Reimagining London’s Public Services with Tech, Data & Innovation at the IET
On Wednesday 11th September, as the digital lead for Local Government at Starfish Search, Rosalind Lambert had the pleasure of attending Reimagining London’s Public Services with Tech, Data & Innovation at the IET. It was an incredible event with Eddie Copeland, Director at LOTI, as key speaker.
Eddie gave a great lecture on the future of Local Government and how using data and technology to innovate we can really improve lives of our communities, as long as the people, the users, are taken along on this journey. Tech is not just a waving a magical wand and implementing a new system, especially where digital poverty exists. We need to be able to firstly lift our communities out digital poverty before innovation can truly happen. Additionally, it is important that Borough’s work together, sharing ideas, data, costs and innovations as the solutions affect all Londoner’s as relatively few citizens live and work in one Borough and this is where LOTI has its maximum impact.
That said, innovation and the art of imagination of what we can do has started to have positive returns. The South London Partnership is using IOT sensors for preventative measures for flooding, RBKC are using generative AI to assess and prioritise resident spotted graffiti for cleaning, Brent is starting to use AI to write up case notes in social care freeing up valuable time, and Harrow is using a visual AI tool to reconcile advertising hoardings with business rates, resulting in capturing lost revenue. Outside of London Swindon has reduced its translation costs by 99% through using Google Translate and has increased public engagement by being able to communicate in citizen’s native language.
Against a background of cost cutting there are some great ideas and innovations taking place not only in the capital with this month Sunderland City Council’s Digital Inclusion Programme winning the Community Improvement Award at the Connected Britain Awards. Sunderland have helped over 200,000 residents’ access vital digital services and have doubled full-fibre connectivity across Sunderland in just 12 months. Long may it continue.
Should you wish to have a chat about your digital transformation journey, please contact the team at info@starfishsearch.com.
Starfish Search take on Yorkshire’s Three Peaks with the Public Sector Challenge
A superstar team from Starfish Search are undertaking the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge this September. Organised by the amazing people at Public Sector Challenge, The goal is for teams to beat the clock (within 12hrs) and climb the 3 biggest peaks in Yorkshire alongside other Public Sector Teams and private sector partners. The teams will be undertaking the challenge to raise money for Cancer Research UK, a cause that lies close to everyone’s hearts at Starfish Search.
Chief executive of Brentwood BC and Rochford DC, Jonathan Stephenson, devised the plan to create the Public Sector Challenge after leading his own teams on a similar challenge back in 2022 where 30 employees from the council raised more than £12,000 for local charities when they took on the Three Peaks Yorkshire challenge. The challenge consists of a 26 mile walk and climb over 12 hours and includes 1585m (5200ft) of ascent. It takes on the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent (694 metres), Whernside (736 metres) and Ingleborough (723 metres). These hills form part of the Pennine range, and encircle the head of the valley of the River Ribble, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
There’s still time to contribute, please visit the link here to donate. Check out some of the pictures below.
Starfish Sessions with Alison Brown
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Starfish Search’s Lorraine Payne recognised in the Top 10 Interim Service Providers in the Industry
We’re delighted to announce that Lorraine Payne, one of our esteemed interim search experts, has been honoured in the Institute of Interim Management (IIM) 2024 Interim Management Survey as one of the Top 10 Interim Service Providers in the country.
The IIM is the leading professional body dedicated to supporting and advancing interim managers across the United Kingdom. They represent the interests of professionals who deliver interim management services across a wide range of industries, providing leadership, managing change, and filling critical roles in organisations during times of transition. The IIM is committed to promoting excellence and upholding the highest standards in the interim management profession and plays a crucial role in equipping interim managers with the necessary tools to succeed in today’s complex and dynamic business environment.
The IIM’s annual Interim Management Survey is a cornerstone initiative in the UK’s interim management sector, providing vital insights into industry dynamics. This survey offers transparency and valuable benchmarking tools, aiding both interim professionals and hiring organisations in making well-informed decisions.
