Midlothian Councilengaged its workforce in the development of a new aspirational People Strategy against a background of a challenging period of transformational change and financial restrictions. Using an extensive consultative and diagnostic process, following the articulation of a clear strategic management commitment to progressive change, the process ensured that the strategy that would meet the needs and aspirations of employees and managers. By demonstrating that we had actively listened to our employees in the development of the Strategy, and producing a strategy document that was very different from anything our employees had ever experienced before, we acted in a transparent and open way, thereby starting to deliver the organisational and cultural change we sought even beforeformal implementation of the new strategy had commenced.
PLANNING / · a clear rationale, defined processes and focus on stakeholder needs· contributes to organisation’s goals and addresses current or emerging challenges
Following his appointment as Chief Executive of Midlothian Council in November 2009, Kenneth Lawrie identified the absence of a People Strategy. As one of the smallest Councils in mainland Scotland, and facing budget cuts of 15-20%, he recognised that creating a progressive and transformational strategy would be a key element in meeting the challenge and coming out the other side transformed into one of the best Councils in Scotland providing excellent services to the residents and communities of Midlothian. Furthermore, the relative smallness of the Council could be a key strength- if the talents and aspirations of the 4000 strong workforce could be effectively energised and harnessed. This would require the building of a new aspirational and inclusive organisational culture. Kenneth Lawrie identified that a new People Strategy could be a key early intervention in the overall Business Transformation Strategy, of which this Strategy would be one key element, alongside a comprehensive programme of Service Reviews and new strategies for Customer Services, Procurement and Asset Management.
The task of developing a new People Strategy was allocated to the HR department. Upon taking up post in summer 2010, new HR Advisory Services Manager, Ian Pilbeam reviewed the draft that had been produced centrally. He concluded that given the radical and transformational nature of the organisational and workforce development needed, particularly given a context of low morale, industrial relations unrest, management restructuring and limited management development, it would not be enough for HR to produce what it thought was a good Strategy. For this new Strategy to really be transformational it was a necessity that it was owned by, and won the hearts and minds of all stakeholders: organisational leaders, managers at all levels, employees and trade unions.
The Council’s Business Transformation Board, in the autumn of 2010, agreed to the development of a new Strategy through a process of consultation, research, diagnostic assessment and external validation. It recognised that taking the time to do this properly and innovatively would give the final product much greater prospects of success and would increase engagement through its development. By engaging all employees in the development of the new Strategy there was a great opportunity to prevent the negative outcomes that would result from a failure to involve and engage the workforce through a period of significant uncertainty and change. In the summer of 2010 a Management Review had been carried out that resulted in one in six managers leaving the organisation- the development of the People Strategy would be a clear indication to the wider workforce that meeting the challenge was not just about meeting the projected budget shortfall.
In four years time Midlothian would, based on current projections, have a workforce 15-20% smaller than at present. This would involve major changes to both the range of services and the ways in which they are delivered. Those employees that remain would have experienced radical change. The strategic intention had been articulated as to come out the other side of this cost reduction period as one of the best Councils in Scotland. This can be measured in many ways, but, from an employer perspective fundamentally meant that the Council would have a workforce that was a) cost effective and affordable and b) wants to be here, i.e. it is motivated, engaged, well led and well managed.
Given the challenges faced by Midlothian there were significant risks that without appropriate strategic action the Council could be left with a workforce of survivors- bruised, battle scarred and worn down rather one that is high achieving and has a shared sense of purpose. Business Transformation Board recognised that there was only one choice and agreed to support and fund a project to assess the current starting position and then build on strengths and address perceived or actual weaknesses within a strategic framework.
DELIVERING / · implemented in all relevant areas and across all the required stakeholders· carried out in a structured and logical way , using robust and sustainable methods
In order to develop a transformational People Strategy it was agreed thatanalysis should be undertaken to establish what overall People Strategy and strategic interventions would be most appropriate. This diagnostic exercise would involve a wide range of stakeholders (including a cross section of managers, employees, trade unions), and should be both inclusive and transparent. It would also be informed by available data such as workforce composition data, benchmarking information and the outcomes of a planned Staff Survey. This analytical approach would engage a wide range of internal stakeholders at an early stage in a positive, future focused piece of development work.
