Contact your Parish Council
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Employment Committee |
1 February 2024 |
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Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 |
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Will this be a Key Decision?
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No
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Urgency |
Not Applicable |
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Final Decision-Maker |
Employment Committee |
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Lead Head of Service |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR Shared Services |
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Lead Officer and Report Author |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR Shared Services |
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Classification |
Public
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Wards affected |
None |
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Executive Summary |
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The Workforce Strategy is one of the key enabling strategies that support the Council’s Strategic plan. The strategy was last updated in 2016 and since this time there have been changes in the way services are delivered. The proposed strategy builds on the developments that have taken place to date and identifies the changes that are needed for the future.
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Purpose of Report
The purpose of the report is to set out the process followed for the development of the Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 and to gain approval by the Employment Committee .
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This report makes the following recommendation to the Employment Committee:
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1. That the draft Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 is agreed for publication on the councils web site. |
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Workforce Strategy 2024-2029 |
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1. CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS
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Issue |
Implications |
Sign-off |
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Impact on Corporate Priorities |
The Workforce Strategy has an impact on all aspects of the corporate priorities.
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Bal Sandher Head of HR |
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Cross Cutting Objectives |
The report recommendation supports the achievements of all four cross cutting objectives by ensuring the council has staff with the skills and experience to address these issues.
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Bal Sandher Head of HR |
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Risk Management |
The overarching risk is that if the council does not have a Workforce Strategy it may fail to put in place the actions to deliver the priorities |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR |
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Financial |
There are areas of the Workforce Strategy that may have a financial impact but these would be costed within the normal annual budget process. |
Head of Finance |
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Staffing |
The Workforce Strategy will have an impact on staff – this should be a positive impact as we work to ensure that there are improvements. |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR |
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Legal |
Although there may be specific actions that have legal implications there is nothing identifies in the plan overall that will have legal implications. |
Team Leader (Contentious and Corporate Governance) |
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Privacy and Data Protection |
The recommendations do not impact personal information (as defined in UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018) the Council processes. |
Information Governance Team |
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Equalities |
All new/reviewed strategies and policies should have an updated EqIA to support development and evidences that EDI has been considered as part of Public Sector Duty. |
Equalities & Communities Officer |
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Public Health
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No impact identified at this time |
Senior Public Health Officer |
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Crime and Disorder |
No impact identified at this time |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR |
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Procurement |
No impact identified at this time |
Bal Sandher, Head of HR |
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Biodiversity and Climate Change |
The implications of this report on biodiversity and climate change have been considered and there are no implications on biodiversity and climate change.
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Biodiversity and Climate Change Manager |
2. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
2.1 To enable the achievement of its priorities the council needs to understand the impact on the workforce and the factors that need to be put in place to ensure success.
2.2 The overall purpose of the Workforce Strategy is to ensure that Maidstone
Council have sufficient numbers of staff with the appropriate capabilities to deliver high quality services for the people of the borough. The council provides an environment for staff that supports and encourages high performance, provides a fair reward package and recognition for work, and has employment practices which encourage commitment and retention.
2.3 The council has had a Workforce Strategy in place since 2008 and this has been regularly reviewed and refreshed over the last few years.
2.4 In order to gather information about the changes in the way the council delivers services and the likely future for the workforce a workshop was carried out with the senior management team to consider and address current and future workforce issues in order to support the strategic priorities. In addition, a review of management literature identifying future trends has also been considered in the development of the strategy.
2.5 Our new Workforce Strategy identifies 4 key strategic themes for action, which we will focus on during the next few years to support and develop our workforce, strengthen our capabilities as an organisation and modernise how we do things:
· Talent & development
· Our brand & recruitment
· Wellbeing & reward
· Inclusion & belonging
Each of these themes have an associated action plan to ensure that the council is supported in developing the organisations resources to achieve its priorities. The action plan will be reviewed and updated regularly in order to meet the ongoing requirements of the council.
3. AVAILABLE OPTIONS
3.1 The council could decide that it does not require a Workforce Strategy and not refresh the current strategy. However the council’s most valuable resource is the workforce and to have no expression of the strategic direction may give rise to uncoordinated actions in the future.
3.2 The council may choose to refresh the Workforce Strategy but arrive at a different set of predictions and associated actions to those in the attached draft; however the proposed document follows consultation with Officers and offers significant scope for development and change in the way it is structured.
4. PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1 The preferred option is to agree the attached draft Workforce Strategy which reflects the views of those involved in the development of the strategy and who have expert knowledge of their own professional areas of work as well as being able to undertake the horizon scanning for the future.
5. RISK
5.1 The risks
associated with this proposal, including the risks if the Council does not act
as recommended, have been considered in line with the Council’s Risk Management
Framework. We are satisfied that the risks associated are within the Council’s
risk appetite and will be managed as per the Policy.
6. CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK
6.1 The Workforce Strategy was developed with input from senior managers in the organisation and discussed with the trade union.
7. NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION
7.1 The Workforce Strategy has an associated action plan which sets out some of the steps required for implementation and this will inform the HR service plans in the future.
7.2 The Workforce Strategy will be published on the intranet and the website once agreed.
8. REPORT APPENDICES
The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:
· Appendix 1: Draft Workforce Strategy 2024-2029
9. BACKGROUND PAPERS
None