Cornwall Council
The challenge
The council sought to review its newly formed Regulatory Services directorate to identify opportunities for greater efficiency and improved customer service.
The aim was to implement structural change, introduce agile ways of working and provide change management support. Following earlier corporate programmes, the council also wanted to address resulting pay inequities and minimise disruption during transition.
The result
Ignite supported the council in clarifying target benefits through a high-level benefit map. A new job family framework, aligned with the council’s design principles, was developed collaboratively alongside the operating model design.
An agile, three-stage plan was created to align structure, the job family framework and design principles over time. This focused initially on low-impact, high-benefit changes before moving to activity shifts that required minimal or significant enablers. The plan integrated structural change with agile delivery, informing the overall change process.
Key outcomes included:
Prioritisation of benefits based on staff feedback, allowing rapid delivery of key priorities such as pay and reward mitigation.
A job family framework to consolidate roles, improve comparability and enable ongoing pay and reward adjustments.
A bespoke implementation plan for continuous improvement, embedding transformative teams and ways of working to improve customer experience.
What made it successful
Collaborative approach: rapid engagement with leadership and managers helped shift focus to pay and reward impacts and reduce disruption. Creative workshops supported the co-design of the job family framework.
Tailored design: the approach was adapted to the council’s context and needs, with bespoke planning and support through key decisions.
Agile integration: delivery methods aligned closely with structural changes and design principles to identify and track benefits.
Benefits focus: a shared understanding of benefits, guided by a clear benefit map, maintained momentum and sequencing.
Leadership engagement: senior leaders were closely involved throughout, supporting alignment and pragmatic decisions in a change-sensitive environment.