How are council chief executives preparing for the downturn in grant funding? Joan Monro explains what happened when the IDeA asked nine chief executives for their views
The current economic climate and the resource challenges many authorities face provide a ‘burning platform’ for radical organisational shifts in local government. But some councils are finding it difficult to make the vital ‘cultural changes’ needed to achieve successful organisational transformation.
To find out more about how councils are tackling ‘cultural change’, the Local Government Delivery Council is sponsoring IDeA to capture and spread learning about what councils can do to achieve faster and more effective cultural change.
As part of this project, we have published a new report, ‘In Shape for Success?’, which draws on interviews with nine chief executives across the country.
The nine councils are: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Chorley, Ealing, Plymouth, South Tyneside, Suffolk and Wychavon. Although they vary in size, geography and the nature of the
community they serve, many common themes have emerged. All the chief executives see a link between a council’s organisational norms and its ability to serve the local community. They all want to see a continued shift away from the traditional, hierarchical way of doing things towards an outwardly focused ‘can-do’ culture.
But how do we define ‘organisational culture’? Jack Hegarty, chief executive of Wychavon Council puts it like this: ‘For us, it is a combination of
leadership, innovation, confidence and clarity that translates throughout the organisation so that, if
you work here, you know what the organisation stands for and what is expected of you.’
In the past, the chief executives agree, many
councils have been too inward-looking, silo-based and resistant to change and challenge. The determination to move away from this is highlighted by Stephen Hughes, chief executive of Birmingham City Council’s comments on the past.
‘There was perhaps a “job for life” culture amongst staff and there wasn’t a great deal of challenge. Things were often done by rote. There was quite an aversion to risk. You had long gestation periods, plenty of time to think things through and the pace of change wasn’t that fast.’
Cambridgeshire CC’s Mark Lloyd sums up
the challenge: ‘It is about becoming genuinely,
corporately, customer-focused instead of insular and institutionalised. We’re here for our communities, not for the sake of ourselves.’
Learning from what has worked elsewhere is a
priority, as is a ‘business focus’, which puts the emphasis on targets and results, says Barry Keel of Plymouth City Council. ‘Chief executives must lead by example, providing clear goals and celebrating success. Once you start celebrating success, people can see that they can do it. Then you start asking
the question, “if one part of the organisation can do it, why can’t other parts?” And you start having an incremental approach to culture change.’
This means bringing in more fluid, responsive ways of working, according to Jan Ormondroyd of Bristol City Council. The future for her is one
in which: ‘boundaries are much more permeable, both within councils and between different
local organisations.
‘As we move towards comprehensive area assessment and very tight resource constraints, we’ve got to learn to work across these boundaries in a very different kind of way.’
So what are the ingredients of successful change? ‘Clarity of purpose is vital,’ says Darra Singh, of
Ealing LBC. This includes setting out the vision
and priorities, not just as a council but working in partnerships with others, both statutory bodies and the voluntary sector.
Mr Singh emphasises that it needs to be based on really good intelligence, evidence and insight into what is needed in a locality. ‘The real knack is
turning that into plans which make sense and aren’t just a collection of tasks.’
It’s essential to get a clear message across to staff as early as possible, says Irene Lucas, chief executive of South Tyneside MBC. ‘Right from the first induction day we talk to people about values and the way we would like them to work and the way we would like them to behave. We want it to be
non-bureaucratic. We start with a picture of me and a bin man with a caption saying: “who would the public miss most?”
‘The simple message is that everyone is vitally important and we all have the ability to make the
difference to the public’s experience of our services.’
Equally important, cohesion and a partnership approach to working are essential, between
members and officers, council departments and
different organisations.
Stephen Baker, who is engaged in a two-year shared chief executive role at Suffolk Coastal’s troubled neighbour, Waveney BC, describes the dangers of disunity in stark terms. ‘The focus before was all wrong. The wrong issues were getting all the emphasis by officers and members, and that completely knocked focus away from the responsibility to the community for service delivery, for vision
and development. As a result, the organisation struggled. Now, with that renewed focus in place, confidence is growing daily.’
