Council embarks on continuous improvement strategy

Blue Mountains City Council has completed a successful organisational performance review.

General Manager, Dr Rosemary Dillon, explained the purpose of the review was “to identify areas of improvement and the actions needed to address them.”

Organisational performance reviews are common practice to evaluate how an organisation is currently performing, typically asking ‘Where are we now?’, ‘Where do we want to be?’ and ‘How will we get there?’

At its meeting on 26 March, the elected Council considered the outcomes of the Review and adopted the BMCC Improvement Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2021, the Operating Model and Organisational Structure.

The Review was completed over a 10 month period using a staged and highly collaborative approach.

“Council staff have been instrumental to the success of the Organisational Performance Review”, said Dr Dillon.

“Feedback from staff and Councillors was deeply considered and covered an extensive range of operational issues. Their feedback has directly informed the approved Improvement Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2021”.

“Essentially, our model of operating is that we are one organisation serving the community and looking after our World Heritage Area surroundings. At its centre, the Council is led by considered strategies that are endorsed by the elected Council, and is focussed on services. Everything we do responds to the six Key Directions of our Community Strategic Plan.

The Council is now embarking on an organisational redesign as the first priority in the Improvement Strategy. This means implementing a new organisational structure - into four service-based Directorates - as well as improving how different areas within the Council work together to deliver services – which is our core focus.

Dr Dillon said, “We have reviewed our operations. We have a strategy for improvement and a plan for action. The proposed changes and our strategy for improvement builds on the Council’s strong record in continuously improving its performance and effectively delivering services to the community.

“I am confident will also better position the organisation to continue responding well to any emerging challenges and opportunities.”

What does this mean for our community? It means we will continue to work towards a more seamless approach to best-value service delivery, improved customer service, a stronger focus on place management and ensuring safety remains at the centre of our operations and organisational culture.