Workforce Planning Contents

1. Why have a Workforce Plan? 3

2. The Structure of this Plan 3

3. Striving for Excellence and links with other plans 4

4. Business Plans and the Workforce Plan 4

5. Evaluation and Monitoring 5

6. Consultation 5

7. Workforce Profile 5

8. The Employment Market 6

9. Employee Relations 7

10. Employee Feedback 7

11. The Poole Context 8

12. People Strategy 9

13. Employment Challenges10

13.1 Developing the Organisation10

13.2 Developing Leadership Capacity11

13.3 Developing Workforce Skills and Capacity12

13.4 Resourcing Recruitment and Retention13

13.5 Pay and Rewards14

14. Workforce Plan Summary and concluding comments16

15. Action Plan19

1. Why Have a Workforce Plan?

The Council’s People Strategy identifies people as the ‘lifeblood of the organisation’. The quality of people that we employ, how they are recruited, skilled, deployed, trained, and retained will significantly impact upon the quality of services which the Council provides. It is vital that in our forward planning arrangements we seek to identify the skills and skill mixes that are required now and in the future. The Council must plan to employ the number of people which most effectively and efficiently delivers these skills if it is to meet its aspirations to provide excellent services.

Failure to plan effectively and recognise national and local employment markets could leave the Council vulnerable to skills shortages that would reduce the quality of services we provide. The Borough of Poole Workforce Plan(s) seeks to overcome this potential vulnerability by: -

  • Assessing how services will develop over the next three to five years as a consequence of both internal and external pressures
  • Predicting the impact of greater partnership working, the development of improved collaborations and innovative service delivery
  • Understanding the impact of demographic changes
  • Predicting the needs and impact of Business Transformation
  • Identifying the skills, knowledge, competencies, size and profile of the workforce we will need to be able to respond effectively to these changes
  • Improving intelligence on our current workforce including their skills, knowledge, motivation and attitude
  • Establishing the gap between our current skills, knowledge and capacity and where we wish to be
  • Identifying an action plan and priorities to bridge those gaps effectively.

This workforce planning cannot be done in isolation and therefore there is a need to work closely with partner organisations to help develop and implement this plan. The Council has used the National Pay and Workforce Strategy for Local Government (which was developed by the Department for Communities and Local Government) to underpin this plan.

2. Structure of This Plan

This Plan provides an overall analysis of future trends, planned developments and pressures which will require changes across the organisation.

There are 5 separate plans prepared for specific service portfolio areas which are available from the Head of Personnel & Training Services and these seek to address issues identified by the various services. Analysis of these issues allows the identification of common issues and the design of corporate solutions. This process is reinforced by a strategic input that focuses on the skills, competencies and attitudes that might support greater innovation in service delivery including: -

  • Greater collaboration and co-operation that break down traditional Unit demarcation and utilise key skills to deliver a wider range of services
  • Greater partnership working with a range of partners including collaboration, co-operation, joint procurement and joint delivery through a range of mechanisms
  • Ensuring skills are appropriately deployed including providing a challenge to traditional utilisation of professional skills
  • Provide an insight into the wider sub-regional, regional and national picture and how this might impact upon the organisation
  • Encouraging greater diversity in our workforce will enable use to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse community

The Plan is developed around the National Workforce Plan (produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government). It creates an implementation plan that sets individual service and corporate personnel and training priorities for the next three years.

3. Striving for Excellence and Links with Other Plans

The Workforce Plan is a fundamental component that assists the organisation to deliver its objectives. It links directly to the Council’s Corporate Strategy “Striving for Excellence” (reviewed annually) and interacts with, and to the Medium Term Financial Plan. This Plan also supports our People Strategy and its themes of ‘winning the race for talent’, ‘getting fit for management’ and ‘enabling our people’. It should better enable us to deliver the outcomes we seek.

4. Business Plans and the Workforce Plan

Workforce development planning is an integral part of business planning and performance management arrangements. Planned improvements to our services are dependent upon identifying the human and financial resources required for implementation.