Breaking down silo working is also fundamental to change, says Bristol’s Jan Ormondroyd: ‘When I arrived a year ago it was very departmentally based. Each department had its own newsletter but there was nothing corporate.
‘A key priority is moving to a one-council approach so everybody can see things in a much more
horizontal, rather than a vertical, view. And, increasingly also, moving to one-city approach with
our partners.’
So where do councils go from here? According to Wychavon’s Jack Hegarty, the really tight constraints will come in the next five years: ‘Whatever government is in place post-2010, the resources for this sector will be less and less and less,’ he says.
‘We’ve got to find a way not just to survive but
perform well in that new world. It means tough choices about what you are going to do and what you’re not going to do as local government.’
Will such an environment promote cultural change or could it stall this process? Birmingham’s Stephen Hughes believes it could go either way. ‘If you’re not prepared for what is going to happen to public spending then it will have a very negative impact. We’ve seen that in the past.’
Mr Hughes would like to see a radical new look at what is effective, and more partnership working to ensure services are delivered more creatively.
‘We’re attempting to do that within our own
strategic partnership. It is a long-term programme. It is not easy – if it was, it would have been done ages ago – but I think we can get there. We have to – the alternative is not very attractive.’
South Tyneside’s Irene Lucas is in no doubt that councils must change in this future environment. ‘It is a paradigm shift. The pendulum is moving towards communities having the opportunity not just to co-create, co-produce and co-design services and contribute to regeneration, but also to evaluate performance-managed challenge.
‘It requires a culture, and the skills, of listening, consulting, understanding and paying attention to others. It is not something that fits very well with some councils.’
Indeed, moving away from being a ‘public servant’ towards being a ‘public enabler’ entails a profound change in approach. This a not a transition that everyone can make.
Chorley’s Donna Hall pulls no punches: ‘When you look around the sector, even at quite senior
levels, there are people that don’t understand the journey we are on.’
‘In Shape for Success?: Chief Executives’ perspectives on achieving culture change in local
government’ is available on the IDeA website: www.idea.gov.uk from 16 June, along with a new cultural change web resource, case studies, a podcast on members’ role in cultural change (produced with local government employers) and details of events and masterclasses. n
Joan Monro is national adviser on the workforce strategy at the IDeA
To find out more about how councils are tackling ‘cultural change’, the Local Government Delivery Council is sponsoring IDeA to capture and spread learning about what councils can do to achieve faster and more effective cultural change.
As part of this project, we have published a new report, ‘In Shape for Success?’, which draws on interviews with nine chief executives across the country.
The nine councils are: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridgeshire, Chorley, Ealing, Plymouth, South Tyneside, Suffolk and Wychavon. Although they vary in size, geography and the nature of the
community they serve, many common themes have emerged. All the chief executives see a link between a council’s organisational norms and its ability to serve the local community. They all want to see a continued shift away from the traditional, hierarchical way of doing things towards an outwardly focused ‘can-do’ culture.
But how do we define ‘organisational culture’? Jack Hegarty, chief executive of Wychavon Council puts it like this: ‘For us, it is a combination of
leadership, innovation, confidence and clarity that translates throughout the organisation so that, if
you work here, you know what the organisation stands for and what is expected of you.’
In the past, the chief executives agree, many
councils have been too inward-looking, silo-based and resistant to change and challenge. The determination to move away from this is highlighted by Stephen Hughes, chief executive of Birmingham City Council’s comments on the past.
‘There was perhaps a “job for life” culture amongst staff and there wasn’t a great deal of challenge. Things were often done by rote. There was quite an aversion to risk. You had long gestation periods, plenty of time to think things through and the pace of change wasn’t that fast.’
Cambridgeshire CC’s Mark Lloyd sums up
the challenge: ‘It is about becoming genuinely,
corporately, customer-focused instead of insular and institutionalised. We’re here for our communities, not for the sake of ourselves.’
Learning from what has worked elsewhere is a
priority, as is a ‘business focus’, which puts the emphasis on targets and results, says Barry Keel of Plymouth City Council. ‘Chief executives must lead by example, providing clear goals and celebrating success. Once you start celebrating success, people can see that they can do it. Then you start asking
the question, “if one part of the organisation can do it, why can’t other parts?” And you start having an incremental approach to culture change.’
