Full Council
18 April 2012
Agenda Item No______15_______
Senior Management Restructure
Summary:
At the Council meeting of 14 December 2011, Members agreed to
undertake a review of the top management at North Norfolk District
Council, to be undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 comprised a
reformatting of the Corporate Management Team, reducing the
composition from five to three and rebranded as the Corporate
Leadership Team (CLT). This phase was due to be completed by
the end of January.
It was agreed that the second phase would include a
comprehensive review of service management structures which will
reduce the number of direct reports to CLT through a combination
of revised responsibilities, shared or alternative service solutions
and role adjustment. As a consequence there would be a relaunch
of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and a redefining of its role
and purpose to maximise capability and build capacity. This report
updates Members on the second phase of the restructure and
presents a revised senior management structure for the Council
along with new working arrangements.
Conclusions:
The second phase of the management restructure has been
undertaken by the Corporate Leadership Team after consultation
with the Cabinet. Those managers directly impacted by the
proposed changes have each had a one-to-one meeting with the
Chief Executive and subsequently input to a formal consultation
process over a four week period. The Corporate Leadership Team
has reflected upon the responses received through this
consultation process and a response provided to the consultees.
There has been a very positive engagement from the managers to
this process. CLT has also taken external HR advice from the
Head of Employer Services at the East of England Local
Government Association on the proposed selection and
recruitment process.
Recommendations:
That Members endorse the revised management structure as
proposed along with the newly defined senior management roles
and note the process to be followed in respect of recruitment and
retention.
Full Council
18 April 2012
Cabinet member(s): Cllr Helen
Eales, Cllr Keith Johnson
Ward(s) affected: All
Contact Officer, telephone number,
and e-mail: Sheila Oxtoby, Chief
Executive
1.
Introduction
1.1
At the Council meeting of 14 December 2011, Members agreed to undertake a
review of the top management at North Norfolk District Council, to be undertaken in
two phases. Phase 1 comprised a reformatting of the Corporate Management Team,
reducing the composition from five to three and rebranded as the Corporate
Leadership Team (CLT). This phase was due to be completed by the end of
January.
1.2
It was agreed that the second phase would comprise the following components and
be completed by the end of July 2012.
•
•
•
•
1.3
A comprehensive review of service management structures which will reduce the
number of direct reports to CLT through a combination of revised responsibilities,
shared or alternative service solutions and role adjustment.
A relaunch of SMT and a redefining of its role and purpose to maximise capability
and build capacity.
Clarification on joint-working with other Councils.
The implementation of a phased delivery plan to achieve the above, linked to the
roll out of the new corporate plan for 2011/12-2015.
The first stage of the review was completed by a formal recruitment and selection
process and the new Corporate Leadership Team in situ by 1 February 2012. One of
the priorities for the new team has been the review and implementation of the senior
management structure. To inform this process, however, it was necessary for the
CLT to be clear about its role in providing leadership to the organisation and in
setting out our expectations for future ways of working. This formed part of our
consultation and along with the Corporate Plan priorities informed the
recommendations on structural change.
2.
Consultation Documentation
2.1
A consultation document was released on 23 February which explained how the
new CLT arrangements would work in practice, our aspirations and ambitions for the
organisation linked to the corporate priorities as defined within the Corporate Plan,
and together how these have shaped our proposals for the senior management
structure. This document was shared with all staff and Members and has been
available for viewing on the Intranet since February.
2.2
The consultation document outlines the values and improvement themes as
identified by the Corporate Leadership Team which have informed our thinking on
service groupings. We have also in this document identified a set of standards and
competences which will be required of the new senior management team.
Full Council
18 April 2012
3.
Consultation Process
3.1
Whilst the consultation was ringfenced to those senior managers directly
affected by the changes, the Corporate Leadership Team were acutely aware
that the proposed changes impact the whole organisation and therefore all of the
documentation has been shared and been available for view on the Intranet by
all staff. The Chief Executive has attended all team briefings during this period to
answer questions and share with staff the restructuring proposals as well as to
gain an insight into the work of each of the teams. The consultation was
extended to include team responses and a staff response from UNISON which
included a dedicated meeting to respond to questions.
3.2
The CLT received ten responses, seven of which were from the senior management
cohort and one from UNISON. The CLT has considered all of the responses and are
grateful to the time taken in shaping our proposal and the final proposed structure. This
is attached at Appendix 1.
3.3
The final structure reduces the current service management cohort from fourteen
to eight with service groupings being managed by a new Head of Service role.
