Council Insights Blog

Tailored specifically for Australian councils, we share relevant insights and expert tips on enhancing community engagement, driving efficiency, and leading with innovation.

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Is engagement really HR’s job? Here’s what Council leaders are shifting towards

How often does feedback in your council actually lead to real change? If your answer is never, rarely, or only sometimes, we're about to help unpack that with you. Maybe your council runs a staff...

A councils guide to using perception data for better decisons

The overlooked source of evidence shaping trust, alignment, and confident decision-making in local government. What is Perception Data? Perception data is insight into how people think about their...

4 shifts every council leader can make to lead with clarity

If you’re leading a council and feel like you're being pulled in ten directions at once, it’s not unfamiliar. The pressure isn’t new. But it’s not supposed to be normal either. Here’s why it feels...

Risks of siloed council data: Lessons from Taupō District Council

Local councils are sitting on mountains of data. Service requests, complaints, feedback forms, survey results, building logs, internal memos. Each team manages their own patch. But too often, those...

Community resilience can strengthen when councils invest early

Community resilience is a long game and the best councils play it early When people hear ‘resilience’, they often think of floods, fires, or pandemics. But true community resilience isn’t just about...

The trust deficit: Why councils should treat trust like a resource

The reality councils live with everyday For most residents, their opinion of local government isn’t glowing. They notice the bin missed at collection, the pothole unfilled, or the consultation that...

It's not the coffee, it's the queue: Why perception matters

The coffee sale tells you something. But not everything. Picture this: You stop at the same café you’ve loved for years. The flat white still tastes great, but lately the line snakes out the door and...

Understanding your community: 5 things every council should know

Understanding your community is more than just good governance - it’s the foundation of trust, inclusion and effective service delivery. And yet, many councils rely heavily on KPIs, submissions, and...

A smarter approach to digital transformation in councils

Let’s be real - working in local government isn’t easy. You’re constantly juggling competing priorities, from compliance and governance obligations to delivering essential services for your...

How to build a case for change in local government

If you’ve ever tried to introduce a new technology solution in local government, you know the challenge: securing executive-level buy-in. While you and your team recognise the potential of new...

Growing community trust through continuous feedback cycles

If you’re in local government, you already know that the trust of your community is everything. It’s the foundation for building positive relationships. But when trust is eroded, it can feel like...

Simplifying the journey to actionable insights

Are you tired of spending countless hours making sense of survey data? You’re not alone. Councils across Australia work hard to seek and gather feedback from their employees and community, but for...

Laying strong foundations for council success

Getting a clear picture of where your council is at is essential. Only with this baseline can you prioritise effectively, knowing exactly where to focus your efforts to guide the development of your...

The art of bringing your people on the journey

How engaged are your people in your journey of continuous improvement? The irony is that all too often employees disengage from the engagement process. They suffer from ‘survey fatigue’ when insights...

Unblocking bottlenecks by helping turn insights into action

As an HR, P&C, or OD leader in Council, you’re tasked with the critical role of creating a culture that views the big rock challenges as opportunities. A culture that enables Council to find a way to...

Closing the insights gap for council's outdoor workers

Your employee engagement survey results are in! But the participation rate of your outdoor workforce is in stark contrast to office-based teams. So you’re left with no choice but to make decisions...

Unlocking Key Trends: What Councils are saying and why it matters

Local government is complex and constantly evolving. When you’re busy navigating tight resources, changing community needs, and workforce challenges day in day out, it can be hard finding time to...

Open your eyes to the blind spots

As a leader you know your council inside out, right? You're connected to your people, and confident you know where the biggest opportunities, risks and challenges lie. You know exactly what your...

Unlocking the art of doing more with less: A guide for Councils

Anyone working in local government will be familiar with this conundrum: service delivery expectations from the community and legislative and reporting requirements are both on the rise. But funding...

