MEMBERS INDUCTION FEEDBACK
To:
Improvement Board – 20 July 2015
By:
Committee Services Manager
Classification:
Unrestricted
Summary:
This report outlines the results of the feedback from the 2015 TDC
Members Induction Programme.
For Information
1.0
Introduction and Background
1.1
The Members Induction Programme ran from 13 May 2015 to Thursday 4 June 2015
and included 19 separate sessions covering nine different topics for both the new and
re-elected Councillors from the 2015 elections
2.0
Attendance
2.1
Each session was run at least twice and Democratic Services have combined the
attendance at each type of session to give a clearer and more concise overview of
attendance. These attendance statistics are included at annex 1 to the report.
2.2
The average attendance at each session was 43%; this was split between an average
attendance of 56% by new Councillors and 12% from re-elected Councillors. The list
of courses shown in Annex 1 of the report runs in date order from left to right,
therefore it is clear to see that there was a very high initial attendance at many of the
courses, however this dropped off for the Licensing and Governance and Audit
session before picking up again for the open evening session.
2.3
Democratic Services attribute this attendance drop to the courses on G&A and
Licensing being targeted and being relevant to fewer Councillors than the previous
sessions rather than “induction fatigue”. This is demonstrated by the spike in
attendance for the open evening and the fact that the courses for both G&A and
Licensing both received very high attendance from those assigned to those
committees.
2.3
By way of comparison, the average attendance at each session in the 2011 induction
programme was only 22% and so the 2015 average of 43% represents a near
doubling of attendance.
2.4
Each Councillor on average attended four sessions each. There were eight
Councillors who attended seven or more sessions out of the nine different topic
areas. Seven Councillors did not attend any sessions.
3.0
Feedback from the Sessions
3.1
The analysis for each session including all of the comments received is included at
Annex 2 to the report. In addition there is also an overall summary combining all of
the results from all of the sessions to give the wider picture.
3.2
It is pleasing to note that the feedback the Council has received has been
overwhelmingly positive. For example overall 95.45% of those who completed the
forms felt better able to address the issues raised in the session in their role as a
Councillor to either a great or reasonable amount. Overall 98.29% of those who
completed the forms felt the content of the sessions was good or very good.
3.3
The many very positive comments included;
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3.4
Excellent content, delivery timing of session. Impressive, authentic and very
useful. Much appreciated the day. Thank you.
Excellent presentations. Very Informative.
As I am an IT novice I found that the whole training session was of immense use.
The trainers were excellent, instructed excellently on how to use the equipment.
It’s clear the officers are here to assist and it is very reassuring to myself as a
new Councillor.
Being a complete novice the knowledge of the trainer was excellent and gave me
confidence.
There were some process and house-keeping issues, including;
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The delivery of information was hampered by too many irrelevant questions by
Councillors.
There was so much discussion about Manston Green that the training session
was severely hampered. Nothing relevant to actual planning training could be
discussed.
Tea/coffee would have been appreciated.
Toilets and buffet would have been good idea.
3.5
These minor process and house-keeping issues were addressed as and when they
arose in the timeline of the sessions. There was, for example, a lot of feedback that
the first planning session was rather “hijacked” by Councillors wanting to talk about
the Manston Green planning application, this was remedied by organising a separate
briefing for planning members on this issue. As a result of feedback received we
moved our coffee machine out of the members room and in to the actual room where
the training was occurring, making it easier for Councillors. The toilets issue was
caused by not all Councillors having access passes; however we acted quickly to
ensure that spare passes were available for future induction sessions and
encouraging members to get their photograph taken to enable them to have a pass of
their own.
3.6
In addition 60.22% of attendees personally participated in the sessions to a great or
reasonable amount. After comparing the levels of participation against the dates of
courses, it was clear involvement did not increase as time went by which would have
suggested that participation increased as time went by as Councillors felt more
confident to tribute. However Democratic Services would suggest that the reason for
this result is that some of the sessions run require a higher level of participation than
others.
4.0
Moving Forward
4.1
There have been a number of additional training courses held after the completion of
the induction programme including sessions on “Role of the Councillor”,
“Understanding your Communities” and “How to participate in a Council meeting”. In
addition courses on “Community Leadership” and “Social Media” have been
scheduled. Democratic Services are also in discussions to organise a refresher
training session on “Chairing Skills” that will form part of the programme and a follow
up to the very successful “Open Evening – Meet and Greet” session. A copy of the
Members Training Programme is attached at Annex 3 to the report.
4.2
Democratic Services will arrange with our finance colleagues some additional training
regarding local government finance around November in order to equip Councillors
for the budget setting process that would be starting to become quite prominent at
that stage.
4.3
Going forward and building on our success to date, Democratic Services will be
writing to all Councillors asking for their views on which courses they would like to see
added to the Members Training Programme or re-run from the Induction Programme
in the second half of the municipal year. The results of which would be shared with
CMT and group leaders before deciding which of the suggested courses would be
added to the programme.
5.0
Corporate Implications
5.1
Financial and VAT
5.1.1 There is sufficient funding within the Members Training Budget to fund a number of
additional training courses using external providers in the second half of this
municipal year.
5.2
Legal
5.2.1 There are no Legal issues arising from the report.
5.3
Corporate
5.3.1
A successful and effective Members Induction and Member Training Programme are
key indicators of success in the Council’s Improvement Plan.
5.4
Equity and Equalities
5.4.1 There are no equity or equalities issues arising from the report.
6.0
Recommendation(s)
6.1
To note the report.
Future Meeting if applicable: N/A
Contact Officer:
Reporting to:
Date: N/A
Nicholas Hughes, Committee Services Manager
Tim Howes, Head of Legal and Democratic Services
Annex List
Annex 1
Annex 2
Annex 3
Induction Programme Attendance
Induction Programme Feedback Analysis
Member Training Programme 2015-16
Background Papers
Title
None
Details of where to access copy
Corporate Consultation Undertaken
Finance
Legal
Matthew Sanham, Corporate Finance Manager
Tim Howes, Head of Legal And Democratic Services