When councils embark on local government reorganisation (LGR), attention naturally centres on structures, budgets and systems. New operating models must be built, finance structures need alignment, and technology platforms must integrate. Yet in the urgency of programme delivery, one critical element is consistently underestimated: people data.
Without accurate, consistent and complete workforce insight, even the best-designed transition plans risk failure. Leaders make decisions based on assumptions, incomplete spreadsheets or the loudest version of the truth, creating organisational risks that could have been avoided.
This is why people data should sit at the heart of every reorganisation programme, not on the periphery.
Put accurate people data at the centre of your organisational design
When councils merge, they inherit legacy grading structures, job evaluation methodologies, allowances and historic pay protections. Each made perfect sense within its original authority, but they rarely align neatly in a single new organisation.
This creates a fragmented picture of roles, responsibilities and pay - one that often becomes harder to defend as the organisation transitions into a unified council. Robust pay benchmarking and job sizing provide the foundation for fairness and consistency, by helping you to:
Reveal what each role is worth in the external market
Show how roles compare to one another internally
Prevent outdated practices or inequalities being carried forward
Create a clear, transparent basis for progression and reward
This isn’t just a technical exercise - it’s a credibility exercise. Without accurate people data, the new organisation risks confusion, mistrust and an early ‘winners and losers’ culture that can take years to undo.
Ensure DE&I does not become a casualty of reorganisation
Large-scale change creates unintended risks for diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I). Each legacy council brings different workforce profiles - gender, ethnicity, pay distribution, representation across job families and patterns of career progression. Without an explicit DE&I lens, these differences can compound into new inequality during the merger.
This is especially important given the nature of local authority workforces. Councils are among the most diverse employers in their communities, spanning:
Leadership and professional roles
Social care and frontline services
Enforcement, planning, housing and environmental teams
Library, community, neighbourhood and technical roles
Many of these teams are non-desk based, community facing and often the first to feel disconnected during change programmes. If communication is inconsistent, or leadership decisions feel remote, frontline colleagues can quickly feel left behind.
As our DEI&B Consultant, Iain MacLeod, puts it: “A robust, well- considered inclusion programme leaves nobody behind. If it works for your central services but not for your frontline employees, then it doesn’t work for your organisation."
A strong DE&I approach helps leaders identify where representation may shift, and spot groups that may be disproportionately affected by change. It also ensures engagement and support are targeted where they’re most needed, helping maintain equity and fairness throughout the transition.
This goes beyond compliance. It is cultural, reputational, ethical, and essential for building one unified organisation.
Use assessments to build future-fit leadership
Reorganisation often requires councils to appoint critical leadership and specialist roles that will shape the new organisation for years to come. These are foundational hires, not business-as-usual recruitment decisions.
Assessment centres and psychometric tools bring the objectivity needed when the stakes are high, providing a fair and consistent way to evaluate jobseekers and help to reduce unconscious bias. They also focus decisions on the behaviours and strengths the future council will require, while giving job applicants a level playing field beyond interview performance alone.
When built on rigorously tested psychometric methodologies, these tools ensure fairness across all demographic groups, supporting both equity and quality of hire. Used well, assessments don’t just select leaders, they define what good leadership looks like in the new organisation.
Use employee surveys to surface cultural risks early
Even with strong programme plans, clean data migrations and a rationalised structure, cultural friction can emerge beneath the surface. These issues rarely show up on programme dashboards, but they do show up in sentiment.
Employee surveys transform sentiment into actionable insight by highlighting shifts in morale and the effectiveness of communication. They also identify disconnected teams, points where integration is stalling, and people’s confidence levels during the transition.
Surveys only add value if the insights are interpreted thoughtfully and used intentionally. The goal is to identify patterns, not noise, and take timely action before small concerns become structural barriers. When used consistently, surveys protect cultural integrity and help the new council become one organisation in practice, not just on paper.
Building a unified organisation with confidence
Local government reorganisation is not simply a structural or technical shift; it is fundamentally about people. Successful programmes are built on clear, reliable and equitable workforce insight that enables leaders to make confident, defensible decisions throughout the transition. When councils combine robust pay benchmarking, strong DE&I analysis, objective assessment tools and meaningful sentiment insight, they create the conditions for a smooth transition and lay the foundations of a resilient, high-performing new organisation.
At Reed Talent Solutions, we bring together these elements to help councils navigate reorganisation with clarity, evidence and confidence. We ensure that people data becomes a strategic advantage, not an afterthought, and support leaders to build a workforce ready for the future.
If you’d like to explore how we can support your organisation through LGR, contact our team to discover more.
