Independent, Evidence-Based, No Surprises: How We Facilitate a Council CEO's Performance Review

Under most state Local Government Acts, councils are required to formally review their Chief Executive's performance at least annually. It's a legislated responsibility the council carries, and done well, it's also one of the most valuable conversations a Chief Executive has all year: a clear, evidence-based account of what's working, what's next, and where they stand.

A South Australian regional council recently engaged us to bring exactly that structure to their Chief Executive's annual review. An independent facilitation across the full cycle, from setting the year's KPIs, through to the final appraisal.

Here's what that looked like in practice

We started by agreeing the framework with the panel - for a council, an eight-dimension model covering strategic delivery of the Council Plan, financial stewardship, service delivery, governance and statutory compliance, the relationship with the elected body, community engagement, organisational leadership and culture, and personal integrity and conduct. Results and behaviour both count, which matters for the Chief Executive as much as the council: it means strong performance gets recognised on more than one narrow measure.

From there, we facilitated a performance agreement, setting the year's specific KPIs, tied directly to the council's own Community Plan. Throughout the year, we will run interim check-ins, not to catch anyone out, but so the Chief Executive always has a clear, current read on how the year is tracking, with no surprises held back for the annual review.

At review time, the Chief Executive will complete a self-assessment, alongside evidence-based input from each panel member. We assemble a balanced evidence base and facilitate the review meeting itself, presenting that evidence neutrally, moderating any one voice from dominating the discussion, and guiding the panel to a calibrated, defensible rating on each dimension. We produce the full appraisal, support the chair to deliver the feedback constructively, and provide a sector remuneration benchmark to inform the council's decision, which always remains theirs to make.

For the Chief Executive, the real value of an independent process is that the outcome rests on evidence gathered from multiple sources, not on which councillor happened to be most engaged that year. It's feedback they can trust, recognition that holds up, and a clear, forward-looking set of priorities rather than an assessment shaped by whoever was loudest in the room. For the council, it's the same evidence base giving them confidence in a decision they're accountable for. Independent facilitation serves both sides of that relationship.

If your organisation's CEO review is due and you want it to be something your Chief Executive finishes feeling clear and fairly heard, rather than just another compliance box ticked, that's exactly the conversation we have.

Written by Brigitte Smith, Head of Partnerships, Local Government Alliance