The proposal has been developed in accordance with the following principles:
3.4
•
Reduction in the size of the management cohort to work with the Corporate
Leadership Team with some cost reduction
•
Capacity and skills complement the organisational themes and working
arrangements/style as identified by the CLT
•
Service groupings reflect the ambitions and priorities of the Council both in
delivering the Corporate Plan and shifting the organisational culture to better
respond to these priorities.
•
Effective management of service delivery with a better balance of management
and leadership skills as opposed to technical or professional skills
•
Succession planning and career development opportunities identified
•
Enables a mixed economy with a ‘soft’ client and contractor split to allow
partnerships to flourish in their own right whilst protecting the organisation
•
Allows for further shared management opportunities to be explored but retains
the integrity as an independent solution for North Norfolk DC
Following the consultation process some changes to service groupings have been made
from that originally proposed, although the number of Service Heads has remained the
same. There are also three main functions which have not yet been finalised and are
therefore subject to further review and change;
Full Council
18 April 2012
•
Enforcement – the Council’s approach to enforcement is being reviewed during
2012 and this work will be lead by one of the Directors. Subject to the outcome of
this work there may be further changes to reporting lines whilst we explore the
culture, activity levels and impact of enforcement across the Council.
•
Office management – under the new working arrangements and with the
prospect of new technology the role of the Personal Assistants and Democratic
service support across the organisation is to be reviewed. This will include a
review of business processes as well as workloads and responsibilities. This
work has already commenced and may potentially lead to structural change.
•
The role of the most senior media officer which requires regular contact with the
Corporate Leadership Team and Members.
3.5
Members will be advised as to the outcome of these reviews and any further changes
which emerge as a consequence.
4.
Selection and Recruitment Process
4.1
A set of frequently asked questions have been prepared for managers to explain the
next stage of the process. Wherever possible, in line with our current HR policies,
compulsory redundancy will be avoided. However as the Heads of Service roles are all
effectively new jobs each role will be advertised, initially this will be internal to the
organisation only and ringfenced to existing members of SMT. A draft generic job
description and person specification is attached at Appendix 2.
4.2
Once the roles are advertised each manager will be asked to express a preference for
the role(s) which they are interested in being considered for. Once all applications have
been received there will be an initial matching and slotting process. This will only take
place where there is only one applicant for the role and that applicant meets 100% of the
person specification and 70% of the new job description. Being offered the new role will
however still remain subject to an interview. The interview will ensure that the
assessment is correct and will give both the appointing manager and the applicant an
opportunity to discuss the expectations of the role and to confirm their suitability. This is
also an opportunity to reinforce the behavioural expectations from the new team.
4.3
Where there is more than one applicant for a particular role there may be a need to
undertake a competitive interview. If no-one from the current senior management team is
suitable for a role then the post will be opened to the rest of the organisation at the same
time as testing the external market.
4.4.
The statutory responsibilities relating to the Chief Finance Officer, often referred to as
the s151 Officer and the Monitoring Officer will be appointed under a separate and
distinct contract once the appointments have been made.
This enables such
responsibilities to be reallocated as part of any future restructuring. The statutory
appointments will be made by Council at its May meeting.
5.
Financial Implications
5.1
The financial impact of the changes has not been costed as this will be dependant upon
the appointment process and the team structures that are adopted under the newly
appointed Head of Service. It is important that the Council does not lose capacity as a
consequence of the changes particularly given the changes that have already taken
place with the CLT restructure. It was originally envisaged that the management
restructure would deliver ongoing revenue savings of at least £150,000 per annum and it
is assumed that this is the minimum level of saving and that this figure will be exceeded.
Full Council
18 April 2012
6.
Equality and Diversity
6.1
The processes being followed are designed to ensure that there are no equality and
diversity issues that would place the Council at risk of challenge and/or create unequal
opportunities for those affected by the changes.
7.
Conclusions
7.1
The managers have made a real and important contribution to the proposed
new structure and it is imperative now that this is progressed as quickly as
possible. Provisional dates have been circulated for the appointment process
which covers the first two weeks in May. Members will be immediately notified of
the outcome of this stage of the process, and if there is a need to advertise any
posts externally which obviously will elongate the process and uncertainty for
those teams affected.
7.2
The financial implications of the changes will be reported back to Members once
the final structure is in place. As we are seeking to avoid compulsory
redundancies, Council are asked to endorse a level of flexibility around service
groupings once the recruitment process is underway.