Agenda item

The report presents the findings of the 2025 Staff Survey.

Discussion:

The Chief Organisational Culture Officer introduced the report. The Staff Survey had been undertaken during the summer of 2025 and the results shared with the Corporate Management Team, Service Managers and the Employment Matters Committee during October and November. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer highlighted some areas where the survey had shown positive results the Council.

The Behaviours and Values the Council set for staff were well understood with 90% of respondents stating they knew what this meant to them and how to implement in their working day. There had also been a 15% rise in colleagues feeling empowered, a 10% rise in colleagues feeling proud to work at Medway and a 17.5% rise in colleagues satisfied with the rewards package.

The Chief Organisational Culture Officer added there were some areas which required improvement, in particular. 5.8% of staff felt they could not be themselves at work, and 6.7% of respondents reported experiencing discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Areas which required improvement were being addressed.

The following issues were discussed:

Discrimination and Harassment - a Member commented that there were some very positive results in the survey but also some results which would raise concerns, such as the 22% of respondents did not know how to report discrimination and harassment. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated policies were easily available on the intranet and in clear language so further investigation was undertaken into the potential causes for the results. At engagement sessions with staff, some officers reported having a concern but wanting advice rather than to raise a formal complaint with their manager or HR. In response officers was considering ways in which that could be addressed to signpost staff to effective advice.

Staff Retention – in response to a question how important was staff pay in securing retention of staff the Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that the staff turnover rate had fallen from 16.5% to around 11% in the last two years. It was her ambition to have a turnover rate of 10% which would reflect bringing in new people with fresh ideas and developing staff in their career pathway. She stated that in her opinion, the staff reward package had been a contributing factor to both the improved retention rate and the Council’s ability to recruit. In addition, the Medpay review had enabled staff to progress and in their career at the Council and this had a made a significant difference to the stability of the workforce.

Comparator data was requested to from other authorities to compare the numbers of staff who reported wanting to leave in the next two years. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated there was no comparable data with other local authorities available on that specific issue as the surveys were not a set of standardised questions and the results of internal authority surveys were not always made publicly available. She added that one of the reasons why a number of people planned to leave the Council in the next two years was because there was a large cohort coming up to retirement age. Another reason was that the many staff wanted to progress their careers and were in roles where internal advancement opportunities were limited.

It was asked how the Council could be sure that pay was a determining factor in retention when the Council did not have data on what was happening elsewhere. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that the Council benchmarked their pay and rewards packages against other authorities and reviewed their retention data to ensure it was in line with the market. Prior to the pay review the Council was not in line with the market and it did not want to return to this position, She added that the proposed pay increase for the forthcoming year was linked to inflation.

The Chief Operating Officer added that for a number of years the Council’s pay award had not risen in line with inflation and pay was cited as a major reasons for staff leaving. In the last two years pay had risen, the Medpay review had been undertaken and staff no longer cited pay as the major reason for leaving. As a result the Council was now considering other ways to improve retention.

Bullying – it was asked what initiatives had been put in place to deal with the bullying issues identified in the report. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that the Council had a robust reporting system and policies in place with officers acting as champions to provide support. Following further investigation the data had shown that it was not a Council wide issue but focused on isolated teams. Additional work was being put in place such as training regarding unintentional language and behaviour that caused distress.

Local Government Reform (LGR) – it was asked how the Council planned to do deal with staff anxiety caused by LGR. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that the Council had a working group and a policy unit which was looking at issues related to LGR. Events had been held at a senior management level to consider those concerns and all staff events have been held with the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive Officer. The Council sought to provide reassurance that whilst the result of the LGR was not known, it remained the case that majority of staff would be retained on the same terms and conditions. From a HR perspective, some comparison of terms and conditions with other authorities was taking place so the Council could be aware of risks and opportunities at an early stage, this mapping included retention levels within authorities which may form part of the successor authority.

It was asked whether staff had made clear how they wished to be engaged regarding LGR and whether unions had been consulted. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that the staff survey included questions on preferred methods of communication regarding LGR and this included briefings and the HR newsletter. Communication with Unions took place on a fortnightly basis and there were opportunities for more formal engagement with unions through the Corporate Consultative Committee and the Joint Consultative Committee.

A Member commented that there were a number of positive results and thanked officers for their hard work.  It was asked what support the Council would provide to Officers whilst planned works on Gun Wharf took place. The Chief Organisational Culture Officer stated that HR were working with Service Managers to identify their desk allocation requirements and the Council was considering other venues where staff could be relocated if they had difficulties working from home. The Council had experience of supporting staff who had barriers to working from home during previous Gun Wharf repair works.

It was asked whether the Committee should receive reports in relation to LGR and the work that was being undertaken. The Chief Operating Officer stated that reports would be brought to Committees in the future, but that would take place following the government decision in the summer. There was for example a report programmed to be considered by Employment Matters Committee in the future which could also be considered by the Business Support and Digital Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

Decision:

The Committee noted the report.