Purpose of Report
1. To provide
a summary of the refresh of the corporate transformation programme
and key activities over the next three months.
Strategic Objectives
2.
Future transformation activity at the councils is fundamental to
our ability to enable our staff and services to meet and deliver
our corporate objectives over the coming months and years, in what
will likely be an increasingly challenging financial
environment.
3. Both
councils’ corporate plans are currently being refreshed. The
corporate transformation programme must align with the emerging
strategic objectives of the new plans as they develop. Equally, the
corporate transformation programme will need to influence the
corporate plans, providing an articulation of future service
delivery and the culture and organisation of the councils.
4. Both
councils’ five-year Medium Term Financial Plans (MTFPs), as
agreed by full Council meetings in February 2024, include an
expectation for ongoing savings of £100,000 per council per
year from 2024/25 to 2028/29 to be delivered. Whilst transformation
was always viewed as central to the councils’ efforts to
tackle the increasing budget gap, there is now further financial
imperative to ensure that reducing cost is prioritised, and savings
opportunities identified, across all transformation projects as the
first line of attack against the financial challenges to come.
5. The
contracts for several statutory and non-statutory services are due
to terminate in the coming years. Strategic decisions are required
to determine future delivery models for these services, and the
impact these models will have on the councils’ delivery
through workforce demographic, organisational structures, skills,
culture, technology and working practices. The corporate
transformation programme must collate and drive these strategic
decision points, with the aim of supporting Members to take well
informed and timely strategic decisions aligned to the Corporate
Plan, with a full understanding of wider holistic impacts and
opportunities. A strategic view of long-term decisions would also
ensure the council’s finite support functions aren’t
overwhelmed by competing priorities, allowing for incremental step
changes, where appropriate, rather than big bang approaches to
change.
6.
Given the links to the strategic objectives described above and the
strategic importance of the corporate transformation programme, the
programme has been refreshed and will continue to be developed over
the next three months, as described in this report.
Background
7. In
2021, the Councils launched a transformation programme to bring
together aspects of the delivery of the Customer Transformation and
Technology Strategies approved by Cabinets in December 2021, and to
ensure compliance with the Best Value Duty to seek continuous
improvement. An update was provided to both cabinets in September
2022.
8.
Programme success since its inception has largely focused on
technology, reflecting the imperative to separate our systems and
data storage from Capita prior to the end of the outsourced
contract in September 2025. Prioritising the technology
infrastructure created the foundations for the IT Strategy,
enabling more visible, customer focused transformation to be
delivered in this next stage. Key achievements of the Programme so
far include:
·
Successful migration from the shared Microsoft Tenancy (M365),
managed by Capita, to a new tenancy dedicated to South and Vale
Councils, paving the way for cloud-based document storage and the
use of collaboration tools,
·
Transition from Rostrvm contact centre software to a new solution
provided by Netcall, giving the councils improved call management
functions, better access to performance data for reporting and
improved workforce management for customer services,
·
Implementation of a new engagement
platform, Citizen Space, which has been used during recent
consultations for the Joint local plan 2041 and the developing new
iterations of the corporate plans for both councils,
·
Statement of requirements completed for a new HR Information System
covering the employee journey from recruitment to onboarding and
ongoing learning and development,
·
Preliminary work completed for a permit based online approach to
garden waste collection to go live in April 2025.
9.
Over the next 6 months, as part of the IT
Strategy, the following applications will be migrated into the
cloud as part of our overall drive to move all systems held in
Capita’s datacentre to cloud-based environments through
software as a service:
·
Legal Case Management (Iken),
·
Democratic Services (Xpress and Mod
Gov),
·
Fraud and Investigations case management
(Incase),
·
Eforms and workflow system
(Ebase).
10. The first phase of the
planning review project has also been completed under the corporate
transformation programme, achieving an ongoing base budget
reduction of £300k, whilst improving service performance.
Business requirements have been mapped and the identification of a
replacement for the legacy Ocella system is progressing.
11. Delivery of the
transformation programme was initially service led with corporate
oversight. As the Programme progressed the need for more resource
and corporate control was identified. A permanent transformation
team has been created, reflecting the significance of the corporate
transformation programme, and the requirement to further develop a
culture of continual change, improvement, and adaptation across the
councils, building resilience and agility within service delivery
and developing these skills within our workforce.
12. Recent analysis
identified 135 individual projects and programmes in delivery
across the councils, ranging from large, strategic projects, such
as the waste vehicles depot, to smaller, low-risk service
improvements, such as replacement of a car park tariff board. While
each of the projects have some form of project management in place,
there is a lack of consistency in project approach and oversight,
and a need to clearly define strategic projects and how they will
be delivered and monitored in the future.
13. All good/successful
transformation programmes constantly review and evolve. As such,
the corporate transformation programme has now been refreshed to
ensure it remains fit for purpose as it transitions into the next
phase of delivery. Paras 2 – 6 above provide the drivers for
change and the strategic objectives that the new programme will aim
to address. A summary of the key changes is provided below, along
with an overview of further development to be undertaken over the
next three months.
