At the end of July, I commented that Oxford City Council was advertising for a Business Improvement Manager. I also commented that the council had previously advertised twice for a Performance Improvement Manager, and a Business Improvement Partner. This was on top of all the other jobs with similar titles. Once again, life is not going smoothly in this famous city. It appears that the council's search for its new Business Improvement Manager has also hit the buffers, and once again it is advertising the same post, on the same salary of £41,616 - £46,673. Lesser mortals would think someone was trying to tell them something, but nothing is going to stop Oxford creating its mini-department of change and performance. It's rather like the local government equivalent of a long-running soap opera!
As I have mentioned before, performance and change seem to the buzz words in local government these days. Whether you look at our annual Town Hall Rich List, or browse through the accounts of your local council, you will see armies of managers, all of them bringing you a 'Rolls Royce' service. We are told in order to have the best, high salaries must be paid, yet if they are providing the best service money can buy, why are so many councils advertising for performance and change managers? Aren't they paid to be efficient, to look for ways of streamlining the operations they are responsible for, and to provide the best value for our money?
I'll leave those questions hanging in the air, and let you make up your own mind as we move to this week's winner. The London Borough of Havering is looking for a Performance Improvement Officer who will report to the amusingly named Continuous Improvement Manager, who unsurprisingly is in charge of the Continuous Improvement Team. Another mini-department created. Here's part of the job description:
Are you passionate about performance? Inspired by improvement?
Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?
Reporting to the Continuous Improvement Manager you will be part of a team leading on the selection, monitoring and implementation of continuous improvement projects. You will work across teams to realise integrated benefits for the Shared Service Centre as a whole.
After reading that, I thought I would take a look at senior officer pay in Havering by looking through its most recent accounts. I went on to the council's website and typed 'accounts 2010/11' into the search engine as the latest draft accounts may be online. Nothing came up in the search, but the first suggestion was for the Finance Department, with these words, "Welcome to our finance pages. We are committed to providing clear, up-to-date and relevant financial information to our residents. We welcome your views on the information and how it could be improved."
I clicked on the link to be told that authentication was required, and I need to log-in with a username and password! I would happily give them my views on the information and how it could be improved if I could actually see it! I am sure there is a way of registering, although it's not readily visible, but that really is not the point. Why should I have to register to view financial information about a council? It should be there, on the website, freely available for all to see.
So I still don't know how many managers there are earning between £50,000 - £100,000, but surely all of them are committed to continuous improvement? Once again, I'll leave that question hanging in the air.
At the end of July, I commented that Oxford City Council was advertising for a Business Improvement Manager. I also commented that the council had previously advertised twice for a Performance Improvement Manager, and a Business Improvement Partner. This was on top of all the other jobs with similar titles. Once again, life is not going smoothly in this famous city. It appears that the council's search for its new Business Improvement Manager has also hit the buffers, and once again it is advertising the same post, on the same salary of £41,616 - £46,673. Lesser mortals would think someone was trying to tell them something, but nothing is going to stop Oxford creating its mini-department of change and performance. It's rather like the local government equivalent of a long-running soap opera!
As I have mentioned before, performance and change seem to the buzz words in local government these days. Whether you look at our annual Town Hall Rich List, or browse through the accounts of your local council, you will see armies of managers, all of them bringing you a 'Rolls Royce' service. We are told in order to have the best, high salaries must be paid, yet if they are providing the best service money can buy, why are so many councils advertising for performance and change managers? Aren't they paid to be efficient, to look for ways of streamlining the operations they are responsible for, and to provide the best value for our money?
I'll leave those questions hanging in the air, and let you make up your own mind as we move to this week's winner. The London Borough of Havering is looking for a Performance Improvement Officer who will report to the amusingly named Continuous Improvement Manager, who unsurprisingly is in charge of the Continuous Improvement Team. Another mini-department created. Here's part of the job description:
Are you passionate about performance? Inspired by improvement?
Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?
Reporting to the Continuous Improvement Manager you will be part of a team leading on the selection, monitoring and implementation of continuous improvement projects. You will work across teams to realise integrated benefits for the Shared Service Centre as a whole.
After reading that, I thought I would take a look at senior officer pay in Havering by looking through its most recent accounts. I went on to the council's website and typed 'accounts 2010/11' into the search engine as the latest draft accounts may be online. Nothing came up in the search, but the first suggestion was for the Finance Department, with these words, "Welcome to our finance pages. We are committed to providing clear, up-to-date and relevant financial information to our residents. We welcome your views on the information and how it could be improved."
I clicked on the link to be told that authentication was required, and I need to log-in with a username and password! I would happily give them my views on the information and how it could be improved if I could actually see it! I am sure there is a way of registering, although it's not readily visible, but that really is not the point. Why should I have to register to view financial information about a council? It should be there, on the website, freely available for all to see.
