(a)

the report shared the main findings of the Big Listen staff survey and the information provided was taken across all council employees; there was currently no benchmarking data undertaken by other councils to measure the information however it presented a clean cut representation of a post covid council;

(b)

the Council conducted the Big Listen survey in June/ July 2022 and the report shared the headline findings and provided information as to how the Council would respond to the findings from the survey;

(c)

the survey linked to the Council’s People Strategy and had a 71% engagement level, two thirds of staff were proud to work for the Council, seven in ten people considered the Council was a good employer, the largest improvement was made in the satisfaction levels to staff working environment, 87% of staff were aware of their responsibilities and duties, 65% responded that they got development or training needed to do their job safely and 82% of staff felt that they were treated fairly, respectfully and without discrimination;

(d)

the report also highlighted how change was managed across the Council, career progression within the Council and the confidence in how the survey results would be responded to; plans were detailed in the covering report on focus groups being arranged to take forward actions.

(e)

it was difficult to encourage staff to speak and engage with surveys however those that did were thanked; it was highlighted that the response rate of 51% was a top quartile rate and was considered very high as the average rate was 25%;

(f)

in terms of the 51% response rate, Sharon Battishill (Unite Lead Representative) considered that front line workers were not heard and generally did not participate in surveys as they did not work on computers so didn’t receive an electronic version of the survey however also didn’t receive paper copies; they also had to complete surveys in their own personal time other than during working hours. There was a high density of front line workers in Street Scene and Waste with reading and writing therefore the feedback would be low from those areas;

(g)

in terms of the 51% response rate Kevin Treweeks (Unison Lead Representative) advised that he considered some people may not have participated because they believe that if they didn’t have anything nice to say they shouldn’t say anything at all;

(h)

an external company was used to conduct the survey in order to ensure anonymity if people considered they could be identified by their responses; a duel approach was taken with online availability and staff were proactive with paper copies for frontline staff. Colleagues went out to specifically try and increase rates in front line areas;

(i)

the engagement rate of 71% was made up of the answers to a specific suite of questions around the extent to which people felt engaged with the Council; the figure was made up of the answers to specific questions that were answered. The exact questions that were considered for the engagement index score would be provided to Members;

(j)

figures for comparison between the results of the 2022 staff survey and the 2018 staff survey would be provided, specifically for the following survey questions:

·         Working in my job make me want to do my best (this was 14 points down from 2018 figures)

·         I would like to be working for the Council in 12 months’ time (this was 14 points down from 2018 figures)

·         The Council is a good employer (this was 21 points down from 2018 figures)

It was highlighted that Members should be mindful when comparing the 2018 staff survey and the 2022 Big Listen staff survey as the pandemic hadn’t happened in 2018 and attitudes to work and life had changed significantly over that period;

(k)

51% of staff participated in the survey, meaning that 49% of the workforce didn’t take part in the staff survey;

(l)

the design of the survey as well as formatting of questions was discussed with trade union representatives. It was considered by trade union representatives that the use of an external agency was a good idea as no complaints had been received this year with regards to staff being easily identifiable from their responses;

(m)

it was considered by Unite Lead Representative that it would be preferable to send front line staff the survey in the post with a return envelope;

(n)

the Cabinet Member agreed with a concern raised in terms of the percentages of staff that felt they were victims of bullying or harassment and the potential impact that might have upon sickness levels and the confidence in staff being comfortable in completing the survey due to a fear of being identified or experiencing repercussions, especially if they had to undertake the survey in a physical format; this would be taken on board;

(o)

the next steps for the survey was to release results to departments for greater discussion and analysis in focus groups;

(p)

front line workers were given paper copies and representatives from Human Resources and Organisational Development went to particular work locations to support those employees that required help filling out the survey if required – this also helped responses to be anonymous as it was separate from support provided by managers;

(q)

Staffroom was the name of the Council’s virtual staffroom – managers were responsible for cascading down information and key messages from staffroom to council employees that didn’t have access to staffroom. Television screens were also in different locations across council sites for staff to be advised of key messages;

(r)

in terms of having trust that the survey results would impact positive change, Sharon Battishill (Unite Lead Representative) considered that she had trust in senior managers however wasn’t confident that key messages would reach front line workers;

