We know that many of you have a lot of questions about the Shropshire Plan, and how we’re working together to transform the council. You want answers, and rightly so. This is where we’ll answer as many of your questions as possible on as many different topics as possible.
Find out if your question has already been answered from the following. Please note that this is a sample of the questions that have been asked, and not a complete collection.
We change lives for the better. We're the difference that makes a difference to 343,000 people...now we need to change to benefit everyone.
Latest questions
When I need to speak to someone outside my team can it just sometimes be the same day and not by correspondence or a meeting in a months time?
Please refer to ‘Getting it Right’ guide LINK, Getting Leadership Right programme (buddy groups), and the new Strategic Planning and the Performance Management Framework, which help to define, communicate and embed more strategic planning across all levels of the council through effective delivery, service and team planning focused on delivering the council’s priorities and their tangible impacts.
It feels like there is no grass roots succession planning. I’m on a second career & working for nigh on minimum wage many years after leaving a really good private sector job. Where is my future?
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM HR projects include the development of an ‘Apprenticeship First’ approach across the organisation to ‘grow our own’ with defined career pathways. The programme also includes a talent management strategy/academy to fill a future pipeline of talent to a high standard and to identify and retain talent, with clear career pathways in place.
Will there be a recruitment drive for staff? If so, how is this going to be done and what can Shropshire offer to encourage more high level and wider-skilled staff?
The high costs associated with staff turnover are recognised. As part of our ‘Getting it Right’ work, a project called ‘Shop Window’ is underway to tackle the causes and costs of staff turnover. The project aims to improve recruitment and increase retention.
All Questions
Are resources support or control? Serious question.
They need to be both – too often resources have in recent years been a barrier because they don’t have the capacity or skills to allow services to change, or we have processes that make it very difficult for us. This is what we need to change, and for support services to be more efficient.
Are we looking to outsource anything in the next year or so as a part of this?
No, we have no plans to outsource any services.
At the launch you talked about The Shropshire Plan not being a typical Corporate Plan, and about how you had listened and learned from previous mistakes, but you didn't explain how this plan was different, how it was going to be implemented and how it was going to succeed where other plans had failed. Can you explain how the plan is different to other Corporate Plans, how it will be implemented and how you will ensure and measure success please?
The approach we're taking is unlike anything this council has done before and aims to emphasise how we're doing things differently.
Firstly, we're investing time ensuring that everybody understands the central role and the part they have in the Shropshire Plan.
Next, we're investing in changing how anyone in a position of leadership in the organisation approaches challenges to makes us better prepared, more confident in what we have to achieve and clear in their task as leaders. This is our Getting Leadership Right programme.
We're also investing in our transformation partner PwC to help make the changes we must make, while also building our own skills and capacity.
We've set up a new service planning process.
With the government signalling tough public services cuts, what impact will that have on services across the council? Could the plan and investment have to change?
An update on the Shropshire Plan went to cabinet in February 2023. This shows that the plan needs to continue to adapt as we learn more, but fundamentally we remain committed to the outcomes of the plan.
Despite a 'grow your own' policy, we do lose staff to other LAs because they pay more, and people choose LAs other than SC because they pay more. I've been part of discussions with exiting staff, and staff we've tried to recruit who have successfully applied, both of whom have chosen to work elsewhere because of pay. If you're listening to staff, this is as a key message and it has an evidence base.
The high costs associated with staff turnover are recognised. As part of our ‘Getting it Right’ work, a project called ‘Shop Window’ is underway to tackle the causes and costs of staff turnover. The project aims to improve recruitment and increase retention.
Do you think you know the skill mix of staff? How will you harness this?
The new PDP process is designed to be an opportunity for everyone who works for the council to talk with their manager about how they feel they're performing, what can be done to make their work more fulfilling, and to create opportunities for people to explore and develop new areas and skills.
Does the new plan allow for efficient decision making and staff succession. Key knowledge is being lost.
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM, HR improvement projects include initiatives focused on recruiting, onboarding and retaining the best talent possible.
This features the development of an ‘Apprenticeship First’ approach across the organisation to ‘grow our own’, with defined career pathways and the development of a talent management strategy / academy to fill the future pipeline of talent to a high standard.
Getting it Right suggests long standing staff are not already doing that or are not working hard enough or doing their job properly. What would your response be to that?
This is about us ‘getting it right’ for the future. We face huge challenges in terms of demands for services and budgets and ‘getting it right’ is about developing and adapting our approaches to support and build the Shropshire Council of the future.
This includes how and where we work; how we can maximise our use technology to do our jobs; how we engage with our customers and how we capture and use data and intelligence to inform service decisions, as well as have the right machinery in place to support services to focus on what they do best.
How are you go in going to manage people out of the organisation that don't want to get on board?
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM, a new PDP process is now underway. Your manager will be organising a meaningful and productive development conversations that will result in high performing, accountable and motivated employees.
This has formed an important part of our Getting Leadership Right Programme, and we're sure this will be quite different from what you may have experienced with Shropshire Council before.
How do individual service plans fit into the overall Shropshire Plan?
Service plans should make the link between Shropshire Plan objectives and practical activity and outcomes on the ground.
