Next week’s Strategy and Resources Committee on 26 July will discuss a new organisational structure for the Council.

This is part of the Council’s radical transformation programme, called Customer First, which will provide a new operating model, based on principles which put the customer first and drive efficiency.

The organisation is being transformed in two phases:

§  Phase 1 – Resources

§  Phase 2 – People and Place, including a new locality team.

Phase 2 will radically change how the Council deals with residents and businesses, with the aim of encouraging as many as possible to access services online, freeing up officer time to support the more vulnerable or those not able to help themselves. New technology will underpin this approach to ensure services which can be delivered online are easy to use, secure, simple and quick, along with new ways of working.

To enable the Council to respond quickly to problems and situations out in the community, a new locality services team will be created. This team will work closely with residents, ward councillors, parishes and the voluntary sector, resolving local issues and enabling communities to be more resilient.

All staff are being consulted on the proposals and invited to give their views on the new structure. The number of staff put at risk of redundancy in Phase 1 was 66. Most were offered roles they applied for and many achieved promotions. Seven staff were not successful in securing new roles and were made compulsorily redundant. Another six staff opted to retire or leave the organisation voluntarily. 

This process is now being repeated for Phase 2 and a 45 day consultation with staff affected by Phase 2 began on 18 July. In this phase the number of staff at risk of redundancy is 105 and the new structure offers 96 roles to apply for.

Staff are being given guidance and support with the application and assessment process, as well as access to counselling. While the aim is to minimise the number of staff made redundant, outplacement support is available to those leaving the Council to help them plan for retirement or prepare them for applying for new jobs outside the organisation if they are not successful. 

Councillor Martin Fisher, Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee, said: “Our staff are our greatest asset and we will need many of them to help us develop a council which is fit for the future. I appreciate this is a worrying time for them, but I truly believe the future structure will provide staff with many more career opportunities, while also making savings and generating additional income to balance our costs. We will do everything we can to support them through this process. This new approach will also help us deliver an increasing level of services with diminishing resources. I am excited about the development of the locality team, which will see our officers out and about in the community, with the ability to resolve issues quickly.”