Home > News > September 2005 > 28-Sep-2005

Staffordshire CC adds drama to managers’ conference

Staffordshire County Council has used drama-based training to help bring life to performance management issues at a conference for 120 of its senior managers. At the event, actors from training provider Steps Drama delivered role play scenarios to create a discussion around best practice.

The one-day conference, called Stepping up the Pace, also covered leadership, service improvement, ways of working and innovation.

"We wanted to make the conference interactive and engaging, rather than just having ‘experts’ talking at the delegates," said Kim Davies, management development consultant in the council’s Corporate HR Services.

"Performance management is a key issue that everybody has to get right if we are to meet our efficiency targets. The audience members were very senior people who have some experience in this subject. We wanted to show how performance management could be improved without patronising them or putting their backs up. This was the first time we have used drama-based training at this level and it was very effective."

The Steps actors portrayed two senior managers, one of whom was cynical about the value of performance reviews. The other character asked the audience for help in convincing her friend of the benefits of performance management. When the audience members provided suggestions, she would continue the role play and put them into practice.

A separate role play then showed the cynical manager actually undertaking a performance review with a team member. At key points in the scenario, the manager asked the audience for help in trying to address areas of poor performance.

"In both role play scenarios, the audience provided advice and guidance to one of the characters," said Kim Davies. "A lot of learning came out and this was an entertaining way of covering a very serious issue. The feedback from the delegates was very positive."

In addition to the drama element, the conference included presentations by directors and senior managers of the council, and a former leader of the Red Arrows presented on leadership and working in effective teams.

Nigel Pursey, the council’s chief executive, highlighted the organisational priorities for the coming year. The Steps role players then ran a 10-minute cameo, in which they acted as news announcers from a local TV station, reporting positive news stories set in 3 years time about how the council had achieved its objectives.

"This was effectively a future-look at what it would be like to achieve our aspirations and it worked really well," said Kim Davies. "We’re now concentrating on providing training to equip staff with the skills and competencies they need for the future."

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Steps Drama

Staffordshire County Council

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