The initial and most visible form of consultation and engagement was a survey of all employees. Midlothian had, in the past, done infrequent staff surveys, but never of the entire workforce. There was also a perception that little would change. This would be a great way of finding out what the workforce’s aspirations, perceptions and concerns were, and then to demonstrate that we would actively listen. A survey was developed based on best practice from elsewhere, the key strategic challenges and the Investors in People (IIP) Framework. The trade unions were then consulted on the content of the survey before it was issued to all employees in late 2010. As expected the survey provided a wealth of information, all of which was reported back in full to every employee through the Council’s internal newsletter.
The staff survey told us what employees thought, but not why. The Business Transformation Board had also agreed to fund the involvement of IIP in this diagnostic and consultative development process. IIP were engaged to conduct a full IIP assessment across the Council. For IIP accreditation this would normally involve interviewing 3% of the workforce. We made two key decisions: firstly not to seek accreditation at this point- it was important that management was not perceived as seeking an award rather than delivering real change; and secondly, for IIP to interview 10% of the workforce to give us real information across our diverse workforce. The IIP report would tell us why employees thought what they did, as well as benchmarking our current state against a recognised national standard.
We also identified other sources of valuable information that would ensure the new People Strategy would be developed in an engaging manner with key stakeholders, for example:
Managers: The Chief Executive of IIP made a presentation to our 70 top managers (known as the Leadership Forum) on employee engagement in the public sector. Following this presentation, managers recorded their views on the main opportunities and challenges; the results of the IIP assessment were presented to all Directors and Heads of Service.
Trade Unions: Training sessions were run by ACAS for managers and trade union representatives, which included joint development work
Employees: An Open Space event is organised annually for employees in Social Work. Employees have the opportunity to raise issues and suggestions; Chief Executive Question Times were introduced, and the feedback sheets harvested further useful information
Best Practice: As well as support from IIP, we also used the BV2 toolkit to inform the development of the Strategy.
Over a period of 4 months this planned and targeted development approach, supported by the senior management team, and delivered in a transparent and energetic way, demonstrated to employees and trade unions that this was a serious commitment to real change, not just another initiative.The extensive diagnostic phase also provided a wealth of evidence. This would not only be shared in the final People Strategy so all employees could see that they had been listened to, but would also provide key internal benchmarking information so that, throughout the lifecycle of the Strategy, the Council could assess progress.
INNOVATION + LEADING PRACTICE / ·Demonstrates leading practice, and is capable of replication elsewhere·Achieves genuine innovation or new ways of working
The process of engagement and transparency in the development of a People Strategy was a key element of business transformation for Midlothian Council. However, it was also then essential to demonstrate to all stakeholders that having listened, we would now act, and still keep listening. This would be demonstrated through the next two phases of the development: firstly the preparation of a document that would be recognisably Midlothian, and would be accessible to all; and secondly giving all stakeholders the opportunity to then comment on it prior to its finalisation.
It would have been easy to have developed a Strategy in the traditional top down centralist way, maybe testing an initial draft on a few stakeholders. Midlothian consciously took a non-traditional and progressive path. The development process, involving listening to, and then acting on the aspirations and concerns of the workforce, was in some ways as important as the final product. In deciding to take this innovative approach, senior management, and the Chief Executive in particular, took a considered risk- developing the new Strategy in this way would take time, several months in fact, and they had to judge that the benefits outweighed what some might incorrectly judge to be a delay. Feedback from stakeholders has shown that they made the right judgement call- the extended process has resulted in a much stronger and more innovative People Strategy that is widely recognised as being uniquely Midlothian.
The Strategy was kept simple. The strategic intent was articulated as developing a supported, engaged and high performing workforce, to be delivered through the following five strategic themes: Culture, Recognition, Working Lives, Management, Performance and Development. A concept was also developed from the evidence: “One Council working together to make things better to serve the residents communities in Midlothian.”
