Chapter 21: Followership, Hierarchies, and Communication: Achieving or Negotiating Buy-in within the Public Sector?

Cranston City Council is a large public sector organization based in the United Kingdom, which provides a range of public services for the local area. It operates within a difficult and ever changing environment, with multiple internal and external stakeholder pressures and regulations with which to deal while delivering high-quality services to local residents. The council employs 10,000 individuals, the majority of whom are based at its central offices. However, many employees work off-site on a regular basis conducting visits to local sites and residents. The council is hierarchically structured with numerous levels of management and reporting lines spanning its many service areas and functional departments. Interaction between organizational levels is somewhat restricted by predetermined channels of communication, overreliance upon emails, and top-down briefings with those who are running the council. Increasingly important is the need for the council to gain employee support and engagement.