The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley*
In 2004 I was appointed to transform Harlow Council**. In November 2007 Harlow Council was formally categorised as ‘Good’, an improvement of three Comprehensive Performance Assessment categories in just three years. This transformation represents one of the biggest and fastest improvements in Local Government history. Below I share some key learning points from the journey.
The starting point for the transformation required recognition of reality and a shared commitment across the political parties to tackle the causes of the problems. This was a major challenge and wasn’t helped by the fact that in my first year I had three different political administrations and a short period without any Administration.
To kick start the transformation three key issues were identified to be tackled: priorities, performance and people. The aim was to be clear about priorities (and nonpriorities), to tackle unacceptable performance (both operational and financial) and to remove confusion about roles while engendering mutual respect.
To help with developing priorities, community research was commissioned. This involved external researchers going into a cross section of citizens’ homes and interviewing them in depth on what they thought about the town, the Council and what the priorities for the town and the Council should be. The results didn’t make good reading for Council but provided direct feedback from the community that any politician would ignore at their peril.
This research provided a vital foundation for the Council. For the first time in its history it was clear about its priorities and its nonpriorities. The latter was the difficult bit because resources were taken from nonpriority areas to make savings and to invest in priority areas.
Inadequate operational and financial performance was tackled through the introduction of a new system of performance monitoring and total transparency. There were no hiding places as performance was communicated throughout Council and posters put up in every office.
Another key task was to get clarity regarding roles and responsibilities. In the past roles and responsibilities had become blurred, with difficult relationships resulting between Councillors and managers.
A significant amount of time and money was invested in clarifying roles and responsibilities and Councillor training/support. The management team of four Directors and 22 Heads of Service was cut to three Directors and ten Heads of Service, introducing new roles and people committed to corporate working rather than silo working. Changing the senior management team was seen as a key symbol of change and the commitment that nobody was immune from the change.
The next stage of the Council’s transformation concentrated on developing the capacity to perform effectively and consistently. Seven improvement strategies – community engagement; risk management; service and performance improvement; organisational and cultural change; procurement and partnerships; project management; and customer services and access – were developed.
The Council was subjected to consistent inspection and monitoring from Government. It also had to deal with major strategic issues such as the challenge of growth (Harlow’s population is expected to double by 2031), multimillion pound regeneration schemes and the creation of a joint venture company involving the transfer of 400 staff.
Key learning points from our journey are as follows:
- there is no reason why any Council cannot be excellent with the appropriate leadership, drive and commitment throughout the organisation to do it
- be clear about nonpriorities as well as priorities and reflect them in decision making and resource allocations
- ensure that you learn from the experience of others and that you don’t try constantly to reinvent the wheel
- always be realistic about the issues your organisation is facing and your ability to deal with them
- recognise that the Council is only part of a system of partnerships that deliver for the community served, and be an effective partner
- don’t be frightened to ask for help
- there is no single model for change; the change program you implement needs to be tailored to your organisation and the people within it.
- celebrate success as well as being open about when things haven’t gone so well and be clear about what you are doing about the things that haven’t gone so well
- communicate, listen, learn, perform and review as a continuous process.
**Harlow is located in Essex, 30 miles northeast of London. Described by a recent peer review as “more like a London Borough than a District Council”, Harlow was built as a ‘New Town’ and recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. The Council provides services including refuse and recycling collection, housing (owning 12,000 properties), environmental health, electoral registration, museum, planning and building control, parks and leisure (including a theatre). It also provides a range of social services and has around 80,000 residents in 37,000 households. It has an annual budget of
c. £100 million.
*Malcolm Morley is Chief Executive of Harlow District Council and can be contacted via the Editor, email info@lgfocus.com.au The views expressed in
this article are not necessarily those of his employer.
