Local Government Management Consultancy
Validus has over fifteen years of experience of working at both senior management and operational levels within Local Authorities to develop and implement new strategies and transform public service delivery models. We well understand the ongoing pressures and challenges facing Local Government including:
- The moves towards Unitary status
- Improving community engagement and access
- Priority identification and targeting
- Use of resources / value for money
- Enhancing e-government
- Partnership working / outsourcing
- Measured outcomes for communities
- Performance Management focus
- Changing CPA inspection regimes
Our transformation programme provides a fully documented, step-by-step structure and framework that engages and coaches managers and staff as well as members, enabling them to identify the critical issues and opportunities, fully engage all key stakeholders, develop the new improved service delivery models and working practices, where necessary challenge and modify the prevailing behaviours and attitudes to ensure effective implementation and service delivery outcomes.
Our consultants have supported focused improvement initiatives within specific directorates, as well as fully integrated transformation programme. Our experience includes:
- Alignment of members, executive management and service delivery management in developing and implementing corporate vision and business strategy involving:
- Group workshops at executive management and member level
- Definition of corporate goals and objectives
- Group workshops at Directorate level, cascading of goals and objectives throughout the Authority
- Implementing improved budgeting and cost management mechanisms
- Coaching and training in EFQM principles and application
- Re-aligning organisation structures to enhance achievement of corporate goals and objectives, improve efficiency, service delivery and accountabilities
- Definition and implementation of Best Value programmes involving alignment of members, senior managers and staff behind the key principles of: Challenge / Consult / Compare / Compete
- Improved self-awareness – the ability to objectively assess strengths and weaknesses
- Positioning Local Authorities to meet the CPA challenge – 'the harder test'
- Effective implementation strategies to meet the challenges of the Gershon review
- Specific improvement programmes within designated Directorates involving:
- Defining external customer and other key stakeholder expectations and views of services though structured surveys and interviews
- Benchmarking reviews amongst Local Authority groupings
- Fundamental reviews of business processes
- Reviews of workloads, resource utilisation and outcome performance
- Improved management of stakeholder relationships – both internal and external
- Developing effective outsourcing and partnership working
- Development and implementation of forecasting, planning and scheduling mechanisms
- Implementing continuous incremental improvement of departmental performance and service delivery
- Developing customer oriented behaviours, attitudes, cultures and working practices
- Development of flexibility and multi-skilling of operational staff
- Implementing effective performance appraisal mechanisms
- Personal development plans for key staff – including executive management
- Coaching and application of 'Lean' and Six Sigma principles to operational delivery
- Coaching senior managers on a one-to-one basis to address the 'sensitivities' associated with major transformation programmes