Introduction
The Council employs over 9,000 full time equivalent staff. The great majority of staff provide services directly to people in their homes and communities or are employed in schools. Ninety four per cent (94%) of staff are located in the areas they serve with 6% of staff working from the council’s HQ in Inverness.
The job satisfaction, motivation and personal development which people experience as a result of working for the Council has a direct impact on our capacity to deliver high quality services to the public. The Council surveys staff to ascertain how well it supports and manages staff and where to improve.
Performance
Under current documents you can access a summary of the results from the latest survey and for those who are interested the full results are also accessible. We have also included a link to a copy of the newsletter sent to staff which summarises the main actions that followed from the survey.
Actions From Employee Survey
Progress on Improvement Actions
After the 2005 survey, a newsletter was circulated to all staff detailing the corporate and Service improvement actions that had been identified in response to the results of the second Highland Council Employee Survey.
It was agreed that progress on the improvement actions would be reported to Resources Committee and all staff. This newsletter outlines briefly the progress against corporate and Service improvements.
Corporate Improvements
As a result of your views reported in the Employee Survey, improvements were identified under the following key themes:
Communication
Pay & Terms & Conditions
Management Style
Training & Development
Workload and Stress
Managing Change
Valuing Staff
and these are detailed below, against each theme:
Communication
Highland Council Communication standards and procedures have been approved. These will implemented across Services and monitored to ensure effectiveness.
Provide opportunities for Service senior management teams to communicate directly with staff and listen to their views on how they feel the Services might be improved.
The Intranet has been developed to enable greater access for all staff to information, including the Management Intranet Site, minutes of Weekly Business Meeting, presentations from Chief Executive’s Management Briefings and discussion forums. This is available to all Highland Council intranet users.
Pay & Terms & Conditions
Continue to regularly report progress to staff.
Consult with Trade Unions on pay structure design & harmonisation issues
Introduce a single pay structure.
To introduce a package of harmonised terms and conditions of employment.
Management Style
Management Development Programme completed by 300 managers.
Induct manager into the Management Competency Framework and encourage use through Personal Development Plan process.
Evaluate current mentoring scheme and consider its wider application.
Training and Development
Commitment to roll-out PDPs to all staff by 2007 – it is a target in Corporate Plan.
Ensure the PDP process is followed up, reviewed and quality assured.
Include a Service Training & Development Plan within Service Plans.
Develop staff coaching skills to support on-the-job-training.
Continue to develop project and secondment opportunities to support career development.
Workload and Stress
Evaluate and if relevant roll out the current stress risk management pilot.
Continue to implement the Flexible Working policy.
Deliver training in stress awareness for individuals and the management of stress for managers.
Managing Change
Develop project management skills for appropriate staff to support the management of change.
Extend Change Management training to all managers.
Ensure line manager and senior managers consult appropriately with staff and provide opportunities for listening to staff and received feedback.
Extend Business Improvement Team training to managers.
Include scrutiny of communication, consultation and training activities as part of the governance of business change projects.
Valuing Staff
Support and promote Occupational Health activities.
Implement improved working practices as result of stress risk assessment.
Ensure all staff have access to corporate and service objectives in a format that is relevant and meaningful to them.
Report Employee Survey progress and outcomes to staff.
Service Improvements
Each Service identified specific improvement actions in response to the views of the staff in their Service. A brief summary of each Service’s progress is provided below. Full details of progress against Service improvement actions can be found in the Resources Committee Report of 15 February 2006.
Chief Executive’s
Full roll out of PDPs to all staff due for completion May 2006.
Continue quarterly Service newsletter.
Ensure staff have manageable workload and that stress is actively managed.
Corporate Services
Maintain Corporate Services newsletter and whole Service away days.
Involve staff in the development and review of the Service and Operational Plan.
Ensure all staff to have received a PDP by March 2006 and a system set up to record and monitor outcomes.
Increase staff awareness of stress and minimise causes of stress.
Education, Culture & Sport
Continue to provide newsletters.
Ensure all senior managers attend MDP 4.
Ensure all staff to have received a PDP by March 2007 and establish a system to monitor and evaluate the process.
Ensure that stress awareness training is available to all staff.
Encourage mangers to keep staff informed of operations, service and corporate plans.
Finance
Continue Service senior management visits to Area staff.
Line managers to undertake appropriate training.
Line managers to ensure workloads are effectively managed, identify stress at an early stage and offer appropriate support.
PDPs carried out for all staff annually by end of March.
Ensure all staff are kept fully informed of changes which affect their Service.
Housing
Continuous improvement of team briefing system to improve opportunities to discuss staff issues.
Utilise competency sets to provide effective training needs analysis.
Discuss with and introduce staff to management competency framework as part of EDS.
Ensure staff are involved in the change process from an early stage.
Planning & Development
SMT to address the development of management training and on-the-job experience.
Roll out PDPs consistently to all staff.
Review pressures of workload and office accommodation.
Develop a culture of appreciating and recognising work well done and on time.
Introduce an electronic staff newsletter and hold regular staff meetings.
Property & Architectural Services
Heads of Service to visit area office based staff a minimum of twice per year.
Staff workshops to be held twice yearly.
Service heads to regularly attend cross-sections meetings.
PDPs to be rolled out to all staff by the end of March 2006.
Heads of Section to support unit managers to deliver corporate priorities, promote job satisfaction and alleviate insecurities.
Social Work
First line managers’ training underway for the roll-out of PDPs.
Esnure all managers attend MDP training opportunities.
Promote access and use of mentoring scheme.
Approval and implementation of workload management system.
Minutes of services management meetings made accessible to all service staff.
Transport, Environmental & Community Services
Continue Quarterly Service newsletters, notice board displays, email/intranet methods of communication.
Encourage staff to contribute ideas to improve communications.
Senior manager to increase their profile amongst staff and briefings from relevant senior managers will take place on a regular basis.
Improve working environment of staff where possible.
Future Developments
The next employee survey will be undertaken in 2007 and as previously we will analyse the result to develop improvement actions accordingly.