ICC'S AWAY DAY: CELEBRATING OUR PEOPLE, OUR PROGRESS AND OUR PURPOSE
Growing a business to respond to a growing market need is both a privilege and a test. ICC was set up more than a decade ago to support the public sector, and in the years since, we have worked hard with clients to build local government organisations fit for a century in which people’s lives have changed dramatically.
Over the last year we have been restructuring and expanding our people and places teams. The big missions of local government and its partners are our purpose, and we see daily the impact of austerity, Covid, the cost of living crisis and the housing crisis. We also see what happens when policies respond inadequately to intersecting inequalities, or tackle effect instead of cause; and the daily toll of social care costs on top of all of the above. We know that radical transformation and rebuilding trust are the only way to meet these challenges. And we know ICC needs top talent who can grow alongside the company as it rises to the responsibility.
Last week our team came together to consider how far we have travelled, how much we have learned, and how much there is still to do. As co-founder of ICC, I cherish these away days as an opportunity for our expanding team to celebrate their achievements, share feedback and recharge relationships. Our people are a talented, thoughtful bunch and time spent all together is always invigorating.
I was immensely proud to share the extent to which we are now all together delivering effectively for our clients and becoming increasingly innovative as we grow. It’s incredibly exciting to see the frequency with which we set new standards that enrich the lives of our clients’ communities and our own working life. And it was a huge pleasure to discuss feedback from clients who value our high-quality standards, purpose-led work and collaborative approach. This year we have exceeded our expectations and built a foundation for future growth while living our values and seeing the impact of our efforts.
We are always looking ahead, and a key part of the day was to consider what mission-driven government means at a local level. It was an honour to be joined by Isadora Spillman-Schappell, cities programme manager at UCL IIPP, Alison Griffin, chief executive of London Councils, Hassan Pesaran, director of strategy at Nesta, Jessica Studdert, chief executive at New Local and Daniel Wainwright, portfolio lead at LB Camden, to explore how the new government’s agenda offers opportunities for new ways of working and new focus. Their suggestions on the approach, principles and processes of delivering for local communities were thought-provoking and enlightening. We discussed community power and culture change, linking tech innovation to social change, reviving and driving the art of finding and strengthening consensus, when to involve the market - and where to find hope and inspiration in key work that's already happening across the UK.
As consultants, our ambition extends to the consultancy industry too, so these kind of insights form our ongoing wider reset in client relations. We want to model a consultancy that digs much deeper to answer the challenges of our lifetimes and advocates more assertively for public sector support, policy change and people-centred models of sustainable, place-based growth. Consultancy is currently widely understood as an extractive economy that takes and moves on. We want to establish a new, regenerative consultancy.
And while we do that, we want to raise our ambitions for our own people. An important part of the day was a wellness session that supported a discussion among our people about knowing when to rest. We know that our team are here because they care deeply about the issues that ICC wants to help councils resolve. We know too that that drive can sometimes override the important requirement to pause, breathe and look after ourselves.
And we also know that fun is a key part of working life. We ended the day with a karaoke session, which is one of my favourite things to do with the people I love to spend time with. Watching colleagues take to the stage to belt out a song that has meaning for them, or overcome initial shyness to share their enjoyment of a particular number, creates valuable trust and affection. And their tolerance for my habitual take on Sweet Caroline is always appreciated!
This week we are all back to the office raring to go and ready once again to help clients sustain, grow and succeed.
Come and talk to us if you'd like to be part of it all with us.
