BOROUGH OF POOLE

COUNCIL EFFICIENCY & EFFECTIVENESS OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

4 SEPTEMBER 2008

WORKFORCE PLAN REVIEW

1.0PURPOSE

1.1To obtain Member views and report on a proposed review of the Council’s Workforce Plan. The report also outlines proposed recruitment and retention strategies, development of the appraisal framework, a change of unit name and other Workforce Plan actions.

2.0RECOMMENDATION

2.1Members are asked to consider the principles and actions outlined in the report and confirm / indicate areas for development.

2.2That the Workforce Development Plan be reviewed and submitted to Cabinet for approval taking account of this report and the Committee considerations.

3.0BACKGROUND

3.1Cabinet approved a Workforce Plan for the Council on 6 March 2007. This set the strategic agenda for Human Resource actions. It is important to periodically review the Workforce Plan and keep it current.

4.0NATIONAL WORKFORCE PLAN

4.1Since the Council Workforce Plan was published, the Department for Communities and Local Government have issued a new National Workforce Plan for Local Government. When the Council Workforce Plan was first prepared it used, as a starting point, areas of activity identified in the first National Local Government Workforce Plan.

The new National Workforce Plan contains changed elements relating to: -

  • Partnership working
  • Protecting the environment
  • Regional working
  • Providing for an element of non-service based pay in future pay structures

4.2It is appropriate to review the Poole Workforce Plan taking account of the new National Workforce Plan for Local Government.

5.0AUDIT COMMISSION CONSIDERATION

5.1Audit Commission Continuous Performance Assessment (CPA) Report indicated HR actions should ensure a consistent and strategic approach particularly in respect of appraisal and recruitment strategies. It is appropriate to reflect these development areas within the Council’s Strategic Workforce Plan.

5.2Previous Audit Commission assessments have described Poole HR in the following terms. “The service is well organised, has effective leadership and has high calibre staff“.

“The service employs high quality professional staff and has effective personnel policies. We are clear from our interviews with Personnel & Training Services staff that they are knowledgeable, effective and enthusiastic in their professional areas”.

5.3The 2008 CPA report also gave positive feedback on sickness absence management, health at work and equal pay review work.

6.0RECRUITMENT & RETENTION

6.1In August 2007 the Council appointed a specialist Recruitment and Retention postholder to support and develop systematically actions outlined in the Workforce Plan. Key Recruitment & Retention Priorities have been assessed and identified for this postholder to support both the strategic Workforce Plan and the People Strategy. These include: -

  • Creating progression / development / trainee opportunities across the Council.
  • Developing equalities actions relating to recruitment and retention
  • Developing media and website / electronic applications use to provide better value for money
  • Improving economy and efficiency in procurement of temporary agency staff
  • Change the framework and reduce the size of composite advertisements to achieve economy.

Progress has already involved: -

  • More on-line recruitment applications (currently 60% and increase from 42% in 2007)
  • Improvement to economy and efficiency in the procurement of temporary / agency staff
  • Better value for money

Details of recruitment and retention activities are attached at Appendix 1 for information.

6.2Taking account of the importance of recruitment and retention to the Council’s success in delivering effective services, it is important that the Workforce Plan should be reviewed to reflect planned strategic and systematic actions designed to support recruitment and retention.

7.0APPRAISAL

7.1The CPA felt this was an area that could potentially be improved. This has been a developing area, the last Investors in People Re-assessment stated, “The Employee Development Interview process (The Borough’s Appraisal Scheme) is well embedded and very effective. There are good systems in ensuring that Appraisal takes place”. The 2005 People Matter Survey also indicated that the percentage of employees receiving an Appraisal had increased from 67% to 78%. A telephone survey of Employee Development Interview completion in 2007 suggested the completion rate had increased from 80% to 87%. It is worth noting that staff subject to probation, on long term sick, taking maternity / paternity leave and relief short term temporary staff would not be part of the Appraisal process. It is proposed that future survey arrangements take account of this.

7.2An external review of Appraisal arrangements in the context of performance management was carried out in 2007. The review was the subject of a report to Management Team, which outlined recommendations for a proposed new Appraisal Scheme. The detailed findings of the review showed that Appraisal consistency could be improved, along with the quality of application across Service Units and scope existed to strengthen and improve the appraisal performance element.

7.3Following the external review, and taking account of the CPA report a new proposed draft Appraisal Scheme has been developed. Features of the proposed Appraisal Scheme include:

  • Ensuring appraisal interviews take place annually
  • Greater emphasis on appraisal and performance management elements
  • Greater consistency in documentation used by Service Units
  • Agreed training needs determined by appraisal being reflected in Unit Business Plans.

7.4The draft appraisal framework has been piloted and a communication issued to all employees on proposed changes to the appraisal framework. It is intended that the new Appraisal Scheme will be implemented across the Borough of Poole from the autumn of 2008.

7.5It is considered appropriate to set a very clear expectation that those with management responsibilities must ensure completion of appraisals.

8.0CURRENT WORKFORCE PLAN

8.1The Workforce Plan needs to take account of Service Units Business Plans and the latest Council Corporate Plan Striving for Excellence document.

