Cut jobs and save money

Given their recent and not so recent troubles, I know why our Education Department has a Director of Communication but why does our Education Department have a Director of Communication?
 
The States of Guernsey might need a Head of Communication and indeed a communications section but we don’t need one for each and every  department. The same goes for every other single specialisation which could be more efficiently run if centralised.
 
I suspect that with hundreds of properties to build and maintain, there is one States department which has specialist knowledge in this area. Doesn’t it therefore make sense for them to run all States building projects including schools? Some input would be needed from Education but not a lot. After all, what do educationalists know about building?
 
Human Resources, the degrading name for what were Personnel departments, is another area which needs only one chief to run the indians and I am sure there are a few more examples about.
 
Departmentalisation is a two edged sword. It allows for specialisation but it also brings with it the inefficiencies of sub-division and it is these we can do without. We do not need lots of little chiefs, with little chief salaries. We are a small Island, a borough council, and we only need one little chief per specialised department. We might need the same number of indians to start with, but I’m sure there are some efficiencies of scale to be achieved here too.
 
Maybe the States can start a cull of Media and Communications and use it as the model for future centralisation projects. I can do half of the project now.
 
No new space needed; use Skype and cloud based software for contact; a virtual office. One Head of Communications controlling all current media personnel for all departments and all work to go through that person. They can then judge how many people are needed long term and staff their section accordingly. Then they can think about office space. The new head can also ensure quality standards and build up contacts with national and international media outlets.
 
The trick is not to let this become another empire. It is a specialist section and not a new department.
 
I’m sure that each existing chief can come up with a dozen reasons why this couldn’t work but my challenge to them is to come up with a dozen ways of making it work and a dozen ways of saving money if they can’t make it work.
 
Whilst we have departmentalisation we will not have big picture thinking or big picture administration.
 
Guernsey PLC needs a proper board of directors who can see the big picture and who have the power to implement it but that’s another story.