from a culture where short reporting lines and high levels of people to people interaction are prevalent, this represents something of a development challenge that she is already thinking through in conjunction with her staff.

Being an ‘outsider’, not having come through the ranks of the professional civil service, can be both a disadvantage and an advantage. It is difficult to feel culturally attuned when you’re not familiar with the rules of the game so widely shared by the majority of staff. However, on the positive side, not fully understanding the rules of the game may make it easier to cut through to the heart of the matter.

Finally, if you are thinking of moving from the private to the public sector, remember that the lessons you learnt in your earlier career don’t necessarily transfer. The key to success is to ensure that you are adaptable and flexible enough to utilise your skills within a different framework. Excellent people management skills make a difference irrespective of sector. For me, my biggest achievement as Chief Executive here at Westminster is the development of an ambitious, highly skilled, resilient and enormously talented workforce, which will drive improvement even further.

Once you have decided you are ready to switch sectors, be prepared to put in a lot of hard work to secure that dream job. Think about which job is right for you; don’t be fooled into thinking that applying for lots of senior jobs is good practice. The recruitment process at executive level is intense and can be emotionally draining. Reserve your strength, energy and enthusiasm for the position that will really make a difference to you.

Tips for success

• Read the advert (if there is one) carefully to find out as much as you can. Is it genuine, honest and open or the standard advert fodder? What’s behind the advert, why are they looking to fill this post? What is the reputation of that organisation and is it changing?
• Get the information pack, almost a standard in public or not-for-profit sectors, not necessarily so in the private sector. Once you’ve done this continue to do your homework; where else can you find information about the company or organisation?
• Check out their website, press cuttings, anything you can to build up your knowledge base.
• Call the consultant or potential employer. Don’t just ask them to fill in the blanks about the job. Use the opportunity to tell them about yourself and ask if they think you would be suitable for the job.
• Review the person specification (if there is one) and ask yourself how close a match are you? How does this job fit in to your career plan? What will securing this job do for you?
• Review your CV. However, be aware that many public sector organisations will require you to fill in their standard application form. A good and up-to-date CV will be useful either way. Ensure anything you provide is relevant to that opportunity. Don’t just add to the CV you did two years ago. Concentrate on your achievements in the last five years. Don’t leave gaps, or at the very least explain them. Get the right balance – more space for recent experience – less for what you did 10 years ago. Don’t be afraid to give some context if appropriate, but make sure you clarify your achievements wherever possible, should it be we or I?
• If your prospective employer provides a person specification, ensure you address each point in turn giving examples – 2 or 3 pages should suffice. Help the people reviewing the applications, don’t make them work too hard to assess your suitability, the chances are that they won’t make the effort if you appear sloppy.
• Try to articulate why you want the job. Produce a covering letter that talks about the opportunity and the organisation you are writing to. Focus on what you can do for them and why you are interested. Try to inspire the reader and make yourself memorable, for the right reasons.
• Make sure you review your application carefully. Ask a friend or colleague for a critical opinion and make sure you use your covering letter to address any concerns or queries that arise.
• You may be invited to a preliminary interview, which is standard practice in the public sector and the equivalent of a going in for ‘a chat’ in the private and some of the not-for-profit organisations. Either way, prepare to impress them. Get yourself in the right mental frame of mind. Put yourself in role and think through how you will approach it. What would you do and what questions would you ask? Don’t forget that an interview is a two-way process, you need to sell yourself but you also need to find out if they are the kind of employers you want to work with. Finally, try to be yourself – and be prepared to talk about your failings and what you learned from them.

• Many employers will use an assessment centre to test the suitability of candidates for senior positions. These can be made up of a range of tests, which include:

  • Personality profiling. Remember there are no right or wrong answers. They provide a basis for further probing on personality terms.
  • Ability tests including numeracy, verbal and abstract reasoning.
  • Commercial acumen tests are increasingly coming to the fore. You will have the opportunity to use practice materials. The key to success with these is to work as quickly and as accurately as you can to cover as much as possible. Once again there is no pass or fail.
  • Psychological profiling is often a combination of the above and involves meeting with a psychologist to probe areas that have come out from the above tests.
  • Role plays. From group exercises, to simulated ‘on the job’ situations and In-trays. Presentation skills and media assessments are also becoming more popular.
  • Remember to get feedback on these assessments before your client interview.
• If you are applying for a job in the public or not-for-profit sectors, be prepared for a further level of formal or informal interviews with stakeholders, councillors or board members. By all means clarify whether these will be formally assessed, but don’t take them any less seriously than the formal scheduled interview.

• If you make it to a final panel interview it is important to remember the following key points.

  • Try to relax, at this stage it really is all about ‘fit’.
  • These final panels are often one sided affairs, and are tightly scheduled.
  • In the public sector, in particular, you may face a panel which includes 4 or more councillors who you may not have had any contact with previously.
  • At these events candidates are often asked to start with a presentation, the topic will have been communicated in advance. When delivering your presentation, don’t use any technology you’re not familiar with, make it interesting and rehearse your timings, and be sure not to overrun. Stay away from generic concepts, but don’t try to cover too much detail, you’ll end up rushing to cover everything and lose people. You’re likely to be nervous so try to slow yourself down. Finally, ensure you make eye contact and smile.
• During the interview itself remember that it is difficult to control the interview so don’t try too hard. Listen carefully to the question and seek clarification if need be. Don’t forget that some of the members of the panel will be inexperienced and nervous too (particularly if they are councillors or board members). Use their names if you can remember them.
• Try to take a pause before giving each answer, it allows you a bit of thinking time and a chance to get your thoughts in order. Don’t fill in the silences – nobody will interrupt you. If you do find yourself waffling, stop and apologise, everyone will be relieved and appreciate your honesty and self-awareness.
• If you are offered the job use the opportunity to negotiate your terms and conditions. This will be expected in the private sector, but will need to be handled with sensitivity in the public or not-for-profit sectors. However, in all three you need to be clear about your salary needs in advance of final panel. Have you thought clearly about relocation costs and the possible implications of uprooting?
• You will need to address the issue of performance related pay and the flexibility of reward for challenging posts. If your offer is for a job in the private sector, make sure you clarify your reporting lines and roles and responsibilities. Finally, in all three sectors don’t be afraid to articulate your development needs.

• Crossing Sectors Case Study 1