This is achieved through service units monitoring reviewing and updating their business plans in accordance with the corporate planning framework. An integral element of this is the analysis of skills and competencies required, utilisation of the Employee Development Process to identify gaps and the production of a Unit training plan to deliver the identified improvements. These plans in turn inform the corporate workforce development process. The Head of Personnel and Training Services will review the corporate workforce development plan annually in conjunction with Strategic Directors and Service Unit Heads to ensure continued relevance.

5. Evaluation and Monitoring

The workforce development plan will be monitored and evaluated through the Council’s Corporate Planning and Performance Management framework.

6. Consultation

This plan has been developed following consultation with the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors, Service Unit Heads, Personnel and Training Services employees, the results of employee surveys such as the People Matter Employee Survey, and discussions with Partner Organisations and Trade Unions. Best practice elsewhere has been examined, assessed and, where appropriate, adopted. Future workforce planning will continue to involve joint workforce planning with partner organisations. This is expected to involve greater joint planning in the future.

7. Workforce Profile

An important part of understanding the skill and capacity needs of the Council is to know our current employee composition and what human resource issues we currently face.

Set out below is an indication of our current position.

Statistical summary and analysis

The Borough of Poole employs approximately 5,050 people of whom about 2,600 are employed in service units and 2,450 in schools.

Approximately 59% of employees work in schools and children’s services, 12% of employees work in adult social services and 29% of employees work in other council services.

Of these employees: -

  • 75% are female
  • more than half (52%) work part time hours
  • The average age of employees is 44.
  • The average age is increasing (50% of employees are aged over 45).
  • Around 1.1% of employees state they are from a black or minority ethnic background. Further analysis reveals that the number of black and ethnic minority employees is below the population profile.
  • 2.1% of employees have a declared disability. Significant progress has been made in employing people with disabilities and this group represents an increasing proportion of employees.
  • Sickness absence is below the average for unitary councils at around 8.7 days per employee. The biggest reason for absence is for musco-skeletal conditions (24.3% in 2005/6). The second largest is stress-related absences.
  • Whilst sickness absence levels are below the unitary public sector average they are above the private sector average and expenditure on sickness absence is significant
  • The average length of service is increasing and is currently at 7.2 years.
  • Employee turnover is relatively low at 9.2%.
  • Staff turnover is lower than is normal for local authorities, however some pockets of turnover are high in particular service areas where there are national shortages. This leads to increased costs and has a negative impact on both staff and service delivery.

There is a concern to increase the proportion of women and those from a black or ethnic minority background in the top 5% of posts.

The Council also spend over £2m per annum on agency and temporary staff. There is a need to ensure that such arrangements deliver appropriate levels of service economically and efficiently.

8. The Employment Market

Major factors which affect the Borough of Poole’s overall employment position are:-

  • Virtually full employment locally
  • The salary market for some specialist professional groups becoming increasingly competitive
  • Shortages of some professional groups, nationally exacerbated by training levels falling short of replacement requirements
  • Difficulty in recruiting senior and middle managers with high living costs, including housing, deterring recruitment from large tracts of the country
  • An as yet unexplained reluctance for certain staff groups to join the Council despite evidence that employment conditions are superior to some provided by competing sectors
  • Age of the working population is above the national average
  • Some local employers are developing a new reliance on recruitment of staff from Eastern Europe.
  • Poole being a relatively small Unitary Council which is poorly funded that levies a relatively low council tax
  • Competition from other organisations for skilled staff.

Unless addressed these factors may result in Poole not having sufficient appropriately skilled people to fill jobs with consequent adverse effects upon service delivery. This suggests that if we are to deliver the People Strategy theme of ’Winning the Race for Talent’ we must review our overall reward and recognition strategies.

The nationally recognised vacancies that are difficult to recruit into are mirrored in the South West Region and also locally in Poole.

9. Employee Relations

Employee relations at the Borough of Poole are good as evidenced by employee feedback and the lack of substantive local disputes. There are good relationships between the trade unions (UNISON, GMB and the teaching unions are the principal unions).

