Australia's National Local Government Newspaper Online

Responding to the challenge

The UK Experience by Malcolm Morley *

A survey of young people has recently revealed that the public sector is perceived as offering little in terms of attractiveness as a career path. This perhaps explains why the age profile of employees in Councils in England is increasing.

While there are difficulties in recruiting people at the beginning of their careers in many professional areas there are increasing difficulties for Councils in recruiting and retaining individuals with the skills and experience to contribute to the management/evolution of Councils.

This is evidenced by the fact that approximately half of the Councils in London are currently without a permanent Director of Finance. It is also evidenced by the difficulties in filling senior posts in many parts of the country.

Many Councils have recognised the reality of competition for talent and now offer salaries that make them more competitive in the marketplace. Increasingly they are using technology to help to change perceptions about themselves and to address the challenges of supply, retention, development and organisational culture change.

The Employers Organisation for Local Government (www.lg-employers.gov.uk) is particularly active and has developed free career products such as a web site (www.lgcareers.com) for Local Government careers and the Futureville CD-ROM aimed at 14 to 16 year olds.

In February of this year it worked in partnership with other public sector organisations to launch “Think Jobs… Think Public Sector” which sought to change perceptions about the public sector as a career.

E-recruitment is increasingly being used to change perceptions about Councils and to address the supply issue (see www.lgjobs.com an online jobs board).

Technology is also increasingly being used to ensure that the cost effectiveness of recruitment searches is improved. Retention and development initiatives, in terms of facilitating career/salary progression within Councils and ensuring salaries remain competitive within the marketplace, are often problematic for small Councils.

Increasingly, Councils are recognising this and are working together to create opportunities for sharing staff and costs. Joint working is being recognised as a means to create opportunities to meet both the requirements of Councils and individuals (see www.publicservice-compact.org). Technology is playing a key role in this through data sharing and process improvements.

Organisational culture, in terms of creating the climate within Councils that is open to innovation, recognises individual contribution and creates relationships between Councillors and staff that facilitate organisational performance improvement, is often the key to changing perceptions about Councils, recruitment, retention and development.

Technology is changing the relationships between Councils and the communities that they serve and changing perceptions about the roles and responsiveness of Councils. The 365/24 Council is a reality, innovation is increasing and the organisational culture of Councils is changing as a result. Technology is also changing the access to information for Councillors and the interaction between Councillors and staff.

The challenges being faced by Councils are only capable of being addressed effectively if they have an effective strategy that enables them to recruit, retain and develop their staff within an appropriate organisational culture. Technology is playing an increasingly important part in responding to these challenges.

* Malcolm Morley is Chief Executive of Harlow District Council and can be contacted via the Editor, email info@lgfocus.com.au The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of his employer.

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