STRATEGIC SERVICES

Pursuing opportunities for our business, our owners and our region.

The Strategic Services internally focuses on financial and operational performance, culture and planning, while externally the focus is on pursuing funding, partnerships and other opportunities which will benefit the business, the region and our Member Councils.

Key activities of this part of the business include:

  • Advocating and acting on behalf of Councils
  • Assisting with the implementation of shared services and collaborative working arrangements
  • Promoting local government careers and helping Councils with workforce development
  • Increasing organisational performance

While there are many good examples of shared services across the region, General Managers and other stakeholders have consistently stated the absence of a dedicated coordination role is a major impediment for further shared services implementation.

CCA’s role in shared services is not to dictate or control, but to help Member Councils achieve the benefits they desire, through coordination, encouragement and professional service delivery.

The Shared Services Strategy identifies a number of opportunities and initiatives CCA will pursue with Member Councils.

Principles which underpin our approach to shared services:

  1. Act! Let’s choose some low risk, low hanging fruit and pursue some quick-wins.
  2. Quick-wins and collective action will help build the trust and capability required to pursue more complex shared service solutions over time.
  3. Maintaining the status quo is not an option; public expectations and economic reality demand we do thing differently.

A range of opportunities and initiatives were identified and assessed through the development of the Shared Services Strategy and to commence the implementation of the Shared Services Strategy, CCA as adopted two approaches:

  1. Initiatives CCA will lead and deliver.
  2. Initiatives CCA will help Councils progress.

In addition to our shared services work, CCA also provides a range of professional service offerings to Member Councils, services currently provided include:

  • Audit Panel
  • Internal Audit
  • Business Planning / Strategic Plan development
  • Workforce Planning

Other Services include:

  • Workshop Facilitation
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Organisational Culture Development & Planning
  • Training Coordination

Over the past, CCA has been working with our Member Councils on a range of shared service initiatives, including;

  • Telecommunications Review – helping Councils get a better deal and consolidate their mobile phone and data services.
  • Microsoft Office 365 – helping Councils save on licensing costs and gain access to training from Microsoft experts to maximise their return on their investment.
  • Energy Detective – helping Councils take control of their energy and water coasts and reduce emissions utilising an integrated software platform.
  • Workforce Planning – helping Councils analysis their workforce data and develop workforce plans to address future attraction and retention challenges.
  • Development Services Review – reviewing and evaluating Development Services functions across Councils to identify shared service opportunities and ways to help Councils streamline processes and practices including fees and charges.
  • Internal Audit Services – providing objective internal audit services to help Councils add value and improve their operations.
  • Local Government Networking Program – in partnership with Local Government Professionals Tasmania we’ve developed a professional development and networking program aimed at increasing collaboration and engagement to strengthen ties across the region’s local government workforce while promoting and sharing learnings.

Through the Telecommunications and Microsoft Office 365 work we’ve delivered significant savings and value-added benefits for Councils. We’ve also been working with Councils and Microsoft experts to assist in improving collaboration and communication resulting in operational efficiencies and improved organisational culture across local government. Through the Energy Detective, Workforce Planning and Development Services work we look forward to continuing to achieve good outcomes and help Councils maintain strong local government by working together.