Policy, Finance and Asset Management Committee
Date 22nd October 2009
Agenda Item No.
Annual Workforce Report 2008/09
Report by: Michael Enston, Executive Director, Performance & Organisational Support
Wards Affected: None
Purpose
To provide:
 A summary of the workforce issues and trends, including analysis and interpretation of
the current workforce information in Appendix 1.
 An outline of future challenges in the next 2-3 years
 An overview of the new approach to workforce planning in Appendix 5.
Recommendation(s)
The Committee is asked to review the information provided in this report.
Resource Implications
None arising directly from this report.
Legal & Risk Implications
The main legal implication highlighted relates to outstanding Equal Pay claims. Activities
are in hand to manage these risks.
Policy & Impact Assessment
The report primarily provides information on the workforce and has not, in itself, required
Impact Assessments to be undertaken. Developments in employment policy which are
undertaken to address key workforce issues and challenges will have Impact Assessments
undertaken as necessary.
Consultation
The report has been shared with the trade unions and will be discussed at the JNCF
meeting on 11th November 2009.
1.0 Background
1.1.
The workforce report is compiled annually. It provides an overview of the current
workforce and how it is being shaped to support service performance and customer
service.
1.2
The achievement of the Council Plan priorities, particularly the aim of becoming a
top performing council, is supported by the HR strategy. The strategy has been in
place for over a year and has directed efforts to build capacity and shape the
workforce required to meet the needs of the organisation. Activities have focused
around 4 themes:

Workforce Performance – measuring and improving individual and team
performance

Workforce Planning and New Ways of Working – systematically planning
workforce numbers and skills to meet future needs

Employee engagement – communicating, recognising achievement and
involving employees in shaping the organisation and service delivery

One council – ensuring that behaviours, processes and service delivery are
consistent across the council and promoting the Council as a single
employer
1.3
There are many challenges ahead as we continue to sustain the pace of change.
As flexible and new ways of working take shape in a tighter economic climate,
responsiveness, innovation and customer focus will become stronger objectives
amongst the workforce.
1.4
Work is in progress to prepare the organisation through a variety of projects such as
flexible work styles and improving customer services. Improved workforce
planning, project delivery and skills development projects are also progressing to
underpin changes.
1.5
The improved approach to workforce planning is being launched late October 2009
and will be integrated with the Council’s service planning cycle. The approach will
be a two stage process facilitated by HR. Workforce planning will be more strategic
in considering how Directorates are reshaping their services and how the numbers
and skills within their workforce need to be reshaped to achieve the service
changes. A summary of the new process and timetable is outlined in Appendix 5 of
this report.
2.0 Summary of Workforce Issues and Trends
2.1
The following summary provides only the key messages. Fuller information about
workforce issues and trends are in Appendix 1 to this report. The information
provided is taken from a range of internal and external sources.
Key Workforce Statistics
2.2
Employee Numbers have remained relatively stable. The number of chief officials
and single status employees has reduced although some increases can be seen in
the craft, teaching and uniformed groups. There was a workforce of 18,845 full-time
equivalents (FTEs) as at 31 March 2009. This is a reduction of 131 FTEs. The
number of people within the workforce has decreased by 843 people to 22,209
(including Fife Constabulary).
2.3
Equalities – The workforce profile has been split by gender, age, ethnic origin and
disability, summarised as follows:
i)
Gender – The gender split within the workforce is 70% (15,547) female and
30% Male (6,662). This is a 3 percentage point increase in females on last
years figures.
Of the top 2% of earners, 40% are women and of the top 5% earners, 48%
are women. Comparative information from Audit Scotland for the 2007/08
period shows that Fife has improved its rankings in both categories. In the
2% category, the Council moved from 16th place nationally in 2006/07 to 10th
place in 2007/08, whilst we improved from 6th to 5th in the top 5% category.
2008/09 comparative figures will not be available until December 2009.
ii)
Ethnicity - Fife continues to have a relatively small ethnic minority population
(approximately 1.3%) and the workforce profile is also correspondingly low
and static at 0.7%. Care has to be taken in drawing conclusions from the
data particularly as the provision of this information by employees is optional.
iii)
Disability - The numbers of people with disabilities employed or applying for
employment is consistent with previous years and is relatively small. As with
ethnicity, it is accepted that not all individuals choose to declare a disability.
iv)
Age – The profile of the workforce peaks between the 45 to 59 age
categories. The Council is also attracting younger people to join the
organisation and a slight increase is visible in the under 24s and 30-40 age
categories. Work continues to actively encourage a diverse and balanced
workforce.
2.4
A separate annual equalities report providing more information will be submitted to
members later in 2009.
2.5
Sickness absence rates continue to improve in percentage terms and the council
has exceeded its target for reducing absence for chief officers and local government
employees, and teaching staff. The council absence figure is now below 5%, the
Scottish average was 5.4% in 2007/08.