How will the plan be reviewed and when, to identify if its working and achieving the outcomes?
The plan is constantly evolving. There are plans to move to a suite of performance dashboards that track service delivery, savings and Shropshire Plan outcomes.
How will the resources be provided to fulfil the plan if there is projected to be a financial shortfall in coming years?
The focus for us now must be to put in place those actions that have already been identified to help us change how we do things and be more efficient. We'll be working very closely with our transformation partner PwC on the resources we need to put in place to achieve this.
We recognise that many services feel the ‘machinery’ is currently not in place to support them. We want to change that and will be investing in creating the right machinery and support to do so, and deliver on key priorities in the Shropshire Plan and help make service more efficient
How will you be able to invest to do things differently when we have such significant spending reductions to achieve at the same time? Where is the money for that investment going to come from?
Many of the spending reductions will come from doing things differently, and there’s a recognition that we have to invest upfront to achieve this because much of it is about getting the machinery right to support you to make the changes that we must make.
How will you be balancing the demands of repairing roads with meeting the needs of residents - adults and children when finances are so challenging?
Social care accounts for around three quarters of our net budget, and as a result much of our transformation efforts will focus on understanding and reducing demand and costs for these services through early intervention. This should help ensure that funding for other equally important services is available.
I have tried to get info on developing my career and I am still waiting, its lucky I love my position but a faster response makes you feel like the council is listening.
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM HR projects include the development of an ‘Apprenticeship First’ approach across the organisation to ‘grow our own’ with defined career pathways.
The programme also includes a talent management strategy/ academy to fill a future pipeline of talent to a high standard and to identify and retain talent, with clear career pathways in place.
It feels like there is no grass roots succession planning. I’m on a second career & working for nigh on minimum wage many years after leaving a really good private sector job. Where is my future?
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM HR projects include the development of an ‘Apprenticeship First’ approach across the organisation to ‘grow our own’ with defined career pathways. The programme also includes a talent management strategy/academy to fill a future pipeline of talent to a high standard and to identify and retain talent, with clear career pathways in place.
If we're in a financial crisis as an organisation how do we resource and recruit professionals when we can't match or get near market salaries?
The high costs associated with staff turnover are recognised. As part of our ‘Getting it Right’ work, a project called ‘Shop Window’ is underway to tackle the causes and costs of staff turnover. The project aims to improve recruitment and increase retention.
In the Shropshire Plan you talk about investing in resources. Does this include training? I'm desperate to continue my studies so that I can progress within Shropshire Council. I've tried for several years to be able to continue my studies but unfortunately nothing has ever prevailed. I have many working years left to give and I'd like them to be with Shropshire Council.
A key part of how we transform will be ensure that we use the resources we have as best we can, and our employees are a key part of that resources.
A key plank of this will be our new personal development plan process, which every employee should participate in with their line manager on a regular basis. This will help to identify how people want to develop their skills and potential and how we can encourage this.
It's naive to assume everyone is an asset - how are you going my to deal with the blockers?
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM, a new PDP process is now underway. Your manager will be organising a meaningful and productive development conversations that will result in high performing, accountable and motivated employees.
This has formed an important part of our Getting Leadership Right Programme, and we're sure this will be quite different from what you may have experienced with Shropshire Council before.
Morale, productivity and outcomes were at an all-time high at the start of the pandemic. This came from great partnerships and working towards a common goal. How do we maintain that energy?
Absolutely agree. We now need to see the Shropshire Plan in a similar context and rekindle that same spirit of working together, and an unwavering focus on delivering the plan.
Should we still be focusing on vanity projects - new office, North West Relief Road, new swimming baths - are these still priorities?
These are key projects for the council.
For example a new swimming pool for Whitchurch where there is currently no pool is absolutely linked to the Shropshire Plan and a healthy population.
The NWRR will be key for a healthy economy and enable more sustainable transport in Shrewsbury, and we remain fully committed to leaving Shirehall.
Sometimes an organisation has to spend money and invest to save money and deliver a better service, however when proactive recommendations are made, officers are told the council can't afford it.
Transformation funding is available where timely return on investment can be demonstrated. Any business case for funding will need to demonstrate that changes to services can help to deliver the Shropshire Plan outcomes and/or the MTFS savings targets.
The plan and all ideas look promising. Is the pace of change manageable deliverable and won't burn out all the staff?
PwC will help us bring skills and capacity to support change. We're also seeing a number of new roles created, for example in the Office of the Chief Executive, to help drive that change.
We're also investing in 275 of our leaders right across the council to manage the changes required more effectively.
There isn't enough commissioning focus on mental health, causing homelessness and extended hospital stays - when will this change?
Transformation efforts include an increased focus on early intervention and prevention work that should help more citizens avoid crisis situations.
This all sounds very lovely, but how are we going to make it happen with no money?
Working with our transformation partner we'll be focus on a number of key projects that will support delivery of the Shropshire Plan while helping us to deliver the £51m spending reductions we must find this year.
We have to invest in Getting Things Right and the support to enable services to do this.
This just seems like more priorities and more work, at a time when we're already busy and tired.
