Bangkok plan to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness
Posted: Tuesday, 6 October 2009, Bangkok | Author: UNIS Bangkok
The head of the United Nations Bangkok headquarters has moved forward with a plan to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in serving the needs of the region’s Member States.
Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer convened a town hall meeting on 18 September to review ESCAP’s Organizational Effectiveness Initiative (OEI), which was launched in March with support from UN Headquarters.
The OEI focused on internal processes for improving efficiency, effectiveness and collaboration.
“We need to work together to turn stumbling blocks into building blocks,” Dr. Heyzer told staff and senior managers at the town hall, which also reviewed the results of a recent survey conducted among ESCAP staff.
The survey showed, for example, that while job satisfaction was rated quite high by the majority of ESCAP staff, there was an urgent need to improve collaboration and communication within ESCAP, both from the top down and across divisions.
Staff also called for the streamlining of rules and procedures and increased cohesiveness among senior managers.
Following the town hall, an expanded management team of 50 staff held the first in a series of workshops from 22 to 23 September to explore and identify opportunities for divisions to work together. The same group will meet on 20 October to discuss and recommend a more detailed action plan to address other aspects of the OEI. The intention is to involve the participation of a wide range of staff to ensure that appropriate solutions are developed that represent all levels of the organization.
The further engagement of staff is needed to focus on key areas that will significantly enhance ESCAP’s ability to achieve a high performing workplace and to provide outstanding service and support to its constituents.
The OEI was instrumental in enabling ESCAP “to be the most comprehensive multilateral platform and powerhouse for promoting cooperation among Member States to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific,” said Dr. Heyzer.