Agenda item

To seek endorsement from the People, Performance and Development Committee to introduce a Professional Development Programme within the Environment &Infrastructure Directorate that provides set pay progression for candidates undertaking specific professional training schemes.

The report sets out pay and reward packages offered by those organisations competing with Surrey County Council for engineers and other specialist E&I officers. Following this, it outlines how introducing a Professional Development Programme will benefit E&I; the details of the proposed scheme, including costs, as well as providing information on other similar schemes that exist within the Council.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Dominic Forbes, Planning & Development Group Manager

Ken Akers, Head of HR & OD

Key points raised during the discussion:

•    An introduction to the report was provided by the Group Manager, Planning and Development who highlighted the rationale behind the proposal to introduce a Professional Development Programme for specialist roles within the Environment & Infrastructure (E&I) Directorate. SCC is finding it increasingly challenging to recruit and retain specialist staff within E&I due to competition from a number of other private and public sector organisations which was compounded by a national skills shortage particularly in relation to engineering. There were a number of largescale infrastructure projects in the pipeline for the South of England over the next few years including HS2 and Crossrail 2 both of which would put further pressure on the capacity of E&I to recruit and Retain Staff.

•    Members were informed that the Professional Development Programme would improve the capacity of E&I to recruit and retain staff within engineering and other specialist roles by offering a clearly defined career path. Despite the additional expenditure associated with putting staff members through professional development courses and training programmes, the proposals were cost neutral as the aim was to recruit staff on lower pay grades and develop their skills and experience through the Professional Development Programme. Additional savings would also be achieved through a reduction in expenditure on agency staff.

•    The Committee drew attention to the Project Management Course at the University of Brighton and asked whether SCC was still putting members of staff through this course. The Planning and Development Group Manager confirmed that some staff were still going through this programme and also highlighted that a couple of staff members within E&I had been placed on a course Chichester College.

•    The Planning and Development Group Manager was asked to provide the Committee with details of what SCC’s current offer is for staff within specialist and engineering roles in order to provide a comparison with what competitor organisations offer. Members were advised that in general SCC’s offer for graduates was good but that the lack of a clearly defined career path was harming E&I’s ability to retain key staff. The lack of a welcoming bonus and expensive living costs in Surrey were also having an adverse impact on the capacity of E&I to recruit staff. The Planning and Development Group Manager stated that he would circulate full details of the pay and benefits packages offered to staff in engineering and specialist roles within the E&I Directorate.

•    Members drew attention to the lack of affordable for key frontline staff and the impact that this was having on recruiting staff across the Council as many people were unwilling to work for SCC due to the high cost of living and the comparatively low wages compared to those offered for similar positions within local authorities in London. It was suggested that the Council could purchase property through a capital loan which it could then rent at a comparatively cheap rate to key workers across the organisation. The Committee requested that the Head of HR & OD should coordinate with the relevant heads of service to explore the possibility of purchasing property for this purpose following which a report should be provided to PPDC.

•    The Planning and Development Group Manager was asked whether the introduction of the Professional Development Programme would lead to a reduction in productivity and quality of work as a result of hiring staff with less experience. He responded by stating that employing staff with less experience would have an inevitable impact on teams within E&I but that the alternative was not having these positions filled at all. The Committee was advised that it was also important for SCC to offer a pay and benefits package that would encourage staff to remain within the organisation once they had completed they were fully skilled-up.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

1.    Senior Managers within the E&I Directorate should draw up proposals for what a welcome bonus for staff joining the Directorate would be structured and brought back for consideration by PPDC once this had been completed.

2.    Head of HR & OD along with relevant heads of service to draw up proposals for ways in which the Council could invest in property for housing frontline staff who would be otherwise unable to afford the cost of accommodation in Surrey

3.    PPDC to receive details of the current offer that the Directorate has for engineering and other specialist roles.

RESOLVED: That;

the People, Performance and Development Committee approve the introduction of  a Professional Development Programme within the Environment and Infrastructure Directorate (E&I) that provides set pay progression for candidates undertaking specific professional training schemes.