validus management consultancy UK

Local Government Case Study

An English District Council


Culture Change
To enable continuous renewal and transformation

THE ORGANISATION

An English District Council

THE ISSUES / PROBLEMS

  • The Council had an ambition to become a learning organization, one which was 'customer-focused and performance-oriented, where people make things happen: excellence, customer service, and continuous improvement', so enabling them to achieve their vision:

    "A Council that provides community leadership, and works in partnership with others, to promote and where appropriate provide, good quality services that meet the needs and priorities of local people; a clean, green and safe environment; a higher quality of life through economic regeneration and the promotion of leisure, shopping and culture".

  • This was recognised to be a major culture change, facilitating learning amongst all its' people to continuously renew and transform the organisation

PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Provided expert guidance and support to the Council in:

  • Identifying and producing communicable definitions of the Council's desired culture and core values through facilitated focus groups
  • Producing a management methodology, toolkit and protocols to achieve the organisation's desired aim.
  • Producing improvement action plans for two Departments, to act as pilots for the desired organisational culture and for them to become exemplars of a learning organisation.
  • Transferring the methodology, toolkit, protocols, learning and knowledge to identified Change Agents to enable them to support and monitor others through their cultural change programme.
  • Delivering for Senior Members, Corporate Management Team and Heads of Service an employee empowerment leadership change management programme, capability assessment and review of leadership style, and produce a leadership improvement action plan.

PROJECT RESULTS

  • Created a leadership team & Council confident in their belief in delivering their Vision
  • Alignment of thinking and understanding : values, vision, mission, strategy
  • Consistency in promoting key messages
  • Built the 'critical mass' needed to drive the programme forward
  • Developed 'value-driven leadership' well versed in the dynamics of change management
  • Established effective and efficient communications mechanisms
  • The Council had been considered a failing council. It subsequently improved three comprehensive assessment categories over a period of 3 years