The parties commit to good practice to ensure their relationships are trusting and productive
Build and maintain relationships
The responsible Minister
- invests time in building a productive working relationship with the entity’s chair and senior management
- ensures the Department is aware of Ministerial communication with the entity
- ensures the entity is given advance notice of sector stakeholder meetings, and invites its advice
The Crown entity
- offers to induct a new Minister into the work of the entity, including meeting the board
- recognises the Department’s different roles as ‘friendly critic’ and ‘supporter’
- communicates the focus of the Department’s monitoring priorities to relevant entity managers
- fosters trusted working relationships with critical senior Department staff to facilitate the full, free and frank exchange of information on day-to-day and strategic activity
- actively invests time and effort to strengthen relationships with the Department
- briefs the Department in advance on major new initiatives or changes in priorities and seeks feedback
Monitoring department
- ensures a new Minister receives an early, accurate and balanced briefing on the entity
- ensures Department staff understand and respect the ‘arm’s-length’ principle, and when the Department should be acting as ‘friendly critic’ or ‘supporter’
- builds its relationship-management capacity to ensure skilled, knowledgeable and credible staff manage and nurture relationships with the entity
- is open in its dealings with the entity
- with the entity, develops and adheres to joint communications protocols
Ensure there are no surprises
The responsible Minister
- understands and applies the ‘no surprises’ convention in advising the entity about information that could affect its operations
The Crown entity
- understands and applies the ‘no surprises’ convention in dealing with the Minister and Department
Monitoring department
- understands and applies the ‘no surprises’ convention in dealing with the entity and Minister
Ensure effective meetings
The responsible Minister
- establishes and keeps to a realistic and achievable timetable of meetings with the entity and Department officials
- ensures the entity and Department are well informed about the Minister’s views on agenda topics
- where practicable, ensures Department officials attend meetings with the entity and, if necessary, informs the chair of this protocol
The Crown entity
- prepares well for meetings with the Minister, ensuring agendas are concise and focus on a few important (usually strategic) issues
- before meetings, provides the Minister with concise briefing papers on critical agenda items
- informs the Department of agenda items and the entity’s position
Monitoring department
- when required, provides the Minister’s office with timely advice on agenda items
- confirms with the entity matters of fact or matters on which the Department may have a differing opinion (in accordance with the ‘no surprises’ convention)
- has a scheduled programme of meetings with the chair, chief executive, designated liaison staff and topic-specific staff, where appropriate
Invest in relationship-management skills
The responsible Minister
The Crown entity
- ensures staff in critical relationship-management positions have the appropriate skills to ensure productive relationships with the Department
- provides staff with professional development opportunities focused on relationship management generally and within the public sector specifically
- provides relevant career paths that demonstrate that it values staff with highly developed relationship-management skills
Monitoring department
- ensures staff in critical relationship-management positions have the appropriate skills to ensure productive relationships with the entity
- provides staff with professional development opportunities focused on relationship management generally and within the public sector specifically
- provides relevant career paths that demonstrate that it values staff with highly developed relationship- management skills
Induct entity and Department staff
The responsible Minister
The Crown entity
- inducts new monitoring advisors in the Department into the entity’s work and management practices
Monitoring department
- offers induction to entity staff and managers on the Department’s work and management practice
Manage escalation where different views exist
The responsible Minister
- ensures critical issues are escalated to appropriate colleagues including sector Ministers, the Minister of Finance, the Minister for the Public Service, the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The Crown entity
- agrees with the Department on ‘first points of contact’ and an escalation process in order to respond to differences of opinion in a timely and effective manner
- when critical issues arise, makes personal contact with relevant Department staff in a timely manner
- actively works to resolve differences of opinion with the Department
- follows the agreed escalation process if a dispute persists
Monitoring department
- agrees with the entity, and internally, on ‘first points of contact’ and an escalation process to ensure the Minister’s office is kept apprised of any difference of opinion
- when critical issues arise, makes personal contact with relevant entity staff in a timely manner
- actively works to resolve differences of opinion with the entity
- follows the agreed escalation process if a dispute persists