Case Studies

Linton Consulting was initially engaged by the Town of Essex to work with a newly elected Council and senior management team to complete a strategic plan. Entitled “Getting Things Done for You”, this roadmap for action has provided practical direction for budgets, projects and decision-making. Linton Consulting was then re-engaged by the Town several months later to complete a comprehensive organizational review with the purpose of assessing their capacity to achieve these strategic priorities.

Approved by Council in September 2024, Linton Consulting’s 12-point plan will result in a reconfigured organizational model enabling long term organizational effectiveness. The Town is poised for success. Using their trademark collaborative staff engagement methodology, change recommendations will result in:

• Better clustering of functions to eliminate role duplication/overlap.
• Enhance the customer experience with “single-counter” service delivery.
• Address unbalanced workload issues.
• Manage corporate risks by addressing functional gaps.
• Provide interesting career path options for high-performance staff.

A word from our client: “Staff at all levels, including front line staff, directors, and Members of Council, let me know how easy it was to talk to Kelly, and more importantly, how much they trusted Kelly. The quality of the project deliverables was extremely professional, on time, and presented to Council in a way that was easy to understand..” (Essex CAO) 

The Town of Goderich is blessed with an abundance of natural and built features most communities can only wish for. Linton Consulting was engaged by the Town to facilitate a community-driven strategic planning process. Over 620 residents responded to an online questionnaire ensuring that this strategic plan was shaped by community input. Entitled “Achieving Our Potential: 2023-2027 Strategic Action Plan, this Plan includes five high-level goals and 52 specific, measurable actions providing clear direction for this term of Council and beyond. This Plan received unanimous Council approval in June 2023. 

A word from our client: “The way that Linton Consulting facilitated the leadership team sessions provided excellent momentum for our team. They hit it out of the park!” (Goderich Deputy Mayor) 

Town of Hanover is poised for growth. No surprise that people love living in the beautiful and historic small town! Residents and visitors alike enjoy the downtown core with its heritage Carnegie library, beautiful urban park, and cafes and retail shops. Entitled “Building Our Future Together: 2023-2027 Strategic Action Plan”, this Plan provides much-needed direction for the Town leaders to pursue healthy, balanced growth protecting Hanover’s small town feel and leveraging its location as a regional centre. This project was shaped by community input received through over 450 online questionnaire responses and three well-attended community focus groups. This Plan was unanimously approved by Council in August 2023. 

A word from our client: “The entire strategic planning process was focused, well organized and well-run. I particularly appreciated the professional approach along with the extensive knowledge from a political and administrative position.” (Hanover Mayor) 

Located on the St. Lawrence River in picturesque southeastern Ontario, South Stormont offers the relaxed country living close to major metropolitan areas. Faced with a disconnect between Council/community expectations and staff capacity, Linton Consulting was engaged to facilitate a strategic planning process to find common ground between Council and staff of what matters most. Entitled “Setting Priorities. Achieving Results: 2023-2027 Strategic Action Plan”, this Plan established clear and measurable actions for the current term of Council. The joint Council-senior management team working sessions were instrumental in driving towards achievable actions that recognized staffing and budget constraints. This Plan received unanimous Council approval in August 2023. 

A word from our client: “I am very pleased with the quality of Linton Consulting’s work! The final Strategic Action Plan product is amazing and something the Township is proud to share.” (South Stormont CAO) 

Since 1906, the Hanover Public Library has been an important part of their community. Linton Consulting was engaged to facilitate a strategic planning process to find better ways to meet the changing needs of people in our community. Entitled “Enriching Our Community: 2024-2029 Strategic Action Plan”, this Plan established a clear and comprehensive go-forward plan to integrate the Library into the daily lives of residents and ensure that the Hanover Library becomes much more than books. Four inspirational goals and 25 measurable actions give direction to the Library board and staff to achieve positive results. This Plan was unanimously approved by the Library Board in September 2023.   

