Local Government Case Study

An English District Council

Culture Change

To enable continuous renewal and transformation

An English District Council

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

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.

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