Agenda item

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 with those schemes so that they could fully develop in their roles and develop careers with the Council.

 

A suggestion was made that there was an excellent opportunity to sell Gwynedd at the National Eisteddfod in Boduan, and it was assumed that information about available opportunities would be available on the Council's stall, as well as posters near the entrance to the Maes, in the car park and Maes B to raise the profile of Gwynedd as a good place to live and work.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That it was agreed that the National Eisteddfod was a golden opportunity to sell Gwynedd, and that marketing and using various marketing techniques were absolutely key.

·         The new recruitment website would be launched before the Eisteddfod.

·         80 young people had attended a very successful jobs fair recently, and it was intended to arrange more similar events across the county.

 

It was noted that the Council had commendable schemes in terms of recruitment etc. but it was enquired whether there was a strategic plan to procure posts that coordinated all this with data, and monitored how many were awarded posts etc. and that engagement was undertaken with schools on a micro level. 

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That this was ultimately the purpose of the project, namely, to ensure a long-term strategy that drew all of these elements together, and which highlighted the objectives for the next 5-10 years based on the research mentioned throughout the report in terms of what would be the future needs in terms of skills and knowledge.

·         Considerable good work was ongoing to communicate with children via some of these schemes, and one important part of all this was developing the marketing so that we had good selling points to show children. The language was a good selling point and there was a need to use this to ensure that people chose to come to work for Cyngor Gwynedd and live locally.

 

In response, the member noted that this plan was the Council's future, and the future of keeping young people in the county and, should funding for it be challenging, there was a need to earmark specific funding for this purpose.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That the strategic plan was a priority project within the Council Plan, and that it would also be in the new plan.

·         We had now come to the end of the current funding cycle of the Apprenticeships Scheme and Cynllun Yfory, and it was intended to submit a bid in the autumn to fund the next cycle.

 

In response to a question, it was confirmed that the Service engaged with colleges, as well as schools, and targeted students with marketing materials etc.

 

It was noted that exit interviews were important in order to understand why people chose to leave the Council, but it was suggested that this was too late in terms of employees who were leaving, and it was enquired if there were arrangements that allowed individuals to share concerns etc. during their employment.

 

In response, it was noted that staff members and managers were encouraged to hold open, honest and private discussions on a regular basis. It was understood that staff and managers in a number of departments held 1:1 conversations on a monthly basis at least, with an opportunity for a totally informal conversation at any time, and this would allow managers to respond to concerns in time.

 

It was noted that Cyngor Gwynedd expectations in terms of language skills could make it more challenging to recruit staff, and it was suggested that contacting the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol would be of assistance regarding this.

 

In response, it was noted that this was where this project would go next, and that contacts needed to be established with organisations such as the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol as the technology now offered us a labour market that was beyond the boundaries of Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conwy.

 

It was asked whether it was known where staff shortages within the Council were having the most impact on the service, and whether we had a strategy to respond to this.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That the recruitment problem was not mainly responsible for any service continuation problems, and that the issue of absences was a factor regarding this.

·         In some services, we had a good overview in terms of what was the level of absence and the level of lack of appointment.  Both things would sometimes go hand in hand, and the absence element would sometimes have more of an impact.

·         This was part of the work being undertaken to ensure that these projects intertwined, that the recruitment system monitored the absence element, and whether there was a correlation between both things.

·         Turnover could be a healthy thing as not every post was suitable for everyone, and that a new workforce with a high level of enthusiasm for the post could be attracted.

 

Cynllun Yfory was praised on the grounds that it was an excellent investment to attract young people back to Gwynedd to receive work experience.

 

Attention was drawn to the fact that there was a number of vacant posts in the Highways, Engineering and YGC Department.  It was also noted that it was understood that some private companies paid higher salaries than the Council, and it was enquired whether there was a risk that we invested in workers who leave the Council soon after receiving training / different permits etc.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         As part of the training agreement, anyone who was part of Cynllun Yfory was expected to remain with the Council for a specific period after qualifying, so that the Council also received value for money from the investment.

·         No such agreement existed in relation to other Council employees, but the Council's employment package included 28 different benefits, which included a pension scheme, and work was being undertaken continuously to draw the attention of employees to all of the available benefits of working for Cyngor Gwynedd.

 

It was suggested that not holding exit interviews with the employee's former line manager was a risk that we would not be provided with the full picture, and it was enquired whether this could be done on an entirely independent basis via the Human Resources Service.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That the system had to be optional, but employees leaving the Council could complete a questionnaire or have an exit interview. 

·         There was an option for the employee to have an interview with a member from the Human Resources Team, which had access to data deriving from the discussion to be able to hold a discussion with heads of department regarding anything that would become apparent.

 

Subject to resources, it was suggested that the Human Resources Team could hold informal small forums with groups of the front-line workforce to discuss the satisfaction officers get from their work, and any problems that arise, so that a relationship was developed over time where people feel comfortable about providing an honest opinion about the work.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That the idea was welcomed and that the Manager would discuss it with the Team.

·         Team members visited front-line teams, in residential homes for example, and although those were conversations mainly with the management teams, there was also an opportunity for conversations with staff.

