Issue - meetings

The Leader of the Council introduced the item and suggested that analysis of the Future Guildford transformation programme was complicated due to the pandemic occurring within the implementation period.  He suggested the difficulty of introducing culture change during a period of remote working.  With reference to the £6-8 million of savings produced by Future Guildford and the difficulties of the pandemic, the Leader of the Council indicated the complexity of assessing the transformation programme.

The Director of Resources advised the meeting that the report submitted to the Committee was intended as the post-implementation review of the core project and the final report on the implementation of the Future Guildford transformation programme.  She summarised the aims of the programme, referred to the information attached as appendices to the report submitted to the Committee, and advised that Future Guildford had ended four months previously with the conclusion of the external consultants’ contract. 

The Director of Resources informed the Committee that aspects of organisational development and training needed to be held face-to-face, rather than remotely.  She indicated that the findings of a recent KPMG internal audit on the governance of Future Guildford had been reported to the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee.  In addition, the Director for Resources indicated to the Committee that a staff survey and customer engagement survey would not be held until operational changes were embedded and a post-pandemic, new normal had arrived.

During the ensuing discussion a number of points and clarifications were made:

·        In reply to a question from a Committee member about identifying issues and concerns, the Director of Resources indicated that there were no plans to do a light-touch survey before holding the staff and customer engagement surveys later in the year. 

·        The Director for Service Delivery confirmed that although there was a focus on advising customers to use other channels to engage with the Council, face-to-face service at the Council’s reception in Millmead remained an option for members of the public.  In reply to further questions and suggestions, the Resources Services Case Manager indicated that improving the ease of use of the Council’s telephone automation service could be reviewed further.

·        In response to a question about significant and continuing cultural resistance to change from some Council staff, the Director of Resources referred to a fear of change and resultant negativity toward Future Guildford by Council staff.  She indicated the benefits of addressing such resistance ahead the changes to working likely to come from the collaboration between Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils.  The Director of Service Delivery indicated that cultural development work with staff had been delayed slightly by the pandemic.

[At this point in the meeting the Lead Councillor for Environment tendered an apology and left.]

·        The Director of Service Delivery confirmed that the Resources Services Case Manager was progressing guidance on the digital and service support for Councillors.

·        A member of the Committee asked for an indication of the timescale for reducing a reported backlog of 2,000 Council Tax cases.  The Director of Resources  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55

The Chairman welcomed the Chief Internal Auditor, the Customer Services and Business Improvement Manager, Dave Mullin from Ignite, and a local Unison representative. 

The Leader of the Council introduced the item and advised the Committee of the progression of Future Guildford.  She indicated that the Future Guildford transformation was the best way to streamline the Council and make the savings necessary.  The Leader of the Council indicated that she had no issues with the progression of Future Guildford.

In response to a question about changes to Executive portfolios to reflect the Future Guildford transformation, the Leader of the Council indicated she would be making an announcement at the next meeting of the Executive.

In reply to questions, the Unison representative advised the meeting that staff reactions to the Future Guildford transformation varied according to the individual concerned.  He indicated that Unison was unable to change the decision to use the Ignite model and had advised its members to engage with the Future Guildford process.  He indicated that the support and training provided for staff undergoing change appeared adequate.  He informed the Committee that most difficulties had occurred around the post-consultation feedback.

The Committee was advised that the results of a staff survey carried out in June 2019 were attached as an appendix to the report submitted to the Committee.  The Committee was informed that the survey results were used to help tailor aspects of the Future Guildford approach.  The meeting was informed that the survey would be repeated in future.

In response to questions about the capacity of the public facing Council services after implementation of Phase B, the Committee was informed that detailed process redesign for Phase B of Future Guildford was ongoing and that the assumptions of the business case were being tested with staff that were subject-matter experts. 

The Chief Internal Auditor confirmed that exit interviews were not compulsory.  The Chairman suggested that the results of any exit interviews might provide useful information for the Committee’s assessment of Future Guildford. 

With reference to the current status of the ICT systems, a member of the Committee questioned whether the implementation of Phase B of Future Guildford was dependent on the CRM software being in place and whether such dependencies had been sufficiently planned for.  In reply, the Chief Internal Auditor indicated that the Phase B and CRM were being progressed in parallel. 

The Chairman and members of the Committee questioned the omission of the issues log from the information within the report submitted to the Committee.  In response to a question about the issues log requested previously by the Committee, the Managing Director referred to the issues presented to the Future Guildford Project Board in January 2020. 

The Chairman and members of the Committee requested a detailed breakdown of the monies spent on contractors to date, and a preference for written examples of business processes that had changed as a result of Phase A of Future Guildford.

The Customer Services and Business Improvement Manager listed examples of business  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48