Agenda item

The report feeds back the findings of the Employee Engagement Survey 2019 and proposed actions.

Discussion:

Members considered a report regarding the findings of the Employee Engagement Survey 2019 and proposed actions. The Assistant Director Transformation advised the Committee of some of the key issues arising from the survey including mental health issues, skills and equipment, as well as Medpay and PDRs.

Committee members then raised a number of comments and questions, which included:

Communications and engagement – whether the rate of 47% was considered acceptable. The Assistant Director Transformation stated that this had increased from 34% in 2017, and she gave examples of the Corporate Management Team’s efforts to improve on this, including by being more visible through attending more briefing sessions in the Council’s satellite sites.

Mental Health – it was noted that less than half of people who had responded to the survey felt that the Council supported those with mental health issues well. The Assistant Director Transformation confirmed that this was a key focus arising from the survey. She also informed the Committee that the Council had signed up to the mental health pledge (Time to Change) in support of this. The Head of HR informed the Committee that was work was also ongoing with Occupational Health regarding staff with mental health issues.

Negative issues arising from the survey – in response to a question, the Assistant Director Transformation informed the Committee that a number of issues would be looked into including the recruitment process, ICT equipment as well as the need to reengage with the LGBTQ Forum, Black Workers Forum and Disabled Workers Forum.

Car parks – The Assistant Director Transformation undertook to refer the issue of a request for contactless car payment functionality in Council car parks to relevant officers.

Pay and reward issues – In response to a question on what could be done to improve satisfaction levels, the Assistant Director Transformation informed the Committee that these issues would be considered at Focus Groups.

PDRs – in response to a question, the Assistant Director Transformation informed the Committee that every member of staff who needed a PDR would have had one and the reason why this figure was not 100% could be explained by a number of factors, including those staff not under the Medpay provisions, staff on maternity leave or sick leave, and those staff who had worked for the Council for less than six months.

Career Development – in response to a question, the Assistant Director Transformation explained that there were a number of issues which could affect career development but the impact of the moratorium on training budgets would be looked into.

Response rate – in response to a question, the Assistant Director Transformation stated that the industry average response rate for staff surveys was 26% so the response rate of 48% compared favourably. However, staff would always be further encouraged to respond to these surveys.

Motivation – in response to a question on the levels of motivation, the Assistant Director Transformation stated that she was pleased with the results of the survey but that there was always room for improvement.

Use of apps to assess staff wellbeing – in response to a question the Assistant Director stated that her preference was for staff wellbeing to be assessed face to face rather than through the use of apps.

Decision:

The Committee agreed to note the report.