Issue - meetings

Kate Sullivan (Lead Commissioner, Culture, Leadership and Performance) introduced the report which provided a summary of employee engagement activities undertaken since the introduction of a new approach to engagement in 2022/23. The report outlined key achievements; areas for development; a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI); and objectives for 2023/24.

Kate Sullivan reported that:

·       Engagement with colleagues in 2022/23 had been supported by three touchpoints throughout the year, two surveys, as well as the ‘Big Conversation’ hosted by Directors.

·       YourSay survey results had been made available to Tier 4 managers in 2022/23 making it possible for managers to consider and act on the findings of the survey.

·       Response rates to surveys had increased to 40% in July 2023, and 43% in February 2023.

·       Employee engagement had improved by 2%, rising from 74% to 76% during 2022/23.

·       Workload was a key focus during 2022/23 with 77% of colleagues agreeing that they were able to achieve a good balance between their work and personal life.

·       There had been an in-year increase from 62% to 64% of colleagues who agreed that they had a manageable workload.

Kate Sullivan reported that a new set of questions had been introduced in 2022/23 focusing on EDI. It had been found that the least engaged colleagues had chosen either not to respond or selected ‘prefer not to say’ when asked about protected characteristics. Efforts would be made to seek improved engagement in this area.

Kate Sullivan outlined the priorities for 2023/24 which included:

·       Maintaining participation in YourSay activities.

·       Securing health insight to support the wellbeing offer with a focus on workloads.

·       Supporting teams to take action locally, encouraging regular and open conversations.

·       A ‘Community Teams’ project to engage more fully with colleagues who were not routinely office-based.

In conclusion, Kate Sullivan reported that 2022/23 had been a successful year. Key business measures had scored above 75% which was a positive outcome. The YourSay engagement approach had been launched successfully with new branding, communication, and intranet resources. In the year ahead there would be a continued focus on workload and wellbeing, as well as maintaining and increasing response rates.

Councillor Millar praised the quality of the report. She highlighted that response rates had increased but remained below 50%. She asked how further progress to increase response rates could be made. She noted that the 12% rate of attendance of the ‘Big Conversation’ was relatively low and asked how participation could be improved in future.

Kate Sullivan stated that it was encouraging that the response rate had increased which had been a targeted outcome. However, achieving improved participation was a priority. This would be supported by the Community Teams project to reach out to colleagues who were not routinely office-based. Efforts would also be made to liaise with Executive Directors to examine response rate data leading to engagement with specific teams where response rates had been low. She advised that Big Conversations had been held as hybrid sessions to enable colleagues to join virtually. The sessions had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3