So I still don't know how many managers there are earning between £50,000 - £100,000, but surely all of them are committed to continuous improvement? Once again, I'll leave that question hanging in the air.
As I have mentioned before, performance and change seem to the buzz words in local government these days. Whether you look at our annual Town Hall Rich List, or browse through the accounts of your local council, you will see armies of managers, all of them bringing you a 'Rolls Royce' service. We are told in order to have the best, high salaries must be paid, yet if they are providing the best service money can buy, why are so many councils advertising for performance and change managers? Aren't they paid to be efficient, to look for ways of streamlining the operations they are responsible for, and to provide the best value for our money?I'll leave those questions hanging in the air, and let you make up your own mind as we move to this week's winner. The London Borough of Havering is looking for a Performance Improvement Officer who will report to the amusingly named Continuous Improvement Manager, who unsurprisingly is in charge of the Continuous Improvement Team. Another mini-department created. Here's part of the job description:
Are you passionate about performance? Inspired by improvement?
Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?
Reporting to the Continuous Improvement Manager you will be part of a team leading on the selection, monitoring and implementation of continuous improvement projects. You will work across teams to realise integrated benefits for the Shared Service Centre as a whole.
After reading that, I thought I would take a look at senior officer pay in Havering by looking through its most recent accounts. I went on to the council's website and typed 'accounts 2010/11' into the search engine as the latest draft accounts may be online. Nothing came up in the search, but the first suggestion was for the Finance Department, with these words, "Welcome to our finance pages. We are committed to providing clear, up-to-date and relevant financial information to our residents. We welcome your views on the information and how it could be improved."
I clicked on the link to be told that authentication was required, and I need to log-in with a username and password! I would happily give them my views on the information and how it could be improved if I could actually see it! I am sure there is a way of registering, although it's not readily visible, but that really is not the point. Why should I have to register to view financial information about a council? It should be there, on the website, freely available for all to see.
So I still don't know how many managers there are earning between £50,000 - £100,000, but surely all of them are committed to continuous improvement? Once again, I'll leave that question hanging in the air.
At the end of July, I commented that Oxford City Council was advertising for a Business Improvement Manager. I also commented that the council had previously advertised twice for a Performance Improvement Manager, and a Business Improvement Partner. This was on top of all the other jobs with similar titles. Once again, life is not going smoothly in this famous city. It appears that the council's search for its new Business Improvement Manager has also hit the buffers, and once again it is advertising the same post, on the same salary of £41,616 - £46,673. Lesser mortals would think someone was trying to tell them something, but nothing is going to stop Oxford creating its mini-department of change and performance. It's rather like the local government equivalent of a long-running soap opera!
As I have mentioned before, performance and change seem to the buzz words in local government these days. Whether you look at our annual Town Hall Rich List, or browse through the accounts of your local council, you will see armies of managers, all of them bringing you a 'Rolls Royce' service. We are told in order to have the best, high salaries must be paid, yet if they are providing the best service money can buy, why are so many councils advertising for performance and change managers? Aren't they paid to be efficient, to look for ways of streamlining the operations they are responsible for, and to provide the best value for our money?I'll leave those questions hanging in the air, and let you make up your own mind as we move to this week's winner. The London Borough of Havering is looking for a Performance Improvement Officer who will report to the amusingly named Continuous Improvement Manager, who unsurprisingly is in charge of the Continuous Improvement Team. Another mini-department created. Here's part of the job description:
Are you passionate about performance? Inspired by improvement?
Interested in joining a dynamic team environment that is constantly seeking innovative approaches and solutions?
Reporting to the Continuous Improvement Manager you will be part of a team leading on the selection, monitoring and implementation of continuous improvement projects. You will work across teams to realise integrated benefits for the Shared Service Centre as a whole.
After reading that, I thought I would take a look at senior officer pay in Havering by looking through its most recent accounts. I went on to the council's website and typed 'accounts 2010/11' into the search engine as the latest draft accounts may be online. Nothing came up in the search, but the first suggestion was for the Finance Department, with these words, "Welcome to our finance pages. We are committed to providing clear, up-to-date and relevant financial information to our residents. We welcome your views on the information and how it could be improved."
I clicked on the link to be told that authentication was required, and I need to log-in with a username and password! I would happily give them my views on the information and how it could be improved if I could actually see it! I am sure there is a way of registering, although it's not readily visible, but that really is not the point. Why should I have to register to view financial information about a council? It should be there, on the website, freely available for all to see.
So I still don't know how many managers there are earning between £50,000 - £100,000, but surely all of them are committed to continuous improvement? Once again, I'll leave that question hanging in the air.