THE MANAGEMENT Institute for National Development (MIND) is reporting a significant leap in earnings over the six-year period since gaining executive agency status.
According to the agency's Chief Executive Officer, Maria Jones, revenues have moved from $26 million in 1999/2000 to roughly $80 million in the last financial year. She has estimated that earnings for the 2005/06 period would be approximately $85 million.
FOCUS ON CUSTOMER SERVICE
Mrs. Jones, in a recent interview with JIS News, credited MIND's successes to date to the increased focus on customer service, rather than revenue, noting that the agency offered a wide range of training opportunities.
She noted, for example, that the objectives of the human resources conference held earlier this year were far more important than any revenue to be earned from it.
"We're earning what we're earning by focusing on our customers, and technology (which helps us) to be more productive," she said.
The CEO also pointed out that the presence of a high quality staff and the concept of "entrepreneuralism" have been critical to MIND's success. "We have a good core group of staff that have bought into the concept of entrepreneuralism, which is thinking of MIND as your own, running it as you would your own organisation."
Turning to the executive agency model, which nine public sector organisation have now adopted, Mrs. Jones declared it to be the new face of the public sector. "Without a doubt, the executive agency is transforming the public sector. We just need more of them," she said confidently
Executive agencies are semi-autonomous autonomous agencies of government, which have greater responsibility for their own management, resources and performance.
