Agenda and minutes

The Chair reminded members of the need to declare any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting. No declarations were made.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th June 2019

Resolved – That the minutes of the meeting held on 17^th June 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

There were no public questions submitted.

The Committee considered a report outlining the progress made on initiatives relating to the Council’s workforce. Ms Sam Mowbray, Director of Performance, Organisational Improvement and Communications, Ms Julie Walsh, HR Operations Manager, Ms Rachel Wilson, Talent and Resourcing Manager and Ms Jennifer Conway, HR Business Partner, were in attendance and responded to matters raised by members relating to each section of the report as follows.

Workforce attraction, recruitment and onboarding

Developing our Employer Brand

·       The launch of the Council’s careers website in January 2019 as part of the new Employee Value Proposition.

·       Plans to improve the user experience once beyond the front pages of the careers website, which will include re-mapping processes and migration to a more customer focussed platform.

·       Inclusion of the Council’s Gender Pay Gap information on the careers website as a tool for attracting candidates.

Recruitment to Resourcing

·       The Audit Team’s successful recruitment and retainment of staff following the creation and introduction of an internal training and development programme.

·       The recent restructure of the Recruitment Team having enabled a move away from reactive appointments (replacing like for like) to utilising long term strategic plans, focussing on skills gaps, and making use of existing talent.

·       The launch of the Social Care Academy in November 2019 which will be training and developing social care staff.

·       How the two Senior Resourcing Advisors will be partnered with service areas to understand their key drivers, priorities and workforce development plans, which in turn will help their work in attracting the right candidates for positions.    

·       That the Council attempts to recruit locally, where possible, unless skills gaps or staff shortages requires extension in to a wider field.

Process Review

·       The recommendations made for changes to the authorisation and clearance parts of the recruitment process in an attempt to shorten its length of time and ensure candidates do not lose interest. The Committee noted that monthly reports will be produced on the time and costs of staff hire and that the internal Key Performance Indicator of five working days from verbal to written offer is being consistently met.

·       How the length of time associated with any given recruitment process is dependent on the role, Directorate, advertisement period and the selection method chosen. Further information on timings will be sent to members of the Committee subsequent to the meeting.  

Temporary Workers Contract

·       That the change in contract for temporary staffing requirements has made £468k savings to date compared to the pre-contract spend.

·       The proposed initiatives for reducing the temporary workforce by 5% in the current financial year, including the work being done to attract permanent social workers in Children’s Social Care Services. 

·       The numbers of staff that have changed from temporary to permanent positions, the details of which will be circulated to members subsequent to the meeting. 

·       The targeted recruitment campaigns to attract passive viewers as well as using a direct approach through a variety of media such as Facebook. The Committee noted that the Council has partnered with Community Care, a specialist in social  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Committee considered and noted a report of the Chief Legal Officer setting out the topics for inclusion in the 2019/2020 Work Programme, as agreed by the Committee at its meeting on 17^th June 2019 and updated during the course of the Municipal Year.