8.2The current workforce plan provides strategy actions for: -

  • Developing the organisation
  • Developing leadership capacity
  • Developing Workforce Skills and capacity
  • Pay and rewards strategies including the Equal Pay Review

Review and continued development of actions within these theme areas is also proposed. In addition, development of the following specific areas is proposed: -

  • Addressing poor performance and improving the procedural framework for managing capability
  • Activities and changes associated with the Employee First new HR and Payroll system which is expected to transform HR processes across the Council and Schools
  • Systematic monitoring of attendance management practices in Service Units.
  • Reviewing Dignity at Work procedures.

9.0HR MANAGEMENT

9.1Taking account of CPA feedback, it is felt that a change of unit name to Human Resources will better reflect the strategic and systematic nature of the work activities, delivered by the Personnel and Training Services Unit.

9.2The action planning process within the Workforce Plan has been reviewed by the Senior Unit Management Team and it is felt that scope exists to improve the layout and processes. This should help support systematic action to implement HR actions identified in the Workforce Plan.

Changes to the Workforce Plan need approval by Cabinet on behalf of the Council.

10.0ELECTED MEMBER VIEWS

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee may have their own views on particular strategic actions that should be reflected within a review of the Workforce Plan.

11.0LEGAL FINANCIAL AND EQUALITIES IMPLICATIONS

11.1The Workforce Plan review of activities will take account of legal requirements.

11.2Workforce Plan activities will need to be delivered within the Council's Medium Term Financial Plan. Resources available to the Council will necessitate some financial economies. The use of new technology and processes using the Employee First HR and payroll system will be used to help achieve these economies for Personnel and Training Services budgets and support Business Transformation. The Council's overall financial prognosis necessitates efficient and effective HR management to sustain high quality service delivery at a time of resource pressure. The Workforce Plan activities should provide a systematic and strategic framework to help achieve this across the Council.

11.3HR activities are subject to an Equality Impact Assessment. Workforce Plan activities on the Equal Pay review and recruitment and retention will need to take full account of equalities issues.

12.0SUMMARY

12.1It is considered that a review of the Workforce Plan should be carried out to: -

  • Ensure a systematic and strategic approach to effective human resource management
  • To reflect changes to the National Workforce Plan
  • To reflect developments proposed for appraisal, recruitment / retention, and other HR activities
  • To improve the Workforce Plan
  • To reflect member wishes on improving HR outcomes to help ensure delivery of economic and efficient services to the community which relies on systematic and strategic HR management

Colin Hague

Head of Personnel & Training

Appendix 1

RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACTIVITIES

(a)Recruitment Advertising Contract - A tender process lead to a new contract being awarded in December 2007 to RLA, which is now the subject of regular reviews. Work with RLA is aimed at reducing the size (and therefore cost) of individual post adverts in the composite to achieve cost effective advertising. Work on branding and increasing on-line applications will also take place.

(b)Tender for the Temporary Employment Agency to support Civic Temp Scheme- A tender process to support capacity of Poole’s successful Civic Temp Scheme lead to the contract being awarded to Smart Group and Job Shop.

(c)Civic Temp Scheme/ Professional Register –The scheme is highly successful in attracting temporary administrative/clerical employees through recruitment to an in-house bank. We have been able to supply other Public Sector organisations such as the NHS and other Councils. We currently have 250Civic Temporaries in our bank with 114 currently deployed. The scheme has proved to be cost effective, improving recruitment of students and people wishing to return to, or enter employment as well as proving an excellent and cost effective source of recruitment to permanent posts advertised.

An extension of the Civic Temp Scheme is the Professional Register. This has been an imaginative scheme to provide a supply of in-house temporary qualified/skilled professional workers. Through the scheme we have been able to retain skills that are particularly pertinent to Local Government and avoid agency costs. An article on Poole’s success in this area appeared in the Municipal Journal.

(d)Changed Approach to Procuring Agency Staff -A Project Initiation Definition has been agreed by the Shared Services Board to pursue a Borough-wide approach to managing our Agency Staff. The scope of this project would not include the Civic Temp Scheme. Spending on agency staff has involved up to £2 million per annum and there is potential scope to achieve savings by managing this delivery through one specialist provider. Engagement of consultancy support to pursue this is being arranged.

(e)Traineeships –An Audit has been carried out to establish the traineeships offered by Service Units across the Council. There are currently ten Service Units offering traineeships. Work is being undertaken with Service Units to encourage traineeships and introduce traineeships/schemes at a graduate or higher education level.

(f)BoroughofPoole.com –The Personnel & Training Services and Recruitment Pages on the Council Intranet site has been revised. This has included a specific area on the two-tick scheme and Borough of Poole’s commitment to people with disabilities. The council was re-assessed by Job Centre Plus and awarded the two ticks- positive about disabled people in 2007.

(g)Hard to Fill Roles –Proactive work was taken to provide a search and recruitment process for some hard to fill posts. Overall systems are being developed to achieve prompt support where specialist assistance with hard to fill posts is needed.

(h)Employee Data Reporting to Service Units – Since the beginning of 2007, regular reports have been issued to Service Units setting out information on service unit employee data covering the previous 2 years. The reports cover full time/part time employee numbers, gender, turnover, diversity, disability, absence, average salary and age profile of the Service Unit. The overall Borough position is also sent for Service Units to benchmark against. Equalities data is prepared for the Promoting Equality Respecting Diversity Group. Management Team also receive quarterly reports on overall Council employee data and HR developments.

\\artemis\democratic\committeeminutes\report\Council Efficiency and Effectiveness Overview and Scrutiny Committee\CEE040920083 Workforce Plan.doc 1