Essex County Council has installed a performance management system to improve efficiency and allow information on corporate objectives and strategic data to be widely available.

Department heads and district partners will be able to use the Actuate Performancesoft Views system to measure their own performance and contributions to the smooth running of the council.

Essex monitors its performance against key targets outlined in its Corporate Plan and the Essex Local Area Agreement. It was awarded the maximum four stars by the Audit Commission in its last Comprehensive Performance Assessment.

Gill Butterworth, performance manager at Essex County Council, says the system was primarily chosen for its ease of use and intuitiveness.

'Our implementation and deployment of Views has been fast and smooth, facilitated by the excellent implementation support, and our focus now is on getting the most value from the information we hold,' she said.

Butterworth says the council's previous system meant the data collection of corporate information was a time consuming task that used up resources. Now data can be directly input as soon as it becomes available.

'Our senior management board reviews corporate performance monthly, as will our Local Area Agreement partnership board, and Views underpins these reviews by providing the information on which we base the assessments of how we are performing,' she said.

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