Councillors and committees

Agenda item

HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

This reports sets out the organisational context in which the HR & OD service delivers services. The report includes the aims and measures of the HR & OD strategy and information on key workforce management issues including training, appraisal, wellbeing, attendance and workforce planning.

 

Minutes:

Declarations of interest:

 

None

 

Witnesses:

 

Ken Akers, Head of HR/OD

Abid Dar, Senior Equality Inclusion & Wellbeing Manager

 

Key points raised during the discussion:

 

1.    The Head of HR/OD confirmed that the People, Performance and Development Committee (PPDC) had considered and commented on the HR &OD strategy but did not approve it as was alluded to in paragraph 4 of the report. It was further added that it was standard protocol for PPDC to consider HR related strategies.

2.    The Chairman commented that workforce planning did not seem to be aligned with the business planning cycle and financial cycle. The Head of HR/OD was asked to clarify what this meant for the workforce in the present. The Head of HR/OD stated that there were challenges with workforce planning due to inaccuracy of data. The lack of accurate data meant that HR processes had been developed in disconnect with financial processes.

3.    The Head of HR/OD stated that he was confident that these data issues would be corrected by April 2018.

4.    There was an agreement that with the authority embarking on the transformation of services with the appointment of a new Chief Executive, accurate workforce data was critical. 

5.    A Member of the Committee queried why the set out guided distribution for appraisal ratings were so restrictive. The Head of HR/OD explained that the previous appraisal process saw over 20% of staff across the organisation being rated ‘exceptional’. The service wanted to ensure that going forward, those who were rated as exceptional were in practice performing at that level.

6.    It was clarified that with the new pay and reward strategy, only those rated as exceptional would receive a bonus that would be payed to them monthly.

7.    Concern was raised around the number of appraisals not completed and what was being done to tackle this. The Head of HR/OD was in agreement that non completion was a concern. A system had been introduced which meant that appraisals within the management structure had to be completed or those who achieved exceptional within that structure would not receive their pay and reward. Non completion figures were also presented to Strategic Directors for their attention.

8.    The Chairman queried why the non-completion of appraisals within the E&I directorate and CSF directorate was high. The Head of HR/OD confirmed that these figures also included bank workers who were on zero hour contracts. It had historically been difficult to schedule appraisals with these workers due to working hours.

9.    A Member of the Committee queried the costs for learning and development training courses especially in those cases were there was non-attendance. The Head of HR/OD confirmed that he would need to clarify the detailed costs of training courses.

10.  There were issues around non-attendance to training with operational issues being the main reason for non-attendance. The Head of HR/OD explained that there was an expectation that managers approve training but currently they were not part of the automated approval process in place.

11.  The Head of HR/OD was asked to share the main findings from the recent staff survey. The Head of HR/OD stated that the key positive themes from the recent survey included staff valuing their teams and the work they did. Areas of challenge included a need for a clearer direction of where the organisation was heading, concerns around leadership, receiving a ‘fair-deal’ and wellbeing in relation to the senior leadership team.

12.  A Member of the Committee queried how the leadership development programme would be monitored to ensure it was effective. The Head of HR/OD explained that the leadership offer was more self-directed. The programme would be monitored through take-up, feedback and evaluation. A small group of senior managers would also feedback on how the leadership programme was developing. The staff survey would also be an effective way of monitoring the programme.

13.  The Head of HR/OD explained that there was a workforce report at directorate level but there were challenges trying to understand the current vacancy rate. A tableaux system would be introduced so directors could quiz HR data more effectively. From this system, data measures to support the HR strategy would be collated and a dashboard created. The dashboard was still in progression but a draft had been shared with PPDC in due course.

14.  The Chairman asked that the Head of HR/OD provide the Committee with more granular detail of costs for Learning and Development training.

15.  The Chairman also asked for the Committee to be provided with details around the number of non- completed appraisals that can be attributed to bank staff.

16.  It was agreed for the Committee to receive an update report on the progress of the HR&OD strategy in 6 months which would cover the development of the dashboard and KPIs contained within the strategy. The Chairman also asked for this update to cover succession planning and unfunded posts.

 

12.00-12:05- The meeting was adjourned for a short break

 

Actions:

 

·         For the Head of HR/OD to provide the Committee with more granular detail of costs for Learning and Development training.

·         For the Committee to be provided with details around the number of non-completed appraisals that can be attributed to bank staff.

·         For the Committee to receive an update report on the progress of the HR&OD strategy in 6 months. To include the development of the dashboard and KPIs contained within the strategy, succession planning and unfunded posts.

 

 

Supporting documents: