London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

We were selected to work with Kensington and Chelsea following the Grenfell tragedy. Under a great deal of public and government scrutiny the organisation embarked on a brave programme of deep cultural change.  We were honoured to be chosen to support them in this difficult journey.

What we did

• We worked closely with the Change Board to carry out a diagnostic on the core issues that needed addressing including consulting with the community. The resulting report – which was very open and direct in its feedback – highlighted the core areas that needed to be addressed such as the need for a community engagement strategy, improved governance processes to allow for greater public involvement and developing a positive sense of place and pride for those who work in the borough.
• We encouraged a spirit of open feedback through the facilitation of flexibly structured workshops which allowed for maximum participation and engagement. A new set of values and behaviours were developed and launched throughout the Council in a number of all staff events.
• These values and behaviours are now seen as the underpinning foundation for all activities within the organisation from recruitment to day to day interactions between staff and with the public to working with contactors and other providers of services.
• Throughout we worked closely with all of the senior managers to create a sense of community amongst this group of people who were facing the most challenging of circumstances.

Outcomes

We helped to create the environment that allowed for an open debate culminating in a variety of initiatives to improve how the Council supports staff in dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy. A new set of values and behaviours was launched and embedded throughout which better reflected the needs of the community and service users.

We supported and encouraged the development of greater clarity on the purpose and direction of the council and the implications for the community and for staff development.

It will take some time for the full outcome to be achieved but there are promising signs of improvement in what residents say about the Council and about how staff feel about working there for example as measured by the recent staff survey.