Organisation Design

We’re joining teams to act as one – focused on the needs of our district, communities and customers. The way we work now is like most councils, but it does not join things up well enough. By joining teams to act as one, we can deliver better customer service, make it easier for you to deal with your local council, get better outcomes for the district and do things more efficiently.

In the old way, customer service, project management and communications had been separated as smaller parts of different departments. They won’t be any more, allowing a more organised and efficient approach to getting things done.

Changes include:

One customer service team

At the moment, we have different people serving customers in different teams and in different ways. And the range of services you can get depends on which Council building you are visiting.

When we have transformed, we will have one team dealing with customers for all our services. And whenever you’re at a Council office or one of our facilities, you’ll be able to access more services. That means our weekend-opening facilities will be able to help you with issues that previously could only be done on weekdays at the Council offices in Thames Street or Waihemo Service Centre.

Keeping you better informed and better engaged in what we do

Communicating and engaging with our community is the best way to make sure we know what you need, so we can plan for the future. With community conversations, our Let’s Talk Platform, and the upcoming Long Term Plan engagement, we have already started to change for the better.

At the moment we have people in different parts of the organisation responsible for communication and engagement and doing things in different ways. When we have transformed we will have one team working to keep you better informed and more involved in what we are doing for you.

Listening to you and focussing on what matters

The Communications and Engagement Team will work with our Strategy, Performance and Design team. This is how Council plans for the future, including our community and Stronger Waitaki networks.

Times are tough for councils and their communities so we need to plan better so we put the limited money and people we have, to work on delivering the most important things for our district and communities. Ensuring your needs and opinions are better understood is important in us planning and ensuring we do the right things at the right time for you. The focus is on making sure we deliver for our community and district in the long-term.

Breaking down silos and working better together

Infrastructure and Operations brings together Roading, Water and Recreation.

Instead of three separate teams, with three separate networks to service, we’ll have one team working together to join up how we deliver these important services and improvements, but focused on the different needs of each part of our district. By working with our contractors and the community, we’re aiming for better outcomes for the district and our many, different, communities.

This change to the organisation design is not the whole transformation.

By organising our teams this way, we’re managing the resources we have so we can deliver better and more efficiently for the community. This means new ways of working; some people will be able to do more, some teams are being combined so we can get the maximum benefit of their shared knowledge.

Transformation is also about the projects which these teams will be a part of; including how we engage and communicate, how we deliver customer service, or redesigning some services to make them better.

Currently the way we are organised creates what are known as ‘silos” - this is bits of the organisation that are working separately from each other. By breaking down the silos and joining this up we can getter better customer service, improved outcomes for our district and deliver more efficiently.

The new organisation brings together things like project services, communications, strategy and planning, and our roads, water and recreation assets in new teams. These teams then work together across the organisation, supporting each other in delivering Council services.

So Infrastructure and Operations and Project Services can work together to deliver capital works – such as investing in road and water improvements, using each other's experience and support.  

A lot of the changes we are making are about ensuring we can provide better and more consistent customer service across all our services and all our facilities. Our staff are all committed to delivering good customer service to you. But some of the ways we are currently organised, are in the way of delivering better.

Complex cases will have one point of contact instead of being handed round from department to department.

Our community will have access to Council services that’s more convenient, in more places in the District. And we’ll be introducing self-service and self-help options in the future for those that want them, whilst still ensuring there are friendly customer staff to talk to.

We value Waitaki’s libraries, and know they are far more than just providers of books for the community. We want to build on the great work done by the libraries team, and ensure the rest of what Council does is included where possible, and bring other partners in who can help our community.

In future our libraries will be offering more, both in Palmerston, Oamaru and at a new location in the Waitaki Valley. As part of the One Customer Service team, library staff who currently deal with our customers, will be trained to be able to offer more services – making them more convenient and accessible for the community.

We will still have the same number of qualified librarians and we will be looking at how we can use the libraries to enhance and add to the learning opportunities already provided.

The Aquatic Centre team will also be part of One Customer Service, so they’ll also be trained to be able to offer more services. Given they’re open over the weekend, this means you will not only be able to pay for a swim or book swimming lessons, you will be able to access a range of other Council services too and not have to wait until a weekday.

We are putting Recreation with Roading and Water so we have one team looking after our important assets and infrastructure.

This way, we can do better work in different places, not just one thing at a time, and not just focused on one service but on what each community needs. Our parks are currently looked after by another company, who we have a contract with and this will remain. Council will still make sure our parks and recreation spaces are good. 

Instead of three seperate teams, we’ll have one, combining their knowledge and experience. We’re going to have locality teams, focusing on the roads, waters and recreation in our different towns and communities. That means better coordinated works in your area, ensuring our team and contractors can deliver better for you.

The 'People' bit of this is what is sometimes called Human Resources – the support for our staff and how we manage them.

The 'Capability' bit is about the skills and development of our staff team. We want to develop our staff better so that they can do the best job for you and in the most efficient way. We also want to be “an employer of choice” - having a great reputation as an employer so we can retain and attract the staff we need to deliver the things you want and need from us and to do it well.

Digital Services includes all of Council’s technology including our website, apps, computer and phone systems that are used by our staff, and by the community.

Project Services will be working across Council departments to ensure Council’s projects are completed on time – both internal and external. This includes big things like building the Sports & Events Centre or new water treatment plants, through to small projects such as improving a park or play area.

Whilst some teams may not look like they have changed much, transformation means change for all our teams and staff, including in the way they work and deliver for you.

Council must deliver Building Services, Heritage and Planning as part of their core business. However, these teams will be working closely with our Customer Experience and Services, to make sure that you get to speak to the right person to help you with an enquiry.

We will also be working to ensure that we join up what we do, so that we deliver all of what you need from us as one organisation, rather than having to find your way around lots of different departments as sometimes happens.

191. This will be a mixture of full and part time roles and means a reduction in staffing of about 9%.

Fewer managers in the new organisation.

Two years ago, Council reduced the number of Group Managers from five to four. Similar councils in Otago and Canterbury have 5 or 6 Group Managers.

As a general rule, no. However, staff are free to apply for roles across the organisation, and this may result in some staff earning more, or less, depending on the role and the responsibilities that go with that role.