Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member – Councillor Menna Jones

To consider a report on the above.

To accept the report and to note the observations.

The Cabinet Member for Corporate Support and officers from the Corporate Support Department were welcomed to the meeting.

The Cabinet Member set out the context and the Human Resources Advisory Services Manager provided a summary of the content of the report, which gave an overview of the Council's situation in relation to staff recruitment and retention, referring to the challenges over the last few months and the steps already being taken to address the situation, and provided an overview of the Council's long-term objectives to plan the workforce.

Members were given an opportunity to ask questions and offer observations. 

It was asked whether priority was given to fill statutory posts over other posts.  In response, it was noted:-

·         That there was certainly an element of prioritisation and that this was a regular discussion between the Human Resources Service and the employing department. 

·         It was not believed that market price was the solution to every problem, but cost would become an inevitable part of that if there was a number of statutory posts to fill.

The member noted that he accepted that the situation was difficult but failure to employ, e.g. enforcement officers, led to a situation where the work accumulated over a period of time.

In response, it was noted:-

·         That identifying priority posts also worked through the Apprenticeship Scheme, which examined where the gaps had been, and encouraged apprentices in those fields for the future.

It was noted that the report was concise, purposeful and honest, that clearly showed where the shortage was.  A request was made for examples of creative methods of attracting workers, information about how many apprentices had remained with Cyngor Gwynedd, and what had worked, and not worked, in terms of the Work Experience Scheme.

In response, it was noted:-

·         In terms of what had worked, and not worked, that the old way of working was thinking that there was one solution to every question and that one method could tackle each problem. It was now realised that communication was needed with different audiences in different ways, e.g. even more use of social media with some cohorts, and more use of local recruitment or using the website with other cohorts.

·         The Council was currently developing a new recruitment website and that there was much more evolution in the content of the website than what was currently available, with the intention of drawing on the experiences of current staff, and seeking to use their experiences as a method to sell the Council.

·         In terms of the Work Experience Scheme, the intention was to try to open the eyes of children and young people to what the Council had to offer as an employer, and provide worthwhile experiences for individuals.

·         There was a lot of work to respond to and learn about different methods as every employer was looking for the best solution at the time.

·         The different apprenticeship and trainee schemes were certainly creative schemes, and that considerable support was given to individuals who had registered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7