I don’t know about you but this week seems to have flown by. Maybe it’s the run up to Christmas and the thought of all the things I still have to do, including putting up decorations and finishing my present shopping!
In work, I’ve been having conversations on a wide range of topics but there are a couple of themes that have been running through all of them – managing change and partnerships.
Change seems to be the one thing that can be guaranteed at the moment but it can be difficult, not everyone enjoys change.
When delivering a project we can often be very focussed on creating the “thing”, a new building, strategy or process but getting a successful outcome relies on much more than that. It requires us to take people with us. This means making sure that people understand why we need to make the change, creating a desire to change (what’s in it for them), providing the knowledge and training of what’s required, creating the right environment so that people are able to make the change (providing the right tools, making sure there is help at hand and that the training is reflected in real life) and reinforcing the change by rewarding or celebrating success.
A really good to remember these steps is using the mnemonic ADKAR
- Awareness of the need for change
- Desire to change
- Knowledge
- Ability
- Reinforcement
Successfully managing change also requires us to work in partnership with others. For me, this week that was working with colleagues from a range of teams across the council, elected members and with leaders from other public sector organisations. All of those relied on the same fundamentals – building trust, listening to one another and working collaboratively towards a shared vision. And this is what is at the heart of our One Council approach.
A big change that the council has recently implemented is our new payroll system. It’s not been without it’s challenges so I want to thank the payroll team who have worked really hard to process back pay for the pay award so that it gets to you before Christmas. Thank you for your hard work, I know people will appreciate having that money in their bank accounts before Christmas.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
