Commercial Services Group (CSG) is a social values organisation at its heart. Being wholly owned by Kent County Council means the surplus we generate is returned back to the public sector for re-investment into frontline services. We have to date delivered in excess of £50m through the provision of our products and services to the public sector.
But that doesn’t mean that we stop there. One of CSG’s core values is “Make a difference for tomorrow” and we are always looking for ways to do this. As background to what follows, we run our own successful internal Leadership Development Programme and we are proud of the results which have seen participants securing promotions and new roles within CSG. These achievements led to the spark of an idea.
In July 2021 APSE delivered its Local Government Commission 2030 which made stark reading, particularly in the crucial area of the local government workforce. Increasing pressures on funding have led to record low numbers working in local government with austerity leading to a reduction in strategic and policy-making capacity. The evolution of super directorates mean strategic directors are pulled into fire-fighting and many acknowledged the lack of time for strategic reflection and this at the same time as training budgets continue to be cut: Local by Default – APSE Local Government Commission 2030 Report LOCAL GOV.indd (apse.org.uk)
Our idea was what if we could sponsor a version of our Leadership Executive Programme for other local government staff to help bridge that gap? A year later we are almost halfway through with our first cohort, who are all senior leaders in local government and the feedback so far has been amazing. Tackling topics such as personal and organisational resilience, the sessions have been professionally and personally challenging and, at times, emotionally raw for our attendees but the benefits are significant:
“The opportunity for the time away from the frontline has been invaluable to think more strategically and reflectively.”
“It’s great to know that my experiences are not unusual, that I am not on my own. I am already taking action from having attended.”
The training has been developed in conjunction with Professor Griggs, Staffordshire University and one of the key contributors to the APSE report, alongside Karina Rook of Ventures Green a specialist in developing organisational cultures where people and organisations thrive. With guest speakers including other council senior executives and innovative commercial organisations, we believe the programme offers a unique experience. In addition to the academic content that Professor Griggs is providing, he is leading research based on exploring the challenges faced by local government leaders at this time, the conclusions of which will be published next year.
We are proud to have been instrumental in bringing together local government senior executives and giving them time to step outside the day-to-day and reflect on future plans. We will be creating a support network so that our present and future attendees can continue to benefit from their shared experiences.
We are planning the dates for the 2023/24 cohort and are collating expressions of interest, if you are interested in participating please contact Stephen.wilson@csltd.org.uk for more information.
Follow us on Linkedin for more on the findings of our research in 2023.