Continuing our coverage from the previous page of the breakfast seminar on attracting non-local government candidates to top council jobs, three senior managers outlined their own views and experiences of moving to the public sector From Pepsi-Cola to Torridge John van de Laarschot Chief executive, Torridge DC. Former executive, PepsiCo John van de Laarschot joined Pepsi-Cola International in 1990, later becoming head of its interests in South Africa and Turkey, and was later managing director of a retail supplier and a management consultant. He became chief executive at Torridge DC in 2005. He told the seminar he did not join the public sector out of altruism, but because he had become disillusioned with his local council, and believed he could do a better job running it, although he complained at the recruitment process with its endless ‘stakeholder interviews'. He made three initial conclusions, namely, that members were not like a board of directors, that there was always a political agenda, and that members were not necessarily in full control. As he said: ‘There aren't many FTSE-100 companies headed up by a lollipop lady. ‘I'm not being disrespectful, but the skill sets are different.' He joined the council when it was ‘an absolute basket case', and said his first task was to sort it out managerially, so ‘we could hand it back to the members'. He added: ‘Local government staff are committed, but they're hamsters on a wheel. They're busy but not changing the dynamics of the organisation. Sickness absenteeism is rife. The work-life balance is no better in the public sector than in the private. And there's often a lack of accountability. ‘In my council now, a head of service is seen as running a business centre which puts ownership back into the equation.' He continued: ‘The big upside is the sheer diversity of the activity. We're dealing with people's lives and that makes it very rewarding. My wife doesn't complain anymore about me going on about share prices. I'm glad I crossed the divide, but to any other candidates, I'd say you need good networking skills, patience, tenacity and passion.' From Paramount to Oxfordshire Paul Miller Assistant chief executive (change), Oxfordshire CC. Former executive, Paramount Paul Miller spent 20 years with Paramount, coming from a consumer electronics background. Yet, as he found when joining Oxfordshire seven months ago, ‘the name Paramount meant nothing'. He added: ‘What I found important was my change management experience, and the fact I was a graduate and a chartered accountant.' He continued: ‘The last thing anyone in the private sector does is share their experience, whereas in the public, they share everything.' And repeating a common theme, about the recruitment process, he said: ‘It's unusual in the private sector to fill in an application form by hand. And for the interview, you'd normally have one or two people interviewing you, as well as psychometric testing.' He also advised applicants always to do thorough research, ‘embrace their vision, place the organisation in context regarding CPA, LAA, LSP, PCT, etc, and outline a compelling platform'. He admitted he applied for ‘three or four roles' before being successful. On joining, he found being mentored at the county especially useful because of his background. Mr Miller found most council staff hardworking and talented, ‘but often without recognition', adding: ‘Councils don't have enough pride. They shouldn't feel so downtrodden.' In support, he said he was working for an ‘organisation with a £1bn turnover, 500 distinct product services, 20,000 employees and operating from 300 locations'. He concluded: ‘Don't try to be what you're not, but show what you can bring.' From the RAF to Rugby Simon Warren Chief executive, Rugby BC Former RAF Squadron Commander Simon Warren's last job in the RAF was based in the US, in charge of strategic management for NATO, after which he took ‘an analytical approach, thinking hard about what I wanted out of life and work'. He decided he wanted to ‘make a contribution to where he lived and worked, be in a team environment and make a difference'. ‘Having worked for 31 years in one part of the public sector, the move to local government wasn't such a huge leap for me,' he told the seminar. He admitted he applied for jobs at several districts, but failed to be long-listed for any. But, recognising his skills as change management, he was attracted to Rugby, which ‘hadn't changed much since the 1970s'. There were, however, ‘barriers to entry', such as language and the perception of military people as having little business sense. On his appointment, the local newspaper in Rugby asked if he intended very council employee to ‘parade' every morning. He was also met with the headline: ‘NATO man with no local authority experience to run council.' He saw similaries between the two sectors, with both bound by central government policy, facing budgetary constraints and initiatives such as Gershon and t-government. The differences include more politics in local government and also more public scrutiny, and ‘the pace of change can be frustratingly slow.' But he concluded that ‘I work with extremely dedicated and hard-working people.' n