The Council will continue to work closely with the Trade Unions. Any potential changes to employment conditions and practices that arise will be dealt with in accordance with agreed processes. The recognition in the People Strategy that ‘enabling our people’ helps the Council management performance needs to continue to be recognised through our investment in people.

10. Employee Feedback

The Council obtains feedback from employees from a variety of sources and has developed good communication arrangements. One of the principal ways of obtaining feedback is from an biennial People Matter survey, the last of which was conducted in the Autumn of 2005.

Overall employee survey results improved between 2003 and 2005.

This feedback is a good barometer of staff motivation which is known to be a good predictor of the quality of service delivery.

  • 90% of employees enjoy working for the Borough of Poole
  • Three quarters of employees say the Council sets clear priorities and objectives
  • 8 out of 10 say the Council’s corporate internal communications on the whole are effective
  • Fewer than half of employees are satisfied with how changes are managed at the Council
  • The Loop intranet system and manager/supervisor/team leader are seen as the most effective means of communication by staff
  • Three quarters of employees told us that they received encouragement and support from their line manager which helps at work
  • 9 out of 10 staff agree that their manager treats them with dignity and respect
  • Two thirds of staff received recognition and appropriate feedback on performance
  • 8 out of 10 staff feel that if they do something wrong their manager will handle it appropriately
  • Almost all employees feel they have the skills to do their job
  • 78% of employees are clear on how training and development they receive helps improve their performance at work
  • Two thirds of employees say that their workload is manageable within their contracted hours
  • 8 out of 10 employees agreed that the range of benefits meets their needs (flexitime/leave/pensions etc)
  • 45% of employees agreed that elected members and senior managers provide clear leadership
  • Fewer than half of employees agree their salary and benefits packages are comparable with other organisations for similar jobs
  • We need to continue to monitor employee feedback. One approach to developing employee feedback is to develop and improve our Employee Development Interview programme (which has been positive) and a more focussed approach that underpins effective performance management. This is also an important element of the Councils plan for Business Transformation described in Striving for Excellence.
11. The Poole Context

This Plan must meet the needs of known and anticipated changes affecting the organisation. Striving for Excellence sets out an ambitious agenda to improve the quality of life which people in Poole enjoy.

It has 6 objectives (supporting young people, a vibrant economy, clean, green and safe, strong sense of community, health and wellbeing, an efficient and effective Council) supported by 5 XL projects. Strategic partnerships, particularly the Local Area Agreements, are ambitious. The degree of challenge for a relatively small and poorly grant funded local authority is significant.

To deliver these challenging objectives the strategy seeks to ..”recruit and retain a capable and appropriately skilled workforce which is empowered “.

This workforce plan underpins this requirement.

Expected developments

These include: -

  • New legislation will place new and additional demands and challenges upon local authorities; e.g. The Children’s Act is significantly changing the delivery of children’s services. Other changes with as significant an impact are expected.
  • Poole’s funding settlement is likely to remain one of the poorest for unitary authorities.
  • Demographic changes are likely to lead to increased demand for services.
  • The influence of regional government is likely to increase with more funding streams routed this way.
  • Whilst stopping short of forcing mergers between local authorities pressure will mount to jointly provide certain services particularly back office ones.
  • The Government is likely to maintain its pressure for increased efficiencies through processes like the Gershon review. Business transformation anticipates significant changes in the way services are delivered and supported, and contrasts with an approach of maintaining the status quo and seeking year on year improvements.
  • Organisational capacity and capability restraints to be given greater recognition.
  • Business transformation will necessitate a review of structure and decision making processes. Personnel and Training Services’ role will be pivotal in helping to ensure business transformation is realised. The Personnel and Training Unit will need to review its own organisation and operation by example to ensure the business transformation agenda.
  • The need for sharper procurement, negotiation, project management, and programme management skills is likely to increase. This will necessitate changes in the way we procure goods and services and how this is organised to make maximum benefit of scarce professional skills.
  • Increasing emphasis will be placed on partnership working necessitating a review of the skills required to create successful outcomes.
  • The current changes to the Local Government Pension Scheme will lead to employees working longer. Employment and work practices will need to respond to the challenges this creates.
  • The management of significant change will be a continuous issue in the medium term.
  • The image of local government is not positive. The Council needs to make itself attractive as an employer in a competitive market. The is not just a pay and conditions issue.
  • The development of an Office Accommodation strategy as part of the Business Transformation agenda responsive to a reviewed access strategy is likely to lead to the examination of new working arrangements including changed office working arrangements such as shared working spaces, working from different locations and home working etc.

