Agenda item

To agree the minutes as a true record of the meeting.

The Committee requested that a note be circulated to the People, Performance and Development Committee containing the final appraisal completion figures following the deadline for services to complete staff appraisals on 31 October 2016.

Concerns were raised regarding the Voicemail Mystery Shopper Exercise undertaken by the Customer Services Team the results of which were annexed to the minutes of the previous meeting. Members stated that the outcomes of the exercise demonstrated that the majority of staff within Surrey County Council (SCC) did not adhere to the Council’s Voicemail Policy.  Members stressed the importance of officers having a clear and up-to-date voicemail message which includes details of an alternative contact for when they are out of the office. The ability of Members to contact officers in order to deal with Residents’ questions and concerns is crucial to the Council delivering on its corporate priority of achieving good customer service. The Head of Customer Services tabled an updated set of results at the meeting which are attached to these minutes as Annex 1.  He highlighted that the results were only a dip sample from across the organisation and so it was not possible to draw conclusions on overall adherence to the Voicemail Policy but stated the results demonstrated that staff needed to be reminded of the importance of following the Voicemail Policy.

The Head of Customer Services asked the People, Performance and Development Committee to lend its support to efforts aimed at reinforcing the message to staff regarding the Council’s Voicemail Policy. A letter for staff drafted by the Head of Customer Services which highlighted the importance of adhering to the Council’s Voicemail Policy was tabled at the meeting and is attached to these minutes as Annex 2. The Committee was advised that the contents of the letter had been informed by learning into research on behavioural insights and was designed to nudge staff members into adhering to the Policy. Members felt that a strongly worded letter should be directed to managers reminding them to ensure that their line reports have answer phone messages which accord with the Voicemail Policy. The Committee specified that this should come from the Chief Executive and highlight that progress on applying the Voicemail would be monitored by the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC).

The Head of HR & OD was asked how many apprentices SCC would be required to employ following the introduction of the Government’s Apprenticeship Reforms. Members were informed that early indications had suggested that it would be between 170 and 200 apprentices but that confirmation on the final figures would be released by Central Government shortly.

The minutes were agreed as a true record of the meeting.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

1.    The Head of HR and OD to circulate a note to Committee Members on Tuesday 1 November detailing the Council's position in regard to the number of completed appraisals across SCC.

2.    The Head of Customer Services to send a communication on behalf of the Leader to reinforce the importance of adherence to the Council's telephone and voicemail policy and to inform ELT that PPDC will be monitoring compliance in future.