Feedback
The Commissioners have recently had the opportunity to have some valuable feedback from Permanent Secretaries on the Link Commissioner role. Sir Gus O’Donnell came to a recent meeting of the Commissioners. In preparation he had canvassed his Permanent Secretary colleagues for their views on the Link Commissioner role; how it was working and what could be improved.
Sir Gus O’Donnell reported that the responses had been generally very positive. Permanent Secretaries valued the Commissioners' knowledge, insight, flexibility and pragmatism. Commissioners could provide a fresh and authoritative outside perspective to the business of senior recruitment. If there was a criticism, it was that the Link Commissioners should be more active in their linked departments. We could be more visible, spend more time getting to know the departments and work more closely with departmental Human Resources Directors.
Sir Gus said that he believed that Permanent Secretaries would be in favour of strengthening the Link Commissioner role. They would welcome the Link Commissioner chairing more competitions within their linked departments. It might also be beneficial to group departments more strategically by function.
In our discussions with Sir Gus both sides recognised that there were tensions involved in a regulator getting too close to the organisations they regulated. Both sides recognised that the regulatory role was paramount. But increased knowledge of the challenges facing departments and greater understanding on both sides should not be a hindrance to effective regulation.