Dealing with Community Incivility: A Growing Concern for Councils

Absolutely no one should have to deal with death threats, physical abuse or verbal harassment when they come to work. And yet increasingly this sort of behaviour is becoming ‘part of the job’ for...

Unleashing the power of AI for faster survey results and actions

After 12 months of rigorous research and testing, AskYourTeam is pleased to announce a significant product enhancement. It allows customers to generate top line user friendly analysis of their survey...

Essential Project Management Strategies for Australian Councils

Everybody loves getting their teeth into a good project, particularly when there is hope of transforming an area of the business. But what happens when it goes wrong? In the dynamic world of project...

Enhancing Workplace Mental Health Post-COVID: A Guide for Employers

As New Zealand emerges from the global pandemic, it’s time to reflect on the immense impact that COVID-19 has had on our collective mental health and wellbeing. Workers are more stressed now than...

Psychological safety in the workplace

Psychological safety is a critical component of effective team dynamics and innovation, particularly within Australian councils where the pressures of public service and community expectations...

Turning feedback into action

In this article, we dive into the power of feedback and its pivotal role in shaping the future of council services. Whether it’s enhancing community satisfaction, improving team dynamics, or...

Four tips to secure top survey uptake

As the ‘highly effective’ Stephen R. Covey said: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” Employee feedback is the pure gold that can enhance...

The Impact of “Big Data” on HR

Big data is not a new paradigm. It has been promulgated since Roger Mougalas of O’Reilly Media coined the term in 2005. The 14 years since its inception has seen the growth in storage data worldwide,...

Three golden rules for effective change management in councils

Councils are in the privileged position of making a positive impact on the daily lives of your community. But it’s a tough gig. Topline revenues are constrained and linked to planning cycles and...

6 tips to spark agile collaboration in your team

In today's dynamic work environment, fostering collaboration within teams is not just beneficial; it's essential. Collaboration pushes team members to excel, provides valuable insights, aids in...

Checking the pulse

Digital disruption is reshaping the HR landscape, creating new opportunities for those organisations that are ready to transform. The most exciting are new digital HR tools that extend the influence...

Leading effective and human-centred change management

2020 showed us that business is everything but predictable. The social and economic disruption of the past year is reflected in the new vocabulary we use. Speaking about a business planning a ‘pivot’...

Are wellbeing and employee productivity mutually exclusive?

As Sir Richard Branson famously said, “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.” That’s the kind of mindset that leaders and business owners must give...

Leveraging technology to enhance a human workforce

While historically it has been manufacturing and low-skilled labour roles that have felt the biggest impact from technological revolutions, today barely any role remains unaffected by its influence....

Keeping the Human in HR

The rapidly evolving digital world is bringing changes to the landscape of the HR workplace. These are exciting times. But, with the excitement we should exercise caution and not underestimate the...

Anonymity key to overcoming unconscious bias

Diversity and inclusion are priorities for every HR pro today, but too often we shy away from conversations about the biggest barrier to creating more inclusive organisations -unconscious bias. This...

Organisational trust – does it matter and should leaders care?

Organisational trust. It can take years to build and only moments to erode. But it’s absolutely critical to business success, given the close alignment between trust and performance. The COVID-era...

Is your business suffering from high employee churn?

Businesses are competing like never before in the war for talent. The cost of recruitment is huge, particularly if using a recruitment service, and of course there’s all the internal “costs” such as...

The power of purpose in council operations

In today’s dynamic work environment, understanding and communicating your council's purpose is more crucial than ever. KPMG’s research underlines the significance of purpose in crafting an...

Solve your retention issues early

Labour market woes are set to plague employers for the foreseeable future. Unemployment is expected to remain close to record lows, an EMA survey says that 90% of businesses are struggling to find...

Psychological Safe Workplace: Strategies for Retention

Welcome to our exploration of psychological safety in the workplace - a critical factor in employee retention and overall organisational health. In today’s fast-paced work environment, especially...

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