Our 'strategic partner' PwC will bring capacity, capability and best practice ideas to help us deliver the plan.
Working together, our focus needs to be on making our processes and procedures as effective as possible, removing unnecessary activity and looking at things such as digitisation and automation to reduce pressure on staff.
We hear we have large scale financial challenges, how much of a concern should this be to us?
Yes we face a major financial challenge like many other councils, but we have a very clear plan of how we will achieve this. However we must ensure that we deliver on the spending reductions and efficiencies identified in The Shropshire Plan, and that we do so at pace.
What is the Shropshire Plan? Where can we access it?
If you haven’t seen it the plan is available on the council website.
We also have this Shropshire Plan intranet site and other communications activities to help bring this alive for all colleagues, and to help ensure that people can see the role they have and the part they can play in delivering the plan.
We hear about resources and fitting with the plan, there will be staff here today wondering what that may mean for them and their current roles? What is the timeline for sharing service plans wider?
All services are charged with creating annual service plans.
We expect all services to discuss their service plans with teams, and this will feed into new processes which will make us all focus on what our services, our teams and us as individuals need to do to focus on the Shropshire Plan.
When I need to speak to someone outside my team can it just sometimes be the same day and not by correspondence or a meeting in a months time?
Please refer to ‘Getting it Right’ guide LINK, Getting Leadership Right programme (buddy groups), and the new Strategic Planning and the Performance Management Framework, which help to define, communicate and embed more strategic planning across all levels of the council through effective delivery, service and team planning focused on delivering the council’s priorities and their tangible impacts.
When will we hear more about this Target Operating Model that's being spoken about?
As part of our communications we'll increasingly be referring to projects that form part of the Target Operating Model and those that are being prioritised because of the savings that they can help us to achieve. For example Stepping Stones and reducing temporary B&B accommodation are both 'TOM' projects.
When will we know how and when the machinery that Andy refers to will change?
PwC’s role is to help us review and improve our machinery, bringing best practice from other areas and working with staff and citizens to co-design improvements.
Will cabinet make the difficult decisions to avoid making cuts to services and just ‘salami slice’ like we have always done?
This is all about delivering on the priorities in the Shropshire Plan and ensuring that the funding follows and is allocated to those priorities. Most of the £51m spending reductions we have to make will be delivered through efficiencies.
Will more resources be put in areas that are clearly struggling to provide their service? Also, services that have been outsourced and really not providing either value for money or if these are failing is there any thought being given to bringing them back in house?
Any decisions need to be evidenced based. If we can demonstrate that changes to services can help deliver the Shropshire Plan outcomes and/or the MTFS savings targets, transformation ideas will be considered.
Will performance reviews and appraisals be reinstated for staff? I have been here for six years and am keen to develop but have never had an appraisal or career conversation.
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM, a new PDP process is now underway. Your manager will be organising a meaningful and productive development conversations that will result in high performing, accountable and motivated employees.
This has formed an important part of our Getting Leadership Right Programme, and we're sure this will be quite different from what you may have experienced with Shropshire Council before.
Will the Shropshire plan offer staff more development opportunities both within their and other roles?
As part of the ‘Getting it Right’ TOM, HR improvement projects include initiatives focused on recruiting, onboarding and retaining the best talent possible. This features the development of an ‘Apprenticeship First’ approach across the organisation to ‘grow our own’, with defined career pathways and the development of a talent management strategy / academy to fill the future pipeline of talent to a high standard.
Our new PDP process should also help you to work out with your manager development opportunities at all levels of the organisation to ensure we are all feeling fulfilled in our jobs.
Will there be a recruitment drive for staff? If so, how is this going to be done and what can Shropshire offer to encourage more high level and wider-skilled staff?
The high costs associated with staff turnover are recognised. As part of our ‘Getting it Right’ work, a project called ‘Shop Window’ is underway to tackle the causes and costs of staff turnover. The project aims to improve recruitment and increase retention.
What is the expectation on staff now? What are we expected to do to implement the plan exactly? Will it change our BAU, which a lot of staff are struggling to do? The intranet doesn't hold delivery plans, which I assume will have more of the detail in - should these be in place now that the plan has been launched? What is the expected timeline of the plan? We need to meet all objectives by 2025. Will we receive more detail about the resourcing requirements for delivering the plan?
All teams have been asked to write services plans that align with The Shropshire Plan and our priorities. This should then flow down to team and individual level and be reinforced through things that focus on what you and your team are doing to support the priorities.
We fully expect some BAU to change as we transform and make some services more efficient.
With the current financial situation, is there a future for the council's plan or will there be further adjustments to the plan?
An update on the Shropshire Plan went to cabinet in February 2023. This shows that the plan needs to continue to adapt as we learn more, but fundamentally we remain committed to the outcomes of the plan.
You talk about not doing what we shouldn't be doing - are there clear plans for particular things we'll stop doing, and if so what are they?
We need to shift the narrative away from ‘stopping’ things to ‘doing things differently’. Services need to be reviewing what they provide and which elements of this are valued most by the end user. We then need to look to design processes that deliver this as effectively as possible and stop doing things that the end user doesn’t value.