Agenda item

B Report of the Director of Finance and Support

Approval is given for the People Plan.

Councillor Palethorpe addressed Cabinet welcoming the People Plan as a statement of the Council’s investment in people over forthcoming years. He asked Cabinet to look at organisational development and bear in mind the need to shrink at the top end as well, when front-line services were being trimmed.  He was concerned about sickness absence levels and about the additional stress and financial impact of running at the same level with fewer staff.  He felt that people should enjoy coming to work and this should be addressed in the people plan.

Councillor Clarke also welcomed the people plan although he was concerned that it had not previously gone before the General Purposes committee, where he would have welcomed the opportunity to contribute to it. He then commented on the induction programme, which he felt was inconsistent across departments and needed to be improved. He further commented on the need for the organisation to support and encourage women returning to work, making them feel valued rather than simply offering the minimum entitlement.

The Chair, Councillor B Hoare explained that the nursery voucher scheme was in place.  He also clarified that policy matters came to Cabinet, whereas General Purposes committee dealt with non-executive issues.  He then advised that Political Groups were encouraged to become involved in the Constitutional Working Party, where these matters were being discussed.

Councillor Mildren addressed Cabinet commenting that within the tough budget round, the organisation should still want people to come to work and give them good prospects of career progression.  The planned restructuring would have staff implications and it was important that those staff who were released were dealt with sympathetically.

Councillor B Markham, as the appropriate Portfolio Holder, presented the report to Cabinet. He felt that this was a most important piece of work and that the way staff were recruited and developed was key to their loyalty and commitment to the organisation.  He explained that the Plan brought together a number of Human Resources policies to help to empower staff to deliver better services and become more customer focussed.

Councillor Beardsworth welcomed the report and, given that people spent such a large proportion of their life at work, felt that the Plan would go a long way to help staff achieve job satisfaction.  Councillor Crake added that reward and recognition was important and stressed that staff needed to be valued and thanked.

The Chief Executive addressed Cabinet explaining that policies concerning the management of restructure and the fair treatment of staff sat under the plan.  It was clear that public services would reduce in the future and the organisation had to have an interest in the well being of the employees.  The employee survey had shown that there was a high level of job satisfaction and there was a feeling that employers did value staff.  However, with an inevitable reduction in staffing, high quality and value for money had to be addressed.  He considered this was a fundamental document to ensure a solid foundation to move forward as an employer over the next few years.

Councillor B Hoare summed up the Plan as being an overarching document sitting above a number of existing policies.  The Council needed to demonstrate the value it placed on staff.

RESOLVED

That approval be given for the People Plan.