Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Jane Scott OBE (who was substituted by Cllr Bill Moss), Cllr Stuart Wheeler, Cllr Bob Jones MBE and Cllr Graham Wright.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  6 May 2015.     (Copy attached)

Resolved:

To confirm and sign the minutes of the previous meeting held on 6 May 2015, subject to the inclusion of apologies received from Cllr David Jenkins.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.

The Chairman made the following announcements:

HR Excellence Awards

The HR team had been recognised at the annual HR Excellence Awards in London in the category for Best HR Team in the public and not for profit sector, with a highly commended award. This award recognised public sector HR teams for their work within the function and their business partnering with other functions. The Council’s entry for this award included specific projects and how the team had collaborated to support the Council in delivering its objectives and priorities.

After being encouraged to enter this award the team were very pleased and proud to have been recognised in these prestigious awards.

Achieving Excellence 2015

The Council was introducing a new way to recognise excellent work by employees across the Authority. This should help to increase the staff engagement index which was currently measuring at 56% (staff survey 2015).

The new staff recognition scheme was called Achieving Excellence 2015, and this was replacing the previous scheme called corporate awards. This new scheme would take place quarterly and all those nominated for an award would be invited to attend an awards ceremony.

Employees could be nominated for these awards by anyone within the organisation. Nominees could be from any department and work at any level, from a volunteer to a manager, and could be part time or full time. They could be an individual, an entire team, they could be community or customer focused, but they must have gone above and beyond what was expected of them to achieve excellence. 

Nominations were currently open for the first awards and would close on 31 August 2015, with the inaugural ceremony taking place in September.

The Council welcomes contributions from members of the public.

Statements

If you would like to make a statement at this meeting on any item on this agenda, please register to do so at least 10 minutes prior to the meeting. Up to 3 speakers are permitted to speak for up to 3 minutes each on any agenda item. Please contact the officer named on the front of the agenda for any further clarification.

Questions

To receive any questions from members of the public or members of the Council received in accordance with the constitution. Those wishing to ask questions are required to give notice of any such questions in writing to the officer named on the front of the agenda (acting on behalf of the Corporate Director) no later than 5pm on Wednesday 1 July 2015. Please contact the officer named on the front of this agenda for further advice. Questions may be asked without notice if the Chairman decides that the matter is urgent.

Details of any questions received will be circulated to Committee members prior to the meeting and made available at the meeting and on the Council’s website.

There were no members of the public present or councillors’ questions.

A demonstration of GROW, a new learning and performance management system will be provided at the meeting.

A demonstration of GROW, a new learning and performance management system was provided at the meeting.

It was reported that the principal aims of this new system would be as follows:-

•      Provide a simple, effective appraisal solution that managers could use for all staff

•      Integrated system – to link development and performance

•      Support new ways of learning – social, web based, e-learning etc.

•      Support regular performance discussions (1:1’s) year round

•      Link individual, team and business objectives

Members welcomed and supported this new management performance system and

Resolved:

(1)       To circulate the presentation to members of the Committee and their deputies for information.

(2)       To request an update report in 12 months’ time in order to see how the new GROW system is working.

A report by the Associate Director, People & Business is attached.

Consideration was given to a report by the Associate Director, People & Business which presented the CCTV and Vehicle Monitoring Policy. This policy had been produced in line with best practice, to meet Information Commissioners Office guidelines.

Resolved:

To approve the CCTV and Vehicle Monitoring Policy.  

A report by the Associate Director, People & Business is attached.

The Committee received a quarterly workforce report, excluding fire, police and school staff, for the quarter ending March 2015, concerning:-

Staffing Levels

Sickness Absence

New Health and Safety RIDDOR related injuries

New Disciplinary and Grievance Cases

Voluntary Staff Turnover

Employee costs

Additional financial information

Employee Diversity

During discussion, members were pleased to note that:-

·                The jobs market had improved and more apprenticeships were being offered.

·                Steps were continuing to replace agency staff with permanent staff.

·                The campaign to recruit more social workers, particularly in children’s services, was proving successful with about 120 new social workers being appointed, leaving just 28 vacancies in children’s services.

Resolved:

(1)       To note the contents of the report.

(2)       In view of the difficulties in putting back meetings of this Committee by one month due to potential clashes with meetings of other committees, to agree that these workforce reports be circulated to members of the Committee and their deputies for information as soon as they are available and in advance of them being considered by the Committee.

To note that the next scheduled meeting of the Committee will be held on Wednesday 9 September 2015, starting at 10.30am.

Resolved:

To note that the next meeting of this Committee was due to be held on Wednesday 9 September 2015 at County Hall, Trowbridge, starting at 10.30am.

There were no items of urgent business.