Fit for the Future
Fit for the Future
Change and responding to emerging need has been a fundamental part of what the council has done since our inception in 1974, it is part of our DNA.
We have risen to the recent challenges of COVID and the cost of living crisis but it becomes increasingly obvious that volatility and complexity are increasing and this is both a risk and an opportunity. As a sector we will need to respond to this in new and innovative ways to ensure that we can keep delivering for our residents and businesses. The demand on our services is increasing and those who seek our help often have complex needs requiring appropriate responses. We must find a way to ensure that public services can be delivered in a sustainable way with the resources that are available to us.
What we heard from our residents, communities, businesses, members and stakeholders:
- The importance of helping people to help themselves and have less reliance on Council services.
- The need to use technology more widely to support delivery of services.
- The need to work in partnership and share services to add resilience and reduce costs.
- The need to use council buildings and land to generate additional income.
- The importance of being more efficient in managing council funds.
- They are least accepting of reducing spend on frontline services or introducing charges or increasing council tax to generate additional income to spend on services.
To be able to deliver the priorities set out in this strategy, we need to rethink how we work and how we deliver and we must have financial sustainability to continue delivering. We can’t do this alone; we will need to work with and closely align with our partners across the Essex and beyond. As an organisation we need to build our flexibility, resilience and collaboration. We need to foster innovation and appropriate risk-taking to be able to do things differently.
This will include:
- Using the opportunities that new technology offers us to improve services, remove demand and reduce costs.
- Working more closely with our partner organisations in Essex and beyond to share resources, assets and information to deliver better outcomes for our residents and businesses.
- Becoming an organisation that can flex and be responsive to changes as the volatility in our world continues.
- Finding new ways of delivering which allow us to meet the needs of our residents and businesses while continuing to be financially resilient as demand increases due to demographical and other changes.
- Understanding and putting plans into place for the skills our workforce will need in the future.
- Making sure that we continue to be an employer of choice, offering fulfilling and rewarding careers for our people.
How will we measure success?
We will ensure accountability for our performance against these priorities through the development of Annual Plans. These will be regularly refreshed to reflect completed work and the development of new approaches informed by ongoing engagement with partners and residents.
In reporting on our progress and achievements, we will maintain transparency by clearly outlining what we can be held accountable for and where we will be working in a more enabling and influencing role with residents, business and our partners. Additionally, we will set out how we will measure success, even in areas where we have ambitious goals but limited control over the results.
Performance against our priorities will be reported quarterly to Cabinet providing detail of progress made against outcomes and performance of operational performance indicators against targets, providing commentary where issues arise to show steps being taken.
Underneath our Annual Plan sit individual business plans for each service. The purpose of these service-specific business plans is to provide a detailed roadmap for how each service will contribute to the overall goals and objectives of the organisation. They outline the key actions, projects and initiatives that will be undertaken by each service to support the delivery of the Annual Plan and the Corporate Strategy. They will also establish clear targets, timelines and performance indicators that will be used to monitor progress and measure success.
Regular monitoring and reporting on these business plans enable us to track progress, identify any challenges, or gaps and make adjustments as needed. It also allows for transparency and communication across the organisation, as well as accountability for the delivery of the Annual Plan and the Corporate Strategy.