Agenda item

FR/031/21       QUARTER 4 PERFORMANCE REPORT – PERFORMANCE, PEOPLE AND INNOVATION

L Roberts introduced the report and drew attention to a couple of points; one of the most important things they were focusing on was the support and health and wellbeing of all staff and that had resulted in a number of different things being delivered. This support will continue to be delivered to help staff as they work from home but also when they start to return to working in the office. In addition to that they were looking at how we can get further support from the Herts Protection Board to help improve that service. We have also received some funding from them.

In terms of ICT, obviously we’ve all been incredibly dependent on our IT services and overall the performance indicators were good. She said it had been challenging for the IT team to support staff remotely because they have to work out which end has the problem but overall they’ve done really well.

She welcomed questions from the committee.

Councillor Symington asked what the plan was for people working at home and returning to the Forum.

L Roberts advised they had been running a series of surveys with staff to try to understand any potential concerns about returning to the office and they had 399 responses which was fantastic. She said that unsurprisingly staff were looking for a hybrid return so they want to make use of the efficiencies that come from people working at home. Another survey is being carried out for Team Leaders and managers of each service to understand what their requirements are. She highlighted that the current government advice was to work from home where possible and that advice will continue to be monitored. She summarised that they’re using this opportunity to engage with staff and to make the building work best for all of us going forward.

Councillor Symington felt that members have had very little opportunity to interact with staff due to working from home so she suggested it would be useful for members to be advised if and when teams return to the office and on which days.

L Roberts said it was a bit of a balancing act because they needed to consider everyone’s requirements but that was something they intended to do. She advised they would circulate information from the Communications team and that would be included in Members News so that Councillors were aware of what everyone was doing.

Councillor Guest queried if they were recording Covid and non Covid related absences.

L Roberts confirmed they do record both but separately. She highlighted that the sickness absence for this quarter was better than the last quarter.

Councillor Adeleke questioned if the short term sickness had increased due to Covid.

L Roberts said it was her understanding that the sickness was not a result of Covid but just the usual coughs, colds and respiratory related illnesses. She advised there has been an issue with mental health but the numbers were small and they feel comfortable that they’re on top of it and review it regularly. 

Councillor Adeleke said there was brilliant initiatives available to staff and he queried if those could be extended to councillors.

L Roberts replied she would look into it. She asked members to let her know via email if there was anything they were particularly interested in.

The Chairman noted the drastic increase in website users. He asked how we were going to keep that interest going forward and if there was a team that constantly update and improve the website.

L Roberts advised there was two sides to the website; one side is looked after by the ICT department and the other sits with the Communications team. She explained that the website design team had been predominantly involved in the grant distribution, developing E-Forms, etc. so that has had to be their focus. She added that the Communications team also ensure there is consistent messaging across our social media platforms and on the website.

Outcome:

The report was noted.