Agenda item

Toupdate theJoint StaffConsultative Committeeon theprogress madein 

thelast quartercompleting HRwork andprojects andsupporting people 
issues. 

The Human Resources Services Manager presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’.

Audio recording – 7 minutes 19 seconds

The Human Resources Services Manager presented the Information Note entitled ‘HR Update’ and highlighted the following:

·       That the number of advertised vacancies had decreased over the last 3 years, however the number of applicants for these posts had increased as detailed at paragraph 3.2 of the report. The vacancies for the Revenues Officer and the Planning Compliance Officer were particularly popular.

·       The Careline technician position had now been filled. However there remained tow hard to fill vacancies, the Estates Surveyor and the Senior Environmental Health Officer.

·       The staff turnover rate was now below 9%, further details regarding this data was discussed in the next agenda item.

·       There had been 228 responses to the staff survey, and work was ongoing to analyse the data. The survey did show that 90% of employees would recommend North Herts as an employer.

·       The Unions submitted a pay claim in February for pay award that was for at least £3,000 or a 10% pay rise. The National Employers made a full and final offer of £1,290 in May for all pay points and an offer of 2.5% for those above the pay points. The Unions were recommending that employees reject this offer.

·       There were 7 apprentices currently in employment with vacancies advertised on the website.

·       HR attended an apprenticeship fair in March and highlighted the careers and apprenticeships available at North Herts. Historically there had been a high number of applicants for apprenticeship vacancies.

·       The Inclusion group met quarterly and in April discussed neurodiversity in the workplace and made recommendations on how to support neurodivergent employees.

·       The days lost as absences per employee, and the absence reasons were outlined at 3.9 of the report. Short term absences had fallen with the change in seasons with long terms absences remaining the same. Support was being provided to Managers and staff who were absent for mental health reasons.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Rhona Cameron

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Daniel Allen

·       Councillor Claire Strong

In response to questions, the Human Resources Manager stated that:

·       There was a set budget for apprenticeships which was fully utilised.

·       The apprenticeships had been successful in all service areas, with some apprentices being offered permanent positions.

·       Work was ongoing with schools to promote the apprenticeship scheme and encourage work experience placements.

·       The Council had joined the National Graduate Scheme and were currently interviewing for a graduate employee.

·       The percentage of apprenticeships who had moved on to permanent positions would be provided outside of this meeting.

·       The new GrowZone system would be launched in July, with the system being more straight forward and easier to navigate.

·       A discussion paper on Mental Health had been presented to the Committee in January 2024 and this would be forwarded to new Members.

·       Regular articles were published to the Hub and the insight magazine to raise awareness of Mental Health support. 

·       HR provided support for Managers and employees with long term absences.

·       The Estates Surveyor position had been covered temporarily by agency staff.

·       The questions in the staff survey gave the opportunity for open text answers and these had generated large volumes of data. This data was taking longer than expected to analyse.

·       It was anticipated that a summary of the staff survey would be presented at the next meeting of the Committee along with action plans.

·       Work was ongoing to split the staff survey data into directorates, these would then be discussed with the relevant Service Directors. This information would then form part of the feedback and any action plans.

In response to questions, the Service Director – Resources advised that:

·       The Estates Surveyor position was still being covered by agency staff however, a permanent Senior Estates Surveyor had now been in post for the last two months.

·       Feedback from the staff survey would be provided at Staff Briefings and where required mini surveys would occur to provide further details.

Councillor Daniel Allen stated that there had been 228 responses to the staff survey, and this represented 70% of all staff.

The SCF Representative stated that the most recent Learning and Development morning had covered sustainability, and that highlights of the staff survey had been mentioned at the recent Staff Briefing.