Transformation Stories: Walsall Council

Walsall Council transformation improves services while cutting £80 million in costs

It’s a conundrum faced by local councils across the UK: how do you maintain key services that support the quality of life for residents in the face of required budget cuts? But by transforming how it operated, Walsall Council not only enhanced how residents experienced its services, but also improved its employees’ working lives.

In 2018, the West Midlands borough council realised that over the next three to five years, it needed to find savings of around £80 million - or around 15% of its total budget - all with a rising population and an ever-growing demand for its services. The Council chose to let its principles set its framework for action based on three ‘Proud Promises’ to itself and residents: to improve customer experience, employee engagement and efficiency. We were engaged as a strategic partner, to help the Council establish more responsive, customer-focused and digitally enabled ways of working.

Teammates at the table

In helping to create a new system for services delivery, we drew on a wide range of in-house expertise across operating models, procurement, data and technology. Basing team members in Walsall Council's offices made communications and collaboration easier, and built trust and a shared experience. The Council didn’t get an overseer sitting outside, looking in - it got an integrated team for the full five year programme.

Carol Williams, Director of Transformation & Digital at the Council said: “PwC’s experience, close working relationship, strategic direction, thought leadership and extensive technical expertise were invaluable. Their ‘adopt not adapt’ approach of rapid prototyping and ‘show and tell’ with our stakeholders has enabled us to make the best possible use of out-of-the-box technologies, reducing customisation. They also focused heavily on adoption and successful outcomes, by engaging our business, customer and technology teams early.”

We supported the Council to build capability to sustain the changes we made together. This gave it the tools, experience and confidence to effectively manage its new digital ways of working itself.

Customer-led tech lands results all round

Over five years, a huge amount of cost savings have been found while resident experience has improved - a 2023 survey revealed satisfaction levels had risen four points to 73% compared to 2019. And its Customer Experience Centre is answering 97% of all calls within 49 seconds. But there was another group the Council had committed to serving with this transformation: its staff.

Staff engagement, as measured by the survey, increased substantially. There were also significant improvements in the number of staff who feel new ideas are welcome at work and those who feel they have the tools to do their jobs effectively.

Some processes were automated, such as scheduling and assigning work, freeing officers to do other tasks. The programme also saw Walsall Council’s staff achieve multiple IT certifications thanks, in part, to sharing of knowledge with PwC, increasing the skills available to the Council.

Walsall Council, with help from PwC, has become the model for how to transform citizen services provision. The transformation was made possible by bold thinking, followed by bold action. The Council is now focused on developing its 2040 plan, and needs to deliver another approximately £45 million of savings over the next few years. However, it is not in the same position of uncertainty over its financial survival as the foundational hard work completed now enables it to continue transforming to create further savings.

By staying true to its vision, the Council has improved life in Walsall, developed engaged and reinvigorated staff - and done it all while respecting council tax and rate payer funds.