To receive an update form the Corporate Diretor of People.

The Head of Workforce and Core Strategy informed the Committee that the update covered the period from November 2019 to January 2020. The update had been arranged to align with the key themes of the people strategy.

The guaranteed interview scheme for groups who find it hard to gain employment had been expanded to include ex-military and care leavers so they were guaranteed an interview if they met the Job specification criteria. The Council had also started using a new programme which aided people in completing applications by saving what they input so they did not have to spend time filling out the same information in multiple applications.

The results from the B-Heard survey had been shared with the Corporate Leadership Team in December. Since then the results had been circulated to colleagues and a corporate action plan was being developed for improvement. Part of the action plan was to improve engagement within the Council over the next year. This was to be achieved by enabling senior leaders to communicate with staff in a more informal manner.

The EPIC manager model had been developed and it would enable managers to be their best and help their teams achieve their potential. Work was ongoing across all directorates to identify areas of best practice and how we can learn from each other. The Council were running let’s talk sessions which gave the opportunity for staff members to share ideas. These sessions were followed up with a “you said we did” document showing the impact the sessions had upon the Council as a whole.

In sickness absences Trafford were ranked fifth when compared with the other Greater Manchester Authorities which was the same level as in previous quarters. The Corporate Director of People added that the Council had some very poorly individuals who had been on long term sickness leave which had skewed the statistics.

The Council were looking to refresh the apprenticeship tool kit to help ensure that all apprentices had a great experience within the Council which would prepare them for work afterwards. A full calendar of wellbeing events had been run in the New Year including sessions by Offload who helped staff deal with mental health issues and encouraged them to open up and seek help if they need it.

The Council were also looking to improve support for staff with disabilities by refreshing policies through continued engagement with disabled staff. Improvements that had been made so far included additional disabled car parking bays, changes to the email footer, and changes to the room booking system.

Following the overview of the update Councillors were given the opportunity to ask questions. Councillor Holden asked whether the guaranteed interview scheme had any legal issues regarding human rights. The Head of Workforce and Core Strategy informed the Committee that the legal had been consulted and they had confirmed that it did not violate any legislation. The Corporate Director of People added that the rest of the process was conducted in the same way the programme only affected the interview invitation part of the hiring process.

Councillor Akinola asked that the updated footer be shared with the Committee. The Councillor then asked whether the Council had seen a pattern between making it easier for people to apply and less people turning up for interviews. The Head of Workforce and Core Strategy responded that it was too early to tell and it was hoped that such a pattern would not emerge.

Councillor Rigby noted the drive behind the increased engagement but asked whether the Council had the capacity to make those processes robust and to deliver the ambitious engagement strategy. The Head of Workforce and Core Strategy stated that as a re-structure of HR had been completed last year they were aware of the resources available and the strategy had been developed with that level of capacity in mind.

The Chair requested to look at the feedback from those who are unsuccessful in interview.

Councillor Akinola stated that she found it difficult to follow the colours on the graphs within the update and asked whether they could be changed so that it was easier to distinguish between them.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the update be noted.

2)    That the updated email footer be sent to Committee Members.

3)    That feedback from those unsuccessful be provided to the Committee.

4)    That the colours within the graphs be revised to make it easier to distinguish between them.