2.6
Single status appeals are progressing and scheduled to be completed by April
2010. This is also the date at which pay protection ends, being 3 years since the
implementation of single status in Fife. Work has been done to redesign roles to
assist employees move from the ‘red’ circle categories ie situations where the new
grade pays less than the previous grade. Linked to this progress has also been
made to develop career pathways, which involve the linking of levels within
families to enable employees to develop their careers within their own occupational
group of jobs through taking on more complex responsibilities where opportunities
exist to do so. The result of these interventions, coupled with the effect of annual
pay awards has seen the number of employees in red circled posts reduce
substantially.
Movement within the Workforce
2.7
The rate of turnover has decreased from 10.94% to 7.5%. This is considerably
lower than the national average for local government (CIPD 2008/09 figures) which
stands at 13.9%. This is not unusual as Fife Council’s turnover has been
consistently lower than the national average over the past 5 years. Whilst a
reduction in turnover provides stability and is to be expected in economically
challenging times, this low turnover along with a stable workforce in terms of age,
means that effort is need to ensure the workforce is balanced.
2.8
While there is a stable workforce there is evidence of movement through regrading and promotion internally with a total of 1061 people moving grades during
2008/09. This is facilitated by the career pathways programme which encourages
career progression within job families. There is also evidence that succession
planning is occurring within the organisation. Further information about where
grades moves have occurred are outlined in Appendix 2.
Recruitment and retaining the workforce
2.9
Greater efficiencies within recruitment have been and will continue to be targeted.
Advertising spend has reduced by 21% and exceeds the 20% target set for
reducing advertising spend. This represents a saving of £147,962. Further savings
and efficiencies are being sought through a review of current recruitment processes
and the launch of the national recruitment portal later in 2009/10.
2.10
Skills shortages have decreased in traditionally hard to recruit areas due to the
current economic climate. During 2008/09 targeted recruitment continued to be
aimed at groups which proved hard to recruit such as school crossing patrol
officers, some specialist teachers and home carers.
2.11
Spending on Training and Development has remained relatively static at 0.7% of
payroll, although this does not capture the extent of training activities which do not
incur direct cost, eg e-learning. Work is underway to improve the accuracy of
recording training expenditure.
2.12
Work has been progressing to increase the number of apprenticeships offered in a
range of service areas. There are now 142 modern apprentices in place. Further
support has been provided for 10 additional modern apprentices from the private
sector, who were made redundant part way through their training as a consequence
of the economic downturn. The Council also won a Government Business Award
for Workforce Training during 2008/09.
2.13
Work has also been progressing to refresh the existing Contribution Management
Scheme. A new 360 feedback tool has been introduced for managers and the
scheme has been fully integrated with a new competency framework. This means
that there will be clearer expectations of the expected behaviours and activities from
employees within their respective roles. The new approach will be launched in
Spring 2010 and is currently undergoing extensive consultation with the trade
unions and the workforce.
2.14
Employee perceptions of the organisation are improving. The recent employee
survey highlighted that employees perceived that leadership, communications,
achievement and employee engagement were improving and there is a growing
trend towards the 75% targets set for all of these areas by 2011.
2.15
Of particular note, were the increased positive perceptions of job satisfaction, job
security and working as part of a team since the 2007 survey. Areas to develop
further include improving the way we manage change, the channels used for
communication and working as ‘one team’. While the latter two areas had
improved, these are areas that require further improvement in line with planned
changes and challenges ahead.
2.16
Health promotion activity, such as employee counselling, health workshops and
stress management initiatives have continued to support employees. Progress
continues towards achieving the Healthy Working Lives gold award in March 2010,
effectively continuing the Council achievement in being accredited with the
Scotlands Health at Work Gold Award.
2.17
The Health Needs Assessment together with results from a wider employee survey
and more specific stress surveys provide us with valuable information on the range
of health at work issues. This area of monitoring is particularly important as the
pace of change picks up and as the Council and staff address challenging issues
ahead. The baseline position on issues such as stress, harassment and bullying
is that the Council is comparable to other organisations.
2.18
Improved take up of employee benefits during 2008/09 has been the result of a
higher profile marketing campaign to raise interest. There are also a wider variety
of benefits on offer which offer better quality and value for money for all employees.
The benefits package enhances an already attractive package of pay, pension and
options for flexible working hours.
3.0 Conclusions
3.1
The Council faces challenging times and will continue to engage with the workforce
to address these, recognising the need to motivate employees and encourage
innovation and new ways of working within tighter budgetary circumstances.
3.2
New ways of working such as mobile and flexible approaches to work will present
challenges, if productivity and efficiency grains are to be realised, particularly in
embedding new skills, behaviours and attitudes to how and where work is done.
3.3
There will be a continued need for good information about the workforce as
Directorates plan ahead. The integration of workforce planning within service
planning in late October 2009 will assist this process. This will also reflect the
actions arising from last year’s Best Value Audit where workforce planning was
identified as a national issue in need of improvement.
3.4
Employees’ skills and improvement in our business processes can deliver
significant productivity and cost benefits to the Council. In terms of workforce
management, the standardisation and centralisation of the recruitment process has
been identified as a priority. This will entail introduction of the national portal to Fife,
rigorous scrutiny of recruitment advertising, and an overhaul of the process and
how it is managed across services.
