New Chch City Council management structure released to staff

Christchurch City Council chief executive Lesley McTurk has today made known to staff her plan to restructure the senior management staff roles.

The CCC organisation has been operating with 21 people reporting to the head of staff and Dr McTurk earlier said that she did not believe it to be a recipe for successful management. She has also said she wanted to use this reorganisation at senior management level to better set up the City Council to meet the challenges of the Local Government Act 2002.

Dr McTurk recently released to staff a draft proposal and asked for feedback. She received more than 100 responses and incorporated a number of those suggestions in the final structure.

Managers whose positions are affected by the new structure have had meetings with Dr McTurk today. All of the staff whose positions are being disestablished are being encouraged to apply for any of the newly created positions. As a result, Dr McTurk is not yet able to say how many people may be made redundant. The possibility of redundancies, however, cannot be ruled out.

"This is largely an internal staff matter, but I understand that Christchurch people are interested in what their Council is doing," Dr McTurk says. "What I'd like the people of Christchurch to know is that this is not a cost-saving exercise and it is not about individual performance. My vision with this reorganisation is to build leadership capability and develop an organisation which is driven by performance and fully accountable to both the city's elected members and the citizens of Christchurch.

"The new Local Government Act says that councils now have a greater responsibility to listen to their communities and respond to what is wanted. To do that, and for our elected members to be able to set the broad strategies, the council needs reliable information, strong systems for communicating with the people of the city, and clear internal systems to deliver, plan and monitor progress.

"In general, Christchurch City Council is in good shape and I have inherited an organisation whose staff members are rightly proud of the city's facilities and the work and services they provide," she says. "But we need better ways of listening and responding to people's concerns and we need to know and show that what we're doing is what's wanted and that it is being done efficiently and well."

To provide certainty for staff, and in the interests of business continuity, the changeover is expected to happen quickly, with most new positions advertised in the next two weeks, Dr McTurk says.

ENDS

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL

16 SEPTEMBER 2003

CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL SENIOR MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

Following my initial concept proposal and the subsequent consultation, I have now made my decision about the new structure of Christchurch City Council's senior management. The reorganisation of senior roles is an important step in changing the way we work together. It has not been driven by a desire for cost savings. Rather, it seeks to develop an organisational structure which will deliver on the strategies and objectives set by the City Council, with a clarity of purpose easily understood by the public. It is a building block to achieving greater levels of customer service and accountability for performance.

In the new structure, the core business functions of the Council are represented by four main divisions:

Regulation and Democracy Services

City Environment

Community Services

Strategic Development

¡´ The Regulation and Democracy Services Division supports the governance function of the Council and all its elected members. The regulation component (under the Environmental Services Department) covers our statutory obligations and continues the clear separation of regulation and operational activities.

¡´ The City Environment Division groups the city's core infrastructure services and assets. It will achieve synergies between like functions, whilst retaining relationships between operational and planning activities. It also includes a Facilities Assets Manager with responsibility for all the City Council's buildings.

¡´ The Community Services Division is responsible for delivering the services which add value to our citizens' appreciation of their city and which enhance community well being.

¡´ The Strategic Development Division is responsible for aligning the Council's activities with the longer-term social, economic, environmental and cultural objectives of the community, as reflected in Council policy and strategy. This division also manages the Council's relationships with its key external stakeholders and is responsible, through City Solutions, for the implementation of the Council's capital programme. It is part of City Solutions' strategic plan to become more involved in the evaluation of potential future projects.

These four divisions are supported by the Public Affairs, Corporate Services and Human Resources (HR) divisions. They have a general objective to provide strong and integrated services which will drive consistency and best-practice throughout the organisation in the areas of HR, corporate service, communications, consultation and marketing.

The Public Affairs Division also has an wider role. Communication with stakeholders is a core business of local bodies and their success is in part due to the way in which they inform the public about elected member decisions and the reasons for them. This division will work with all parts of the organisation to ensure that appropriate information is being collated and presented to support decision-making. It also will provide professional advice and support for the consultation requirements we must meet under the Local Government Act 2002.

There is one Director role, Director, Strategic Investment. This person, in addition to being the Chief Executive Officer of Christchurch City Holdings Limited, will provide high level advice to me on investment, treasury, financial policy and corporate assurance matters.

I anticipate a transition period of several months before this new structure is consolidated. I am confident that once it is in place, the Christchurch City Council will be in a strong position to meet the current and future needs and expectations of its stakeholders.

Dr Lesley McTurk

Chief Executive Officer

Christchurch City Council

16 September, 2003

NEW ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

OVERVIEW

COUNCIL

CEO

- Financial Analyst

- Funds Accountant

- Corporate Assurance Manager

- Manager, Communication and Consultation

- Manager, Customer Services

- Manager, Marketing

- Financial Services Manager

- IT Services Manager

- Support Services Manager

- Funds & Financial Policy Manager

- Business Improvement Manager

- HR Advocates

- Health & Safety

- Diversity Champion

- HR Projects

- Organisational Development

- Employee Relations

Organisation Chart : Strategic Investment

Organisation Chart : Public Affairs

Organisation Chart : Corporate Services

* The financial advisory functions currently sitting within the Units will formally report as part of the Corporate Services Team and have a functional relationship with the Division they support on a day to day basis, where they will be physically located.

Organisation Chart : Human Resources

* The HR Advocates will formally report to the General Manager, Human Resources and have a functional relationship with the Division they support on a day to day basis, where they will be physically located.

Organisation Chart : Regulation and Democracy Services

Organisation Chart : City Environment

For Future Consideration:

* Land drainage staff from Parks and Waterways to Water and Waste over time

* Asset Management and Maintenance Contract Management for all buildings to be undertaken by Facilities Asset Manager (also leases later)

* Staff resources dedicated to strategic planning work to be transferred to the Strategic Development division over time.

Organisation Chart : Community Services

Organisation Chart : Strategic Development

© Scoop Media