A cultural revolution is needed in the Civil Service, says SAGE Commission chairman Brian Duperreault.He told Hamilton Rotary members yesterday that SAGE was surprised to find that creativity and innovation are not encouraged in the Civil Service.“One of the biggest challenges we have to face is the culture of the Bermuda Civil Service,” Mr Duperreault said.“It’s been a surprise to private sector members of the Commission to learn of the number of reports produced by civil servants that outline plans for progressive change, and the number of people who have worked hard to try to implement the recommendations in those reports.“But this is not a culture that supports, encourages and rewards creativity and innovation. This is not a culture that promotes brave leadership.”He continued: “What we have is a lumbering organisation with cumbersome bureaucracy, a vestige of a colonial mindset that can’t adapt to the 21st century because it hasn’t been given the tools to do so.“In most organisations, there’s what I’d call a natural cleansing process in the way personnel are managed. You do your job well, you’re rewarded and possibly promoted. You don’t do your job well, you get some assistance for professional development, you get some coaching, and if that doesn’t work, you leave the organisation to make way for someone else.“But this isn’t how it works in the Civil Service. The performance process doesn’t seem to produce reasonable outcomes that support healthy, well-managed growth and development.“Staff who enter the Civil Service with a zeal to make a difference are worn down by a system that thwarts progress. Their ideas are ignored. If they’re not ignored, they drift for years before they’re implemented.”And, he said, there is little accountability for those who do not perform to expectations.“Staff who violate Public Service regulations might face a mild slap on the wrist. The chances of them being dismissed are slim to none.“At the SAGE Commission, we’re beginning to believe that if we can find a way to help effect real systemic change in the Civil Service, to infuse it with a “can do” culture, we will be well on our way to creating the government Bermuda needs and can afford.”He continued: “We’ve been told by many civil and public servants that they desperately want the SAGE Commission to recommend a culture in government that both rewards excellence and also deals with non-performance. They want a culture that attracts, and keeps, strong performers.”Mr Duperreault went on to say that reducing personnel costs had to be done with a view to not causing more harm than good and planning for the social ramifications.And new revenue sources will have to be identified as “we can’t cut our way to economic recovery”.He called on the public not to indulge in the blame game over the Island’s fiscal crisis.“Are we going to retreat into our traditional comfort zones? Are we going to look for scapegoats to bear the brunt of what has to be done? Or are we going to reach out to each other, with mutual respect and decency, to find a way to fix our broken government?”The Commission has received 200 submissions from the public, and will submit an interim report next month.Healthcare costs and government pensions were being reviewed by the six Commission members, Mr Duperreault reported. But he said the Commission might make a separate recommendation of a healthcare review.“I’m pleased with the analysis the Commissioners have done so far on government pensions but I’m concerned about the review of healthcare costs. This type of review isn’t the same as finding ways to cut government spending. It needs the eye of professionals with specialist expertise.”