Transforming Performance

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• Transforming Performance
• Carolyn Wilkins
• Chief Executive
• Rossendale Borough Council

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Transforming Performance

• The Rossendale Story A tale of three
• phases
• Recovery
• Improvement
• Leadership

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Transforming Performance
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Transforming Performance
Phase One - Recovery

• QUOTE
• services across a number of areas are poor and
  getting worse. It is clear that the Council is
  failing to deliver good quality public services
  and is also struggling to provide community
  leadership for the residents of Rossendale
  CGI 2002

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Transforming Performance

• Phase One The Recovery Challenge
• Poor customer focus
• Mixed picture of service delivery (including
  judgment of poor for benefit services (100 days
  for benefit processing 2001/02 PSA for minor
  planning applications)
• Lack of development for Elected Members
• Weak corporate infrastructure
• Insufficient capacity to deliver plans.
• Poor staff morale (only 7 felt valued)
• Poor reputation

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Transforming Performance

• Phase One Recovery Action
• Developing clear priorities
• Beginning to put the necessary corporate
  infrastructure in place.
• Starting the work on some key projects e.g
  Housing Stock Transfer and Leisure Trust.
• Service improvements.
• Building capacity of Elected Members and staff -
  including organisational review.

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Transforming Performance

• Phase One Recovery

QUOTE the limitations in terms of people,
skills, experience, systems and resources are of
such significance as to seriously hinder the pace
of improvement CPA 2004
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Transforming Performance

• Phase Two Improvement
• Built on the significant achievements made during
  the recovery phase.
• Strong foundation for the future.
• Route map provided by Corporate Objectives and
  Priorities.

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Transforming Performance

• Phase Two Improvement
• 8 increase in overall satisfaction and
  complaints to LGO down 38
• Benefits Service - Poor to Fair Service (benefit
  processing 26.1 days Dec 2007 from 89 days in
  2002/03 and 100 days in 2001/02).
• Recycling up from 15.3 to 38
• 13 improvement in feelings of safety between
  2004 and 2006.
• On target for a 36 reduction in crime over 4
  years against a target of 17.5

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Transforming Performance

• What they say about us now
• Rossendale Borough Councils Current
• performance is GOOD and it is improving
• performance in most areas
• Only three councils have made this triple jump

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Transforming Performance
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Transforming Performance

• The more effectively communities are engaged in
  shaping services the more likely it is that
  quality will be delivered
• Citizen Engagement and Public Services
• Why Neighbourhoods Matter

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Transforming Performance

• Involvement and Engagement
• True for Staff and Councillors as well as
• communities!

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Transforming Performance

Staff Engagement Understanding
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Transforming Performance

• Staff valued - increase from 7 to over 75
• Corporate Investors in People
• Times Best Council
• 3rd overall
• Winner of training and
• development
• 3rd for leadership
• Sickness from 15 days
• to 6.9 days 2006/07

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Transforming Performance

• Empowerment is linked to trust.
• In 2005, 70 of those who agreed that they could
• influence local decisions also said they trusted
  the local
• council - Compared to nearly half of people who
  said they
• did not think they could influence local
  decisions - overall
• satisfaction is linked to influencing decisions.
• Same for Staff?

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Transforming Performance

• Its vital for us to
• Check what were doing is known, understood and
  working
• Make sure were focused on the right things and
  dont lose sight of why we do the things we do
• Build capacity
• Make a lasting difference

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Transforming Performance

• Essay Title
• Resistance to change does not exist. It is
• Result of lazy organisational diagnosis
• A managerial invention to justify its own
  failures
• Discuss

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Transforming Performance
New Framework

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Transforming Performance
Ah, but plans can fall through And so often
they do The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow

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Transforming Performance

• When things go wrong
• Have you thought through what could go wrong and
  how you would deal with it before it does
  (Partnership Prenup?)
• Strong line about feedback and learning as
  opposed to failure and blame
• Significant Event Review Process
• Look after each others brand image

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Transforming Performance

• Language crucial in any change process
• Conversations for Change
• Language and Symbols used (reinforce the change
  or work against?)
• Role of Leadership
• Holding the Narrative (the story of change)
• Creating the environment in which others can act
• Consider the spaces we occupy and the messages
  they give

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Transforming Performance
Seem familiar?

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Transforming Performance
The ultimate purpose of local government should
not solely be to manage a collection of public
services, but rather to pursue the well-being of
a place and the people who live there by whatever
means are necessary and available. Lyons
2007

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Transforming Performance

• Phase Three Leadership
• Championing the borough and its people by strong
  community leadership
• Even greater focus on improving quality of life.
• Strong partnership with customers, businesses and
  residents to shape places
• Excellent services

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Transforming Performance

• Challenges
• Are we clear enough about what matters locally
  and can we evidence this
• How do we really deal with local issues when the
  emphasis is on the national priorities
• Do our systems allow us the level of information
  we now need

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Transforming Performance

• Challenges
• Rise above structure and process to outcome and
  reality
• Who do we hear and why?
• What we have to report versus what we want to
  know.

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Transforming Performance

• What weve learnt
• Its all about people
• Its hard work
• Its slow progress at times, but then there are
  leaps forward
• Not everyone will fit with where you are
  goingeven if they want to and try.
• Systems and processes need to help, not hinder
  so try and get as many right at the start as you
  can.
• Think about tolerances and what could go wrong
• If you are committed you can make it happen!