On 5 May 2022, Cabinet approved plans to move forward with the next phase of the programme which will provide more opportunities for you to share your views and help shape our future.
The work carried out so far as part of Phase 1 has helped us move towards basing our work and relationship with the people of Derbyshire on what we do and how we do it, rather than on the desks or buildings we use. We all have an opportunity to continue making better use of technology through the use of tools such as Microsoft Teams and adopt a more flexible way of working.
Much of the activity completed in Phase 1 focused on County Hall, John Hadfield House and Chatsworth Hall, working with managers to understand future space requirements and re-locating teams into spaces which support a variety of working styles. Our new team, shared and facilities zones now offer opportunities for collaborative working, hot desking, informal discussions and a blended approach to meetings through the introduction of hybrid meeting rooms.
We are now moving on to Phase 2 of the programme which will focus on changing the culture of our organisation, not just our workspaces. This will help ensure we deliver our Enterprising Council ambitions and benefit from working in a flexible and agile way. We’ll be listening to your views on ways to modernise the way we work so that we can adopt the right model for Derbyshire.
Another key element of Phase 2 will be to roll out the reconfiguration of space to other council buildings. We will share details of which buildings will be involved as the plans are developed and will be using lessons learnt from Phase 1 to improve our approach. We appreciate that this will be a complex and challenging programme of activity, as colleagues will continue to operate from these office spaces whilst the reconfiguration activity is carried out.
I will continue to share regular updates on the progress of our Modern Ways of Working programme and hope that you all take the opportunity to get involved in adopting flexible and innovative ways of carrying out your roles whilst ensuring residents continue to receive high quality, value for money services.