2025-2028 Strategic Plan
Executive summary
The future of Local Government is rapidly evolving. PartnershipOne has a clear vision of what it wants to achieve; “to be recognised as an excellent service provider, deploying innovative solutions. Approaching everything with an open and honest ‘can do’ approach, backed by the best people”.
Achievement of this vision will not only ensure that we deliver excellent effective services to our current customers and stakeholders, but also positions the company has to offer from a proven and effective delivery model for key local services beyond central government’s desire for local government reorganisation.
We have six simple goals to help us achieve our vision. These goals (shown below) are focused on delivering excellent core services, developing our people and building trust in the company. We will also seek commercial activity when it is beneficial to do so.
PartnershipOne goals
Our goals are governed by clear principles centred around effective customer focus, effective stakeholder engagement and excellent planning.
- 1. We will establish our new identity and develop trust with our stakeholders.
- 2. We will deliver excellent, customer focused core services to our stakeholders.
- 3. We will develop our people to achieve their potential.
- 4. We will be recognised for our efficient and effective service delivery and be an exemplar for others.
- 5. We will seek appropriate trading opportunities to drive income for our stakeholders.
- 6. We will add tangible social value to the communities we serve.
Our annual business plan will detail what will be achieved against these goals each year and how success will be measured. Unlike the strategic plan, the annual business plan is agreed by the East Kent Services Committee and each Cabinet.
Introduction
Matthew Archer
Chairperson of the Board
Mark Emery
Chief Executive Officer
We are proud to present the PartnershipOne Strategic Plan for financial years 2025 to 2028. 2025/26 represents the fi rst year of company operation. As the local government landscape continues to evolve, this document will be revised.
We are a wholly owned local authority trading company (LATCo) delivering key transactional services – Customer Services, Council Tax, Business Rates, Corporate Debt and Benefi ts, Levies, and other adhoc schemes on behalf of the three East Kent authorities – Canterbury City Council, Dover District Council and Thanet District Council.
We have a 12-year history of effi cient and effective service delivery, seven of which have been via a private sector outsourcing opportunity. We are now building on that operational and commercial expertise to drive service effectiveness for our customers, as well as delivering commercial efficiency for the benefi t of our partners and stakeholders.
Tangible performance is measured through an extensive suite of 18 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), but our organisation goes much further than that; aligning itself with the key strategic priorities of its partners to ensure that collective aims are achieved, in a genuine partnership approach. This strategic plan sets out how we will work to achieve our vision and how we will support the strategic aims of our partners. Each and every day.
Our vision
Our vision is simple. It is to be recognised as an excellent service provider, deploying innovative solutions. Approaching everything with an open and honest ‘can do’ approach, backed by the best people. Everything we do and plan to do, is predicated on making our vision a reality. This plan details how we will work to achieve our vision.
Our values
Our values define our business, shape our team and form a set of behavioural expectations on which we base reward and recognition.
Knowledge – We are specialists in our chosen fields, using this knowledge to ensure the stakeholder outcome is correct and fair. We are forward looking and seek new information to improve outcomes.
Accountability – Each of us is responsible for our words, our actions and our results.
Teamwork – We are a united multidisciplinary team and put the customer at the heart of every activity. Our flexible workforce flows to areas of greatest need and largest customer impact.
Integrity – We conduct ourselves respectfully, honestly and fairly in everything we do. We do the right thing for our customers and stakeholders
Our people
In order to succeed, we need the best people. Our people are at the heart of what we do. Our approach is predicated on the simple belief that a happy and engaged workforce is productive and efficient. We strive to ensure that our workforce is strong, stable and enthusiastic. Proud of their team, their organisation and the outcomes they produce.
Our leadership team is exceptionally strong. Built of industry experts and professionals with significant experience of effective people leadership and commercial service delivery. Our teams are positive and engaged. Employee surveys are used to informed engagement strategies to drive the company forward.
Strategic people planning is embedded to predict and prepare for future skill and talent need. Our matrix skills approach ensures that our ‘One Team’ model puts the customer at the centre of our activity.
Recognition and reward are based upon both output and behaviours that exemplify our company values. We are proud of our supportive, engaging and positive culture. We are committed to develop in all areas, ensuring that we remain an employer of choice, both now and in the future.
Our added social value
PartnershipOne drives positive social value through its daily transactional activity, collecting tax to fund essential public services whilst supporting the most vulnerable in our communities. Our commercial approach also enables us to return any operational efficiencies and trading surpluses, for the councils to reinvest in local service delivery.
Our sensitive and ethical approach to collection helps identify customer vulnerabilities that may necessitate a varied approach to debt collection. In doing so, we strive to minimise distress, whilst collecting monies appropriately, to fund the essential services that our residents depend on.
PartnershipOne is also committed to directly funding activities that deliver additional social value directly into our communities. This includes our ‘donate a day’ scheme, where every colleague can spend up to three days each year helping worthy causes in the local community.
Our partners, stakeholders and customers
Our partners each have individual corporate priorities, and PartnershipOne must support and contribute to each partners’ strategic priorities. Achievement of our own strategic objectives will ensure that we contribute effectively to those of our partners.
