Agenda item

Report of the Director of People and Culture presenting the Action Plan to accompany the People First Strategy, which was previously presented to Cabinet. A covering Report and the Action Plan is attached.

An Impact Assessment has also been prepared for the attention of members at the meeting, which is attached and also available on the website at - https://www.devon.gov.uk/impact/published/.

RESOLVED

(a) that the People Strategy Action Plan and all of the activities / projects contained therein be endorsed; and

(b) that the Director of People and Culture, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Organisational Development, Workforce & Digital Transformation, be given delegated authority to make minor amendments to the action plan.

(Councillors Biederman, Brazil, Dewhirst and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Director of People and Culture which presented the Action Plan to accompany the People First Strategy, which had been previously presented to Cabinet. The Report had been circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

Cabinet approved the new People First Strategy for the Council in June 2023 which had been identified as a priority in response to a number of issues, for example the Race Equality Audit (2021) coupled with other behavioural related concerns identified in Children’s Services, which had driven the need to refocus on activities in relation to staff and the organisation’s culture. 

A key priority for the People First Strategy was to outline how the Council would ensure there were appropriately skilled and talented people to deliver services to communities and ensure the Council was fit for the future, as well as embodying values of care and kindness, and a responsibility to provide good value for the people of Devon.

It was also critical to focus on the quality of relationships and engagement with key stakeholders and partners.

The Strategy had been designed and based around a focus on the six key themes of Voice, Recruitment, Wellbeing, Belonging, Learning and Reward, having been shaped by staff surveys, findings from the Race Equality Audit, benchmarking, the recruitment market and exit interviews.

The Action Plan detailed how the Council would deliver against the Strategy’s aims over the next three years.

Some of the actions listed had been in progress this year already, which Cabinet had been previously cited on.  For example, a Scrutiny Spotlight Review on the ‘Cost of living crisis’ made a recommendation to Cabinet, on the implementation of a staff-wide discount scheme. This Benefits Platform would go live later in the year.

It was further proposed that progress against the Action Plan be reviewed as follows:

·       People & Culture Leadership Team on a monthly basis;

·       Cabinet Member for Organisational Development, Workforce & Digital Transformation on a monthly basis;

·       Senior Leadership Team on a quarterly basis; and

·       Cabinet on a six-monthly basis.

Key Performance Indicators would be developed in relation to each theme to monitor progress against as each activity was developed.

The delivery of the People First Strategy had been identified as one of the six areas of focus for the next 12 months, and its successful implementation would enable staff to be best placed to deliver the outcomes in the Strategic Plan.  It would also contribute to supporting the delivery of the Corporate Equality, Diversity & Inclusion agenda.

The People First Strategy explicitly highlighted the Councils’ collective role as corporate parents and responsibility to the Council’s care leavers and the Action Plan outlined work both underway and planned in relation to each theme of the Strategy.

The Strategy had been developed in liaison with the Equality Team and an overarching high level impact assessment completed - https://www.devon.gov.uk/impact/published/. However, different elements of the Action Plan would require full Equality Impacts Assessments as they were scoped, designed and rolled out.

The Cabinet noted that ‘The People First Strategy’ had been adopted and delivery of the Action Plan would provide a more effective and organisation wide collaborative approach to address workforce related issues.

The matter having been debated and the options and alternatives and other relevant factors (e.g. financial, sustainability and carbon impact, risk management, equality and legal considerations and alignment with the Council’s Strategic Plan) set out in the Director’s Report having been considered:

it was MOVED by Councillor Saywell, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

RESOLVED

(a) that the People Strategy Action Plan and all of the activities / projects contained therein be endorsed; and

(b) that the Director of People and Culture, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Organisational Development, Workforce & Digital Transformation, be given delegated authority to make minor amendments to the action plan.

(NB: The Impact Assessment referred to above may be viewed alongside Minutes of this meeting and may also be available on the Impact Assessment Webpages).