#lgworkforce – Sharing management successfully

Chris Elliott, Head of Transformation at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and High Peak Borough Council shows how to make the most of a joint chief executive, how to bring services together to save costs and how to best spread best practice.

• Both excellent councils, semi-rural market town environment. Similar population, adjacent boundaries.
• But different counties and government regions!
• It ‘feels’ different. Everyone has to work differently. Greater emphasis on people. Challenging every activity.
• Double the number of members!
• Was considered a takeover at one stage but no longer
• Cultural differences
• Flexibility is key
• More secure by the day
• The role of management – the tiers of management – what should the be doing? Directors, Heads of Service, Service Managers. Strategic, transformational, operational
• Enablers – IT, procurement, change. Also legal, HR and comms.
• Methodology, toolsets and quick wins
• Resource strategy alignment
• Got external consultants to produce high level business case
• Programme began quickly (be quick and be bold!)
• Potential projects mapped in terms of difficulty and transformative impact
• Member led initiative – concordat –  2 pager – and governance. Need for scrutiny and reality check
• Sense of urgency driven by budget issues. Message to staff – support this or there may have to be compulsory redundancies.
• Importance of engaging stakeholders
• Situation now: joint CEO and Snr m’ment team, joint ICT, procurement and transformation teams, joint property services, joint environmental health team, joint grounds maintenance service.
• Measures: VFM, customer service, public recognition and satisfaction, improved quality of life for residents
• Observations:
  • exception processes everywhere
  • Measuring the wrong things
  • Make waste visible
  • Help people to let go
  • ICT is a barrier – or is it? – Now at 35% shared IT systems. 80% by next year
  • Management competency
  • Use lean leanly
  • Procurement = 50% of budgets
  • Simple is better
• Service heads have to own transformation process
• Don’t create IT wish list
• Pain is inevitable
• Two councils = easy benchmarking
• Don’t forget the supply chain
• People first
• Think process not tech
• Be ruthless with waste
• Make status quo unacceptable
• Kotter – 8 reasons transformation projects fail
• Grow your own, be prepared to learn
• It’s easy to complicate things
• Know when to stop