In order for the revitalization of Batho Pele to succeed, organizational culture has to be changed to accommodate Batho Pele as a way of life. This means that departments should take stock of their values, as well as behaviours and attitudes of employees. Departments would then be able to take necessary steps to prepare public servants for the revitalized Batho Pele Culture of responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness in delivering services to the public.
The New Belief Set namely "we belong, we care, we serve" clearly captures the revitalized Batho Pele culture. The Belief Set is intended to endorse the eight Batho Pele Principles. A belief set is a value system, which serves as a relatively permanent ideal that should influence and shape the general nature of public servants' behaviour. For it to have maximal impact, a Belief Set should be an integral part of any service delivery operations, strategic planning and implementation strategy of all programmes and not an "add-on".
We belong - Public servants are social-beings whose needs should be recognised and fulfilled. This recognition of needs will instil a sense of belonging to the public service family. We belong because we are recognized and rewarded for living Batho Pele. Citizens who feel satisfied, will certainly develop a spirit of patriotism towards the country and will also feel a sense of belonging. In practical terms, this part of the belief set underscores the importance of the human resources function. It is their responsibility to ensure that practices, processes, systems such as conditions of service, rewards and recognition as well as training and development among others, foster a sense of belonging among public servants.
Furthermore, this Belief Set is also about:
* Encouraging a spirit, culture and practice of collaboration, teamwork and collegiality among all public servants thereby fostering effective intergovernmental relations.
* Building a learning Public Service.
* Fostering partnerships with the recipients and beneficiaries of public services and thus ensuring that the public service is responsive to people's needs in line with the notion of "Putting People First".
We care - Public servants should be courteous when providing services to the public by listening to their problems, apologising when necessary, and serving people with a smile. We care because we are devoted to doing a job to the end, ensuring that we deliver beyond customer expectations. Public servants should respect all citizens irrespective of background, gender, colour or creed.
We serve - In order to have a sense of service; the public service should develop service standards, provide information, seek service delivery solutions and go beyond the call of duty -. We serve by delivering quality services and making citizens look forward to receiving world-class integrated service delivery. This could be achieved by:
* Anticipating customer needs through the introduction of regular customer surveys on the type of services citizens would want to receive.
* Offering integrated service delivery through institutions like MPCCs and other innovative forms of service delivery in communities.
* Going beyond the call of duty even under difficult circumstances where there are limited resources.
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