With 14 years of experience in the recruitment industry, Lorraine Payne is passionate about building relationships across various sectors with both clients and candidates. At Starfish, Lorraine leads the placement of interim managers within the Local Government sector, focusing on a UK-wide remit. Lorraine shared her thoughts on the recognition, stating, “I am deeply honoured to be recognised in the Institute of Interim Management’s Interim Management Survey Top 10. This acknowledgment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team. We continually strive to deliver excellence in every engagement. It’s a privilege to be part of such a meaningful purpose as an organisation and provide real positive change for our clients and the industry. This recognition only further motivates us to keep pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve together.”
Being featured in the IIM’s Top 10 Interim Service Providers is a significant accolade, recognising both individual and organisational excellence in the interim management industry. This honour reflects Lorraine’s outstanding commitment to delivering high-quality interim solutions, our strong reputation for client satisfaction, and our mission to contribute to the professional development and diversity of interim managers.
Get in touch with Lorraine Payne at Lorraine.Payne@starfishsearch.com, or to contact the wider interim team, reach out to interim@starfishsearch.com.
CTRL+ALT+LEAD: Navigating the Future of Leadership in the Digital Age
Following on from our last thought leadership event where over 60 national CEOs met at the Institute of Contemporary Art to discuss our What3Words Leadership report, we’re delighted to announce our new project for 2024. Titled, Ctrl + Alt + Lead: Navigating the Future of Leadership in the Digital Age, our new report will explore what the future holds for the fast-evolving world we are leading in, and what this will mean for shifting leadership qualities.
In an era where artificial intelligence and digital transformation redefine the way we work, lead, and grow, Starfish is at the forefront of these changes. Our newest research will deep dive into how AI is reshaping the expectations and qualities of effective leadership. We’ll discover how leaders can leverage technology to foster innovation, inclusivity, and adaptability, while maintaining the human touch that makes leadership meaningful.
We’re honoured to have the support of an additional cohort of leading influential organisations active in the Invention, Innovation and Tech & AI space, each adding their unique perspective on the opportunities and complexities that lie ahead for all of us.
It’s quick to take part. To submit your entry, which will be included in our report scheduled for completion this Autumn, all you need to do is complete the three questions in the form at the link here – CTRL ALT LEAD application form.. As we expect a high volume of entries, we’re keeping word count limited and will produce an analysis of your responses on completion.
When ready, please send your entry to thefutureholds@starfishsearch.com by Friday 4th October 2024.
Director of Essex Digital Service recruitment – Online Event
We are pleased to be hosting an online information session with Essex County Council to discuss the recruitment of the new Director of Essex Digital Service.
This will be a chance for anyone who is interested in the role and Essex County Council to join us and hear from Nicole Wood, Essex’s Executive Director Finance & Technology. Nicole will share more about this exciting position as well as the council’s ambitions for digital and whole council transformation.
It will also give you the chance to ask some specific questions about the role, the Council and the application process.
The event will take place via Zoom on Tuesday 3 September 2024 from 6pm – 7pm.
Fill in the form below to register your interest. We look forward to seeing you there!
The Institute of Interim Management 2024 survey results
We are delighted that Starfish Search has risen from 23rd to 16th in 2024 making us now a Gold supplier within the Interim Management industry. Starfish Search turned five this year and we have developed our Interim Talent practice focusing on the Social Sector, Local Government and Public Policy markets. We remain committed to supporting the interim market with a fresh and honest approach.
The results of the survey are always interesting and insightful. What is quite stark this year is the changes in the split between interims in the private vs public sector, with 68% responding to the survey coming from the private sector. This figure has risen 11% since 2023, against 27% of interims who responded from the public/third sectors, which is a reduction from 37% in 2023. The mood is also quite different from interims responding from the private sector. There is more confidence and optimism for growth in private sector against the public sector which has a less positive outlook. I am sure we are all feeling that, as public sector budgets are flat and even with a new government in place, we do not expect to see this change quickly. Today we had the Kings Speech, and the new government will promote “economic stability” giving more confidence to private investors about the economy and policy. There is a clear commitment to place economic growth and wealth creation in communities as a “fundamental mission”. At Starfish we see 2024 as the year for hope and optimism.
What is encouraging for Starfish is that we are growing our market share, across all our sectors, and we have an experienced team of sector experts who can help/advise you at different stages within your interim search. We were also delighted to see Lorraine Payne who focuses on the Local Government market being recognised in the top 10 Consultant list for the first time.
To read the full survey please click here.
