A look back at what you've achieved in 2017

Christmas is now only a week away and I know I say this every year – but, where has 2017 gone? 

It has totally flown by. As well as a busy year in Wiltshire and the House of Lords, I’ve spent some time on the independent taskforce set up following the Grenfell Tower fire, which has been both emotional and enlightening.  Like many of you, I can honestly say that I’m looking forward to recharging my batteries and indulging in some family time.

Looking back at 2017 it really has been another year of delivery and achievement and that’s down to all of you. We are an organisation that delivers, even in the most challenging of times. As I said in my last blog our success is our people. 

It’s sometimes hard to reflect and remember all the highlights of the past 12 months; particularly as life moves forward at such a pace, but for me this year has been about the election of a new council – publishing a forward thinking 10 year business plan that stays true to our vision and priorities – and, it’s been about appointing a new leadership team to manage and drive the delivery of our ambitions and plans. 

In a climate when we hear that so many councils across the country are stopping services, I am so pleased that we are an exception and that we continue to invest, This year we opened state of the art community facilities across the county with others underway due for completion in 2018 and beyond – and, we’ve improved the roads and we’re helping to regenerate Salisbury City and other market towns, continually improving the local economy and the place we live and work in.

Next year for me will be a year of opportunity. It’s the time that we push forward our digital agenda and we become even more business-like and grasp commercialism so that we can generate more income in ways that we haven’t tried previously. To protect our front services – particularly for those most vulnerable – we have to try new and different things. That’s what we’re good at – we embrace change and we take risks – we will make the most of every opportunity that we can.

On behalf of my deputy John and all the cabinet members, I would like to say a very big thank you for everything you have done for Wiltshire this year. We are all appreciative and proud of your hard work and continued commitment to making our county even better.

Whatever your plans are over the festive period, please have a well-earned break and my special thanks goes to those of you who will be working, or on call, during this time so that our services can continue. 

Finally, may I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Jane 

Positive recognition from our peers

I am often asked what makes a good organisation great. It’s an interesting question and one which I have had the opportunity to consider as I gain an insight into how other authorities carry out their business. One thing I’ve realised is that it’s often easier to find fault and be a critic than it is to highlight the positives. In most cases when looking at others and how they do things, you can find examples of good practice – but, what defines good, and when does good become great?

In my view and experience – achieving great comes down to one overriding factor – people.

Its people with energy, vision, passion and those who care that make an organisation stand out from the others and deliver great outcomes.

The recent staff engagement forums and peer review visit brought this home to me and reaffirmed just how great this council is.

The video, shown at the forums, which looked back at the past twelve months featuring our vast range of achievements was both inspirational and overwhelming, highlighting the scale and diversity of what we do and what we deliver.

This film, combined with the recognition Achieving Excellence awards video, demonstrated that being great is without doubt about people.

All the individuals and teams nominated for an award and those who received one are undeniably exceptional – and, to have their work recognised by their peers is surely the greatest accolade.

It was, therefore, so good to receive positive recognition from the external peers following their recent visit to look at how we do things in Wiltshire.  The peers who come from different local authorities with a wide range of skills and experience spent around 260 hours assessing us.

Their full findings will be published in due course, but I can reveal that they found us to have strong leadership, a clear direction, and an ambitious business plan. But, most importantly, they stated that we have a great team and that you said this a great place to work, where you feel valued.

For me, this is what makes us great – the people that work here and go over and above every day to improve the lives of people in Wiltshire.

In our busy day to day work we can overlook what we’ve achieved and how far we’ve come. It’s only when others visit us and are wowed by the buildings, the staff, the attitude and the enthusiasm to continually improve and do things in new and different ways, do we realise just how good – or should I say how great – we really are.

We are often invited to share our experiences and learning with others. Recently I was asked to discuss our unitary journey on Gloucestershire radio. To us it’s a journey that we completed almost a decade ago - but for others it’s just the start of their journey to change and improve their offer. We have got used to welcoming visiting authorities to talk through what and how we do things, so that they can take away our insight and expertise and use this to instigate their own change – the change that we now take for granted.

We are highly regarded as a vanguard council, and we’ve worked hard for this endorsement. Our continual quest for quality, for improvement, and for ways to do things even better is what’s at our core and what defines us.

I am extremely proud to be the leader of Wiltshire Council and my pride is in all of you – the people that make our organisation what it is. Thank you for what you do and for making Wiltshire a better place – you are truly great!

Jane