Penna Consulting : What are the top issues facing local government CEO's?

The MJ in conjunction with Penna recently polled 79 Chief Executives of LGA's on the issues and challenges they face on a day to day basis. This is the third consecutive year that we have engaged with the CEO's Chief Executives to delve into their world and gain insight into the various issues that have been at the forefront of their minds in the past year, and look at solutions that are being put forward to tackle some of these issues.
The survey focused on recording the highs and lows experienced by the various local authorities in the past year as well as what the leaders felt was the best strategy for the immediate future. Unsurprisingly budget and funding uncertainty featured highly amongst the top things that are keeping our CEOs awake at night, this coupled with political pressure and interference came in a close second as role stressors for our Chief Executives. They reported on the struggle to balance their commercial agenda with cabinet and leader's priorities, alongside the added pressure to adhere to central Government requirements. Thirty four percent of Chief Executives also felt that their own roles were amongst some of the most difficult in local government at the moment, followed closely leaders in Children's and Adults Social care. As one respondent put it, 'those with responsibility for Children's Social care can never really rest easy at night'.

Despite the budget pressures on local government, responses to 'what has been good about local government in 2015' were surprisingly, positive and ambitious. Many referenced the wonderful resilience of their employees to succeed within an adverse economic and turbulent context. Much of this success was attributed to staff's determination to embrace the need for innovation in local government. One of the most essential attributes proposed to help maximise engagement with innovative processes in an organisation, was for leaders to agree a far reaching but realistic vision and solidify the importance and accountability for innovation. Local government Chief Executives certainly seem to be on the right path; innovation is being played out not only in service delivery models but in working closely with key public and private sector partners to create new initiatives and develop more integrated services.

When questioned on their view on what the perception of some of the ugly aspects of local government in 2015, many Chief Executives alluded to the perceptions that the media hold and portray of local government. They expressed concerns that their workers on the ground were an easy target for 'media bashing,' coupled with a lack of knowledge around how to deal with emerging trends in social media e.g. personal attacks on various social media platforms.

Still on the issue of social media and the LGA's, the desire to reduce costs and improve efficiencies by taking full advantage of advances in technology, are closely linked to the necessity of understanding and embracing social media for local government. A whole host of benefits stand to be gained if local government can embrace this area. Enhanced attraction, recruitment and retention processes are all up for grabs if local government engages with the various platforms, a crucial step in realising the digital agenda and abolishing the stereotype that government bodies have a poor track record in these areas. Currently only 43% of local government have a social media strategy, leaving great room for improvement in this area. Local government needs to empower and educate their employees on how to deal with negative media perceptions and social media challenges. They need to ensure they have a simple, implementable strategy, which will secure buy-in from across the organisation.

As the smoke from the May 6th elections clear, the devolution agendas up and down the country remain one of the most pertinent issues for CEOs. Devolution and the lack of urgency which it is being pursued with, was listed as one of the most difficult challenges that Chief Executives dealt with in 2015. Unsurprisingly many felt this amplified a growing frustration and lack of communication between central and local government.

Many of the early discussions around devolution have focused on governance as opposed to outcomes. Whilst an off shoot of devolution is the promotion of greater independence, Chief Executives must not lose sight of the necessity of working together in a collective effort to bring about greater outcomes for their areas. Local authority leaders need to work together to redirect the innovative energy within their organisations, to build even greater collaborative relationships with their counterparts who have already been through, and those who are entering into, the intricate world of devolution discussions.

Finally our report touched upon the upcoming referendum and Brexit with an overwhelming 70% of Chief Executives of the belief that leaving the European Union would have a negative impact in their area, however 24% of Chief Executives were still undecided on what leaving the EU may mean for their local communities.
One of the resounding themes from this year's survey was the desire for local government organisations, in their various guises, to understand and celebrate their differences but work together for a common and shared vision. Innovation and creativity must not be restricted to service delivery models. Local governments need to look at new ways of reaching out to each other, find their similarities and work to overcome differences.

To read the full report please e-mail: [e-mail]