Minutes:
Christina Hefferon, AD Organisational Development and HR, updated Members on the results of the recent Staff Survey.
The Survey was conducted in December 2015, and was available to all staff online and via paper questionnaires. Of the 871 staff employed by Slough as of December 2015, 366 responses had been received (42%). Of the 366 responses, 277 had been fully completed.
Members were informed of the results by level, directorate, location and length of service. Key points from the survey were:
Engagement:
· 88% of respondents said they enjoy their job.
· 59% said they were proud to work for the council.
· 58% rated the council highly as an employer
· 59% would recommend working for SBC.
· 88% felt their work mattered and was worthwhile.
· 90% would go the extra mile to help SBC succeed.
· 73% were inspired to meet their goals
This contrasted positively with the national figures which showed:
· 17% were engaged
· 57% were not engaged
· 26% were actively disengaged
Organisational Integrity
· 94% of respondents said they had a good team relationship
· 48% felt part of the council as a single organisation.
· 72% knew the SBC values
· 61% felt able to challenge inappropriate behaviour and language.
· 27% felt staff were involved in decisions that affect their work
· 32% felt people were recognised and appreciated for their work
· 27% felt the council encouraged open, honest discussion
Strategic Direction
• 47% knew where their team is headed
• 71% knew about the Five Year Plan outcomes
• 85% understood how their work contributed to the performance of the council
• 37% were familiar with Fit for the Future
• 31% thought staff were provided the right amount of information
• 38% thought staff were told important news quickly
• 30% thought reasons for change were well communicated
Managers
• 71% said their manager was good at communicating the team’s priorities
• 67% said their manager gave them the support they needed to be effective
• 75% said their manager listened to them
• 75% said their manager treated them fairly
Feeding views upwards
• 64% of respondents were happy with the opportunities to feed views upwards to managers.
• 50% of respondents were happy with the opportunities to feed views upwards to heads of service.
• 28% of respondents were happy with the opportunities to feed views upwards to SLT.
Outcomes from the survey included:
• Details of the Employee Engagement Forum (EEF) had been added to the corporate induction and the “Lonely planet guide to SBC”
• The EEF had carried out 3 drop-in sessions for staff and managers
• A staff comment box had been provided
• An ongoing programme of SLT visits to teams around the council had been instigated
• Communications had a renewed focus on sharing good news and success stories from around the council, including the SBC heroes awards
• The Staff Conference 2016 was scheduled for April, and would provide staff with the opportunity to ask questions and give input.
In conclusion, Members were informed that both the number of respondees and the majority of results were very positive and compared favourably to similar surveys conducted nationally. However, there remained work to be done, particularly on the visibility of SLT within the Council and the opportunities to feed views upwards to them.
Members discussed the importance of staff appraisals, both in collecting employee views and measuring performance. It was confirmed that all staff were required to have an annual appraisal. Whilst in previous years, some staff did not have an appraisal, a new mechanism was now in place to ensure that appraisals were completed.
Resolved - That the report be noted.