We know that partner priorities will change, either because of emerging situations or as part of an evolutionary process. Our stakeholder engagement ensures that our service is and will always be closely aligned with the needs of our partners to ensure that PartnershipOne remains the partner of choice, but also that we continue to operate commercially efficiently to maximise returns to our partners for them to reinvest in those key local priorities.
The impact of
local government
reorganisation
Central Government has indicated a desire to structurally reform Local Government. This change presents both risks and opportunities for the company. Whilst key risks centre around the fact that future geographic boundaries and delivery models are currently unknown, opportunities significantly outweigh those risks.
Future local government funding will continue to be restricted. PartnershipOne has already taken a shared service model and elevated it within a commercial environment. It has a history of successful service onboarding, transformation and delivery in critical local services.
PartnershipOne is well placed to discuss and explore opportunities arising from local government reorganisation. The Chief Executive and the Board will, therefore work closely with both current and future stakeholders to understand and demonstrate how PartnershipOne could be a strong and trusted delivery partner.
Our partners' priorities
Our partners each have their own strategic priorities, but there are clear commonalities between them. PartnershipOne contributes directly to each of these as shown below:
Partner priorities
- Operates services effectively and efficiently..
- Support local communities.
- Listen and respond to our residents.
- Grow a thriving economy.
- Safe, secure environments.
- Protecting the environment.
PartnershipOne contribution
- Commercial working practices ensure high efficiency and high quality service.
- Benefit welfare support and effective customer contact channels support community development.
- Quality multichannel customer service ensures issues are heard and resolved.
- High quality, ethical collections practices maximise income to fund essential services.
- Fast, accurate and effective benefit awards secure tenancies.
- Effective Waste contact resolution reduces environmental impact.
Our key services
We will continue to develop and focus our skills in our key transactional services:
- The resolution of customer queries through telephone, the web, social media and face to face.
- The billing and collection of Council Tax.
- The billing and collection of Business Rates.
- The billing and collection of corporate debt.
- The billing and collection of other levies.
- The award and payment of Housing Benefit.
- The award and payment of Council Tax Support.
We will also continue to invest in our internal and external training services covering our transactional service areas as well as personal development.
Our strategic goals to achieve our vision:
Our goals are driven by our focus on achieving our vision, as well as contributing to the strategic objectives of our partners.
Our six priority goals are:
- We will establish our new identity and develop trust with our stakeholders.
- We will deliver excellent, customer focused core services to our stakeholders.
- We will develop our people to achieve their potential.
- We will be recognised for our effi cient and effective service delivery and be an exemplar for others.
- We will seek appropriate trading opportunities to drive income for our stakeholders.
- We will add tangible social value to the communities we serve.
We will ensure that every member of our team knows how they help towards the PartnershipOne vision and in turn, how that helps our partner councils achieve their own priorities.
Our key principles that will help us achieve the goals
1) Partnership working
We will establish, embed and maintain our identity through ongoing and regular engagement with staff and stakeholders. Our history enables us to blend effective stakeholder engagement and governance with high quality service delivery. We will continue to contribute to the corporate goals of our partners and deliver services in a cost effective, professional and open manner, reporting frequently, welcoming challenge and demonstrating continual improvement. We will ensure that every member of our team knows how they help towards the PartnershipOne vision and in turn, how that helps our partner Councils achieve their own priorities.
2) Customer service excellence
We will remember our core purpose. We will deliver effective high-quality services to our key stakeholders. We will put the customer at the heart of every activity and use internal and external feedback to drive operational effectiveness. We will continue to invest in our team, drive positive staff engagement and our workforce will be proud of the positive impact they have on the communities we serve. We will be an employer of choice.
3) Clear, effective and transparent planning
Planning, whether it be workforce, operational or financial, will be robust, transparent and effectively communicated to our workforce and our stakeholders.
4) Commercial focus
Our commercial approach will enable us to return any operational efficiencies and trading surpluses, for the councils to reinvest in local service delivery.
The overarching requirement to deliver excellent core services and build stakeholder trust in our organisation provides a counterbalance to the requirement to grow and generate income from our partners. Trading opportunities will not be sought at the expense of our founding principles but will be chosen appropriately and undertaken only where capacity exists and when the activity is a mutually positive strategic fit.
Our three year timeline
A brief summary of our anticipated actions over the next three years are shown below.
Year 1
- Build trust in the company amongst stakeholder and staff.
- Stabilise and consolidate new company operations.
- Build trust in the company amongst stakeholder and staff.
- Develop our people and deliver tangible social value.
Year 2
- Seek recognition for our core service delivery.
- Develope our people and deliver tangible social value.
- Explore and develop suitable commercial opportunities.
- Engage with wider stakeholder landscape to explore Local.
- Government Reorganisation options.
Year 3
- Continue to deliver effective and efficient core services.
- Deliver agreed commercial aspirations.
- Consolidate and plan for Local Government Reorganisation.
- Develop our people and deliver tangible social value.