HR Bulletin - July 2019
HR Bulletin
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The Workforce Culture Team has developed a practical Culture Toolkit for management. Whilst we ideally aim to work in a happy and harmonious environment where all staff get along, there are times when despite our best efforts things don’t go well within the team and the overall culture is affected. It is therefore often a good idea to tackle workplace culture early on as having the right culture can help attract and retain good employees, create an environment for successful change and development and increase productivity and performance. There is no shortcut however to creating the ‘perfect’ culture within the workplace, but there are tried and tested methods to help us get there.
This toolkit will provide managers with the tools to develop a strategy on how to tackle concerns and improve the culture within their workplace, from the initial data gather right through to the delivery of an action plan. It is not prescriptive, but instead provides managers with a framework which is flexible enough to use and adapt within their place of work.
Includes:
· How to identify culture issues
· How to select a diagnostic tool to get to the root of any issues
· How to use each tool
· How to analyse feedback
· How to present the results
· How to develop an action plan
You don’t have to wait for things to go wrong before using this guide. Early intervention is considered to be most effective when dealing with culture issues and will help to promote a positive working environment where honest and open communications can exist within the whole team.
You can access the toolkit here - Cultural Toolkit 2019.pdf
Payroll Deadlines
As the HR Admin team rapidly approach our busy period, we would like to remind you of the dates for submitting NOA’s and terminations to HR to ensure they are processed in time for payroll (link to calendar if possible?).
In order for us to provide the best possible service to you, we would also like to remind you of the importance of ensuring the accuracy of the information in the forms submitted. Please take the time to remind yourself of the guidelines for completing forms (link to guide on interchange – http://interchange.moray.gov.uk/int_standard/Page_112704.html), or if you have any queries, please contact the HR Admin team.
Each month, as pay day approaches, the number of employees contacting the HR Admin team with issues accessing the Employee Self Service (ESS) portal increases. Due to the volume of requests received, the team are not always able to respond prior to the deadline for checking payslips.
If employees have set up their memorable information on the ESS portal, they are able to reset their accounts themselves by clicking on the ‘forgotten username’ or ‘forgotten password’ links – but these links will only work if the memorable information has been set up. Could you please ask your teams to set up their memorable information on the ESS the next time they log in, if they have not already done so. Guidance on the ESS can be found in the HR section on Interchange
EMPLOYEE CONFERENCE 2019 -Building for the Future
This year’s invitations are out!!.
If a member of staff cannot attend then please let us know as soon as possible as places are limited this year and we have a waiting list.
Thinking back, we’ve held a number of conferences now and it’s good to see how they have evolved and progressed over the years.
Plans are underway for this year’s conference ‘Building the Future ’ (to be held in the Autumn) and we’re working on the programme for the day ‘as we write’ Holding events out with Elgin has proved popular, so building on that we will hold 3 events again this year in Keith, Forres and Elgin.
The full programme for this year's conference, which will run from 8.45am (for registration) to 1.30pm, is in the finishing stages and attendees will be informed of the schedule nearer the time.
Should any member of staff mention that they would like to attend but don’t receive an invite then please let HR know and we’ll do our best to arrange for them to come.
Please encourage staff who receive an invitation to attend and participate, this is such a good opportunity for them to meet Directors and Senior Managers and speak with them about issues that are important. Of course just as important is the chance to meet with colleagues who have different roles in the Council and work in other services.
Workload Management Toolkit ... Under Development
Across the council it is recognised that workload management is a continuing challenge and with the ongoing financial position and the likely reduction in our workforce numbers means this issue is set to remain.
To support and address this concern the ‘Improving Workforce Culture’ group have developed a workload management tool that would support in managing workload across all service areas with a recognition that the tool needs to be able to support a range of different workforce groups.
Additionally the recent findings of the Stevenson Farmer report reinforced our responsibility to better support the mental health of people in our employment and provided recommended mental health core standards which included providing employees with good working conditions and ensuring they have a healthy work life balance. Workload management is key in achieving this. We are also working with jointly with the Trade Unions to develop a mental health action plan.
