Civil Service Local recently helped deliver a ‘Meet the Neighbours ‘ discovery day at Rosebery Court in Norwich.
Around 200 local civil servants from over 14 different departments and agencies based in and around the city came together to develop stronger connections, open up channels of communication, gain a better understanding of their shared skills and expertise, how they can work more closely together and open up potential career pathways for individuals.
Departments showcased on the market stalls included DWP, Cabinet Office, HSE, HMRC, VOA, HM Prison Service, Defra and Crown Commercial Services. Local staff also shared their knowledge in workshops including Success Profiles, Mental Health First Aid and Health and Safety in the Workplace.
Sam Rowbury, Director of Policy at Cabinet Office who opened the event said “ I thought it was a triumph - a big turnout and great to see the networking and sharing that was going on.”
95% of those attending agreed they learnt something new and really appreciated the networking and finding out about what other departments do, some they previously did not know about.
One of the attendees, Liz Butcher from DWP commented " I thought it was a very worthwhile couple of hours and I hope there will be regular opportunities to repeat - 6 monthly or annually? It was very useful to make connections with other departments as it is difficult to get contact details across the Civil Service. As an example - I spoke to someone from HMRC and discovered they are actually paying for a venue to see customers - we are now providing them with a space inside our Jobcentres at zero cost. This might not have happened had we not attended this event.”
Other comments included:
“I think it is clear that we often miss opportunities to hold events/training sessions which could be spread across the local departments - offering more opportunities for people in the area”
“It was a lovely event to feel proud about being in the Civil Service
As well as all this local staff demonstrated their talents by baking a delicious selection of cakes, the sale of which raised £320 for local charities.
If you would like to work with us to stage a similar event in your locality, please get in touch.