Agenda item

(To receive a report from Tony Kavanagh, HR and Organisational Support, which provides an update on the HR Management Information (HRMI) and on corporate HR projects)

Consideration was given to a report by the Assistant Director – HR and Organisational Support, which invited the Board to consider an update of the HR Management Information (HRMI) and on corporate HR projects.

Additional pressure on staffing as a result of the pandemic had led to a substantial increase in agency spend to £4.26m at the end of Quarter 3. The total agency spend was expected to be around £5.77m by the end of the financial year, which would be an increase of £880,000 compared with 2020/21.

Sickness absence had increased in Quarter 3, with the total number of days lost per FTE for Directorates excluding Fire and Rescue being 7.63, which exceeded the target of 7.5 days per FTE. The number of absences attributed to Cold, Flu and viruses rose steeply from September to November where the seasonal illnesses were further increased by Covid-19 cases and chest infections as well as an increase in mental health related absences, which were the largest cause of  sickness.

Support for employee mental health continued to increase and included the use of mental health first aiders, resilience workshops and mindfulness sessions for staff to attend. In addition to their usual service, the Employee Support and Counselling team were providing ‘wellbeing check ins’ for staff and were developing peer support groups to help colleagues experiencing grief and loss.

The ‘People Strategy’ was now in effect with the main focus at present being the Council’s ability to manage the challenges around attraction and retention.

There had been many positive responses within the results of the employee survey, including that line managers were available and approachable, commending the Council’s health and wellbeing offer and the Council’s ability to recognise and support employees.

Areas that had not improved were:

• the feeling that colleagues had a fair opportunity to progress and develop their career
• opportunities to use their strengths and talents in their role
• the Council's values providing a clear framework for a team to operate in
• LCC taking a pro-active and preventative approach to support health and wellbeing
• maintaining a good level of resilience and wellbeing most of the time

The Smarter Working Policy was now fully operational, with many teams operating  hybrid working meaning a mix of working from home and working in an office environment across the Council. The Board was assured that there had been no additional cost burdens as a result of the implementation of the smarter working policy.

Consideration was given to the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

• The smarter working policy offered a hybrid approach, with the facility to support employees to work in the office if they wished to. The Board was reassured that employees experiencing difficulties with their mental health as a result of working from home would be supported.
• Staff turnover rates had been much lower throughout the pandemic which was thought to be due to uncertainty within the job market nationally. However, as the country moved to the recovery phase of the pandemic, the Council had begun to see an increase in turnover rates similar to that of pre-pandemic, which was partly due to the benefits of many businesses offering agile working which had led to a broader range of opportunities across the private sector.  The Board was reassured to hear that the Council put in place support plans to encourage employees to stay, where possible. Members also recognised that some degree of turnover was healthy for both employee and the Council as it provided the opportunity for a new work force. Members recognised the opportunities that had arisen for smarter working as a result of the pandemic and welcomed a hybrid approach.
• It was encouraging to see that there had been an increase in employee involvement in decision making across the Council, which was important in maintaining the morale of employees.
• The Board welcomed the support for apprenticeships within the Council.
• Assurance was provided that the smarter working policy offered flexibility around hybrid working, for example it would allow people with cold like symptoms to work from home if they were well enough to do so, to minimise the spread of illnesses to other colleagues.
• The importance of encouraging freedom around mask wearing and not putting pressure on people to remove masks was emphasised.
• There were a number of measures being implemented in an attempt to improve career development opportunities across the Council, but officers acknowledged that there was more work that could be done. It was encouraging to see an increase in the take up of secondments for employees, which could often be a stepping stone to other career opportunities and were an excellent way to provide further opportunities.
• The Chief Executive emphasised the importance of providing as many opportunities as possible for people to grow and develop within the Council. The Council was working with the university to identify graduating students with possible job openings in their specialist areas.
• Pay within the private sector job market was competitive which would have some impact on retention and attraction of staff to the Council which was restricted to a government mandated pay scale
•  The Council could offer short term pay initiatives for employees and members were reassured that the Council did offer a competitive apprenticeship salary compared with the national provision.
• Departments with higher levels of staff turnover were seen within Business Support and in hard to recruit areas. A breakdown of staff turnover for each directorate would be circulated to the Board.

RESOLVED:

              That, having received the necessary assurances regarding the HR         information, the progress on the 2021-24 People Management Strategy              projects be noted.