Hello,
Firstly, I’d like to thank you for helping to make the 29 newly elected members so welcome in their first few weeks in the organisation. I have received lots of positive feedback and in particular my cabinet members and portfolio holders have told me how helpful you’ve been in supporting them in their new roles.
Since the local election we have hit the ground running and the new cabinet has spent time with the corporate directors and wider leadership team focussing on future plans and the direction of the council.
I always prefer to look forward rather than looking back, but sometimes it’s good to remember where you’ve come from in order to keep focused on where you’re heading.
The phrase “we’re on a journey” is often said by businesses and organisations in a period of transition, and whilst I’m not a fan of this phrase, I am a big fan of progress, improvement and moving forward.
To stay still is not an option – and why would we want to?
One of the things that drives me and reminds me of how far we’ve come is our offices – whether at County Hall, Monkton Park or Bourne Hill – we now work in an organisation and environment that is dynamic, progressive and forward-thinking.
We are streets ahead of many other public sector organisations and councils and increasingly I am asked to speak at many events and conferences about the journey we’ve taken and how we have got to where we are.
And what a journey it’s been!
As a trailblazer for local authority reform and progression, it’s sometimes easy to forget how far we’ve come, and that our organisation is only eight years old.
Our working practices – hot desking, mobile and flexible working, in modern open plan offices (or from any number of locations around the county or even further afield) have helped us to deliver millions of pounds of savings while delivering excellent public services.
These working practices are the envy of many - we are still streets ahead of many other authorities who are now coming to us for advice on how to embark upon their own transformation journey.
This week I will be speaking at the Society of Local Council Clerks in Stratford-upon-Avon on devolution from the Wiltshire perspective.
Whilst I’m more than happy to pass on our knowledge and experiences, I’m more interested in where we are heading.
I touched on our new draft business plan in my last blog, and my cabinet and I have done a lot of work to develop this with the leadership team.
Our vision and priorities remain a constant and key to everything we do. The new plan will focus on delivery of these priorities and the next stage of transformation for the organisation. We want to be more business-like and to digitise and commercialise where it’s possible and appropriate, so that we are more efficient, able to provide better services and can meet customer’s expectations.
The plan will be a blueprint for not just the next four years, but for the next decade.
We need to get it right so that we can be an even stronger organisation able to deliver what the people of Wiltshire need – and deserve. The plan will be shared with you to invite comments and ideas and it will go to cabinet this month for further discussion and to agree the way forward.
The next few years will be both challenging and exciting and I’m looking forward to working with all of you. As a team, working together, we can grasp every opportunity, make decisions and deliver actions that will help to make Wiltshire an even better place.
*Since writing my blog, the awful events have occurred in London and our heartfelt thoughts are with all those affected.
Jane
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