Antony

What inspired you to become a Change Manager?

I have always been interested in how the world is moving forward and wanted to be more involved! I used to work at Carphone Warehouse where we revolutionised the way that Sales and service work in retail using digital technology.

I am excited to be in the team helping WSCC to move forward also and to make changes to better people’s lives.

Why did you choose to work for WSCC?

I live in Chichester, so I am happy to have the opportunity to change things for my local community.

What is the best thing about being a Change Manager at WSCC?

I love to see the work that my team does being implemented in the council and see the impact it makes, such as the new A365 telephony system and a variety of different e-forms that help make our service more accessible to our customers.

What do you particularly enjoy about working in the Service Improvement team?

I love how enthusiastic and knowledgeable my team-mates are; always supportive and willing to challenge and drive me to be better.

How does West Sussex support you to develop and progress?

There are many training opportunities and I have found myself learning so much over the last few months, I have regular meetings with my line manager who is super supportive and easy to have an open/honest conversation with.

Is there a particular case or something about your work here that makes you feel proud?

I feel important and that my work really matters, even if it seems to me to be a small thing, it can make a significant difference, such as alerting my team of a finding from call analysis or helping a colleague use a bit of software that is new to them.

What would you say are the challenges of being a Change Manager?

Not everyone wants things to change for one reason or another. This is the most challenging part of the job, although it is the most rewarding part when you have a breakthrough with a colleague, and they embrace what you are changing.

If there is one myth you could bust about Change Managers, what would it be?

That we change things for the sake of it? All our work has a lot of thought and research put into it, so we only change something if it is proven that it needs to change.

This could be down to embracing innovative technology, adapting people’s routines to a more efficient process or even down to something small like implementing a change in behaviour with other colleagues.

Change is good and all change is intended to improve things, otherwise why change?

What would you say to somebody considering joining us?

Think about the difference you are going to make to the people that live in West Sussex, whether that is caring for someone, fixing a pothole that has been annoying drivers for days or even helping that new starter that has just joined the council!