Performance Improvement in the Public Sector
Managementors supported Warrington Borough Council in driving efficiency within their school meals service, helping them to continue to provide school meals to over 6000 pupils everyday
Warrington Borough Council’s (WBC) School Meal Service supplies school meals to 67 of 72 primary schools within the area. The service was under significant budgetary pressure as food and staff costs have risen. High levels of absence and vacancies caused managers to step-down into front line roles, stopping them from providing effective oversight. The project aimed to turn around the service – improving financial performance to make it economically viable for WBC to continue to provide. If not, it could be outsourced to a third-party, putting quality of meals served to children at risk (something that occurred the last time a school outsourced the service) or the service could cease to exist. WBC were intent on continuing the service, vital to those dependent on free school meals.
The project focused on enhancing processes and developing an effective Management Operating System (MOS) for the service. Process improvements focused on cost control: overtime; absence management; and standardising kitchen procedures. Quick-wins were implemented to drive change and benefits, for example, managing ingredient spend by removing expensive variants as ordering options, or modelling a new fully-costed menu. MOS development utilised new staff planning tools and reports to facilitate data-driven decision making. Data was then used to reduce ambiguity and clearly prioritise the issues that the service was facing.
By spending four days a week on-site, Managementors provided shoulder-to-shoulder coaching to upskill management and change behaviours. Additional time was invested to understand the current kitchen management software, allowing Managementors to become the experts in uses and limitations. Reinvigorating this relationship was an important step in creating a sustainable partnership between the service and its software provider. Confidence in systems increased, reducing stress within the daily operations of the service.
The project achieved operational improvements, shown as a 10% increase in Meals Served per Worked Hour, a 23% Overtime reduction and a 3% reduction in Food Cost per Meal Served (whilst maintaining meal uptake). These metrics enabled annualised cost savings that surpassed the target by 11% within the project lifetime, providing WBC with a 2.4:1 annualised return on investment. These improvements have made the service close to break even, allowing it to remain within the Council, rather than being stopped or outsourced, with further opportunities for efficiencies identified – helping them to continue the provision of school meals.
Of course, long-term success was measured by the team’s ability to keep up the new normal. At every stage, ownership was placed on the client teams to take the lead in deploying their new Management Operating System and Processes. This resulted in an impact that lasted and was built upon further beyond the project life cycle.
Professor Steven Broomhead MBE, Chief Executive
“Managementors engaged well with our team and helped us to meet both short term needs and plan effectively for the longer term. They have supported a positive cultural shift in the kitchens, addressing engrained behaviours and successfully navigating challenges like moving staff between kitchens. We are thankful for the support they’ve provided.”
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