If you would like to talk to a Starfish Consultant or register your CV with us for future interim roles – interim@starfishsearch.com
Please also follow us on Linked In to be kept up to date on events, webinars and live roles – https://www.linkedin.com/company/starfish-search/
Vantage Point Podcast – Episode 03
Vantage Point Podcast – Episode 02
Allyship and Inclusion: A Call to Arms in times of Polarised Politics
As a trusted partner to organisations across civil society and the public sector, Starfish has the privilege of working with change makers and thought leaders who directly influence the very fabric of society. Be that through campaigning and lobbying, direct interventions and outreach or transformation within the machinations of government itself, our clients are forces for good in this world.
With this privilege comes responsibility and Starfish recognise more than ever in these times of increasing polarisation that we have a duty and opportunity to advise and counsel those who deliver change on how to do so meaningfully, authentically and inclusively. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are more than abstract concepts to us and using our platform to foster a more welcoming climate for marginalised people – be that through our recruitment activities, our advisory services or thought pieces like this one – is a core tenet for Starfish and one we are deeply committed to.
As Pride Month 2024 draws to a close, Starfish would like to offer some reflections on how, as both individuals and as organisations, a greater focus on year-round allyship and inclusion can be embedded into our actions so we can use the public profile and influence we have to counter the rising tides of exclusion and discrimination when it comes to gender identity and the broader LGBTQ+ Community.
Republican or Democrat? Conservative or Labour? Indian National Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party? African National Congress or Democratic Alliance? Wherever you look, 2024 is a year of election after election, held against increasingly polarised political landscapes. One side says the grass is green, the other claims its rival will charge you for it to be dyed red. But this polarisation isn’t just the travail of party politicians – arguments rage all around us, social media is ablaze and print journalism continues to fan the flames.
A community where this phenomenon is particularly, acutely felt is the LGBTQ+ community, the community that I call home. Without playing marginalisation ‘top trumps’, queer communities find themselves on the receiving end of a horrific amount of societal, and physical, violence.
Transphobia in particular (used as an umbrella term to denote the discrimination faced by those who are transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary) has found itself a la mode. Indeed, for a group that, in the UK that makes up only 0.5% of the adult population[1], trans[2] people find themselves in the news and public commentary nearly every single day.
Sadly, the list of occurrences of trans people being a political football is a long and painful one.
These examples and many, many more have sparked a decline in support for trans people. In 2016, 58% of respondents to the British Social Attitudes survey agreed with the statement “a person who is transgender should be able to have the sex recorded on their birth certificate changed if they want”. In 2023, that number dropped to 24% – a marked drop. Similarly, between 2019 and 2022, 18% less people described themselves as “not prejudiced at all against people who are transgender” – a decline of nigh on 1/5th.
However, even with this worrying drop, 64% of people still declared this lack of prejudice. Sixty-Four percent. With some [very] liberal extrapolation of this data, this would mean circa 43 million people in the UK are, at worst unbothered by trans people. Even if only 1 in 10 of this grouping would consider themselves allies, that’s nearly 4.5 million voices fighting for the rights of the circa 300,000 trans people in the UK. That’s fifteen allies for every trans person in the country.
Yes, this statistical analysis certainly wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny if submitted to an academic journal. But what it does show is the immense potential of allyship and inclusion in these times of polarised politics.
Allyship
As an individual, you might already consider yourself as an ally. If so, thank you, welcome, bienvenue. Allies are always welcome. However, please remember that allyship isn’t just adding pronouns to your email signature, it isn’t just changing your company’s colours in June.
Allyship is the energy you put into the world, the approach you take to embracing, uplifting, supporting, commiserating and celebrating your fellow human beings. It’s not performative, it’s not transactional. It is authentically and wholeheartedly showing up for the marginalised.
When nearly 1/5th less of the UK population would declare themselves not prejudiced against the trans community, the allies that remain are crucial and their voice needs to be louder than ever. Their love needs to be stronger than ever. Their support more authentic than ever.
In practice this could look like:
- Check on the queer people in your network – give them space to be heard.
- Fight for the queer people in your network – challenge transphobia, don’t play things down as ‘banter’ or just a joke.
- Be inquisitive and educate yourself – want to know how queer folx you know identify, what their story is, what the queer community’s story is.
