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Tunbridge still proud of Council of the Year award Tunbridge Wells Borough Council was the first local authority to receive the iESE Council of the Year award in 2010. The accolade was given in recognition of its rapid turnaround from being a 'weak' council in 2004 to achieving 'excellent' status in 2009. Here we speak to William Benson, Chief Executive at Tunbridge Wells, about being iESE Council of the Year and why the council could strive for the top award again T
he turnaround of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council since it was rated one point off 'poor' by the now defunct Audit Commission in 2004 and put into special measures is remarkable. The scale and speed of its improvement made it only the third authority in England at that time to move from 'weak' to 'excellent'. Benson, who became Chief Executive at Tunbridge Wells in 2010, joined the council in 2006 under Sheila Wheeler (then Chief Executive) and two other newlyappointed directors to turn the local authority around. Looking back, Benson recalls it as a ‘difficult period’. "My initial assessment was that some of the fundamentals were there. There were fantastic staff but no strategic plan or vision and no performance management system to speak of," says Benson. "The council had no idea whether it was doing well or badly because it did not have the metrics or benchmarks in place. It had a poor reputation locally and with partners. Morale was low because people were coming into work and being told they were part of a 'weak' organisation." The ensuing work which took the council from ‘the sick man of Kent’ to an excellent authority - and
being awarded iESE Council of the Year - was allencompassing. It started with an analysis of any available data, a fundamental review of the finances and an in-depth engagement with staff. The senior management team, formerly scattered in different locations, were brought together, a new vision was outlined and each service given a service plan. The new management team ensured all the council's policy framework documents were in place and that it had a people strategy. "Having a ‘golden thread’ from the top of the organisation right the way down to service delivery was critical," Benson explains. "There was a ruthless focus on performance," he adds. "We were delivering 57 per cent of our performance indicators in the top quartile. The district average, at the time, was around 33 per cent."
Serving the public Tunbridge Wells BC also reviewed the way it worked with customers and collaborated with the County Council to buy a former McDonald's restaurant in the town centre to act as a single point of contact for the customer, replacing numerous reception desks that
had previously existed in various (sometimes awkward) locations. This new hub also housed a range of partners including the Citizens' Advice Bureau. Additionally, the council helped set up the MidKent Improvement Partnership, which brought a swath of services under one umbrella. "We started with internal audit and then looked at revenues and benefits and legal services and a significant number of staff are now employed in partnership," Benson adds. The changes it made helped stand Tunbridge Wells in good stead during the financial downturn. "A lot of authorities only started going into partnership in earnest post the financial crash and the cuts to the public sector. We were working a good four years in advance which means we have been more resilient and staff have greater opportunities to grow and move on," he adds. In addition to partnering, the council also managed the financial squeeze through general efficiencies and promoting greater use of digital. "We have also made millions though disposing of assets that are surplus to requirements," adds Benson. In 2008/09 Tunbridge Wells was awarded the
WILLIAM BENSON: A BRIEF CV • Benson was one of a team of directors brought in to improve the council in 2006 after it had been rated as 'weak' - and just one point off 'poor' - by the now defunct Audit Commission • He and two other newly-appointed directors became the 'turnaround' management team under then Chief Executive Shelia Wheeler • Benson later rose to Chief Executive of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in 2009 when Wheeler moved to become Chief Executive at Somerset County Council • Before his appointment in 2006, Benson had held a number of senior manager roles in local government with the International Development
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Select Committee in the House of Commons and spent a period of time working with a nongovernmental organisation • He is a past secretary of the SOLACE South East Branch and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce • Benson is passionate about the use of digital technology. He chairs the Kent Public Services ICT Board, is a Kent Digital Envoy and, at national level, sits on the Local Government Delivery Council and represents SOLACE as a spokesperson on digital leadership
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