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Appendix B Recommendations from the IDeA peer review
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Action |
Lead Officer |
Status |
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Following on from the Place survey and to give effect to the community engagement objective in the SCS, the council should hold regular focus groups to explore how people want to be engaged and develop a robust action plan to deliver this. The council already engages really well with the local community on budget consultation and from that gets a clear mandate; this could be extended to establishing council priorities. |
Roger Adley/Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Continue with plans to strengthen the structure of the LSP including measuring outcomes, linking more explicitly with LAA targets, evaluating added value of the LSP and consistently delivering on outcomes.
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Zena Cooke |
Add to CIP 001 Developing a clear view of where partnership resources can be focused to improve service outcomes |
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The business/service planning process and timetable should make provision for timely and adequate involvement and consultation of staff, as engaged staff are productive staff leading to satisfied customers. There needs to be a clear expectation that business/service planning is fully explored in team meetings and perhaps establish staff away days or extended management team meetings expressly for this purpose |
Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Performance appraisal targets need to be taken directly from service plan objectives and competencies based on STRIVE values |
Clare Hayes |
Values are the overarching drivers to our competencies (please see below). So when the competencies were identified (in consultation with staff) the Values were used in order to identify what these were. This means that we wouldn’t require a different set of competencies as these are based on our STRIVE Values. Therefore, it is felt that it is not necessary to add this action to the CIP.
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MBC needs to define, using its Corporate Plan, its top (three) priorities and use these to determine the focus of the council in terms of members, staff, finances and partnership working and as you have recognised improve delivery plans through better links to financial planning and clearer timely actions. These top priorities could be reviewed on an annual or biennial basis |
Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 2: Determine the top priorities of the council, refresh the Strategic Plan and ensure that delivery plans and policies link to these |
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The plans to develop a shared database of customer information and insight needs to be significantly strengthened and speeded up so that there is an holistic understanding of customers needs and an agreed corporate approach to using this information to determine the business needs of the council established |
Georgia Hawkes |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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There should be an agreed annual programme of engagement activity driven by the corporate priorities. To avoid consultation fatigue it is essential that the draft plan is shared at an early stage to identify where consultations can be merged or questions offered to other services and partners so that one activity can address more than one purpose |
Roger Adley/Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Whilst it is acknowledged that there is a system in place for satisfaction surveys and other forms of customer feedback it is important that the use of the results of customer feedback is embedded into service review and improvement |
Angela Woodhouse/Georgia Hawkes |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Learning from compliments and complaints could be systemised, for example, evidence what changes have emerged from stage 3 complaints and spotting trends at first stage as well |
Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Staff mentioned that they felt all measures were quantitative and wanted customers to be better enabled to give qualitative feedback as well. For example, the WOW awards are an innovative form of customer feedback where customers tell the council where they have been 'wowed' at the point of service delivery. This scheme is very successful in terms of increased customer satisfaction levels and impact on staff motivation, engagement and morale. |
Angela Woodhouse |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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Equality impact assessments should be routinely carried out and the results fed into all recommendations for change, this includes training and involving ward councillors in equality impact assessments so that they are able to input knowledge of the diversity and needs of their local community and provide challenge. |
Zena Cook |
New objective 3: Ensure equality issues are considered and addressed across the organisation |
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Consider developing a strategic 3 year plan on delivering efficiencies and savings |
Paul Riley |
New objective 2: Determine the top priorities of the council, refresh the Strategic Plan and ensure that delivery plans and policies link to these |
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Project planning and management is becoming more systematic across the council but needs to be further strengthened to ensure action plans cover all basic elements (who, what, why, where and when) and are comprehensively monitored and managed. Senior managers should be held accountable for delivery of key projects and their benefits |
Georgia Hawkes |
New objective 2: Determine the top priorities of the council, refresh the Strategic Plan and ensure that delivery plans and policies link to these |
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Consideration could be given to different governance models to determine the most appropriate to deliver the council's ambitious change agenda and also to be able to respond most effectively to long term economic challenges. |
Neil Harris |
Whilst this is being worked on it is not felt that this is an objective for the Corporate Improvement Plan |
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Workforce planning (both members and staff) needs to be linked to the top priorities of the council. |
Clare Hayes |
New objective 4: Determine the focus of the council using the Strategic Plan |
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Consider adopting a common methodology with HR shared services partners to integrate and progress workforce planning |
Clare Hayes |
Add to CIP 001 Developing a clear view of where partnership resources can be focused to improve service outcomes |
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Consider developing an Employee Engagement Strategy to include employee perception measures so that the council has up to date information on how staff think and feel and to ensure effective internal communications including the management of important messages e.g. staff savings. This could also be extended to members |
Zena Cook/Roger Adley/Neil Harris |
New objective 1: Use customer and staff feedback to improve the way the Council delivers its services |
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To help demonstrate the council's good reward package rewards statements could be issued to employees and used as models in recruitment and there could also be a rolling programme of occasional promotions of some benefits e.g. free/reduced fees for adult education. |
Dena Smart |
Staff are already made aware of the Perkz and KCC reward schemes. It is therefore felt that this action does not need to be included in the CIP |
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Staff survey and appraisal information should be considered alongside the council's change programme to determine a Training Strategy and training provision that is relevant for the medium as well as the short term. This should apply to members as well as staff |
Clare Hayes |
New objective 2: Determine the top priorities of the council, refresh the Strategic Plan and ensure that delivery plans and policies link to these |