Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor T J Pendleton.

Members are reminded that any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the code of conduct.  In particular, members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'pecuniary' or ‘non pecuniary'.

Councillors J Legrys and J Geary declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 3 – Corporate Leadership Team Restructure, as members of GMB.

Councillors R Adams, D Everitt and S D Sheahan declared a non-pecuniary interest in item 3 – Corporate Leadership Team Restructure, as members of UNISON.

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

The Chief Executive presented the report to members, drawing their attention to the proposed senior management structure set out in the report which reflected her understanding of the current working landscape and culture of the Council, the known future financial constraints, the assessment of the current performance of the Council, and the aspirations and ambitions of members for the district. 

The Chief Executive made reference to the Council’s journey of continuous improvement and stated that whilst recognising how good the organisation currently was, this should never lead to complacency.  She highlighted the key drivers for change as set out in report and in particular her views on the role of leadership and the role staff had to play in shaping and driving the organisation, and making real changes for the communities served by the Council.  She explained that the aim of the proposed structure was to develop leadership capacity at all levels in the Council.  She also outlined the work being undertaken to recognise the importance of team leaders and to devolve decision making to the right levels within the organisation.  She acknowledged that this was a fundamental change from a ‘command and control’ approach to one where staff felt empowered to be part of the solution and the changes being made.  She added when staff felt empowered that lead to increased flexibility, improved morale and a feeling of collective responsibility, which also helped to break down silo methods of working.  She acknowledged that hierarchical ways of working were essential at times but should never stifle innovation.

The Chief Executive explained that the coaching and mentoring approach the Council had already adopted would be enhanced, which would further encourage the empowerment of staff.  She emphasised the need for accountability, which would be ensured via robust performance management in order to maintain effective governance. 

The Chief Executive set out the vision for the organisation and the outcomes as set out in the report.  She summarised the proposed structural changes, in particular the reduction from 3 directors to 2. She explained that both directors would have a strategic focus and would both act as Deputy Chief Executive, working across the organisation and having collective oversight of all corporate programmes. 

The Chief Executive outlined the proposed changes to the Head of Service level posts, highlighting in particular the drive towards a ‘customer first approach’ and the emphasis on commercial acumen, developing and valuing staff and transforming the organisation.  She explained that she wanted to embed a culture of growing staff and therefore the two new Head of Service roles were recommended to members as career graded posts, which recognised the skills within the organisation and gave people the opportunity to develop.  She added that this approach also mitigated the risk of redundancy and the loss of experienced staff from the authority as the existing posts would be deleted from the structure as set out in the report.  If members agreed to the proposed structure, approval would be sought from the Appointments Committee regarding  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.