On recruitment DCFO Justin Johnson says: “Give people the right information, you attract them in the right places” It’s fairly informal but Justin says they are happy to share and will even throw in a buffet lunch. So far, Lancashire has responded very positively to interest from other services and has run six or seven workshops, sharing not only their approach to values and culture but also why they have invested in a water tower (Stinger) worked with Lancashire Constabulary to use drones their extensive experience with primary authority schemes and wider protection work. It depends where you start and where you want to move to.” Chris says: “If people are expecting to engage with Lancashire to get a better tick in the box for values and culture for an inspection that’s coming up in a month or two, then they’ve missed the point. One of the consequences of doing well is that others want to know how it happened and to learn from it. It is an interesting observation as for some organisations it can have the opposite effect a long-term cohort at the top can result in stale and sometimes problematic leadership with negative outcomes. “None of us thinks the same.” He suggests they thrive on difference. Justin says one of the strengths of the leadership team is that they are diverse – in thinking, if not gender or ethnicity. Both Justin and Chris think the stability of the senior team has been a major factor in Lancashire’s improvement. For the last seven years the senior leadership team of five has remained the same. Part of managing that legacy is strong leadership. “It’s a mirror, a mirror that shows you as you are not how you’d like to be” That created a schism in the Service and we’ve got to be honest and deal with that legacy.” Coming off the back of industrial action that led to substantial change in the Fire and Rescue Service, he says: “There is no question, we are still living with the legacy of the strikes: those who worked and those who didn’t. Chris talks about the last time Lancashire was inspected in 2005 when it was ranked 38/48. If that mirror could be used back in time, it would find a very different image. What is the secret weapon for getting an outstanding rating? Chris responds: “It’s a mirror, a mirror that shows you as you are not how you’d like to be.” This is an HMICFRS trope, the mirror held up to reflect what is going on in services and it works well as a way to describe the position of the Inspectorate when it comes to their role in Fire Service improvement. Whilst willing to share their experience, CFO Chris Kenny cautions: “If people are expecting to engage with Lancashire to get a better tick in the box for values and culture for an inspection that’s coming up in a month or two, then they’ve missed the point” Chris beamed with pride while being interviewed by BBC Breakfast the day the reports were published. It was a brave thing to go ahead, but I’m glad we did.” It certainly worked well as Lancashire’s inspection report was glowing with Good markings across the board and an Outstanding for values and culture. “We were in the throes of Winter Hill when inspection was due,” explains Chris. So what better time to get the inspectors in to carry out their first inspection since 2005? It lasted 41 days affecting an area of over 18km². At its height, there were over 30 fire engines and 150 firefighters working with fire and rescue services and partners from across the country. Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service found itself thrust into the spotlight last summer as the Winter Hill wildfire continued unabated for weeks.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |