Business Consultancy Case Study Public Sector
Starting From Scratch.
Rebuilding a Public Service at Lightning Speed Using ‘Public Good’ Consultancy.
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With such limited time, and with a large amount of work to do, Underpin Consultant Lewis English began by immersing himself in contracts, tender submissions and any other information that would help him get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Lewis joined a mobilisation team that consisted of Hertfordshire County Council commissioners, the co-CEOs of the new providers, Citizens Advice Stevenage and Age UK Hertfordshire, and other project staff, leading the first and all future meetings.
Utilising his project management techniques and collaborative communication skills.
Lewis and the team developed a mobilisation plan that would solve the short term challenges as quickly as possible, and at the same time create a pathway for medium and long-term solutions.
Over the course of the project, regular in-person and online meetings, chaired by Lewis, ensured the mobilisation team understood challenges and worked together on solutions.
‘Lewis was instrumental in helping us to go live with the high-profile and important public service through HertsHelp. The team were up against it with the timescales, but Lewis’ approach of gathering all the key people involved and tracking a list of key tasks, as well as leading on the delivery of some of those tasks, allowed the team to have enough capacity to focus on other areas. Lewis showed integrity, communicated clearly and a hard-working ethos which helped us all the way through"
One of the key things identified by Underpin Consultant Lewis English early in the project was the importance of the wider public sector community in the success of a new, revamped HertsHelp. HertsHelp, at its core, is a referral and signposting service. In recent years, due to Covid, HertsHelp had struggled to define itself and therefore had got a reputation as an unwieldy and less than ideal service.
There was a great deal of goodwill from the wider community. Updates on the HertsHelp transition were given by Lewis in meetings allowed by the commissioning officers of Hertfordshire County Council to create public ownership. The aim was to set out a strong pathway to success and deliver the message that the changes will take time. At the end of each session, we asked for feedback, which was then folded into the plans, processes and mobilisation of the HertsHelp service.
The open and honest communication helped everyone understand HertsHelp was changing for the better and that they, as partners, had a role to play in its future. The team could focus on transferring the service, including TUPE, process writing and a rebrand, without the pressure of a perfection that was impossible in the short timeframe.
“There is no better project than one that means so much to so many people. The HertsHelp service is one that defines ‘public good,’ and everyone in the team was so motivated to get the job done, making my job as a consultant easier and more productive. Being able to mobilise the service for a new provider has truly been a highlight of my work with Underpin Consultancy.”
