Agenda item

Agenda item

Corporate Leadership Team Restructure

Report of the Chief Executive

Presented by the Leader

Minutes:

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 the assimilation of the current postholders into the career-graded posts. 

 

The Chief Executive outlined the next steps in the recruitment proves following approval of the structure.  She made reference to the anticipated savings for this phase of the restructure which may change during the second phase.  She assured members that the overall aim of the proposals was to reduce expenditure.  She advised that if members did not agree to assimilate officers into the proposed new structure, this would present a potential redundancy cost of around £127,000 which would have to be found from reserves and could result in a loss of experienced staff from the authority.

 

Councillor R Blunt stated that everyone in the room could be proud of the Council.  He acknowledged that the Council needed to better in some areas, including customer focus and self-sufficiency.  He applauded the creation of leaders throughout the organisation. 

 

Councillor S Sheahan thanked the Chief Executive for the work she had undertaken to bring the proposals to this stage.  He commented that he would have liked to have heard more about the major departure in leadership style after 10 years of a different style of leadership.

 

Councillor R Blunt responded that the Chief Executive as Head of Paid Service implemented the structure that suited her and it would be wrong of him to say that one structure was better than another.  He added that this issue should not be a political matter.  He welcomed the increased support   for staff and urged members to support the proposals. 

 

Councillor J Legrys welcomed the proposals and the dissemination of leadership throughout the organisation.  He commented that breaking down silo working was an unenviable task.  He expressed disappointment that the career grading did not start at the bottom of the pay grade as manual workers deserved to benefit also.  He referred to the recent issues regarding clashes of meetings and felt that more communication was needed between services. 

 

The Chief Executive responded that this was the first time the Council had considered a career graded post and consideration would be given to how this could be spread across the organisation as part of the people plan.  She added that she was fully aware of the issues regarding arranging meetings and she was aware that Democratic Services had provided a response.

 

Councillor T Eynon welcomed the proposals and the new way of making decisions.  She was pleased to see that the proposals had been reviewed by the staff and the unions, however she was disappointed that the proposals had not undergone any form of cross-party scrutiny. 

Councillor R Blunt emphasised the importance of cross-party support for the proposals. 

 

The Chief Executive stated that she was very supportive of the role of scrutiny.  She explained that the proposals had been discussed with opposition members and the Cabinet however she acknowledged that they had not been formally considered by the Policy Development Group.

 

Councillor K Merrie welcomed the proposals and looked forward to seeing the level of savings that would be made. 

 

Councillor N Smith made reference to the work the legal department had undertaken with other council and asked whether it was envisaged that this work would continue and progress.  The Chief Executive reported that part of the report set out the new approach in terms of commercial acumen to identify opportunities and the intention to spread this approach across the organisation.  She added that this would involve partnering with the private sector.

 

Councillor A C Saffell stated that he was fully in agreement with the proposals and congratulated the Chief Executive.

 

Councillor V Richichi welcomed the focus on the customer and the leadership opportunities being offered to existing staff.  He stated that there was a need for a ‘customer first’ strategy and he hoped to see this implemented fully.  He commended the strategy and felt it would be welcomed by the public. 

 

It was moved by Councillor R Blunt, seconded by Councillor N J Rushton and

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

a)    The objectives of the Corporate Leadership Team review be noted.

 

b)    The revised senior management structure as set out in Appendix 1 be approved.

 

c)    Authority be delegated to the Appointments Committee to approve the assimilation of:

 

i)              The Financial Planning Team Manager (Deputy S151) into the career graded post of Head of Finance (S151);

 

ii)             The Financial Services Team Manager or the Financial Planning Team Manager (Deputy S151) into the role of Finance Team Manager (Deputy S151);

 

iii)           The Human Resources Team Manager into the career graded post of Head of HR and Organisational Development as described in paragraph 8.

 

The Monitoring Officer be authorised to make any consequential amendments to the Constitution as a result of this report.

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