Local Government is being judged on its ability to quickly respond to change while being asked to do more with less. This is prompting councils to question whether they have the right approach to workforce supply.

At a recent workshop that we hosted in Bristol, local councils told us what they are doing to ensure they have the right people in place to drive change, achieve target savings, and respond to ever-changing needs. Here’s what we learned.

Organisations Need To Recruit Rebels To Drive Change

As Indira Ghandi said, "Rebels and non-conformists are often the pioneers and designers of change." It will not be possible for councils to meet an increase demand for services, with less staff, without transforming their approach to recruitment.

Beware Rebels Often Clash With The Established Culture

Councils operate within complex governance, compliance and regulatory frameworks, which engenders a risk adverse, compliance culture. Introducing a rebel tasked with doing things differently can result in a culture clash with the rebel feeling like a legal alien, trying to do their job within an unfamiliar and seemingly hostile culture, and staff feeling they are being ridden over roughshod.

Many Organisations Underestimate What They Need To Do To Successfully Onboard A Rebel

Rebels differ from other hires and HR has a role to help hiring managers understand this. Encourage them to look for someone that can make a difference, or fill a gap in a team rather than assess candidates against a competency framework. Work with them to prepare the ground for the rebel to fit into the wider culture by:

Preparing – staff for someone different. Help colleagues understand that rebels are not 'difficult' people. They are motivated to make things better and because they care are willing to engage in conflict and challenge.

Helping – the newly arrived rebel to acclimatize and navigate the politics. They need an environment where it is safe to disagree and challenge the status quo but may need coaching to find the right balance between challenge and acceptance.

Supporting – the new manager to manage the rebel. They need to be challenged with tricky problems and encouraged to have wild ideas but also need to know you’ll have their back if they take a risk and it goes wrong. Rebels need a manager that is honest and straight talking with them, empowers and frees them from constraints and let’s them know their efforts are appreciated. 

Bringing A Rebel In As An Agency Worker Can Minimise The Risk

While the general direction of travel is to reduce agency spend, agency workers can be brought in to achieve change in a specific area, with the added bonus that they tend to be resilient. This means an organisation can achieve change without the rebel getting bruised.

Reconsider Your Approach To Workforce Planning Across The Organisation

Whether your organisation is approaching contract retender or some way off its useful to gather together a team of in-house experts, procurement, HR business and service managers to understand their current and future recruitment needs and identify any gaps in your current provision.

Use The Retendering Process To Identify Ways To Drive Greater Value

Sticking with the same provider can feel like the easier option but investing time in a retendering process will often result in a better solution. Invite tendering agencies in to present their solution. This will enable you to identify further savings, explore how their solution will accommodate upcoming regulatory changes, and get a feel for the people we could be working with. Be upfront with your aim to achieve a downward trajectory spend and ensure your agency can provide the necessary management information needed to scrutinize costs and identify opportunities to drive down spending. At the same time strike a balance in your evaluation between price and quality. 

Switching Recruitment Provider Isn’t As Hard As You Might Think

Ensure a smooth implementation by setting realistic timescales. As a general rule of thumb double your estimate for how long the implementation process will take. Bear in mind you may need extra time to integrate with other IT or payroll systems, test the solution robustly and for Cabinet to ratify the award. 

Check the capacity of HR, IT and other functions to implement and integrate process/system changes.

Provide just-in-time training for managers so that it is fresh in their minds at the point of go-live so that it remains fresh in managers minds.

Manage the exit of the previous incumbent. It may prove more tricky than anticipated but remain professional throughout the exit process.

Teething problems are inevitable after go-live. Educating your supply chain around your specific needs can solve most. Keep an issues log to identify what you might do differently. Beware that some recruitment agencies may want to test Matrix savings and that Matrix will hold their ground.

Bringing all this learning together, councils that invest time now aligning their workforce to changing demands will be best placed to respond to increasing demands on service and savings. But it isn’t just about saving money. Councils must be mindful to align their workforce strategy to their wider plan in order to meet local and business objectives.