Issue - meetings

Vicki David, HR Officer, presented the Annual Turnover Report 2019/20 to the Committee.

Councillor Ruffles said that it seemed from the main trends, an annual employee turnover rate of 10.1% and an even spread of reasons for staff departure, that tackling levels of turnover was a success for the Council.  He asked whether this was the correct conclusion and whether there were any areas Members should be concerned about.  Further, he said that although 65% of staff who took the exit survey were happy with the training they received, this meant 35% were not, and he asked why this was.

The Head of HR and OD said Officers intended to review and reduce the selection of ‘other’ as a reason for departure as this did not provide useful insight.  Further, whilst it could be seen there were a number of staff leaving for more senior positions and promotions elsewhere, this could be seen as a positive, as staff were clearly developing well professionally at the Council.  It was also inevitable to some extent, given the size of the Council, that not all staff would be able to progress to the extent they would like.

The HR Officer said the current format of the exit questionnaire did not allow HR to understand why departing staff were unhappy with training they had received.

Councillor Newton said that the importance of the exit questionnaire had previously been impressed on the Committee, so it was disappointing to hear it did not give the insight needed.  She asked that this be amended accordingly.

The Head of HR and OD said he would add provision to the questionnaire for departing staff to express why they were unhappy with training.  However, some staff inevitably left as they were not a good fit for the role and therefore might leave negative feedback even if it was not warranted.  He said that allowing departing staff the opportunity to give more feedback did not mean they would.

Councillor Ruffles said that in Planning, vacancies were still being held, due to the notion of the upcoming restructure of the Planning department. However, this meant the Council was not currently seeking out the staff it needed. He said he would like to see some progress in this regard.

The Head of HR and OD said the restructure had been somewhat delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It should also be borne in mind that The Head of Planning and Building Control had only been in post for approximately a year and needed to restructure the department as she thought appropriate.  HR could not push a department into a restructure, only support the process when it was in progress.  There had been some progress already, but Members’ comments would be passed on.

RESOLVED – that the report be noted.