A guide has been developed to assist managers with the delivery and management of employees’ workload. It is recognised that this needs to be an attractive proposition and useful to managers. A pilot is being undertaken across 2 service areas to determine the effectiveness of the guide. The pilot is running from June to October to gather some evidence of its usefulness and practical experience from which to refine and inform wider use particularly with regards to wider issues around workload, risk management and what success looks like.
Further information will be shared following the completion of the pilot.
Delegated Authority Reports – amended template now available!
Just a reminder that the new updated DAR template is now available on the Interchange. Please remember to use this going forward as it has been amended to support the maintenance of our organisational structure and support position management.
DAR template with guidance note
Change Management –administrating the change
As we continue to move through significant change it is important to make the transition for staff as seamless as possible. Many are experiencing anxiety about how any proposed change affects them and when it comes to implementing the change, this needs to be done in an efficient and timely manner with clarity for staff of what to expect and when the change will happen.
Behind the process of delivering change, effective administration is key. Planning in the admin requirements should be part of the overall process however this is a critical element for effecting the change, bearing in mind payroll cut off dates.
This starts with developing the change management plan (CMP) including a structure comparison document for restructures, letters to staff advising of the impact of change at the various stages of the process and advising HR of the individual employee impact either via a Change Form or Notification of Appointment Form. These last stages are as important as the CMP and letters to staff as these ensure the seamless transition behind the scenes for any pay or structure changes. This supports ensuring that colleagues are not over or under paid and that their details remain correct within our organisational structure on i-Trent.
If you are unsure of what forms are required to affect the change then please contact HR for advice and
Employee Survey 2019
The Employee Survey is coming soon….
It will be available to complete 9th Sep – 4th Oct 2019 and we would really like to hear from you and your staff.
The last Employee Survey results were taken very seriously and have driven forward a number of changes, for example:
• Focused engagement activity on service areas with lowest survey results and instilling regular team meetings
• Increased visibility of senior managers through Employee Conferences, Service Learning Visits, Managers briefings and Back to the Floor Visits
• Elected Members Training programme to increase their knowledge of council services
• Regular communications on the Interchange and through Connect magazine to keep employees up to date on events, changes and council news.
• Currently piloting a workload management tool to help manage work pressures
• Creation of a Workforce Culture toolkit to help managers improve communications and overall culture within their teams
Our return rate in 2017 was 42%, which was a significant increase from the previous survey – we think we can do even better; the more people complete the survey, the more representative any improvements will be moving forward.
The information will be used to monitor progress and trends from the previous survey to see what has improved. The results will also tell us where we have areas of good practice and it will highlight where we might not be doing so well. This helps us workout need to do to improve things and equally where service areas are doing things well, share good practice. Either way we need to hear from as many of your team as possible.
The survey will be distributed to all staff at the beginning of September so please keep a look out for you and your services copies. Everyone should be given time to complete the survey. Please encourage your staff by helping them find time.
Remember our survey:
• can be completed electronically or by paper
• should only take about 10 mins to complete
We appreciate that many of our staff work in frontline services so that can be a challenge to find time for this. In these service areas use your team meetings as an opportunity to talk and distribute the survey; we will also be undertaking a number of drop in sessions across these frontline services to allow an opportunity for front line staff to complete the survey there and then. Post boxes will be also be provided in these areas to securely return any paper copies.
A voice does make a difference so please give your staff a chance to use theirs.
If you have any questions on the survey please do not hesitate to get in touch with any of the HR team who will be happy to help.
Managers Briefing for Strategy Talk – Changes to Manager Briefings
Just a reminder that the briefings that we held quarterly with the Chief Executive will now be held virtually – a briefing document will be posted to the SMI site and here on the HR Bulletin on a quarterly basis. This will provide background information to you as managers and complements the Strategy Talk which will be published in Connect.
The purpose of this document is to give you background information about the forthcoming Strategy Talks before they are published (as with the manager briefings previously).
Please ensure that you check the SMI site / HR Bulletin (published on the Interchange within Staff Communications).
Forthcoming Strategy Talks
July – No strategy talk
August – No Connect (summer break)
September – Older People's Services (briefing to follow).