Doug Maclean Council Of The Future 091009

www.socitmconsulting.co.uk

The Council of the Future™- and how to get there


Key points

• The Council of the Future will be very different from what it istoday

• It has to be – financial pressures will force it, as will customer demands for service

• Challenge or opportunity?


What can you do? Four choices:

• Ignore it – it will go away • Cut costs (and services) – not sustainable• Increase revenues (not practical)• Or do things differently; break with the old ways and do more

for less



What will the Council of the Future look like?

• Smaller, leaner than at present – fewer, smaller buildings• Fewer staff directly employed• Closer to its citizens and communities – really listening• Smarter use of staff resources, smart working• Shared services, partnerships, Total Place, LAA, LSP• Information recognised as the key asset and managed as

such• Lean systems thinking embedded in the organisation


The opportunities

• Re-think systems and processes from scratch• Lean systems – don’t just do things differently, do different

things• Use ICT to support completely new ways of working• Don’t just think of 3-5% savings, think 20-30% or even more• A culture of continuous improvement embedded in the

organisation• Real partnerships – and joined up working a reality


Up to 50% reduction in central office costs

10-20% reduction in central staff costs (HR, accounting, finance, legal, admin, ICT, corporate communications)

5-20% in key service costs – social care, children’s services, housing etc

Up to 90% reduction in transaction costs (for typically 2 – 10 million transactions per annum)

Better customer service, customer satisfaction


The key signs

• No paper! (or very little)• Fewer, smaller office buildings• Manager of services, not necessarily provider• Outsourcing and partnership working the norm, not the

exception • Self-serve internally and externally• Heavy use of ICT to support processes• Information the key asset


Here’s how – the jigsaw

• Key are the culture change and the move to electronic records – enables smart and mobile working, transactional capability of the web, and saves 20% of office space

• Smart working, home working, mobile working and hot desking can release another 30% of accommodation costs

• It’s not enough to fit just some of the pieces – they’re all needed to achieve the final vision and benefits outcomes

• And they all have to be completed – dabbling is not enough (eg ERDMS has to be corporate, not just some services)



Less office space Reduced staff Better service Information- key asset

Resilient Agile, responsive Outcomes measured

Green Joined up services

Better for less


Some questions…..

• Does the council really, really want to change? (if not, don’t start)

• Does it really understand its customer requirements? How?• Is the council’s information recognised as the single most

important resource?• Is the council’s information managed appropriately – secure,

accurate etc


Some questions…..

• Is it clear who “owns” the website? Needs to be corporate –communications and customer service?

• Are customer journeys for each transaction fully understood and customer driven?

• Does the council use shared services and partnerships to best effect?


What are the barriers?

• Fear of the unknown (risk averse)• Uncertainty about the ultimate benefits (show me)• Accepted wisdom on KPIs (measure process, not outcome)• Reluctance to “think out of the box”• Nervousness about significant re-allocation of budget – to

invest in change • Silos, internal politics• Trying to do too much too soon – manageable steps


Thank you!

For more information, contact:

[email protected]

Doug Maclean Council Of The Future 091009

Business

mobile working

smart working shared

home working

office space smart working

processes information

key asset

annumbetter customer

councils information