Agenda item

The Interim Head of People and Property Services submitted a quarterly performance report for the period up to 30 September 2013, the detail of which was set out in the report now submitted and the supporting Essential Reference Papers.  She drew Members’ attention to the most recent people statistics in relation to the current headcount, the number of starters, the current turnover and common reasons for leaving.  An update was provided in relation to those staff who had transferred to Stevenage Borough Council following the introduction of shared service arrangements. 

In response to a query from Councillor P Ruffles regarding staff attending training sessions and whether the number of vacancies would be made available for public examination, the Interim Head of People and Property advised that attendees were always asked to evaluate the course attended.  The number of vacancies were made available to the public through this report, but there was no specific body that examined the level of vacancies or benchmarked them.  The Chairman stated that it would be useful to have statistics showing the numbers invited to attend training and those failing to attend.  The Head of People and Property Services stated that HR would be taking steps to find out what type of training staff would wish to attend.  She informed Members of the positive impact of staff turnover.

In response to queries from Councillor A Warman and P Ballam concerning long term sickness and attendance at training, the Head of People and Property Services stated that staff on long term sick were encouraged to return to work with a phased approach as appropriate and that training was made available to all staff with some tailored to specific work areas.  Councillor J Thornton suggested that training be benchmarked to give the statistics more relevance.

The Chairman asked for further information on “e”-learning and whether this initiative had been taken up by Parish and Town Councils.  Officers agreed to bring this forward as part of future reports.

The Head of People and Property Services stated that a “Wellbeing Day” had been programmed for 17 October 2013 when a number of activities would be taking place at Wallfields.  She provided a summary of the initiatives. 

Councillor N Wilson commented on stress and how this could be hidden especially in relation to those staff who had moved from Bishop’s Stortford to Wallfields and home wWorkers.  The Director of Finance and Support Services stated that management was very much aware of stress especially on home workers and of the need for managers to take appropriate steps to ensure regular contact with them.  Managers were also encouraged to consider what actions could be taken at particular times when workloads might increase and highlighted, as an example, action taken by the Shared Revenues and Benefits service as the welfare reforms had started.  The Head of People and Property Services added that Line Managers also monitored stress levels, making sure that staff had the resources they needed. 

The Committee noted the report.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.