Agenda item

To provide an update on the final completion rates of appraisals for Surrey County Council, to cover performance from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, carried out in 2015.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Carmel Millar, Director of People and Development

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    An updated version of Annex A was tabled at the meeting and provided the Committee with the final number of appraisals that had been completed across the Council for the year 2014/15. The final completion rate for appraisals which was tabled at the meeting.

2.    The Director of People and Development introduced the report highlighting that a final completion rate of almost 92% had been completed across SCC. Although there was room for improvement within some directorates, in the main, services had managed to complete appraisals for the majority of eligible staff within a significantly shorter timeframe than in previous years.

3.    Members inquired about the Adult Social Care Mental Health Team’s appraisal completion rate and why it stood at just under 16%. The Committee was informed that although the team fell under the remit of Adult Social Care, it was comprised of staff members from both the NHS and Surrey County Council (SCC) and was in fact managed by a senior NHS manager. The Director of People and Development indicated that the appraisal eligibility for particular members of the Mental Health Team had been the source of some discussion. It was agreed that only those staff which are eligible for an appraisal should be included in appraisal completion data. It was further agreed that the Committee would receive a report at a future meeting on outlining the criteria for eligible staff in instances where they worked as part of a team that was integrated with the NHS.

4.    Some Members of the Committee expressed concern regarding the number of staff appraisals completed within the Children, Schools and Families Directorate and asked why this number wasn’t higher. The Director of People and Development stressed that the final appraisal completion rate for the Service showed significant improvement from where it had been a few months ago and that this figure could be viewed as something of a success given the challenges that the Directorate had faced over the past year. Members recognised that improving the way that the Service operated would be an iterative process and that a higher rate of appraisal completion across the Children, Schools and Families Directorate was anticipated next year.

5.    Further information was also requested on why the Information Management and Technology (IMT) Team had only been able to complete 75% of appraisals. The Director of People and Development informed Members that that information would be sought from relevant senior manager regarding the appraisal completion rate and that this would be circulated to the Committee. It was, however, highlighted that initiatives such as Orbis and a number of other projects had placed a great deal of pressure on IMT and this may have impacted adversely on the number of appraisals that the Service had managed to complete.

6.    The Committee expressed their satisfaction with the number of appraisals that had been completed across the organisation. It was agreed that the Chairman would write a letter to the Chief Executive of the Council to thank directors and heads of services for achieving such a high appraisal completion rate in a what was a significantly reduced timeframe from the previous year.

Actions/further information to be provided:

                    i.       The Committee to receive a report providing clarification on eligible staff in instances where they are part of an integrated service delivery team with the NHS (Action Review Ref: A22/15).

                   ii.       The Director of People and Development to circulate further information to the People, Performance and Development Committee on the reasons behind the Information Management and Technology Team’s comparatively low appraisal completion rate (Action Review Ref: A23/15).

                  iii.       The Chairman to send a letter to the Chief Executive congratulating directors and heads of service for achieving such a high appraisal completion rate (Action Review Ref: A24/15).

RESOLVED:

            That;

              i.             The People, Performance and Development Committee note that the final completion rate for eligible appraisals, as recorded on the system, stands at 91.71% completion, which is a great achievement across the organisation.

             ii.             The Council will now focus on the appraisal year 2016 and the support which services will need in relation to completing high quality appraisals. The proposal for 2016 will be to link appraisal to the new pay and reward strategy which People Performance and Development Committee Members will consider later this year.

            iii.             The Committee continue to request reports for appraisal completion data on a quarterly basis.

           iv.             Members note a period of two years for completion of a significant programme of appraisal training for over 300 team leaders has commenced for Commercial Services to facilitate completion of all appraisals for the 1,500 staff in that service.