Leaving Local Government - final thoughts of a Council HRBP

Well, the day has come to hang up my badge, hand in my parking pass and clock out for the last time. It's incredible that today also marks my 10th anniversary in Local Authorities, so I thought I'd write down my thoughts.

10 years ago I had just left a recruitment sales role and was searching for my first opportunity to grow a career in HR, I was very fortunate to be appointed as an Assistant Personnel Officer at Walsall Council. I remember the interview like it was yesterday, the panel were brilliant and I'm still close friends with them all. They gave me my chance.

My first role was to work on reducing sickness rates which at that point were seen as high, there were issues with managers not completing return to work interviews, long term cases which weren't being managed and crippling agency costs. Sound familiar? I brought a different approach, concentrating on each individual, having honest conversations and helping people to leave the organisation with dignity. Managers quickly got on board and we made huge strides forward.

10 years later and I've used that different approach all through my journey. Asking the simple questions, stripping out the "HR speak" and going back to basics. It's incredible that we can often make it so hard for the business to make simple people decisions.

So what are my thoughts on Local Government?

The good stuff:

• The people - apart from the odd exception, everyone I've worked with have been passionate about service delivery. I've got life-long friends that I have made over the last 10 years, many of which came to my wedding and have supported me personally in good times and bad.
• The career development opportunities - local authorities are big, complex organisations. There have been and continue to be great opportunities to build careers as long as you think laterally. Opportunities are never lost, someone else takes them. I've taken them and have developed a great career, often moving sideways with a view to moving upwards. 
• The total reward - OK, the salaries sometimes lag behind different sectors but the total package is incredible. Career average pension, genuine flexibility, brilliant training, nice working environments not to mention amazing annual leave!
• The challenges - since I've been in the sector there have been continuous challenges to do more with less, and now less with less. It's been brilliant to be working on these challenges and it's helped me to hone my skills. 

The not so good stuff:

• Making forced decisions - in the past I've seen people leave who shouldn't have left. Bad decisions have been made about letting people go who wanted to go rather than thinking about whether we needed the posts. Our new approach to workforce planning and talent management has changed our perceptions, but, we could slip back if we panic cut.
• The bureaucracy -  don't get me wrong here...we need governance and we need policies and procedures but we seem to over process and over analyse at times. We can put gateways and blockers in which can stifle experimentation and momentum. We need to be much more agile.
• The meetings - pre meetings, planning meetings, strategy meetings, board meetings, group meetings...the list goes on. Meetings are great when they add value. I've sat in too many meetings over the 10 years thinking "when are we going to make a decision" or "what's the purpose of this meeting?", it costs a fortune and we insist on dragging people in to a room to sit around a table incurring meeting room costs, travel costs and opportunity costs.
• The ceiling - there comes a time when it's time to move on. We tend to have long service, especially at the top, which brings stability, confidence and credibility - but this also gets in the way when trying to manage our developing talent.

On the whole it's been brilliant working in Local Authorities. We've won awards for what we've achieved and we have been leading the pack in some of the things we do. I will always keep an eye on what's happening, the new government will set new and tough challenges but the sector will respond with gusto.

I wish all of you who work in the sector well.

Craig