Meeting documents

To receive an update from the Director of HR & Organisational Development.

The Committee received a wide ranging overview of the work of the HR and OD team and how they worked to improve positively on service outcomes within budget for a range of statutory activities and mandatory activities.

An overview was provided of a number of projects that demonstrated a commitment to improving the Council so that it would become an employer-of-choice and offered improved support for colleagues as they experience different ‘stages’ in their lives. Examples of this activity in 2019-20 included: Menopause Cafes and guidance for staff & managers; Time to Talk day; Signing of Domestic Abuse Charter with trade unions; Yammer ‘shout-out’ days – praise for colleagues; Young People’s Conference (January 2020);Pensions’ and staff benefits’ roadshows.

It was noted that the budget for the HR-OD service area had been reduced by 40% since 2015 and this has necessitated a number of changes, in terms of delivery of services, but also reductions in spend on areas such as learning & development. The service relies on income generation from external clients, with over £1 million generated and in practical terms, this covered the cost of HR Administration & Payroll services to SCC.

The service has delivered its savings targets since 2015 and over-delivered in the subsequent years. This has resulted in pressures within the service and what it could deliver, however the Director stated he was confident that those risks were managed appropriately. If additional resource was required to support organisational priorities, then this will be procured accordingly based on business-cases requirements.

In response to a question it was noted that the principle risk the Director was concerned about was the development of staff at the Council, to provide attractive & fulfilling careers, to enable and support transformation and service area priorities and to minimise succession planning risks. The establishment of a ‘Workforce Reserve’ would help to mitigate this, enabling focused development of staff that would be overseen by the Workforce Boards for each service area.

There was a brief discussion about the new corporate logo and the Committee welcomed the new logo and noted that was an ‘in-house’ design and they asked for their appreciation and thanks to be forwarded to the officer and their team. The Chair of the Committee thanked the Director for his interesting and informative overview and noted that there was lots to be proud of and it was good to note all that was done for Council staff.

The Committee received a wide ranging overview of the work of the HR and OD team and how they worked to improve positively on service outcomes within budget for a range of statutory activities and mandatory activities.

An overview was provided of a number of projects that demonstrated a commitment to improving the Council so that it would become an employer-of-choice and offered improved support for colleagues as they experience different ‘stages’ in their lives. Examples of this activity in 2019-20 included: Menopause Cafes and guidance for staff & managers; Time to Talk day; Signing of Domestic Abuse Charter with trade unions; Yammer ‘shout-out’ days – praise for colleagues; Young People’s Conference (January 2020);Pensions’ and staff benefits’ roadshows.

It was noted that the budget for the HR-OD service area had been reduced by 40% since 2015 and this has necessitated a number of changes, in terms of delivery of services, but also reductions in spend on areas such as learning & development. The service relies on income generation from external clients, with over £1 million generated and in practical terms, this covered the cost of HR Administration & Payroll services to SCC.

The service has delivered its savings targets since 2015 and over-delivered in the subsequent years. This has resulted in pressures within the service and what it could deliver, however the Director stated he was confident that those risks were managed appropriately. If additional resource was required to support organisational priorities, then this will be procured accordingly based on business-cases requirements.

In response to a question it was noted that the principle risk the Director was concerned about was the development of staff at the Council, to provide attractive & fulfilling careers, to enable and support transformation and service area priorities and to minimise succession planning risks. The establishment of a ‘Workforce Reserve’ would help to mitigate this, enabling focused development of staff that would be overseen by the Workforce Boards for each service area.

There was a brief discussion about the new corporate logo and the Committee welcomed the new logo and noted that was an ‘in-house’ design and they asked for their appreciation and thanks to be forwarded to the officer and their team. The Chair of the Committee thanked the Director for his interesting and informative overview and noted that there was lots to be proud of and it was good to note all that was done for Council staff.