An organisation is nothing without the talented, motivated people it is made up of. But, the right people are hard to come by, and it is getting harder.
Some 57% of the chief executives surveyed by Penna for The MJ's Future Forum highlight that attracting top talent and keeping them at the organisation was among their biggest people concerns. Many reported a worrying cocktail of an aging workforce and a lack of upcoming senior talent, particularly in statutory roles like adult and children's social care. A quarter of chief executives warn of buckling morale, and many others raise concerns about poor pay and a lack of reward or recognition.
The results of the survey are revealing. Roles relating to children's and adult social care – from social workers right through to senior managers – top the list of those hardest to recruit to. Some 85% of upper-tier chief executives highlight social services positions among their top three hardest to fill.
Other hard-to-fill roles include planning, mentioned by 47% of respondents, and lawyers and finance positions, mentioned by 15% of respondents a piece.
Director of local government executive interim management at Penna, Toni Hall, says it is currently ‘extremely difficult' to find finance staff, and ‘almost impossible' to fill director of adult social services and children's services roles. ‘You cannot get them for love nor money – even at sky-high day rates,' she says.
It is hardly any surprise when two-thirds of local authorities believe children and adults' services are the most difficult senior management jobs to do. Eight in 10 councils with social services responsibilities put children or adult social care jobs in their top three hardest jobs.
Just under half of chiefs say their job is among the top three most difficult in the sector. However, they tended to pit finance director roles ahead of their own, with 54% saying finance jobs are the toughest.
Asked whether they thought the chief executive job had become more enjoyable, less enjoyable, or stayed the same in the past year, those surveyed are split three ways almost equally, with 27% saying it had gotten worse.
Fears over an upcoming leadership deficit become all the more apparent when considering 53% of the chief executives say they either would not be, or did not know whether they would be, in the public sector by the end of the decade.
Most of these said they were likely to retire, suggesting an ageing top level, but others appear simply to have had enough. One said: ‘I'll be too fed up, probably.' Another said: ‘[It is] time to try something different. [It is] really frustrating when the right things don't happen because of people defending power bases and personal interests.'
Many chief executives raised concerns the sector did not present itself well – something they believed was impacting on councils' ability to attract new talent. Many chiefs censured the petty local rivalries over reorganisation – something many saw as a distraction. Criticising the blame culture that is present in some parts of the sector, one chief executive said: ‘Blame is the evil child of the coarsening of public dialogue. [It is] not pretty and not a good recruiting tool.'
Director of local government executive interim management at Penna, Anthony Lewis, told The MJ's Future Forum the branding of local government ‘isn't as sexy' as some other sectors. However, he added: ‘Once you get in, you do fall in love with it. We've got some of the brightest and most talented people in the sector. I'm always blown away by the positivity.'
From beneath the doom and gloom, some of that positivity is shining though. When asked what was good about local government in 2016, one chief executive said: ‘Its ability to keep going and trying to see the positives among all the negatives and more sharing and working together to resolve issues at all levels.' Another said: ‘There is an emerging picture of some authorities getting far more robust about the direction of travel and throwing off the shackles of austerity and making the most of things. There is genuine creativity and innovation and this is something we should showcase and be proud of.'
This positivity is echoed in chief executives' answers when asked what attributes they need to have in order to succeed: resilience, leadership, focus, determination, tenacity, humour, integrity.