(s)

in terms of having trust that the survey results would impact positive change, Kevin Treweeks (Unison Lead Representative) confirmed that there was a lot of cynicism from staff and the idea of engaging with focus groups on difficult issues like communication could be useful however from past experience with staff surveys, the changes that had been made were the changes that those in charge wanted to make anyway other than want the workforce wanted to be made;

(t)

in terms of having trust that the survey results would impact positive change, Trish Small (GMB Lead Representative) had trust that there was an intent for the council to make changes however it was questioned how much could be realisitically achieved with budget restraints, especially when staff were overworked;

(u)

line managers were responsible for ensuring that the needs of their staff members were listened to and addressed;

(v)

the Return to Work report was submitted to scrutiny previously and it was mentioned by the presenting officer that this survey had been undertaken;  scrutiny was therefore in receipt of very early information which had not yet been cascaded through directorates or working groups for further development;

(w)

when the Plymouth Book came into force the Council removed payments for staff for professional registrations; this was not supported by trade union representatives as the registrations were required as part of the job.

(x)

it was important for the Council to recognise that there was a lot of negativity in the workforce – satisfaction levels were down across a lot of metrics in comparison to previous surveys and staff didn’t seem to think there was a particular vision or leadership in the council. There was diminishing faith in line managers, a lack of faith in the future and a view that training opportunities were limited.

(y)

some staff were ambivalent about if they still work for the council in 12 months’ time, there was a 13% turnover of staff and an expectation that change was coming and it would be negative. Staff were feeling that they had little control and were constantly managing change; it was considered that a lot of departments within the Council restructured on a bi-annual basis leading to issues with how to function with other teams;

(z)

concerns of isolation were specifically directed towards front line staff that worked in the call centre, who generally worked from home and were dealing with members of the public on an increasing basis that were dissatisfied leaving staff with no one else to talk to once the call had ended;

(aa)

it was recognised that work appeared to be grinding people down, there was insufficient staff numbers, stress was apparent and long term stress needed to be focused upon;

(bb)

there was dissatisfaction with the pay and reward and it was considered staff were 20-25% worse off in spending power terms than 10 years ago. Pay was managed nationally however the council’s local terms and conditions were used as a way of saving money however it was considered to be a false economy as the council was losing staff to neighbouring local authorities;

(cc)

environmental impacts only looked at travel however hybrid working was here to stay but the survey indicated that more people expected to return to their workplaces more often than they had been previously – we needed to consider that came in to work in green ways;

(dd)

registration fees for social workers was no longer paid for by the Council;

(ee)

Union leaders didn’t score well around communications and would like to get messages out using the council’s platforms.

(ff)

there was a high demand on staff and this was driving people to be ill with work related stress; it was considered that if staff wellbeing was prioritised this would mean that less people would feel burnt out and the impact on sickness levels and cost would be lessened. To recruit to new members of staff and to retrain costed money;

1.

that the exact questions from the Big Listen survey that were considered for the engagement index score would be provided to Members;

2.

figures for comparison between the results of the 2022 staff survey and the 2018 staff survey would be provided for the following survey questions:

·         Working in my job make me want to do my best (this was 14 points down from 2018 figures)

·         I would like to be working for the Council in 12 months’ time (this was 14 points down from 2018 figures)

·         The Council is a good employer (this was 21 points down from 2018 figures)

3.

to recommend that prior to the next staff survey, additional thought was given to how those without computer access were given support to be able to complete the survey (to feel confident in doing so), that all staff should be allowed the opportunity to complete the survey within working hours, and that the process was agreed with the trade union representatives in advance to enable them to support the delivery of the survey;

4.

that staff registrations was to be added to the work programme (where council officers were required to have registrations to undertake their role), with the aim to understand costs, what registrations were required and for whom, and to understand the impact upon the Council – Trade Union representatives to be included in the discussion at scrutiny;

5.

that the action plans for the following areas would be added to the work programme (and for trade union representatives to be included as part of the discussion):

-       Staff wellbeing;

-       Communications – how cascading to all staff happened;

-       How we can support being a green council (transport plans/ climate emergency element of the action plan and impact on workforce);

-       Senior Leadership – seek action plan to improve those areas

6.

that the Chair sends out a communication to staff thanking them for their input in the Big Listen staff survey.