Organisational leadership, workforce and oversight
Commitment 24
Put safety at heart of contract management.
Lead
Procurement
Our progress
We have introduced a new Safety Impact Assessment (SIA) tool for all key and executive decisions. New reports will help us understand how we can use good practice and our contract management can improve across the council.
A library of completed SIAs for officers to access and share good practice has also been set up.
Next steps
We continue to ensure that SIAs provided as part of the Governance process (Commercial Assurance Panel) are reviewed and challenged.
This project is now complete.
Commitment 25
Be more rigorous in contractor performance monitoring.
Lead
Procurement
Our progress
The first review and contract management challenge sessions have been begun at the Commercial Assurance Panel and will continue into early 2026. Contract managers of the council’s top 20 contracts have all been invited to sessions.
Learning from these sessions has been captured and shared with the Contract Management staff.
Next steps
We will report our learning to the council’s Executive Management Team (EMT) and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC), beginning in March 2026.
This standard is now embedded within the council.
Commitment 26
Give residents genuine voice in contractor selection and management.
Lead
Procurement
Our progress
Strategic Procurement are exploring how to make this happen, including a residents' focus group and looking at local lessons from elsewhere (in Westminster).
Questions relating to resident involvement in procurement and contract management were included in consultation on Charter for Public Participation.
The working group met in October 2025 and have reviewed the council's supplier code of conduct policy. Discussions have taken place around other ways of involving residents and ensuring that suppliers involve them in shaping services.
Next steps
We are gathering learning from elsewhere and engaging with the Communities team on how we use the Charter for Public Participation to inform co-design of our approach.
Commitment 27
Strengthen oversight and scrutiny of contracts.
Please see Commitment 25.
Commitment 28
Review recruitment, training and performance management.
Lead
Human Resources
Our progress
Oracle is our new HR system used for recruitment. We conducted a comprehensive recruitment and selection review in preparation for the launch of Oracle.
In April 2025, our new safer hiring protocols were launched alongside K&C Oracle, which include new pre-employment checks to ensure safer hiring and includes residents and service users in the recruitment and selection process. Regular training sessions are held to support managers with these changes.
The resourcing team has revised their strategy, in consultation with staff, basing it around three key pillars: 'Faster, Fairer, Safer'.
Next steps
The People Committee met for the first time in October 2025. It will share findings and invite people to provide recommendations on future direction.
Our aim is to create a training and performance process that is inclusive, sustainable, and capable of building a stronger, more resilient workforce while reducing hiring risk. This work will be completed by March 2026.
Commitment 29
Track staff qualifications and training with new systems.
Lead
Human Resources
Our progress
Our new Oracle system launched in April 2025 and allows us to run reports on qualifications held and training undertaken by employees, including at the recruitment stage.
Next steps
There will be a campaign to encourage existing employees to add their information.
Commitment 30
Give residents meaningful role in shaping workforce.
Lead
Human Resources
Our progress
Our Recruitment Team has successfully expanded resident involvement in our recruitment processes beyond Housing Services, to include other council services. A dedicated pool of trained resident assessors has been established.
We have made significant progress in co-designing the Workforce Development Strategy with residents, including the development of core competency frameworks.
We have co-designed service standards with residents. These have been delivered and have been promoted since 2022.
Next steps
Resident Panel interviews will continue to be conducted face-to-face. The interviews will be tailored to the role’s level of direct involvement with residents. Our annual recruitment and training for the resident assessor pool takes place each autumn.
We will integrate staff performance feedback within the complaint and compliment process.
This is scheduled for completion by Autumn 2026.
The launch of the co-designed Workforce Development Strategy is planned for winter 2026/27.
Commitment 31
Ensure senior management oversight of workforce development.
Lead
Human Resources
Our progress
RBKC has set out a People Plan to focus on four key pillars:
- skills and development
- teamwork and collaboration
- health and wellbeing
- equality, diversity and inclusion
These pillars will ensure effective management and oversight of our workforce and support us in our mission of becoming the best council.
HR is currently researching creative ways to make more of the apprenticeship levy and increase uptake in the organisation. The organisation has also agreed to run a further cohort of the internal Aspiring Managers programme to ensure we are developing managers for the future.
The new People Committee forum will also allow us to discuss priorities including staff development.
Next steps
We promise to meet all actions in the People Plan by 2027. Our year three priorities, which are to be delivered by May 2026 include:
- continue to invest in our apprenticeship programmes for local residents and our residents
- review adoption of our new Values and Behaviours toolkit to better support our residents
- continue to develop our managers recognising their essential role
- following feedback from the recent EQIA audit, ensure all staff have updated their demographic data and completed equality awareness sessions
Human Resources will work with the new People Committee to seek feedback on proposals as they develop.