A word from our client: “In person meetings were especially productive. Communication was clear, timely, effective, and consistent. The initial plan was very good and you kept to the schedule and phases that were laid out. Responses to our messages were prompt.” (Library CEO) 

Formed in 2001 as an amalgamation of several villages and towns, the Municipality of Huron East has a rich agricultural heritage and a friendly, small-town vibe. Faced with the significant challenge of limited finances, Linton Consulting was engaged by Huron East to work with Council and staff to create priorities, measurable actions, and implementation timelines to achieve greater stability. Entitled “Working Together for You: Strategic Action Plan”, this Plan established four goals with associated actions and timelines. Highly collaborative working sessions with the eleven Members of Council (quite large for a lower tier municipality) and the management team resulted in a clearly worded roadmap for action. This Plan received unanimous Council approval in May 2024.   

A vibrant and growing community in Essex County on the shores of Lake Erie, the Town of Essex is fortunate to have exceptional leaders who are committed to taking real action to make life measurable better for their residents. Our kind of client! Linton Consulting was engaged by the Town to facilitate a strategic planning process. Entitled “Getting Things Done for You: 2023-2027 Strategic Action Plan”, this Plan provides a roadmap for action that has been embraced by Council and staff. Informed by community input, this Plan is inspirational, results-oriented, measurable, and designed to be read and understood by the entire community. It received unanimous Council approval in June 2023. 

A word from our client: “Experienced and effective consultation process where we all felt safe to share thoughts and opinions.” (Essex Mayor) 

Established in 1980, the Township of The Archipelago is a water-based, seasonally oriented municipality consisting of several thousand islands in Georgian Bay and several inland freshwater lakes. This unique municipality prides itself on being a highly focused, well-run municipality, and Council has high expectations of their staff. Linton Consulting was engaged to conduct a comprehensive organizational review to determine if the Township has the resources, skillsets, capacity, positive working environment, and organizational configuration required to achieve these expectations. Using a highly collaborative and investigative consulting approach, Linton Consulting produced a series of recommendations building capacity to achieve positive results. Departments were reconfigured; position roles & responsibilities revised; processes streamlined; and policies and practices improved. Final Report received unanimous Council approval in March 2024.  

A word from our client: “The project was well run, and the product was excellent. The Linton Consulting was responsive and able to pivot when necessary. Communications was excellent and Linton Consulting kept us informed at every step of the project.” (Township CAO) 

Located on the shores of Lake Ontario, Port Hope is a historic small town experiencing rapid growth. This growth has been resulting in significant increases in demand for quality-of-life recreation, culture and events services and programs. After facilitating a strategic planning process with Port Hope Council, Linton Consulting was engaged to conduct an organizational review of the Port Hope Parks, Recreation & Culture Department. This project reviewed the Department’s organizational structure and staffing levels to determine and how it supports the effective and efficient delivery of services. Recognizing that staff have valuable subject matter expertise and operational knowledge, the project approach has been centred around staff participation. Recommendations and a practical implementation plan have positioned this Port Hope department for long-term operational excellence and positive staff morale. 

A small rural municipality in Elgin County, West Elgin is comprised of two villages, several smaller settlement areas, and significant farmland. Linton Consulting was engaged to help this Township address an urgent situation of overworked/overwhelmed senior management team. The consulting approach used for this project included significant conversations with staff at all levels. The “staff recommendation challenge sessions” resulted in made-in-West Elgin recommendations designed for implementation. The recommendations recognized the shortage of staff in senior management roles and reorganized departments and business areas in a way that made operational sense, thus fixing foundational cracks. The Final Report received unanimous Council approval in January 2024. 

A word from our client: “The overall project was delivered with precision, a high level of professionalism and great commitment to timelines. Staff engagement, having face-to-face conversations and being available for a confidential phone call created a sense of belonging among staff.” (West Elgin CAO)