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Agenda item

DISCUSSION PAPER - PEOPLE STRATEGY

To receive a discussion paper on the People Strategy.

Decision:

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the discussion paper on the People Strategy.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 24 minutes 10 seconds

 

The Director – Resources presented the Discussion Paper on the People Strategy and advised that:

 

·             The People Strategy had been due for a refresh in 2020, but this became a COVID-19 People Recovery Strategy to reflect the conditions of the pandemic at the time, and this People Strategy had been impacted by Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

·             The strategy accounted for LGR and the end of the strategy once the unitary authorities were formed, but they would use their strategy to try to influence any future strategy adopted by a unitary authority, while being mindful that LGR would mean a heavy workload for HR and that anything implemented now could be reversed under a unitary authority.

·             There were three key themes in the strategy to retain and attract, which was to keep existing staff first and recruit after if needed, develop and engage, which aimed to continue good practices and support staff through change, and inclusion and wellbeing more broadly.

·             The People Strategy was attached at Appendix A to the discussion paper, with themes and actions attached at Appendix B, which included timelines to achieve these.

·             There were questions in the discussion paper for the Committee to consider.

 

In response to questions from Councillor Claire Strong, the Director – Resources advised that:

 

·             The Staff Consultation Forum had been engaged on the People Strategy at various meetings, but its content had also been driven by the Staff Survey.

·             The Staff Consultation Forum would be consulted on the completed People Strategy in its entirety at its next meeting.

 

The following Members took part in the discussion:

 

·             Councillor Bryony May

·             Councillor Ian Albert

·             Councillor Claire Strong

 

The following points were raised during the discussion:

 

·             The good culture in the Council should be highlighted in the People Strategy by  including quotes from staff.

·             It would be important to carry forward good practices to a future unitary authority, and avoid those being diluted.

·             Policy changes arising from the Full Council motion related to paternity leave were welcomed, but the burden on the HR Team, particularly during LGR, was recognised.

·             Reference to ‘2024’ where the Staff Survey had been mentioned in the People Strategy should be removed and replaced with ‘last’.

·             The People Strategy should be discussed between different staff groups across the county during LGR.

·             LGR was on pause but services at the Council would resume as normal during this, and they should look to continue improving services while that was happening.

·             Service managers throughout the Council should continue to offer support to staff as managing change could be stressful.

 

In response to points raised during the discussion, the Chair advised that:

 

·             The Corporate Peer Challenge had highlighted how happy staff were to work for the Council.

·             Chief Executives of authorities across Hertfordshire and the Herts Leaders Group would be investigating LGR related work that could continue during the pause, such as finding a baseline for the work already undertaken by the authorities.

 

In response to points raised during the discussion, the UNISON Representative advised that the Council had been regionally recognised as having some of the best people focused policies in Hertfordshire, and they would be pushing for any policies adopted by a future unitary authority to follow theirs.

 

In response to points raised during the discussion, the Director – Resources advised that:

 

·             Information on recruitment pages where existing staff described what it was like to work at the Council could also be put into the People Strategy.

·             Many people had detailed that they would recommend working at the Council in the Staff Survey.

·             LGR Change Ambassadors continued to meet, but it was acknowledged that these were voluntary roles with a specific focus and they did not want to overwork them.

·             The HR workstream on LGR would look at policies between authorities and how they compared.

 

The Chair confirmed that there were no objections from Members and, it was:

 

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the discussion paper on the People Strategy.

Supporting documents: