Spans and layer diagnostic of a high-performing council

The Challenge

Our client, an industry-leading and award-winning Council, operates in a multifaceted environment, fulfilling its vital role in place leadership and delivering key services alongside partners to serve local communities. Amidst dynamic challenges such as the pandemic recovery, climate action, financial uncertainty, the cost of living crisis, and recruitment pressures, the Council sought to realign itself to its corporate strategy while maximising organisational efficiencies. Tricordant was commissioned to address three primary elements:

• Management spans and layers review
• Management cost review
• Pay review to attract and retain talent necessary for achieving their ambitious goals

Our Approach

Working in close collaboration with the Council’s project team and identified Functions for Phase 1, we designed a tailored diagnostic approach to suit the Council’s context and gather essential data. Our approach included:-

• Decision-Making Accountability Review: Assessing clear accountabilities for each role and organisational layer to streamline decision-making processes. E.g. Excessive decision-makers and channels can slow organisational responsiveness by clogging communication pathways.
• Orgvue Analysis: Utilising an organisation design and workforce planning platform to identify potential structural inefficiencies and foster a culture of efficiency
• Pay Benchmarking: Evaluating management pay against industry benchmarks to ensure strategic roles are adequately invested in talent retention and recruitment.
• 12 Tests of Organisation Design Health: Conducting a survey to analyse organisational health in terms of strategic alignment, internal systemic health, and team health, identifying areas for improvement.

The Results

Our comprehensive approach yielded significant data, extending beyond the project’s immediate scope. Collaborating with Council officers and the project team, we identified and validated improvement opportunities valued over £2.5m, which were presented to the Executive team. Contextual data-informed interdependencies between individual Function recommendations and strategic organisational recommendations enable the creation of an integrated set of recommendations to maximise the Council’s performance. Following this success, Tricordant was commissioned to support Phase 2, reviewing the remaining Functions within the Council, thus cementing our ongoing partnership in enhancing organisational efficiency and effectiveness.

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