Surviving the spending cuts

Against a backdrop of ever-increasing public expectations, UK public services are operating in the toughest financial environment in decades. Local authorities face reduced comprehensive spending review settlements, declining income from paid-for services and more demand for free or subsidised provision.

With localism added to  the equation things get even more complicated. More services will span two or more local organisations. Co-operation between a council and its partners is needed to achieve the best outcome at the lowest cost. Whether it’s commissioning residential care for a vulnerable adult or processing a staff expense claim, local authorities know they must become more efficient in everything they do.

To drive efficiency and performance when faced with these challenges you should consider:

• the impact of change on the organisation, IT, people and processes. also put change in its wider context, for example, apply the HPC model

• using the latest cost reduction techniques along with Business Process Re-engineering and Lean

• focus on cost cutting initiatives – think about effort, cost and the speed of change and the level of third party intervention ‘skills transfer’ you want

• focus on optimising the return from necessary expenditure

• strive to improve on a continuous basis

This will help you:

• develop clear objectives in terms of cash versus non-cashable savings, quality or speed of service improvement 

• bind affected staff into the change so they understand, own, champion and sustain it

• determine the impact of change and assess the use of technology, people, processes and increasingly partners

• manage links across and outside the organisation to make sure that a benefit in one part of the end-to-end process doesn’t create a negative outcome elsewhere

• apply the techniques and approaches that best suit your needs and capabilities.

Our Process Driven Transformation (PDT) approach helped Sheffield City Council, change and improve processes with minimal disruption on time and on budget.

To speak with an expert about how can help you drive efficiency and performance, please contact us now.