Cultural review finds morale at rock bottom with city managers now set to depart

Top brass at the Gold Coast City Council are facing the axe as the first culture review in a decade reveals plunging morale in its 4000 staff. WHAT IT MEANS FOR WORKERS

Top brass at the Gold Coast City Council will be “leaving in the next week” as part of a giant restructure.

It comes on the back of council’s first internal cultural survey in more than a decade, revealing plunging morale. Council is yet to release the findings but insiders say the results are “pretty poor’ within the city’s second biggest workforce.

With morale in such a bad state, councillors have backed new CEO Tim Baker in creating a special “transformation directorate” to steer positive organisational change.

New CEO Tim Baker. Picture: Glenn Hampson

“Morale is very poor, 100 per cent, but this is not just about fixing culture,” a council insider told the Bulletin.

“Culture will fix itself when the CEO makes the changes. Councillors have given Tim authority to rebuild how council does its business and who drives the wheels.”

The council insider predicted there would be senior managers “leaving in the next week”.

Councillors behind closed doors at the end of a full council meeting on Monday were briefed by Mr Baker on how he intended to deliver the largest change project yet at City Hall.

Employees later this will week will be updated on the cultural review and changes.

Mr Baker in a statement has confirmed council resolved unanimously to support the creation of a new Transformation Directorate to lead unprecedented change within the administration.

Historic shot: eight unions at a rally due to EBA negotiations with the Gold Coast City Council which have been going on for six weeks. Picture: Glenn Hampson

The new directorate would be tasked with delivering the largest transformation program ever undertaken by the City’s administration, Mr Baker said.

The 12-to-18-month program is intended to increase efficiencies and improve co-ordination and culture across the organisation which employs more than 4000 staffers, he added.

“The results of the recently undertaken culture survey confirm the need for this accelerated change,” Mr Baker said.

“I was pleased we had such high engagement across the organisation with 73 per cent of staff participating, but what the workforce has told us is that there is significant work to be done to address cultural issues.”

Councillors were briefed behind closed doors. Picture: Richard Gosling

“Broadly, the staff told us that change was needed across the whole organisation both in terms of culture and the way we do business. The One City Program will deliver the changes required.”

Mr Baker said he had briefed council and senior staff on the findings from the Culture Survey and would be inviting all staff to receive a full briefing later this week.

He said the new Transformation Directorate would be headed up by current Organisational Services Director, Paul Callander.

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