Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Haringey's chief executive to step down after 28 months in charge
Word reaches us via the Journal that Kevin Crompton will leave the authority in July, apparently quitting local government altogether.
The journal reported Mr Crompton as saying that the decision to leave had been a mutual one between himself and council leader Claire Kober as both felt Haringey “could benefit from a chief executive with different skills and personal horizons”.
“The leader and I have agreed that the agenda which Haringey now faces could benefit from a chief executive with different skills and personal horizons. Leaving the authority will also enable me to develop my own interests after nearly 30 years of continuous local government service.
“I want to thank the leader and elected members for the opportunity to work in such an exciting borough, to my senior colleagues and all the staff for their commitment, support and achievements, and to all the partner agencies with whom I’ve worked for their support.
“It has been a privilege to have been the chief executive of this borough.”
Cllr Kober said she was “very grateful” for the contribution Mr Crompton - who started his career as a teacher - had made to the council, adding: “During that time we’ve had to deal with the impact of huge government cuts and other challenges but he has worked diligently to ensure we continue delivering on our priorities.
“I wish him well for the future.”
Directors of the council will provide senior leadership until a successor is appointed.
Cllr Kober added: “Until the appointment of a successor to Kevin, I’m confident the senior team can provide the necessary executive leadership of the council.”
Tags for Forum Posts: haringey chief executive
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Hard to survive in a den of vipers
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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From Richard Osley's blog:
Up at Haringey Council, the chief executive Kevin Crompton is stepping down, it was confirmed this evening. He and Labour council leader Claire Kober agree that the borough “could benefit from a chief executive with different skills and personal horizons”. Decode that among yourselves.
Didn’t Eric Pickles argue today that councils should be sharing their workloads and wasn’t Camden enthusing about the idea of a superexec working across two boroughs this time last year? Well, here you go… this won’t happen but why doesn’t Kober and Co make the call to Camden HQ and get around the negotiating table? Camden’s proposed deal with Islington fell apart amid claims of personality clashes and contrasting ambitions. Why not forge one with its neighbours in Highgate instead?
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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My personal horizons would be quite wide if I'd received approximately £442,000 in the past 28 months (presumably, a platinum-plated pension provision on top).
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Oh Clive, I'm calling house on my 'bash public servants bingo card' with the pension remark. The man is head of a very big organisation and receives the going rate for that. A salary the size of the head of RBS wouldn't be enough to persuade me that trying to run Haringey was a gold plated job. How is it in the private sector that we are told that we can only attract excellence if we pay silly money salaries and yet, in the eyes of some, the public sector must wear hair shirts and work for love?
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I don't see much excellence in either public or private sectors as a result of over-payment of salaries. I do see evidence of rewards for failure, especially in banking (but then, my personal horizon is smaller than others).
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Did you work out what it was net Clive? Or as a percentage of the borough's total personel costs? Or better yet, as a percentage of the lowest paid workers in the borough (not that Haringey pay a London Living wage of £8.30 an hour anyway)?
So it was £16,000 gross per month, £6,034.13 in deductions and therefore £9,965.87 net. You can get that for programming in the City. This guy was a chief executive. You sound a bit silly when you bandy about big numbers out of context to shock people.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Many organisations tell the world - and themselves - that they have an open, learning culture; that they value fresh ideas; and welcome collaborative teamwork. When in reality you'd have to look pretty hard to find any of this - especially at senior levels. You may hear phrases like "culture change", and "achieving excellence". Fine aspirations but with little or no chance of of happening.
Instead problems are met with restructuring and shuffling round of staff. Some new posts (with old staff) may be upgraded. Departments and sub-departments get fancy-schmancy new names. (Obviously needing new notepaper and business cards etc.)
This may work. But it probably won't. So like a losing football team, they'll try changing the senior managers. This will be accompanied by more aspirational phrases: talk about "step change", "taking things to a new level", and the need for someone with different qualities and a more appropriate skill-set. (This too may not be untrue.)
Hiring a new superhead may be done through an expensive headhunting consultancy. Some of these are transnational conglomerates with offices in hundreds of cities and the budget of a small country. They may have a long name reflecting the absorption of smaller firms. AlanStantonInterStellarTaxHavens is one I just made up. Others have short whizzy names: perhaps Vamoose or AddValue. I made these up as well, but apologies if they exist.
For an excessively fat fee will they produce the magic manager from their stable in endless profitable transit between different organisations? Again it's not impossible. But more likely the problem really is the need for culture change. In which case neither shuffling posts nor substituting personnel is going to crack it.
Incidentally the real agency often used to advise on the appointment of Chief Executives and top local government staff is called "SOLACE". This stands for the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives. As a councillor I've often thought it should be renamed GRIMACE.
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P.S. And it looks like Claire Kober has never heard the three envelopes joke.
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There was doubtless a huge fee paid to a recruitment agency for the current chief executive's hire and doubtless another huge fee will be paid to the next recruitment agency.
My only knowledge of the outgoing CEO was his covering letter in connection with the relatively recent hire of a new Director of Place and Sustainability, at a cost to the Borough of £140,000 p.a. (plus the related costs like the one-off agency fee and continuing big pension costs). The letter contained, IMO, much waffle and if anyone's interested in seeing it I can republish (its no longer on the web).
Outrageously large salaries for few employees is a problem in both the public and private sectors because it is not cost-free to society. The costs are to taxpayers and to shareholders respectively. When pay scales are so unequal, there is also the cost to wider employment generally.
The excessive inequality is reinforced by a sense of blackmail: its "the going rate" or (for some banks) threatening to relocate overseas - each compare themselves with excessive pay elsewhere.
Only government can step in to control over-payment in local government and undeserved bonuses to bankers.
There is little evidence that excellence correlates with gross overpayment. Even more broadly, the Western world has been overpaying itself when we consider the Earth as a whole and our consumption of resources.
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