Two thirds of Christchurch City Council staff left under former chief executive

Wednesday, 7 February 2024

About two thirds of Christchurch City Council’s permanent staff left the organisation during the tenure of former chief executive Dawn Baxendale.

Baxendale left the council abruptly in November, 11 months before her five-year contract was due to end.

She had been under pressure for some time as she grappled with low staff morale, poor resident satisfaction and high staff turnover.

Figures supplied to The Press under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, show about 1715 staff left the council across the four years Baxendale led the organisation.

The council has about 2550 permanent staff.

An average of 428 people left each year - about a 17% annual turnover.

During the four years before Baxendale’s term, 1326 staff left, resulting in an average of 331 a year - an annual turnover of 13%.

A council spokesperson said the number of departures last year (570) was concerning, but the organisation was actively taking steps to counteract staff leaving.

“We are committed to building a positive workplace culture that values and supports our staff.”

The council said its culture was a priority and several initiatives had been identified that would directly affect staff turnover, including building leadership and management capability, individual development, and ensuring staff were paid fairly and equitably.

Some 722 unionised staff received a pay rise of at least 8.4% late last year and of those 88 will get an increase of at least 20%.

At the time of the pay settlement, mayor Phil Mauger said it was good news, and that the council’s interim chief executive, Mary Richardson, was particularly determined to make staff happier.

“If you’ve got good people you’ve got to pay them, otherwise they’ll walk,” he said.

The past three staff surveys have been heavily critical of the council’s leadership.

The most recent survey, which came out in April last year, said morale was “very low” due to inadequate pay and high staff turnover.

There was also a lack of confidence in the executive leadership team.

Just 38% of staff said poor performance was managed effectively and 50% were confident the executive leadership was leading the council in the right direction.

Only 46% were confident the executive leadership team would successfully implement the council’s strategy and vision.

The council’s communication was also criticised, with only 33% saying they thought the organisation was transparent and open with staff.

However, most of the council’s executive leadership team has changed since then, following the departure of Baxendale and several other senior leaders.

Only two members of the executive leadership team in place during the last staff survey remain: Richardson, as interim chief executive, and Lynn McClelland, assistant chief executive.

Three other replacements have been brought in following the departures of Baxendale, chief financial officer Leah Scales, and general manager Jane Davis.

McClelland said last year the council had not been immune to global labour market factors and all organisations had experienced challenges in attracting and retaining staff over the past couple of years.

The council currently has about 264 vacancies.

When Baxendale tendered her resignation the council was in the early stages of conducting an independent review into her performance. Preliminary survey results were understood to not be favourable to Baxendale.

She tendered her resignation on November 6, went on annual leave four days later and did not return before her official leaving date of November 30. Her contract was due to end in October 2024.

She had a six-month notice period but the council has refused to say why Baxendale did not have to work out her notice and whether she was paid out for the length of her notice period.

In a council statement, Baxendale said she was leaving before her contract expired for personal reasons.