This means bringing in more fluid, responsive ways of working, according to Jan Ormondroyd of Bristol City Council. The future for her is one
in which: ‘boundaries are much more permeable, both within councils and between different
local organisations.
‘As we move towards comprehensive area assessment and very tight resource constraints, we’ve got to learn to work across these boundaries in a very different kind of way.’
So what are the ingredients of successful change? ‘Clarity of purpose is vital,’ says Darra Singh, of
Ealing LBC. This includes setting out the vision
and priorities, not just as a council but working in partnerships with others, both statutory bodies and the voluntary sector.
Mr Singh emphasises that it needs to be based on really good intelligence, evidence and insight into what is needed in a locality. ‘The real knack is
turning that into plans which make sense and aren’t just a collection of tasks.’
It’s essential to get a clear message across to staff as early as possible, says Irene Lucas, chief executive of South Tyneside MBC. ‘Right from the first induction day we talk to people about values and the way we would like them to work and the way we would like them to behave. We want it to be
non-bureaucratic. We start with a picture of me and a bin man with a caption saying: “who would the public miss most?”
‘The simple message is that everyone is vitally important and we all have the ability to make the
difference to the public’s experience of our services.’
Equally important, cohesion and a partnership approach to working are essential, between
members and officers, council departments and
different organisations.
Stephen Baker, who is engaged in a two-year shared chief executive role at Suffolk Coastal’s troubled neighbour, Waveney BC, describes the dangers of disunity in stark terms. ‘The focus before was all wrong. The wrong issues were getting all the emphasis by officers and members, and that completely knocked focus away from the responsibility to the community for service delivery, for vision
and development. As a result, the organisation struggled. Now, with that renewed focus in place, confidence is growing daily.’
Breaking down silo working is also fundamental to change, says Bristol’s Jan Ormondroyd: ‘When I arrived a year ago it was very departmentally based. Each department had its own newsletter but there was nothing corporate.
‘A key priority is moving to a one-council approach so everybody can see things in a much more
horizontal, rather than a vertical, view. And, increasingly also, moving to one-city approach with
our partners.’
So where do councils go from here? According to Wychavon’s Jack Hegarty, the really tight constraints will come in the next five years: ‘Whatever government is in place post-2010, the resources for this sector will be less and less and less,’ he says.
‘We’ve got to find a way not just to survive but
perform well in that new world. It means tough choices about what you are going to do and what you’re not going to do as local government.’
Will such an environment promote cultural change or could it stall this process? Birmingham’s Stephen Hughes believes it could go either way. ‘If you’re not prepared for what is going to happen to public spending then it will have a very negative impact. We’ve seen that in the past.’
Mr Hughes would like to see a radical new look at what is effective, and more partnership working to ensure services are delivered more creatively.
‘We’re attempting to do that within our own
strategic partnership. It is a long-term programme. It is not easy – if it was, it would have been done ages ago – but I think we can get there. We have to – the alternative is not very attractive.’
South Tyneside’s Irene Lucas is in no doubt that councils must change in this future environment. ‘It is a paradigm shift. The pendulum is moving towards communities having the opportunity not just to co-create, co-produce and co-design services and contribute to regeneration, but also to evaluate performance-managed challenge.
‘It requires a culture, and the skills, of listening, consulting, understanding and paying attention to others. It is not something that fits very well with some councils.’
Indeed, moving away from being a ‘public servant’ towards being a ‘public enabler’ entails a profound change in approach. This a not a transition that everyone can make.
Chorley’s Donna Hall pulls no punches: ‘When you look around the sector, even at quite senior
levels, there are people that don’t understand the journey we are on.’
‘In Shape for Success?: Chief Executives’ perspectives on achieving culture change in local
government’ is available on the IDeA website: www.idea.gov.uk from 16 June, along with a new cultural change web resource, case studies, a podcast on members’ role in cultural change (produced with local government employers) and details of events and masterclasses. n
Joan Monro is national adviser on the workforce strategy at the IDeA