Refreshed
corporate transformation programme
14. Projects undertaken
across the councils fall into one of three categories:
·
strategic transformation,
·
operational change,
·
service improvement.
The
characteristics of each category are described in the table at
Appendix 1 with the corresponding arrangements for project
delivery, oversight, finance, and change management.
15. Projects must meet
three or more of the characteristics to be identified within the
highest group: i.e., if a project has three characteristics of
strategic transformation and four characteristics of operational
change then it falls within the strategic transformation category.
If a project has two characteristics of strategic transformation,
three characteristics of operational change and four
characteristics of service improvement then it falls within
operational change.
16. Initial projects
identified as being within the strategic transformation category,
and therefore forming the refreshed Corporate Transformation
Programme, are listed at Appendix 2. This initial list will evolve
as further projects are reviewed and categorised against the above
criteria.
17. All projects within
the refreshed corporate transformation programme will be reviewed
to identify their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for delivery: the
minimum requirements that need to be achieved for the project to be
a success, which can be built upon and improved in the future,
through service improvement, to realise additional benefits. This
should speed up delivery and ensure resource is focused on the
essential tasks, and the project’s critical path, to ensure
timely completion.
18. Delivery of the
corporate transformation programme will adopt an agile approach,
with a focus on swift, effective decision making and iterative
delivery. We will develop a culture of ‘failing fast’,
where assumptions and ideas can be tried and tested as quickly and
efficiently as possible, to learn what works and respond to the
outcome, instead of investing unnecessary time, resource and money
into a paper-based analysis and justification of the best course of
action.
19. While agile delivery
and ‘failing fast’ can be invaluable in accelerating
project delivery, it carries a risk that decisions are made in
haste without fully understanding the impacts. To minimise this
risk, the Internal Audit and Risk Team will collaborate on the
development of processes and controls to ensure resilience within
the programme. Risk will provide support to the Transformation team
with risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and monitoring
activities. Internal Audit will provide independent assurance that
risk management, governance, and internal control processes are
operating effectively.
20. The Strategic Delivery
Monitoring Group (SDMG) will be reestablished, meeting quarterly,
comprising the Leaders, Deputy Leaders and Cabinet Members for
Finance from each council, to support the refreshed approach. The
SDMG will oversee the corporate transformation programme and the
roadmap of key decisions discussed in paras 23 – 27.
21. Programme resourcing
will be key to successful delivery. To support the transition to
the new programme an interim transformation director has been
engaged who will lead the refresh and initial delivery of this next
stage of the programme. An interim change manager will also be
appointed to support the changing delivery approach and provide
focused development for the core transformation and programmes
team.
22. The currently separate
transformation team and the corporate programmes team will work
together to support the corporate transformation programme. They
will provide both project management expertise and programme
management assurance to the programme. Colleagues from the finance
teams and the people and culture team will also form a crucial part
of the core delivery team, ensuring that people and budgetary
implications are mapped, understood, and minimised.
Roadmap of key
decisions
23. The councils
have some key decisions to make over the coming months that will
impact the form and function of the organisations moving forward.
The contracts for five significant outsourced services, shown in
the table below, are due to expire in the next two years and future
delivery models need to be determined:
|
Service
|
Provider
|
Contract end
date
|
|
Car Parks
Management
|
Saba
|
30 Sep
2025
|
|
5 Councils
Partnership:
Land Charges,
Revenues and Benefits, IT, Customer services - Switchboard and Out
of Hours
|
Capita
|
30 Sep
2025
|
|
Waste and recycling
collection services
|
Biffa
|
28 Jun
2026
|
|
Leisure
centres
|
Greenwich Leisure
Ltd.
|
31 Aug
2026
|
24. The decision has
already been taken to insource IT services from September 2025, for
which the corporate transformation programme has been preparing
with the technology developments listed in paragraph 8. If
decisions are taken to insource other services from the above list
it would impact the future state of the councils in terms of
workforce diversity, skills requirements, culture, technology
requirements, terms and conditions, working practices, operational
hours and building requirements, all of which will reframe the
transformation of the councils.
25. Additionally, the
councils’ capacity for change will also need to be assessed
against any preferred model of delivery. Changing delivery models
for too many services at the same time may not be possible within
existing resources, would increase the councils’ risk
exposure, and may negatively impact business as usual during the
transition period.
26. To enable effective
future planning, and to enable all possible opportunities to be
exploited from each decision, a roadmap of key decisions will be
developed. The roadmap will highlight the timeline to making each
decision, the interdependencies between the decisions, and the
relevant body where the decision will be taken. All decisions will
be taken at the earliest possible opportunity to provide maximum
lead-in time to the enact the decision. This approach will ensure
that cabinets and scrutiny are able to have advanced sight of key
decision points, and these can also be better reflected within the
budget process.
27. The roadmap will be
created collaboratively between the transformation & programmes
team, senior management team and lead members. It will evolve and
continue to progress as certain decisions are taken and others
added. The roadmap will form a key aspect of the work of the
reestablished Strategic Delivery Monitoring Group.
