Agenda item

Kate Sullivan informed the Committee that the Chief Executive Officer had requested this item be brought forward for consideration.  The pilot scheme was intended to improve staff’s physical and mental health post-pandemic, the proposal being to offer staff the opportunity to participate in a meaningful activity where they will learn something new or give something back to the community. Kate Sullivan commented that other private sector companies operate similar schemes for example, Jaguar-Landrover’s (JLR) scheme.  These schemes are aimed at improving self-esteem and resilience and providing a sense of worth as well as local communities benefitting from the activities. The proposed pilot aligns with the Council’s corporate goals and supports the Our People Strategy by providing a development opportunity which also supports personal and emotional wellbeing. Kate Sullivan concluded that if the scheme is successful then proposals would be brought forward for a longer-term approach.  

In response to Councillor Millar, Kate Sullivan stated that there is a clear connection between community engagement and personal wellbeing so although the two aspects may seem at first glance to be distinct there is the potential for overlap between them.   Kate Sullivan confirmed that a six-month review would take place to see if staff are engaging in the scheme and if so, what sorts of activities and initiatives they are undertaking.  

Councillor Simpson-Vince noted that most volunteering sectors want people to commit to volunteering for more than one day. Kate Sullivan recognised the point and added that the Council also supported longer term volunteering which it would promote alongside this initiative. 

Councillor Millar suggested that one day volunteering every so often as part of a longer-term commitment would be more welcomed by organisations and would potentially be less stressful for individuals. 

Councillor Horner suggested that as it was common to get a group of volunteers working on a small project in areas, the Council could form groups to carry out projects cross-county on a specific day. Kate Sullivan stated that they wanted teams to have the flexibility to do this, but they would like different teams to cooperate with each other.  

Sarah Duxbury (Assistant Director – Governance & Policy) added that the pilot scheme would work with staff and other organisations to see what could be achieved in support of the Council’s organisational priorities. For example, Cabinet had recently approved the Canal Strategy which this initiative could provide opportunities for staff to support. As part of the implementation of the scheme we would look for similar cross Council initiatives which support our priorities.   

Councillor Kettle noted that if the pilot scheme went well then, a more structured approach would be needed for the future i.e. staff are assigned jobs. In response to Councillor Kettle, Kate Sullivan confirmed that feedback on the scheme would be sought as part of the pilot review, and this would feed into future proposals in support of wellbeing.  

In response to the Chair, Kate Sullivan agreed to contact JLR to see how they carried out their volunteering scheme and whether the Council could learn anything from their experiences.  

In response to a question, it was confirmed that schools and other partner/ contracting organisations will not be included in the scheme as they are not run by the council.  

Resolved

That the Staff & Pensions Committee supports the proposal to offer a Wellbeing and Volunteering Day to all Warwickshire County Council employees (excluding schools) to be taken by 31st March 2022.