Agenda item

The Report is attached.

Martin Lewis (Re-Enabling Services Manager) introduced the item and began by explaining the system of agile working and new methods of working had begun to be re-examined 18 months ago. The Covid pandemic had then hit and this was used as an additional opportunity to trial new ways of working and broaden the scope of the Estates Masterplan. The programme had been run since July and had provided important information in terms of how teams wanted to work, and how to embed cultural and behavioural changes. Martin Lewis said the first stage of the Estates Masterplan would focus on Shire Hall and a pilot scheme would be introduced here first before looking at how the proposals would affect other office spaces. Simon Lewis (Strategy and Commissioning Manager, Property Management) said the dynamics of different teams would change how the office buildings were used. It was important to understand how teams wanted to use the buildings before any cultural changes were implemented. The Chair said he was pleased that consideration was being given to how staff wanted to work, as this was an important point in terms of the Masterplan.

Councillor Boad said she was surprised the number of staff wanting to return to the office was low, as compared to a year ago a significant number of staff had expressed a preference for wanting to return to office working. She asked if any trends had been identified from different teams. She gave the example of social workers being an appropriate team to have located together as it was a team that could benefit from collaborative working, particularly in light of recent tragic cases that had been covered in the national media. She added some staff members may have missed the spontaneity of having one to one catch ups with colleagues. Martin Lewis said different teams were identified to test different ways of working, and in teams where a preference for home working had been identified then they had been supplied with the technology to allow them to do this.

Responding to a question from Councillor Tromans, Martin Lewis said collaborations meant different things to different teams. For example some teams would regard face to face meetings to discuss a confidential matter as collaborative whereas others would use technology to hold a hybrid meeting and consider that as collaborative. Simon Lewis added that workspace utilisation would vary from team to team; in some cases, 40 per cent of spaces being used might be appropriate whereas in other teams, such as in the call centre, 100 per cent utilisation would be anticipated. It was possible for a workspace to have more than 100 per cent utilisation if more than one person used it on any given day.

Rob Powell said there had been variations in the number of people coming into the office. Prior to the recent implementation of Plan B, numbers had been starting to increase. Rob Powell said each team had set its own agile working principles, and noting the earlier example given of the social care team said this was one that had been working together in the office more regularly than other teams might. Rob Powell added that office space had been available throughout the pandemic and some staff had been coming in on a regular basis, either because they did not have the physical space to work from home or for mental wellbeing reasons. Virtual working had been successful and consideration was being given to how this could be extended for those who wanted to continue working virtually from home.

Councillor Kaur (Portfolio Holder for Economy and Place) said check-in surveys had been taking place as part of the people strategy, which had helped gain insight into people’s work/life balance. The success of agile working had increased as a result. She added the mechanisms were in place to allow staff to switch between home working and being in an office environment. Councillor Butlin said it was important for the Council to be confident that any repurposing of office buildings was done in the right way before it committed to any capital spending. He noted that a number of people had begun returning to office working, highlighting the number of people who had evacuated from the building after a fire alarm sounded during the May Cabinet meeting.

Councillor Singh Birdi stated his belief Members and officers would now struggle without the use of technology and it would be important going forward, noting there had initially been opposition to it. He asked if hybrid meeting rooms could be made available to Members for them to hold, for example, meetings with their constituents. Martin Lewis said this was being investigated and meeting rooms could be made available in other office buildings and not just Shire Hall.

Councillor Watson said although it was important to allow staff the opportunity to work from home if they wished, he noted that in one of the staff surveys only five per cent of respondents said they were more productive when working from home. Councillor Watson said it was important to take into account value for money and for home working not to be an excuse to not work. The Chair accepted this point, and added that home working meant fewer car journeys and this would help the Council achieve its net zero carbon emission challenge.

Rob Powell said there had been two cohorts of graduates through the LGA scheme who had taken up their placements during the pandemic. He said their contributions had been phenomenal, noting that of the first cohort one had won a national award and another had received an offer of a permanent job placement with the Council. Regarding the use of office space Rob Powell said final discussions were starting to conclude and there was an idea of the direction that would be taken, but there was still some uncertainty. He stressed the importance of taking time to finalise this plan, as the correct short-term solution could cause problems in the medium to long term. Regarding productivity, Rob Powell said there was anecdotal evidence to suggest an increase in productivity from home working and the performance indicators would seem to confirm this. Responding to a question from Councillor Roberts, Rob Powell said staff had used home working as a way of working more flexibly. He said staff with childcare responsibilities might find their personal circumstances meant it was better for them to work earlier in the mornings or later in the evenings, and he said this was the case for him.

The Chair asked for the Committee’s congratulations to go to the graduates that Rob Powell had mentioned.