LGR support - workforce transformation

Naomi Cooke, Head of Workforce at the LGA, opened the webinar by framing workforce transformation as a core leadership risk in the LGR process. With over 800 job roles across councils, reorganisation affects thousands of staff and services. Naomi stressed that mishandling workforce transition could lead to:

• service disruption
• loss of talent and institutional knowledge
• legal exposure (e.g. TUPE, equal pay)
• social fragmentation across new organisations

The session aimed to equip councils with insights to lead change confidently, build resilience, and engage staff effectively.

West Northamptonshire’s LGR journey

Anna Earnshaw, CEX of West Northants, described the formation of West and North Northamptonshire from eight predecessor councils, including the county council which was under Section 114. The scale was immense:

• £1bn in services
• 5,500 staff
• 300+ elected members
• eight head offices
• thousands of contracts and systems

The transformation was structured into three phases:

• Foundations: Mapping staff, services, and data to understand the organisational landscape.
• Safe and legal day one: Ensuring operational readiness with over 500 critical actions.
• Designing new authorities: Building councils that were not just functional but transformative and future ready.

Despite delays from Brexit, a snap election, and COVID-19, the programme was relaunched in April 2020 with a revised plan and renewed momentum.

Managing change and engagement

Emotional landscape

It was acknowledged that LGR holds a high level of emotional complexity that was felt by staff. District and borough staff felt forced into reorganisation due to the county’s financial collapse. While those county staff were fatigued from austerity, pay freezes, and service cuts.

Strategic engagement

To address the high level of complexity the leadership across all council initiated a programme of strategic engagement. This begun with the creation of a shared vision which was co-produced with 200 elected members, focusing on what a “good” new council should look like. The shared version was embedded into a prospectus for change was published to articulate the purpose and benefits of LGR. Following from this prospectus, council and service blueprints were developed collaboratively to map out day-one operations and future transformation.

Internal delivery model

Given the growing financial pressures, the leadership of the council decided to develop an internal delivery model rather than relying on costly external consultants (estimated at £44m). This included:

• The use of internal staff across all authorities with district CEOs as designated programme leads.
• The creation of 150+ change champions to act as two-way communicators.
• Fostering ownership and pride in the transformation process.

Staff treatment and retention

Retention strategy

Turnover dropped from 17 per cent to 9 per cent post-LGR, below the national average with staff who were initially sceptical became advocates, with many saying it was “better on the other side.”

Key actions

• Early recruitment of Tier 1 and 2 leaders provided clarity and stability.
• TUPE protections were clearly communicated to reassure staff.
• Unions were engaged throughout, with extra facility time granted for job evaluations.
• Preferencing was used to allow staff to express location and role preferences, especially during disaggregation.

Shared services

On day one, 43 services remained shared due to:

• contractual constraints (e.g. highways, waste).
• complexity of aggregation and disaggregation (e.g. IT systems).
• fragility and speciality of services across larger geographies (e.g. mental health services with limited staff).

These were gradually reduced to 13, with some expected to remain shared permanently.

Creating effective new cultures

Branding and identity

Becky Hutson, Head of Communications at West Northants, worked with Anna across the LGR work and led the engagement and branding work:

• A single programme identity evolved into distinct council brands.
• A branding audit uncovered thousands of legacy materials, prioritised for day-one readiness.
• Messaging focused on service continuity, not just transformation.

Values and culture

The council developed the THRIVE values:

• Trust
• High performance
• Respect
• Innovate
• Value
• Empower  

This became a visual and behavioural anchor across offices that was embedded in staff awards, performance frameworks, and employer branding. It was a source of inspiration for colleagues to drive a positive identity and culture of aspiration.

Anna noted that the dropping legacy references (e.g. renaming buildings) was valuable and helped staff feel part of a new organisation, not a continuation of the old.

Cultural infrastructure

In addition to the THRIVE model, the “West Ways of Working” was introduced. This was a two-way contract outlining behaviours, performance expectations, and flexible working models. The leadership also ran a Best Companies baseline survey to assess staff sentiment and guide improvements. This was all baked in with a commitment to co-location and team integration to accelerate cultural alignment.

Q&A highlights

Terms and conditions & equal pay

• TUPE applied on day one; new pay structures were developed collaboratively with unions.
• Job families were created and evaluated jointly.
• Red-circling protected staff whose pay exceeded new bands.
• 84% of staff are now on new terms, with many requesting to move voluntarily.

Redundancies & redeployment

• Redundancies were minimal and mostly at senior levels.
• A shared redeployment scheme allowed staff to move across councils, preserving talent.

Schools engagement

• Engagement focused on TUPE for maintained schools.
• Relationships with heads were rebuilt post-LGR.
• No major issues arose, possibly due to the high number of academies.

Staff readiness

• No formal development programme needed.
• Internal experts led service planning, supported by a strong PMO structure.
• Staff gained new skills and many transitioned into new roles post-LGR.

Lessons learned

• Government departments were sometimes unaware of council abolitions, causing administrative issues.
• Legacy decisions (e.g. last-minute spending by predecessor councils) restricted future transformation.
• Members later reflected that protecting legacy sometimes came at the cost of future opportunity.

LGA Support and Next Steps

• national guidance on TUPE and legal clarity
• a new LGR Workforce Peer Network launching in October
• change-ready workshops for managers
• events with Solace and PPMA to share strategic insights
• resources are available via the LGR Hub, including the 10 Essential Workforce Considerations.

Conclusion

West Northamptonshire’s experience shows that successful workforce transformation in LGR requires:

• clear vision and values
• inclusive engagement
• strong internal leadership
• pragmatic planning and governance.

The result is not just a functioning council, but a thriving organisation with a proud, resilient workforce.