Caught between driving cost out and keeping productivity up? Some insights for public sector leaders
“What did I do wrong right from the start in the disastrous cost cutting change I led? Considered myself expert enough to go it alone.”
Right now leaders in the public sector are doing it tough – tasked with cutting costs (and fast!) without impacting business performance or morale. Writing blog posts is definitely not my happy place, but Change is hard at the best of times and this kind of Change is often the toughest. I’ve had a career of 20+ years leading business and Change – and I wanted to share some of the hard lessons I’ve learned in the hope that they will help public sector leaders, their teams and the people they serve, during the cost reduction journey ahead.
I’ll do a short series of blogs on how to successfully navigate the tension of a cost cut exercise – so you can see the bigger picture but also be clear on where to focus right now. My aim is to offer practical tips, tools and insights from my own experience.
Speaking from experience…
In my career, I’ve been responsible for executing two major cost reduction exercises that were just like the current situation. One was successful (morale stayed high, performance stabilised and we lived to fight another day) and the other was a total disaster (morale dived, people left, the business slumped… ). So I’ll share the good and the bad, and some of the tough lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Most of the time when we lead out change it is by design… we have an aspirational vision of what we want to achieve and the change programme is all about getting there. With cost cutting its hard to feel “inspired” because there really isn’t a better world out there, it’s just about making do with less.
At CVL, we work a lot in the public sector and despite the rhetoric, there is surprisingly little “fat” floating around in the system that can be targeted for cost savings. Inevitably organisations have to look at headcount – and that means letting go of good people, committed people, who are doing important work.
In the last few weeks, we’ve talked to plenty of leaders facing this reality. They are distressed by what they are being asked to do and gutted for their people. Leaders are the “meat in the sandwich” on this one - given a clear directive that isn’t of their making and tasked with doing the dirty work. Leaders we talked to are struggling with how to deliver the required structural change/job losses yet keep teams motivated – all while ensuring the operation isn’t compromised when the dust settles!
Most feel ill-equipped, and many are struggling to know where to begin. For some, this is their first time leading out change. What they have in common is the need to find a way to manage these competing tensions well over the coming weeks and months.
So where to start? Here are three things we recommend you get on to straight away.
Firstly, get some support. Phone a friend, check in with other leaders, connect up. Now is not the time to go it alone! Our tendency in stressful times is often to close ourselves off – yet this is most important time to reach out. We recommend reaching out to other leaders going through the same experience and creating a support group, sharing your experiences, gathering ideas, exploring options – a place to chew the fat and share what’s working and what isn’t. Talking to others helps us release some of the tension and lets us see we are not alone in this. Even better, when we share with and help others we ultimately help ourselves.
Next get yourself some expert help. Leaders often aren’t great at asking for help because we think we are supposed to have the answers! Change is one of the toughest areas of leadership to do well and this kind of change is the hardest type. Getting some expert support at a time like this makes sense, even if it is just to confirm what you already know or remind you of different tools you might use. Get in touch with your internal P&C team to see what’s on offer. Bend the ear of local Change experts. Ask for access to change support specifically for leaders. Most organisations have access to or directly offer courses in leading change. Take every opportunity available to brush up on or build skills, particularly if change leadership is new to you!
Finally, and most importantly - show up. Seems obvious, but it’s often one of the hardest things to do. Be present with your teams, talk to them, listen to them. Be there for them. They need to see, hear and feel they matter. Make sure you pay attention to those who are struggling and those who seem ok as the stress of change can alter things quickly. Show up at leadership meetings and change sessions – ensure your voice is heard and you are as informed as you can be about what’s coming and what’s required of you. Be brutal with your diary management – put aside anything that isn’t essential to make time to invest in your people and show up where it matters. It will pay dividends as the change unfolds – as well as in the long run.
What did I do wrong right from the start in the disastrous cost cutting change I led? Considered myself expert enough to go it alone.
I didn’t reach out or listen enough to people with first hand experience of change in the organisation I was leading. The cost cutting change that succeeded tapped into the expertise of an entire team – not just me – and was the better for it.
Keep an eye out for this series of blogs which will give you practical tools and insights to help you navigate these tensions of cutting costs while maintaining productivity and motivation in your teams. And let us know if you have any specific questions we can help with. As always, feel free to connect with us on Linkedin or via our website.
Click here to learn more about how CVL can support you to navigate change and complexity.
