Agenda item

This report provides an update to the Committee 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.

Declarations of interest:

None

Witnesses:

Ken Akers, Head of HR & OD

Key points raised during the discussion:

1.    The Committee received an introduction to the report from officers who highlighted that SCC had invested heavily in developing its management team as a means of driving improved performance across the organisation. Members were advised that the High Performance Development Programme “the Programme” had been an important part of steps to develop managers throughout the Council and had been successful in improving organisational performance. Officers stated, however, that fewer managers within frontline services had attended the Programme as had been anticipated and so any future changes to it would encourage increased participation by frontline service managers.

2.    The Committee expressed concern regarding the limited number of frontline service managers that had attended the Programme and requested further details on how they would be encouraged to sign up to future iterations of the Programme. Officers indicated that frontline service managers hadn’t been adequately engaged in the Programme offer and so careful monitoring and management would be put in place to develop the offer and help to tailor it towards the needs of those delivering frontline services. Members were informed that a steering group had already been set up to assist in directing the development of the Programme and that this steering group included frontline service managers so that they were fully engaged in this process. The Committee stated that improved uptake on the Programme may be achieved by discussing the benefits of attending the course with relevant staff members.

3.    Further information was requested in regard to the increased resignation rate which has been recorded among staff across the Council since the High Performance Development Programme was introduced. Officers stated that the Programme had empowered managers to tackle entrenched behaviours which ran counter to the expectations of the organisation and that this had resulted in a slight increase in staff turnover.

4.    Members were advised that the next iteration of the Programme would aim to link SCC staff with managers from other public sector bodies in Surrey so as to aid collaborative working between organisations across the county.

5.    The Committee stated that effective coaching and professional development programmes had enabled SCC to bring on and improve many of its own staff at a time when lots of organisations were choosing to their reduce training budgets as a result of financial pressures. Half of managers across SCC had completed the High Performance Development Programme and this was contributing to improvements in service delivery across the organisation.

6.    Members requested that the Corporate Leadership Team undertaken an evaluation of the Programme and consider what improvements could be made to it for the next cohort managers.

Actions/ further information to be provided:

1.    Corporate Leadership Team to be engaged on the development of the next iteration of the High Performance Development Programme.

RESOLVED: That;

 the People, Performance and Development Committee:

      i.        note the findings of the University of Surrey’s evaluation report of the High Performance Development Programme and the positive difference the investment has made in starting to develop the shift in culture of the organisation; and

     ii.        support plans in place to re-focus the leadership and management programme to continue this journey to service excellence; building on areas identified in the evaluation report as needing more attention