Trust between political leaders key to shared chief exec success, says LGA report

Mutual trust between political leaders and clear communication with employees are among the key ingredients if sharing a chief executive is to work, a joint study by the Local Government Association and think tank Localis has concluded.

The report also identified the requirement for a shared vision for the process, equality between the needs of each council and the need for initiatives to be locally driven.

The LGA/Localis report added that a shared chief executive was not necessarily appropriate for each council and that decisions should be made based upon local circumstances.

“Without the necessary ingredients, sharing management may not bring the results which councils may be hoping for,” it said.

Cllr Peter Fleming, Chairman of the LGA’s Improvement Board, said the savings from sharing chief executives had resulted in some areas making savings of £1m year on year. In one case the savings from shared management reached £3.5m a year.

But he added: “In some areas savings of this nature weren't made, as the councils involved reassessed the viability of shared management. However, it is still early days and so we will need to study closely the financial impact in future years.”

Localis chief executive Alex Thomson acknowledged that shared management was not a panacea, but added that it had been, and could be, very successful in certain areas.

“As this report highlights, the key to effective shared management initiatives is realising that it’s not a one-size-fits-all model,” he said.

“Differing priorities and visions for locally driven initiatives will require different solutions, and a culture of trust and communication between political leaders and employees is vital in fashioning leaner management arrangements that can not only save money but continue to improve the quality of services delivered.”

The LGA recently published a map showing how shared services were being used by councils in a bid to deliver savings. The map can be viewed here.