What was really encouraging was that this Strategy came together really easily- it simply fell out of the evidence we had gathered. This was reinforced when, to keep the consultation/engagement process going, we then tested it on stakeholders and they recognised and welcomed it. This was done through an Extended CMT, a Leadership Forum, and groups of staff and trade unions. We then made it available to all employees for comment for a month receiving some useful additional comments.The People Strategy is in effect an integrated HR & OD business strategy that is completely aligned and joined up in a way that has never been done before. It will impact across the entire organisation.
The language and style of the People Strategy was also critically important. Each Strategic Theme was given a chapter, each containing the following sections: “Context”, “Where are we now?” (“Things we currently do” and “Areas for Improvement”), “Where do we need to be?”and “What are we going to do?”.Care was taken to use inclusive language such as “you” and “we” and to simplify (but not dumb down) language wherever possible.
Our progressive approach to developing a People Strategy should be shared. Chief Executive Kenneth Lawrie presented our approach to a national IIP conference in April 2011. This presentation and our continuing involvement with IIP have led to a number of interesting dialogues and information changes with a range of organisations across Scotland. Our approach would be transferable to other Councils, either for developing a new Strategy or reviewing an existing one. The People Strategy itself is, however, uniquely Midlothian, which is one of its key strengths. The Chief Executive of IIP Scotland, Peter Russian, commented that the Strategy was compelling and comprehensive, adding “it’s a refreshing change to read a people strategy that is so accessible.”
RESULTS + IMPACT / · a convincing mix of customer and internal performance measures· clear line of sight to the delivery of better outcomes for communities
· a full range of relevant results– either already achieved or with potential to deliverover time
The new People Strategy covers the period 2011-2014.Clear evidence is already emerging thatits implementation is continuing the process of transformation, culture change and engagement started through the development phase.
It is now acolourful magazine issued to all employees and new starts, presented in an engaging style, with use of photos and graphics to ensure that the text is accessible and engaging. It has been warmly received by the trade unions. This magazine looks different from any other Council publication, extensively using the tag line “Working together to make us better”. It also has its owndistinct brand that will be used for all People Strategy related documentation.
Early actions have been targeted to be visible and to keep the “organisation wide conversation” going. These include the introduction of a new staff suggestion scheme called “Making us better” which, in its first 3 months, generated nearly 150 suggestions. Previously there had been no more than a handful each year.These are considered by a new “Staff Ideas Group” consisting of employee volunteers and chaired by the Chief Executive which meets monthly.A new Staff Newsletter is being introduced- over 50 titles were suggested by employees- prior to the development of the People Strategy we would have had very little, if any, response. We have also conducted a further survey of all employees, an action under the Working Lives theme, focusing on stress, which over a thousand employees participated in.Employees setting up this year’s Open Space event for Social Work have, unprompted, selected the five Strategic Themes to provide the framework for their day. When the Strategy was approved by Council over a quarter of the planned actions were already underway and on track.
We have made a huge commitment to develop and engage all managers as we implement one of the key actions, the introduction of a new competency framework and pay related appraisal system, linked to Council strategy and objectives. The “positive conversations’ that this intervention will encourage has the potential to move culture and reinforce values. Positive engagement with new employees is being delivered via a re-designed Corporate Induction process including e-learning and direct Chief Executive involvement. Learning has been re-designed by leveraging technology via e-learning, and making it accessible to all, thereby giving employees new skills of life and greater involvement in the Council wide “team”. By rolling out mandatory e-leaning modules in Equalities, Information Management and Health Safety in this way we have also built capacity for cost effective learning through this platform, all of which will have a positive impact on services to our communities.
Measurable outcomes have been established for the People Strategy, based on the 5 Strategic Themes as part of an overall balanced scorecard for the Council’s Business Transformation Strategy. Delivering the action plan alone is not enough, we also measure how far along our journey of organisational and workforce transformation we have travelled. The early indications from managers, employees and trade unions are that real progress is being made.
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012 Page | 1
COSLA EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2012 Page | 1