Achieving local government business excellence

- Written by June Shine, Executive Manager at Port Stephens Council.

Local government CEOs from across Australia describe within this article how they have successfully embarked upon a process for achieving business excellence within their organisations.

The CEOs, such as Wodonga City Council’s Peter Marshall and Hobart City Council General Manager Brent Armstrong, discuss within the article how councils can commence a process that will cultivate a culture of business excellence in their organisations.

The CEOs also describe how they have each worked to develop a business excellence culture and the benefits this has delivered for their councils, such as increased efficiencies, improved standards of service and better adaptability to communities’ changing needs.

The CEOs are members of the Australian Local Government Business Excellence Network (LGBEN), and have all “signed on” to implementing an internationally-recognised model for achieving business excellence – known as the Australian Business Excellence Framework.

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Mosman details how it set the benchmark for management planning

- Featuring a special interview with Mosman Council General Manger Viv May

Mosman Council's ground-breaking development of a highly integrated, strategic management planning system that set the benchmark for the design of local government management plans is detailed in this edition of 'Council Manager' magazine.

Given Mosman was one of the first councils to introduce a sophisticated, whole-of-organisation strategic management plan, its experience in implementing and developing such a system over time provides valuable knowledge for the many councils that have only relatively recently embarked on such a process.

The article contains an interview with Mosman's long-serving General Manager, Viv May, who reveals the steps Mosman took to introduce and improve its management plan, as well as the benefits the plan has delivered, such as giving staff common strategic goals, boosting workplace efficiency and improving the coordination of the council's internal operations.

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Integrating sustainability into strategic planning

- Written by Ross Kingsley, Penrith City Council’s Corporate Development Manager

This article describes how Penrith City Council has broken new ground in local government management planning by incorporating sustainability principles into its strategic planning.

The council has introduced a radical new model for its management plan that effectively marries strategic planning and sustainability principles with the operational requirements of the city’s service delivery responsibilities.

The integration of sustainability principles into the council’s strategic planning process has enabled Penrith to ensure that its organisation and community are heading towards a sustainable future.

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CEO remuneration trends analysed

Emerging trends in the level of remuneration and structuring of local government CEO and General Managers’ contracts are analysed in this edition of Council Manager.

The article contains the latest statistics on remuneration levels as well as feedback from recruitment specialists and councils about current trends in salary levels, contract length and the increasingly sophisticated integration of performance review processes into CEO contracts.

This article also analyses the differences in the remuneration packages of metropolitan, regional and rural local government CEOs, describes recent trends in the average level of remuneration paid to each category of CEO, and provides expert commentary on CEO remuneration trends likely to occur in the future.

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Holroyd develops best practice OH&S system

- Article contributed by Holroyd City Council

Holroyd City Council has set the benchmark for local government OH&S systems, and in this article details how it has implemented processes that have sharply reduced workplace injuries and cut the council’s insurance premiums.

Holroyd’s OH&S system has also led to an improved safety culture within its workforce and ensured the organisation is more compliant with workplace safety regulations.

This article details how the council developed its best practice OH&S system, a journey that included reviewing existing workplace safety practices and cultivating support from staff for the development and implementation of the new safety system.

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Wanneroo develops a highly skilled workforce

- Written by Martine Baker, the City of Wanneroo’s Coordinator Organisational Development

WA’s City of Wanneroo is providing a comprehensive suite of training courses for its staff in an effort to foster a best practice learning environment within its organisation and generate improved staff recruitment and retention.

This article details how Wanneroo’s commitment to providing high-quality training and development courses for its staff have enabled the council to create a highly skilled and flexible workforce.

One of the key elements of the city’s success has been its efforts to customise training courses to the needs of its staff in partnership with local training organisations.

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Shepparton develops best practice customer service culture

- Written by Helen Tricarico, the City of Greater Shepparton’s Information Services Coordinator

In this article, the City of Greater Shepparton describes how it has developed a best practice customer service culture within its workforce.

The council developed a new Customer Service Plan and rolled out training workshops for its employees that were designed to educate staff on the new customer service standards they needed to meet and the processes to be used for achieving the standards.

By enshrining an organisation-wide “commitment” to best practice customer service, the council is aiming to boost service standards and embed a customer service culture among its 780 staff members.

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Best practice strategic and operational planning for small councils

- Written by Sue Johnson, Narrandera Shire’s Director Strategic Planning and Organisational Development

Narrandera Shire reveals within this article how regional municipalities such as itself can reap the benefits of strategic and operational planning despite their relatively smaller budgets.

The article details how Narrandera implemented a process of organisational change that included the development of strategic planning and operational planning processes that improved the organisation’s productivity and ability to forward plan.

The shire shares how it implemented successful tactics for driving the development of its strategic and operational plans, how its strategic plan is linked to staff performance, and how it has ensured its organisation remains focused on achieving the goals identified within its strategic plan.

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Improving council energy management

- Article written by the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters

South Australia ’s City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters has developed a sophisticated program through which the council has invested in a suite of energy efficiency measures that have reduced the city’s electricity costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Within this article, the council details how its Corporate Energy Management Project saw the development of a flexible approach to lowering the organisation’s energy consumption involving processes that were tailored to the council’s needs.

The project is seeing the council achieve ongoing annual savings of $40,000 on its electricity bill.

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How local government’s use of internal auditing should be improved

- Written by Jeff Simpson, Internal Auditor of Wyong Shire and Secretary of the NSW branch of The Institute of Internal Auditors

Within this article, Mr Simpson describes how local government’s use of internal auditing must be improved if councils are to overcome their increasingly complex risk environment and funding pressures.

Mr Simpson describes how increased and better use of internal auditing within councils can strengthen governance standards and allow council CEOs and General Managers to better gauge whether their council’s internal performance in areas such as risk management,asset management and general productivity are at acceptable levels.

The article also discusses potential models for internal auditing that councils can use, ranging from employing specialist audit staff or appointing an external firm, to sharing an internal auditing service with neighbouring municipalities.

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Also in the next edition of Council Manager magazine, the General Manager of Mosman Council, Viv May, provides valuable insight into Mosman’s development of a highly integrated, strategic management planning system that set the benchmark for the design of local government management plans.

For more information about how to subscribe to Council Manager, please phone Naomi Braham at Hallmark Editions on (03) 8534 5000, email naomi.braham@halledit.com.au or click here.