More than half of staff surveyed over the biggest shake-up in Angus Council since its inception nearly two decades ago claim they have not been told what the changes mean for them.
A ‘diagonal slice’ employee survey around the Transforming Angus (TA) programme revealed 54.5% of staff questioned disagreed that managers had explained the programme and its implications.
Worryingly for council chiefs, just 10% of those questioned below leadership level agreed with the suggestions that Transforming Angus has changed the culture of the council for the better.
Change programme bosses admit a lot of work still has to be done to get employees to “buy in” to the process.
But they claim the survey findings reported to the council’s scrutiny committee did not reflect an accurate picture since a number of employees questioned were school-based, where the TA programme is considered less relevant.
An overall TA change fund of more than £3 million has been set aside as the authority seeks to deliver rewards in its efforts to transform how the council operates against a backdrop of major financial pressures.
Earlier this year, councillors agreed a £5.6m savings package as Angus seeks to claw back £19m over three years.
The Transforming Angus restructure has generated savings of almost £275,000 8% at chief officer leveland more than £500,000 at localgovernment employee level.
Chief officer posts have remained static at 35 but costs have been cut by having fewer people at the highest grades.
The scrutiny committee reportsaid; “While there has been slippage in some of the areas of the programme there have also been some notablesuccesses and recently the pace ofprogramme activity had increasedsubstantially.
“The Transforming Angus agenda has brought additional pressure, both to those involved with the increased workload and those dealing with potential gaps in service delivery arising.
“It is generally accepted that communication around the programme needs to be improved, especially at levels below the leadership forum.
“Staff need to know what the programme is, what it is intended to achieve, over what timescale and how progress is being made.
“They need to hear of outcomes and hear real stories of change to get their buy in and understanding and to help, where possible, to address any fears for the future.”
Transforming Angus board chairman Councillor Rob Murray said: “This is a huge task but keeping the balance between dealing with the bureaucracy and driving it through is the key thing and my objective is to make sure we get the rewards.”