Frontline staff heard how their knowledge and skills were needed to help shape the Council of the Future.

At a Corporate Listening event, held last month (December), Chief Executive, Kenneth Lawrie explained how frontline workers were critical to the Council’s transformation because they worked with communities “day in, day out”.

He said: “Over the next five years, our best estimate is that our budget will reduce by £60m to £70m. That implies a lot of change, and we need to be ready for that change. We need to work together, trust each other, and do the right thing to protect vulnerable people and the critical public services our communities rely on.

“We are much more likely to be able to deal with that change if we are planning on a five-year basis rather than year-on-year; and the Council of the Future programme is helping us plan long term.

“But, we can only do that successfully if we have a high level of engagement, taking on the views of our communities, partners, and staff - especially those on the frontline. You see everyday what works and what doesn’t, and we need your views so we can make the changes needed to become a more responsive, innovative, trusted and ambitious council.”

On the day attendees were asked to highlight what was good about working for the Council and what could be improved, how they felt the Council could ensure all voices were heard, and what form of communication they needed.

Presentations included: a round-up of Council of the Future achievements to date, the development of a new employee information section on the Council’s external website, and the opening of two Advice Hubs.

Closing the event, held in the Municipal Building’s Committee Suites, Stuart Ritchie, Director of Corporate & Housing Services, reminded everyone how important it was to work together as One Council – one of the pillars of the Council of the Future programme.

He said: “It’s really important that we don’t lose ambition for ourselves and our communities, and accept it’s a challenging period of change that lies ahead. We are asking all of you to be part of our improvement journey by providing insight and ideas, by joining the Change Agent Network or signing up to the Employee Communications Group.

“If every employee makes a small change or contribution, collectively that will have a huge, positive impact. Change involves every single one of us and the Council of the Future programme empowers us all to make it happen.”