Commitment 32
Review progress against Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) recommendations.
Lead
Governance
Our progress
The Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) undertook a follow-up review of progress against their initial 2018 recommendations. This was reported to our Administration Committee on 4 July 2022. CfGS acknowledged good progress but identified some issues for further attention.
Since January 2025, an officer group has met to review the original report and recommendations and have confirmed that action has been taken to implement all seven CFGS' main recommendations along with many of the CfGS's 'Options for Next Steps' presented in 2022.
The May 2025 update to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee included a commitment to develop an action plan for additional actions that could be taken to safeguard good governance and the council's commitment to being the best it can be.
Next steps
All recommendations in the CfGS report have been addressed and changes made accordingly.
The council’s governance arrangements are under ongoing review (including at monthly Constitution Review meetings), and fine-tuned as and where improvements can be made. One example of this is the thorough review over the last year of the Charter for Public Participation (now ‘our Public Participation Commitments’.).
This project is now complete.
Commitment 33
Transform leadership culture through training and objectives.
Lead
Human Resources
Our progress
This commitment includes a number of streams, including to:
- a new learning and development policy and plan
- consulting staff across the organisation
- development of leadership and management forums
- embedding leadership values
- identifying development needs
We are finalising activity that needs to be undertaken to work towards the establishment of a culture review, with involvement from the Independent Advisory Panel.
The council also continues to deliver its Aspiring Management training which has a high focus on leadership to develop skills and expertise.
Next steps
- Summer 2026: feedback from the culture review
- Winter/Spring 2025/26: consultation with residents, employees and staff networks
- Winter 2026: final strategy signed off
- Winter/Spring 2026/27: leadership values and leadership core competencies promotion and involvement
Human Resources will work with the new People Committee to seek feedback on proposals as they develop.
Commitment 34
Develop comprehensive data strategy.
Lead
Corporate Strategy and Digital, Data and Technology
Our progress
Our twice-yearly reports to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee now include more systematic information on how data is used and reported across the council.
There is some work taking place across the council work involving Corporate Strategy and Audit to look at how we might align performance, delivery and risk reporting more closely. This will ensure we are considering all aspects of the risks and issues, with full knowledge of the data involved.
As part of the council's Fairer Action Plan a commitment has been made to ensure that the council better utilises data to support its work on deprivation. A working group is being established with key council teams to develop the plan for this work and the stages that will support its delivery.
Next steps
The working group will be established to take forward the work on the data strategy in early 2026.
Our corporate performance audit is expected to be complete by March 2026.
Commitment 39
Commission independent external review of council culture.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships/ Human Resources
Our progress
The draft scope and approach for the review was set out in the May 2025 update to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Next steps
We will work with the Independent Advisory Panel on setting out and finalising the review, including on who leads the review. The first conversations on the scope and approach took place at the November 2025 meeting.
The lead person will be appointed to lead the review in Spring 2026, having been delayed from December 2025.
Commitment 40
Agree scope of culture review with elected members and residents.
Please see Commitment 39.
Commitment 41
Establish an independent advisory panel.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships
Our progress
The first meeting of the panel took place in October 2025.
This project is now complete.
Commitment 42
Publish a detailed action plan.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships
Our progress
We will publish our draft action tracker for review by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in May 2025.
Next steps
We will review the draft action tracker based on feedback from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and publish it on the council's website
When this will happen
The updated tracker is to be considered by the Leadership Team in July 2025. Updates are presented every 6 months to the Overview and Scrutiny.
This project is now complete.
Commitment 43
Implement quarterly reporting to Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships and Corporate Strategy
Our progress
The first update was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in May 2023.
Updates are presented every 6 months to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
This project is now complete.
Commitment 44
Develop a programme for maintaining organisational memory of lessons learned.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships and Corporate Strategy
Our progress
The final impact report of the recovery programme was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in September 2025 and explicitly considered key points of learning from the programme.
The Chief Executive’s team is also developing a ‘lessons learnt library’ that will capture examples of success and failure across the organisation, and provide practical guidance and advice about how to apply such learning in other contexts
Next steps
The Inquiry Working Group is exploring options for capturing key findings from the response and recovery effort to ensure learning is not lost.
The lessons learnt library will be introduced by October 20206.
Commitment 45
Create memorial at Town Hall, with bereaved families' permission.
Lead
Grenfell Partnerships
Our progress
This work has not yet begun but we are exploring linking this work to the 10 year Grenfell anniversary.