The New South Wales public service commissioner Emma Hogan is taking over as secretary of the Department of Customer Service from Glenn King, who is leaving the public sector after seven years in senior roles with the state government.
Hogan, a human resources expert, was brought in to lead the government’s workforce management agency in April 2018 after senior HR roles with Here, There and Everywhere (formerly APN News & Media), Foxtel, Qantas and Woolworths.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said these roles gave her “a wealth of experience in people and customer service” and meant she was highly qualified to lead the relatively new department, which was established by building on the former Department of Finance, Services and Innovation.
The Premier said Hogan’s replacement as public service commissioner would be announced “in due course” but did not say who would act in the role; there are two assistant commissioners: Jane Spring and Scott Johnston.
Berejiklian praised King, the former chief executive of ServiceNSW, for the key role he has played in improving the NSW government’s service delivery by placing a strong emphasis on measuring and improving customer satisfaction. Its services are now the envy of Berejiklian’s counterparts all over Australia, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who hopes to emulate some of that success through his Services Australia reforms.
Before being appointed secretary of DCS in April after a big machinery-of-government change, King was a deputy secretary in the Department of Premier and Cabinet with the additional title of customer service commissioner and responsibility for the Premier’s Implementation Unit as well as the government’s behavioural insights team.
“Since April 2019, Glenn has successfully delivered on the NSW Government’s commitment to put customers at the centre of service delivery and simplifying how citizens interact with government,” Berejiklian said in a statement.
“On behalf of the Government and the people of NSW I thank Glenn for his dedicated service and extensive achievements, and wish him every success in his future plans.”
As well as leading “sector-wide reforms” lately he has played a critical role in delivering the Premier’s Priorities, Cost of Living Service, Container Deposit Scheme and Active Kids Rebate, according to the Premier.
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello also thanked King and said Hogan had proven her leadership abilities since making the move from the private sector.
“Glenn has done a great job laying the foundations for us to succeed in transforming customer service in NSW and I have no doubt Emma will continue to pave the way for us to deliver innovative services that will benefit everyone in NSW,” Dominello said.
“Emma has transformed the culture of the public service over the past 18 months in her role as the NSW Public Service Commissioner, and will continue to drive this in her new position.”
It is an interesting coincidence that the changing of the guard at DCS was announced on the same day as Martin Hoffman was revealed as the next chief executive of the National Disability Insurance Agency. Hoffman presumably stood some chance of getting the job back in April when the new department was announced, given he was secretary of DFSI when its transformation into DCS began. As it turned out, King got the job and Hoffman soon found a role in Canberra guiding the Services Australia reforms before stepping in to lead the NDIA.
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