All of the above developments will lead to a very different sort of Council and local government workforce.

12. People Strategy

The People Strategy and this Workforce Plan recognises the need to ‘get fit formanagement’ by equipping managers to be effective. This will involve developing a detailed understanding of the skills and competencies required to be a “Poole Manager”.

The People Strategy also recognises ‘winning the race for talent’ and the pressures not just on recruiting a capable and talented workforce committed to delivering an excellent service to the community to Poole but also retaining that workforce. With so many changes within the organisation anticipated there is a need for strong change management skills. The People Strategy also includes an enabling theme.

We are also aware of the impact of absence on our efficiency and effectiveness. There is a need not only to manage attendance effectively but also to support improved employee health. To enable our staff we wish to sustain good employee relations, operate flexible people management and promote equality principles.

13. Employment Challenges

An analysis has taken place of: -

  • Current and future pressures and demands
  • The current workforce profile
  • Common skills gaps

This has produced a number of clear employment challenges across the Council. These are set out in Section 13.1 to 13.5 below.

These challenges have been assessed using the National Workforce Strategy framework (prepared by the Department for Communities and Local Government). The framework identifies 5 themed areas which are: -

National Theme1.Developing the organisation

National Theme 2.Developing leadership capacity

National Theme 3.Developing workforce skills and capacity

National Theme 4.Resourcing recruitment and retention

National Theme 5.Pay and rewards

13.1Developing the Organisation

  • In order to get ‘fit for management’ as signposted in the People Strategy we will take an organisation development approach to people management and development to support capacity building and improve equalities performance.
  • To achieve high performance people management, all employees need to be supported to understand the Council’s Vision, Values and Priorities as set out in the Authority’s Corporate Strategy and Business Plan “Striving for Excellence” and how their role relates to this.
  • In addition all employees need to be enabled to contribute to and understand their own Service Unit and team plans, where appropriate. Each employee should receive an Employee Development Interview (EDI) and Development Plan which meets the employee’s role and individual plan in the context of the Authority and Service Unit priorities. We will review the EDI/Appraisal process to ensure it is meeting its objectives. This will underpin performance management and is an important area for development.
  • Managers need to understand fully their role and be trained to deliver the requirements of performance management through the Borough’s ‘Corporate Planning Framework’ and to effectively engage all employees in delivering priorities, high quality customer focussed services and to take fair and effective action when employees fail to perform to the standards required. Other officers and Elected Members need to have an understanding of the Borough’s Corporate Planning Framework and their contribution to the process.
  • Particular attention through our Training Plan needs to be paid to managers understanding the Borough’s approach to ‘Risk Management’, ‘Project Management’, Efficiency, Equalities Impact Assessment and Action Plans as these are relatively new and their implementation are priorities for the Authority.
  • The Council needs to increase its capability in the fields of procurement and project management .This may be best achieved through structural changes in the way we procure services and goods and carry out performance management. It is not feasible to train large numbers of people in this area, we therefore need to maximise the investment made in developing these procurement and project management skills with specialists. This will lead us away from the current dispersed procurement and project management organisational model. Improving our use of these skills is critical to support increased commissioning of services and working in partnership with a variety of public, private and voluntary sector organisations to help ensure maximum efficiency.
  • Over the coming five years, the Authority will be developing its partnerships in order to deliver agreed outcomes with partners. Key matters include: -

Local Strategic Partnership outcomes and implementation Plan including development of closer working with neighbouring strategic partnerships