By Julian Panter, Business and Project Director, Matrix Workforce Management Solutions
At Matrix, we work with councils up and down the country and the warning from Solace about Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) putting good officers at risk of exit rings very true. While I haven’t seen every council restructuring their senior teams, I have seen what happens when things start to wobble, especially during financial crises or where bankruptcy looms.
When a council hits trouble, it’s usually the senior officers who feel the tremors first. We’ve worked with councils where top-level restructures led to long-serving, high-performing individuals being forced to reapply for their roles or leave altogether. That sends a ripple of anxiety throughout the organisation and if it’s not managed carefully it can lead to exactly the kind of talent drain Solace is warning about.
Councils need to focus on retaining experienced staff during uncertain times. When key people feel unsettled, there’s a risk they’ll leave, taking valuable knowledge with them and potentially increasing reliance on more costly interim or agency support, especially when recruitment freezes are introduced, or hiring is delayed as part of cost-cutting.
In those moments, agency staffing becomes a lifeline. But we also know that over-reliance on temporary solutions can drive up costs, particularly when those roles require senior-level expertise. I’ve seen it happen: freezes go in, people leave and suddenly there’s a scramble to fill gaps with urgent agency hires, often at premium pay.
So how do we protect core talent while navigating change?
From what we’ve seen at Matrix, councils that take a strategic approach to talent retention, especially around statutory roles like Section 151 officers, tend to fare better. One of the most practical steps they can take is working with trusted workforce partners who can help them source, assess and secure top talent cost-effectively. We’ve helped many councils make savings simply by accessing our supply channels, rather than going to market cold or relying on expensive interim routes.
But it’s not just about recruitment. Transition planning is often overlooked in these discussions. We’re seeing this play out across London, where we’ve been supporting workforce planning through a collaboration project focused on long-term agency workers. These are people who have been embedded in councils for years – valuable assets who, for one reason or another, never made the leap to permanent roles. Now, with some coordination, we’re helping those councils convert that agency talent into permanent staff or use them more strategically to mentor and upskill internal teams.
That sort of skill-sharing and shadowing is what makes workforce transitions smoother. Councils can’t just swap people in and out like parts on a machine. They need continuity, and that comes from treating workforce planning as a strategic priority, not just a logistical one.
Technology also has a role to play. Right now, most councils still track redeployment manually, often relying on spreadsheets to map who’s available for what. But when they use digital tools like the ones we offer, they gain real visibility across wider talent pools. A vacancy in one borough could be filled by someone being displaced just 10 miles away, if you have the right data at your fingertips.
We’re at a point where councils need to balance financial reality with workforce resilience. That means more than just making cuts or shifting chairs. It means asking how we keep the right people motivated, informed and supported to lead through uncertainty.
Because if we don’t, we risk losing the very people we’ll need to rebuild.
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