Agenda item

R Smyth went through the 3^rd Quarter report for Performance, People and Innovation, apologising that the report contained the 2^nd Quarter detail and that he had circulated the correct information.

Cllr McLean enquired if the CSU telephone system has the capability to identify vulnerable residents and put them to the top of the queue.  R Smyth advised our systems could not do this at present and it would be a challenge to identify individuals to phone numbers.  Cllr Harden mentioned the residents portal and it might be possible once this is introduced.  Cllr McLean requested that it be considered in the future.

Cllr Taylor asked if a record is kept on sickness absence at Cupid Green and also the air quality in The Forum.  M Rawdon confirmed that Cupid Green was included at Sickness Scrutiny, that we do not treat people differently, but look at a range of indicators e.g. sickness over the last 5 years or the job that they do.  The HSE had done some work and the results have shown that there was an increase in sickness of an extra 2 days per FTE. 

M Rawdon said that air pollution was being considered as part of the staff engagement group and it will be escalated to CMT.  There has also been a hygiene campaign.  R Smyth advised CMT had looked at air pollution and temperatures and the B Hosier and Interserve are doing some work on that.  MR advised that sickness was broadly similar in The Forum as it was in The Civic.  R Smyth confirmed it would be kept under observation.

Cllr Adeleke enquired about staff turnover and how it was comparable with other authorities in the last two years.  Cllr Adeleke said that we had been blessed with fantastic staff and asked what the Council were doing to keep them.  Cllr Harden said that the people that were leaving have been amazing but also they were ambitious and move on after a few years. 

M Rawdon drew attention to all the work that has been going on in order to retain staff since the introduction of the People Strategy.  This included a staff recognition scheme, changes to the appraisal system, a greater emphasis on training and staff benefits like the car salary sacrifice scheme which is open to all staff and staff being able to purchase additional annual leave.  We offer a great package which isn’t always advertised.  We look at exit interviews to see why staff are leaving.  There is some concern around salaries but we are looking at other opportunities we can offer, as this would have to be a corporate decision.

Cllr Adeleke thanked M Rawdon and said that the Council is moving in the right direction.  Cllr Adeleke mentioned the possibility of creating new job titles, a better position not necessarily better pay.  M Rawdon said that we do need to be looking at all the different options and being creative.

Cllr Douris suggested that there was something of a management merry-go round at the moment.  There was a lot of movement and he felt that there was more of a work-life balance, which is his personal opinion, but he was concerned about people able to buy additional holiday as they will spend less time delivering. 

Cllr Douris stated that Members were not aware and they had not been alerted to the increased vacancy rate in the CSU.  R Smyth agreed and advised that we need to make us more attractive.  One of the problems is that it typically takes 3 months to train someone so when the new person starts they are not going to be as productive as someone who is fully trained.

Cllr Douris mentioned that Herts have an academy for training staff.  R Smyth advised that the CSU staffing was quite stable but there have been some leavers who have applied for other Dacorum roles.  Cllr Douris suggested that it might be worthwhile opening an academy.  R Smyth said it was something we could think about.  M Rawdon highlighted that the service will be reviewed which will include looking at reducing the training time without minimising the quality.  R Smyth said he would contact Herts.

Action: R Smyth

Cllr Douris requested more information on the Communications Team, how many media meetings do we have and what is our media score.  R Smyth confirmed he would find out and get back to Cllr Douris. 

Action: R Smyth

Cllr Douris asked for a report to come to this meeting.  M Rawdon said that it would be useful to know what’s currently happening.  Cllr Douris would like to see a positive representation of DBC that we are a good Council that works well, we are prudent and we deliver, we need to look at how we can get that message across to the wider media market.

The Chairman said we do need to be more proactive, but the Digest had reduced in delivery.  Cllr Harden highlighted that a hard copy Digest is sent out two times per year but there is a monthly email update that has positive messages rather than just informing people.  The Chairman said this should include things like the Community Champion.  R Smyth advised we do run regular campaigns on social media and the Gazette, but there is always more we could do.  M Rawdon clarified that we do send the Gazette good news stories but there’s nothing we can do if they don’t print them.

Cllr Howard queried the numbers in point 2.13 as they didn’t add up.  R Smyth will confirm numbers.

Action: R Smyth

Cllr Silwal raised concerns over the customer experience and increased costs for the CSU and how the re-design of the service will affect this.  R Smyth advised that the re-design will be about business process re-engineering and will take out steps which are not required.  Cllr Silwal asked if it would look at poor performance.  M Rawdon said that it was about looking at the process rather than individuals.  B Trueman added that the re-design might reduce human interactions.  R Smyth clarified that the re-design will stop people having to do things they don’t have to do.

The Chairman enquired about sickness absence and that the total absence has reduced but 1.5% of staff are responsible for 25% of sickness absence.  M Rawdon advised we are taking measures but some people can be off for a year, during that time we will challenge the medical advice, support the individual on a phased return to work, there is regular contact with staff and sickness scrutiny will look at sickness for each individual.  The Chairman said that this puts pressure on existing staff.

Cllr Howard would like to understand the reasons for the illness and wondered if it was stress related.  M Rawdon said it was an issue as it was for many other organisations.  Managers are trained in mental health awareness and we use occupational health, there is also counselling available.  Cllr Howard asked if the 1.5% was due to stress.  The Chairman said it would be good to see the figures.  Cllr Douris agreed that it would be good to understand the reasons but would be concerned if the details meant that it could be attributed to a particular person as this would be inappropriate.  Cllr Harden confirmed that the sickness data could be reviewed at the next meeting.

Action: M Rawdon

The Chairman asked Members to note the reports and the recommendations for reports back from Officers.  All agreed.