Change
management
28. The move towards
swifter decision making and ‘failing fast’ is not
something that will happen overnight. We need to create a safe
environment for employees to fail and to learn from their failures,
to create a supporting management environment where staff at all
levels know that honest mistakes will not be rebuked but that there
will be open and transparent conversations to enable lessons to be
learnt. Concentrated, considered change management alongside
supportive and reflective management behaviours are required to
embed this culture within the councils.
29. The interim change
manager, working alongside the Organisational Development (OD)
team, will design and facilitate a series of internal
communications, workshops, good practice and success sharing
opportunities for colleagues to ensure there is a common
understanding of the corporate transformation programme, its impact
on the councils, its impact on all services and ways of working,
the delivery approaches and behaviours, and how to contribute.
30. Above all, the
corporate transformation programme and the agile way of working
must become part of operational delivery, rather than something
that happens corporately. Change will be a core part of the
corporate vision and values and form a part of the organisational
behavioural framework to be developed over the coming months, that
will support delivery of the emerging corporate plans, as agreed
with the lead cabinet members.
31. The interim change
manager and OD specialists will also support the transformation and
programmes team with the transition to becoming a centre of
excellence for project and programme management within the
councils.
Next Steps
32. The following
activities will be completed over the next three months to further
develop the refreshed corporate transformation programme:
·
MVP review of strategic transformation projects,
·
Financial analysis of project expenditure and potential savings
opportunities,
·
Allocation of savings targets to individual projects and impact
reflected in the MTFP,
·
Heads of service engagement to refine the roadmap of key
decisions,
·
Refocus the corporate transformation board as a fixed part of Core
SMT,
·
Engage lead members and hold an all-member briefing to explain the
changes,
·
Develop a change management and communications strategy to relaunch
the, programme and initiate the culture change required to embed an
agile approach.
Financial Implications
33. As noted in paragraph 4
above, both councils’ five-year Medium Term Financial Plans
(MTFPs), as agreed by full Council meetings in February 2024,
include an expectation for ongoing savings of £100,000 per
council per year from 2024/25 to 2028/29 to be delivered.
This is central to the council’s efforts to tackle the
increasing budget gap, which would otherwise have to be met through
changes to service priorities.
34. Council has approved a
budgetary approach where council expenditure needs to remain within
the identified MTFP budgetary envelope. This means that all
non-inflationary cost pressures will need to be managed through the
achievement of additional savings and efficiencies, or reductions
in service priorities, in addition to the ongoing savings of
£100,000 per year identified above.
35. As part of the budget
setting process for 2024/25, the transformation team has been made
contractually permanent. In addition to the budget for the
team’s salaries, there is also £510,999 available at
South and £334,331 at Vale for one-off consultancy or other
work to support transformation, being the remainder of the previous
one-off growth bids for transformation in previous budgets.
36. Other than support
provided by transformation team staff, costs associated with
implementing transformational change (e.g. new systems costs) will
be created as required in line with the councils’ financial
procedure rules.
Legal Implications
37. Any transformational
activity across the Councils is intended to ensure robust discharge
of the Best Value Duty (Local Government Act 1999) under which a
local authority must be able to show it has arrangements to secure
continuous improvement in how it carries out its work.
38. There are no specific
legal implications with this report. As individual
project activities are progressed, legal advice will be sought on
terms of existing contracts, procurement of new systems and
software including approval and preparation of contracts, where
required.
Climate and ecological impact implications
39. A climate impact
assessment has been completed and the implementation of the
refreshed approach to the Corporate Transformation Programme does
not result in a net impact on the environment. A climate
impact assessment will be completed at the outset of each new
project to identify any opportunities to enhance or mitigate any
impact on the environment as required through project delivery. As
far as possible, individual projects will seek to achieve the
councils wider aims around climate and nature recovery.
Equalities implications
40. This report is for
information only and there are no equalities implications.
41. All projects will
recognise the organisational change policy, which forms part of the
councils’ collective agreement with Unison. An equalities
impact assessment will be completed at the outset of each new
project to identify and mitigate any adverse impact on equality of
opportunity across the protected characteristics.
Risks
42. The risk
management process needs to be embedded in the programme to:
·
Enable the councils to make informed decisions throughout the
programme,
·
Support the councils in taking and managing significant risks
whilst successfully delivering transformation,
·
Enhance performance at all
levels of the organisation demonstrating commitment to
continuous improvement, the risk based decision making process will
result in prioritised actions that focus on managing risks and
directing resources to achieve maximum benefits and value for
money,
·
Comply with the corporate governance reporting framework which
stipulates transparent reporting of risks within an environment
where there is sound risk management and internal controls.
Other Implications
43. None
Conclusion
44. The corporate
transformation programme has been refreshed for the next phase of
delivery. Projects will be reviewed with a financial imperative and
the pace of change will increase through swifter, holistic decision
making. Core SMT will form a Corporate Transformation Board and a
Strategic Delivery Monitoring Group will be reestablished to review
strategic decision points and monitor high level progress.
Background Papers
45. Appendix 1:
Project Categories
46. Appendix 2: Strategic
transformation projects
