How To Achieve Excellence in Service Delivery | Articles | Vendzulu Development Agency

How to achieve excellence in Service Delivery

Achieving excellence in Service Delivery can only truly be accomplished if it is more than a project goal. In fact, it should be a way of thinking for every project manager, and firmly embedded in every single project management principle. In the long run, this can only be achieved by creating a culture of excellence in Service Delivery. And no better way to do culture development than by teaching every child to be a project manager from an early age. “This is exactly why we have decided to get on board and offer our support to the Mr. & Miss Irene Pageant, which took place on Friday the 27th of November 2009, at Irene Primary School in Pretoria,” says Ms. Siza Netshilaphala, Managing Director of Vendzulu Development Agency, a forward-thinking local project management consultancy.

Following the steps of Project Management

The Mr. & Miss Irene Pageant is usually a fund-raising project done by the Grade 7’s, as a farewell gift to the school. “But what makes it so different, is that it is organised BY THE KIDS, FOR THE KIDS,” says Ms. Eunice Marais, Deputy Principal of Irene Primary School. The project management of the pageant was therefore entirely done by the kids and every child involved had to function like a little project manager in the making.

The kids had to apply different project management steps; from project design, to full roll out and implementation thereof. They had to first consider what they wanted to achieve and then had to conceptualise the theme and approach to best accomplish those goals.

Following that, they had to divide the various responsibilities for the project management amongst each other and appoint a project manager to manage it as a whole. In addition, they had to compile a budget and find sponsors to support their project. They had to do extensive preparation to ensure that the Service Delivery was of an acceptable level of quality, whilst never losing sight of the time frames.

Laying the foundation for sound Culture Development

“In retrospect, the project management of the Mr. & Miss Irene Pageant most certainly taught every child that formed part of the project some valuable lessons and instilled some sound project management principles. We trust that it will at least play a role in developing future leaders that can take the economic development of our country forward,” states Ms. Siza Netshilaphala.

Ms Eunice Marais is of the opinion that it will indeed do exactly that. “The children who organised the event had to learn how to work together as a team towards the same goal, whilst illustrating project management and organisational skills. And the kids that participated in the event had to work on their self confidence and hone their public speaking abilities.”

The end result was a spectacular event that most probably surprised the parents and will surely be imprinted in the hearts and minds of these kids for a long time to come. “I have been at Irene Primary school for many years, but NEVER before have I seen an event that was so well organised by the kids,” explains Ms Eunice Marais enthusiastically. “We would like to extend a warm “thank you” to Vendzulu Development Agency, whose generous contribution ensured that the kids were duly rewarded for their hard work.”