- Encourage your friends, your family and anyone who will listen to do the same. Bringing others into the movement fights the backslide towards intolerance.
If the media and the political class are fuelling prejudice, then allies can fuel the winds of change. Allyship. It is the most powerful thing you can do.
Inclusion
I would posit that, as much as Duolingo and other marketing innovators like Mind and Ryanair might like us to consider them almost human entities through their [often] brilliant (and perhaps frequently unhinged) TikToks, businesses are not individuals.
Yes, they hire individuals, and those individuals can use their position, their platform and their voice to carry out acts of allyship, but how often is such action down to the goodwill of individual ‘activists’, delegated to an ‘EDI Officer’ or solely platformed during Pride Month or Black History Month? I will leave these questions rhetorical, but I think a lot of us from marginalised communities would provide a rather cynical answer…
And yet, as I sit and type this, I can see a City of London Corporation building, flying, not only a pride flag, but the updated Intersex Inclusive Progress Pride flag, out the window of our office. Someone took the time to review and purchase the most recent iteration of the pride flag. Someone decided to go above and beyond and rather than using an old rainbow flag, decided to ensure anyone walking by would see the chevrons representing intersex and trans folks and people of colour, as well as the traditional rainbow.
Now, this may all be a happy accident that I am reading too far into. However, for arguments sake, let’s say this was deliberate. This summarises the above and beyond attitude to inclusion that queer and specifically trans people, need to see from businesses and organisations across the board.
I’m not saying that all a company has to do is buy a new flag and all their sins will be absolved, far from it. Inclusion must be active and authentic, just as allyship cannot be superficial and performative. However, it is when organisations take the time to question themselves, to question their actions and to question the systemic and societal structures in which they operate, that is when inclusion can be a truly radical force for good.
In practice this could look like:
- Taking an actively inclusive approach to recruitment to ensure your team has a range of lived and professional experiences rather than being homogenous.
- Committing to inclusion at every level of an organisation. This is not an overnight thing nor something at odds with meritocracy. It means foregrounding training and development opportunities to nurture talent from underrepresented groups and being amenable to appointing based on transferable expertise rather than narrowly prioritising solely sideways movers/established leaders.
- Challenging your clients and customers. Especially for those of us in the talent industries, we have a duty to call out inappropriate comments/behaviour and tokenistic approaches.
- Support queer colleagues and take a proactive approach to best practice. Create policies (such as a Transitioning at Work or Inclusive Parenting Policy) and educate colleagues (on the importance of inclusive recruitment for example) as point of order, not as a reaction to welcoming your first queer colleagues.
- Share responsibility throughout the organisation. Rather than delegating inclusion activities to a junior HR professional, ensure that there is ownership across the organisation.
- Focus on inclusion throughout the year. LGBTQ+ people exist all year long, not just in June. Celebrate queer excellence, commemorate those who have gone before us and be inclusive every day.
Whilst these points are obviously much easier when we think of larger organisations with budget to spare, this doesn’t mean that SMEs and the microbusinesses of this world don’t have a role to play or that they can’t make an impact.
At this scale it might look more like:
- Ensuring your advertising literature is inclusive in nature and is neither deliberately nor accidentally discriminatory
- Partnering with LGBTQ+ organisations through sponsorship, through attending events or through engaging with LGBTQ+ marketers/influencers
- Listening to feedback from your users/customers. Are there new products that might help the queer community? Are there small tweaks to your approach that might support or uplift a trans customer base?
If businesses adopt a ‘thinking above and beyond’ approach to inclusion and keep themselves on the front foot, then they can authentically and legitimately make a difference in fighting the normalisation of marginalisation and discrimination of trans people and the broader LGBTQ+ community.
Inclusion. It might just be the most powerful thing your organisation can do.
Please reach out to Elisha Savidge, a Consultant in our Board Practice, if you would like to discuss this article in more detail.
elisha.savidge@starfishsearch.com
Footnotes:
[1] According to 2021 England and Wales Census data, 0.5% of the population aged 16 years and over reported that their gender identity was different to their sex registered at birth
[1] Trans is used as an umbrella term to indicate the inclusion of gender identities across the spectrum, including but not limited to those who are transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary.