Agenda item

Purpose of the report: This report provides an update to the Board on outcomes following the external evaluation of the High Performance Development Programme. This followed a request from Members to understand the return on investment from the programme agreed by Cabinet in May 2014.

Witnesses:

Karen Archer-Burton, Strategic OPD Manager.

Colin Kemp, Denise Saliagopoulos and David Harmer took brief breaks during this item.

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    Members questioned a contradiction in the report, whereby it suggested  the programme had been a success and would be continued, however the last staff survey results indicated that some senior managers within the organisation were not living the values.  The officer explained that the High Performance Development Programme (HPDP) went live in 2014 and therefore the impact of the HPDP on the 2015 staff survey results would have been low.  One year on, all senior leaders had completed the HPDP, along with 60% of leaders.  It was therefore expected that the 2016 survey results would show significant improvement.  The officer stated that if the results were less favourable, Human Resources and Organisational Development would go back and review the programme further. 

2.    Members requested that the chart on page 83 was updated to include percentages of attendance by directorate.  This information will be attached to these minutes as Annex 1.

3.    The Board were informed that the £1million programme cost referred to in paragraph 13 did not include the cost of officer time or travel.  Acting on previous officer feedback, the HPDP was delivered in different locations across the county in order to minimise the need for officers to incur travel costs.

4.    The Board enquired whether, given the organisation’s current financial situation, the programme represented value for money and how much more money was due to be spent on the programme in the next financial year.  The officer explained that determining whether the programme was value for money would require more evidence and data to be analysed.  She also explained that the leadership budget within HR and OD covered more than just the HPDP; and that next years’ expenditure would be determined by the revised financial envelope issued to the service.

5.    The officer explained that the re-design of the programme in April 2017 planned to feature some content changes as the programme currently focused on challenging behaviours and working with staff.  The update would cover systems interactions and networks.  There was also a potential for some collaborative working with organisations such as Surrey Police and the NHS which could lead to future savings.

6.    The officer explained that the increase of absenteeism and grievances referred to in paragraph 14 (ii) was mild and was likely to be related to the increased confidence of leaders to challenge unacceptable behaviours post-completion of HPDP, however the increase would still be investigated by HR.

7.    The officer informed the board that the HR/OD team aimed to make the HPDP programme more accessible.  They recognised that for leaders in some frontline services, taking them out of the role for four to six days could lead to an impact in service provision.  It was noted that this could be overcome by adapting the programme to offer place-based delivery.

8.    The Board were advised that direct reports to leaders who had completed the HPDP had been asked to provide feedback to form part of the evaluation process, however this was only collected from 20 direct reports and therefore more information was required. 

Further information to be provided:

·         Percentage values for the number of staff who have completed the programme by directorate

·         Explanation of the impact of the HPDP on directorate-level recruitment costs reported on page 94

Recommendation:

That a further report on the impact of the High Performance Development Programme incorporating the results of the staff survey and an update on the details of the new programme is brought to this Board in early 2017.