The Retention Reset Programme

What is it?

The Reset Programme is a ten-week development programme for people professionals in local government. 

It deliberately develops two things at once: the personal confidence and agency to lead change, and modern, evidence-informed practice across the employee experience. Everything is anchored to the Retention Maturity Model that participants use to score their organisation – honestly assessing where they are now and setting a clear ambition for where they want to be.

Who is it for?

It is designed for HR and L&D or people/organisation development professionals working across local authorities who want to reset and modernise their people practices, at both a strategic and an operational level.

It suits individuals seeking development and whole teams alike, including those navigating reorganisation, who want a shared language, an honest baseline and a clear plan to take forward. Each cohort is limited to 12 places to protect the quality of peer learning.

What is covered?

The programme works through the whole employee experience across eight practice areas:

Employee value proposition, attraction & selection, onboarding & integration, employment & reward, engagement & performance, learning & development, talent & succession, and equity, diversity & inclusion.

Running alongside these is a personal development focus on agency, confidence and the capability to deliver change – participants leave able not just to design better practice, but to make it happen.

How are modules taught?

The programme runs over 10 weeks, fully online, in two blocks of five with a one-week reflective break in the middle.

• Each week has one live online session, from 9.30am to 12.00pm: a Mastermind first (personal development and change, aligned to the five steps for change), a short break, then a Masterclass on the week’s practice area.
• Week one is a welcome and orientation; weeks two to nine each focus on leading change and one practice area; week 10 is a showcase where participants present their reset plan.
• Participants need to set aside around two hours a week for work between sessions.
• Learning is cohort-based and coaching-led, with a small group of twelve, peer support throughout, and an alumni Community of Practice afterwards.
• The Maturity Model runs through it all – a current-state baseline in the first block of sessions, and a target ambition in the second.

What are the benefits?

By the end of the programme, each participant has:

• an honest maturity baseline across all eight areas of the employee experience
• a Reset Plan for their own organisation
• greater personal agency, confidence and capability to lead change
• a clearer picture of modern, evidence-informed practice across the whole lifecycle
• a network of peers from councils across the country.

Your facilitator

The programme is facilitated by Louise Lennon, a business psychologist, coach and consultant who specialises in positive and productive workplace experiences for candidates, employees and leaders, with a particular interest in fairness and trust at work. She is the founder of The People Deal, an award-winning consultancy, assessment and training provider based at Loughborough University.

Come to a taster session

Want to find out more first? Sign up for the next free taster session at 11am on Wednesday 15 July 2026, online. Contact [email protected]

Not ready to enrol? Explore the LGA’s free Workforce Experience resources and Maturity Model here.

Need more support? If you require additional hands-on support from Louise, this can be arranged at an additional fee and delivered whilst you are on the programme or soon after. 

If you have any questions email [email protected].

You may also be interested in the Recruitment Reset Programme.