The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has welcomed the government’s decision announced last week, to cut public service targets.

The CIPD, whose research underlines the damaging impact that a target-driven culture has on morale and performance, approves of this move. The CIPD’s report, People and Public Services: Why Central Targets Miss the Mark, written by Observer management editor, Simon Caulkin, draws on this research to argue that an obsession with target-setting works against good people management and undermines performance.

Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, says: "Ministerial talk about local autonomy needs to be translated into reality. The targets public sector organisations faced have left them with limited discretion over how to meet their objectives and undermined the trust needed for high performance. CIPD research shows that local leadership capable of energising and enabling people is the key to transformational change in the public sector.

“The reduction in the number of targets, and the increased emphasis on local discretion, is very welcome. But the government needs to go further and invest adequate resources in training public sector managers to do a better job of managing their people – it makes business sense since in order to succeed organisations rely heavily on the contribution of their people.

“The capability reviews of government departments have highlighted the need to drive up employee engagement and this will require the continuing attention of senior management teams.  This is not an easy task but it is ultimately the only way in which significant and lasting improvements in productivity and performance levels in the public sector will be achieved.”