For those working in leadership roles within local government, it's fair to say that councils' finances are the issue at the foremost of their minds. But there is another significant challenge that deserves airtime too: the sector's workforce.

It is well established there have long been challenges in the hard-to-recruit and retain roles, such as social workers. But over the last few years, there have been challenges to recruit in virtually every department, and at every level, from human resources to chief executive.