·         It was also possible for staff to contact the service via union officers, who worked closely with front-line service staff.

·         As part of another priority project, there was an intention to engage with staff by means of a questionnaire regarding their general well-being, and this would highlight any problems.

·         The Council had a team to raise the awareness of front-line staff about available benefits, including all aspects in terms of the health, well-being and financial well-being of the workforce.

 

It was noted that it was important to ascertain whether approximately 1,600 Council employees who were in the age ranges of 55-64 and 65+ were staff on low-level salaries, or staff on high-level salaries, as the Council could face a serious problem if the majority of them were on a higher salary and decided to retire as they knew that they would receive a generous pension from the Council.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         It was likely that employees in the 55+ bands were a combination of employees on high-level and low-level salaries, and that preparations had to be made for the day when we would lose those skills, experience and expertise.

·         It was probably fair to say that staff in the adult care sector tended to be older in general, and that this fed into the recruitment problem that was already seen in that field.

 

Although the report referred to attracting and retaining staff, it was noted that we did the opposite as far as home carers were in question, as they did not know if their jobs would be with the Council for years to come, or whether the Council would externalise all services to private companies.

 

In response, it was noted that it was very difficult to answer this particular point, but that this was part of the work of the Domiciliary Care Project Team.

 

The importance of being able to attract and retain those staff on low-level salaries was emphasised. To highlight the point, it was suggested that should an employee on a high-level salary take annual leave, the public would not notice, but should an employee on a low-level salary take annual leave, and nobody replaced them, that this would have a serious effect on the public. 

 

It was noted that the recruitment problem was much broader than what had been noted in the report as there was a shortage of education staff in general across the county, including classroom assistants and assistants in special needs' schools.  Therefore, the Council needed to examine the whole matter in its entirety in terms of how to attract and award staff on the low-level salary, who provided invaluable service to the Council.

 

It was enquired whether figures were available in terms of how many people had managed to be recruited, who lived far from Gwynedd, but worked remotely, as well as how many Council staff had got jobs in other parts of the country while still living in Gwynedd.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         That there was no quantitative data available to answer the question unfortunately, but there were staff who had taken advantage of the hybrid way of working, and staff who did not live close to Gwynedd anymore, but who still worked effectively for the Council.

·         The ability to work remotely worked in the Council's favour in terms of attracting new staff, as well as retaining current staff, but it was also possible that the Council had lost some staff who had gone to work virtually for bodies far away from the county as the salary was possibly higher.

·         A specific piece of work could possibly be commissioned to examine this, but currently, from the experience of the Corporate Support Department in particular, it was believed that we benefited, rather than suffered, from the situation.

 

It was asked whether there had been progress in discussions about packaging part-time posts in different departments to be able to offer one full-time post.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         An attempt had been made to link different parts of the workforce together, especially in terms of education assistants and carers, so that it was possible for the post-holder to work as an assistant during term time and as a carer during school holidays.

·         An attempt had been made to take steps to build on this in one specific area of the county but the work had not yet come to fruition.

·         People were possibly slightly scared of change, or some teams were scared of losing people to another field within the Council if the Plan progressed and, therefore, more work needed to be completed in an attempt to make progress.

 

In response to a question regarding where the Council advertised jobs, it was noted:-

·         That more and more use was being made of social media.  There were now very good Welsh websites, such as Lleol.cymru and Swyddle and Golwg 360 was also a good medium to advertise through the medium of Welsh.

·         In terms of creativity, maybe there was a need to look again for different ways, and maybe it would be possible to collaborate with members locally in specific areas in an effort to recruit in some fields.

·         It was also important to use specialist and professional networks such as Linkedin for some specific posts.

·         Every job was advertised on the Council's website.

 

It was noted that an education assistant's job used to be a well-paid job and that schools had lost professional assistants who had gone on to work for other organisations for double the salary.  In terms of the Council's image, it was also noted that there was a tendency to think that there was a need for a degree and to be middle class to work for the Council and it was asked how the Council could be sold to working class young people in our deprived areas, and not only the low salary jobs.

 

In response, it was noted:-

·         It was fully accepted that the Council could create that type of image but there was a need for the workforce to reflect the society we lived in, and the best ambassadors in this regard, were the staff who worked for us.  By supporting and equipping them with the knowledge and skills, they could be the best marketing material within our communities.

·         The Council had a close relationship with communities in the county through schools etc. and that it was excellent that so many young people had recently attended the Jobs Fair.

·         The officers had a responsibility to sell each post that was advertised, to describe the opportunity in a coherent manner and not to give vague titles to posts.

 

It was enquired whether use was made of algorithms to advertise on Facebook or Instagram in order to target people specifically.

 

In response, it was explained that the Council had done so in specific circumstances where it had been considered that paying a bit more to take advantage of a specific algorithm would provide value for money, but that it did not happen regularly.

 

It was suggested that the May/June period was a good time to attract young people to come and work for the Council, as they left school and colleges, and it was asked whether it would be possible to post a link to Council jobs on Instagram to target young people specifically.

 

RESOLVED to accept the report and to note the observations.