Decision details

(i)  To recommend to Council to approve the proposed Workforce Strategy and draft Action Plan (attached at Appendix 1).

(ii)  To recommend Council delegate authority to the Chief Strategy Officer, following consultation with the Leader, Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and the HR Strategy Managers to finalise the Strategy and Action Plans and take necessary action for implementation. This will include the Children and Adult Social Care Workforce Development Plan, following consultation with the relevant Cabinet Members and Service Directors.

1.  Staff are the Council’s greatest and most valuable resource to deliver successful transformation and be a sustainable organisation. It is through people that we realise our ambitions as a Council and a city. We need have a clear, strategic approach so that we can understand and respond to internal and external context as it changes and before it changes. It will help us to make the right decisions and prioritise actions and resources going forward. It will also enable the Council to maximise its people resources when developing and delivering its approach to outcomes based budgeting and planning.

2.  The Council does not have a Workforce Strategy covering the whole organisation. This Strategy provides an overview of what is required for the Council to develop its current and future workforce reflecting the agreed operating model and the transformation programme. It will enable us to have a workforce with the right skills, competencies and behaviours to deliver services and manage the businesses of the future and take the necessary actions.

The option of waiting till the current changes in the organisation are implemented was considered and rejected. This is because the Council needs to agree a strategic framework within which it can move forward to develop the right workface for the new operating model. The option to not produce a Workforce Strategy is not recommended due to the need for a clear framework for our staff and other stakeholders.