3.5
We will need to continue supporting employees to maximise their performance and
behaviours through widespread application of a new performance management
programme (based on the existing Contribution Management Scheme and new
competency framework).
List of Appendices:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Annual Workforce Report Analysis 2008/09
Table outlining promotion reasons by service in 2008/09
Table outlining employee qualifications gained in 2008/09
List of Fife Council Awards and Recognition 2008/09
Revised approach to Workforce Planning
Background Papers:
The following papers were referred to in the preparation of this report:
1.
2.
3.
Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) National Workforce Strategy
Report.
Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2009: A survey of the UK and Ireland,
CIPD.
Audit Scotland Performance Indicators website for national averages /
comparators.
Report Contacts:
Sandy Gallanders
Head of Human Resources
Rothesay House, Glenrothes
Telephone: 08451 55 55 55 (Ext. 444264)
email – sandy.gallanders@fife.gov.uk
Janice Gibson, Workforce Development & Strategy Manager
Rothesay House, Glenrothes
Telephone: 08451 55 55 55 (Ext. 442944)
Email – JaniceE.Gibson@fife.gov.uk
Appendix 1
ANNUAL WORKFORCE REPORT ANALYSIS 2008/09
KEY WORKFORCE STATISTICS
Employee numbers and establishment changes:
-
As at 1st April 2009 there was a total of 22,209 employees (18,845 FTE) employed
by the council. This is 131 employees fewer than in March 2008.
-
There are 13,274 full time posts and 8,998 part time posts in the current workforce.
This means that 60% of our workforce are in full time employment whilst 40% work
part time hours. The graph below shows the number of Full Time Equivalent
Employees within job family groups.
-
There is a declining trend in the numbers of Chief Officials as Directorate
Management restructures continue to be implemented. Savings in management
costs associated with restructurings have so far totalled approximately £1.28m.
Full Time Equivalent Employee Numbers
2004/05
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
12202
12375
12385
12314
12097
14000
2005/06
12000
8000
6000
73
73
65
63
59
858
843
829
821
891
2000
410
413
410
406
399
4000
1595
1643
1693
1533
1551
3833
3896
3838
3839
3848
Number of FTE's
10000
0
Chief Officials
Single Status
Teachers
Craft/Trade
Police
Fire Uniformed
Gender:
-
The gender balance within the organisation is consistent with that of national local
government (outlined in the Local Government Association’s National Workforce
Strategy summary) where there are 30% (6,662) male employees and 70%
(15,547) female. There has been a slight increase in female employees from last
year of 3 percentage points. The graph below shows the gender split as at 31st
March 2009.
Fife Council - Gender Split As At 31 March 2009
30%
Female
Male
70%
-
Further analysis of the increase in female contracts below shows that the majority of
contracts fell under the £30,000 salary bracket. The following table contains details
of the numbers of new female employees to the council over the period 1st April
2008 to 31st March 2009.'
Salary Band (£'s)
5001-10000
10001-15000
15001-20000
20001-25000
25001-30000
30001-35000
35001-40000
40001-45000
45001-50000
TOTAL
Number
6
414
149
434
124
41
6
3
7
1184
Percentage
0.51%
34.97%
12.58%
36.66%
10.47%
3.46%
0.51%
0.25%
0.59%
100%
Pay:
– The current salary grades are shown in the graph below by gender. It is clear that
the proportion of females in lower grades is higher. However the proportion of
women within the top 2% and 5% earners within the Council is increasing. The
following graphs sets out the number of employees by salary level and gender as at
31st March 2009.
5343
Number of Employees by Salary Level (£) and Gender As At 31 March 2009
5000
2720
2346
00
0
55
00
11
50
50
15
50
00
109
33
82
65
00
240
00
45
00
15
00
00
40
00
14
50
00
35
00
14
00
00
50
13
30
00
158
404
296
704
1243
1030
00
25
00
13
00
00
20
00
12
50
00
15
00
12
00
00
50
11
10
00
-1
00
00
0
30
7
666
1000
M
1152
2016
1710
2000
F
528
3067
3000
50
01
Number of employees
4000
Salary Bands (£)
Top 2% women earners:
-
Of the top 2% of earners, 40% are women. This equates to a salary of £39,063 and
above. This represents a 0.8 percentage point increase from 2007/08 and a 7.5%
increase since 2005/06.
-
Current audited comparisons for other Scottish local authorities are not available at
present however, in 2007/08, Fife was the 10 th highest council with women in the
top 2% category. This is an improvement on previous years where Fife was 12th
highest in 2005/06 and 16th in 2006/07.
Top 5% women earners:
-
Of the top 5% of earners, 48% are women. This equates to a salary of £32,193 and
above. This represents a 0.3 percentage point reduction from 2007/08 when 48% of
earners in this category were women. It is however a 6.2% increase since 2005/06.
-
Fife was the 5th highest (top quartile) within the top 5% category compared to other
councils in 2007/08. This is an improvement on the previous year where Fife was
6th highest. Comparative data for 2008/09 becomes available in December 2009.
Ethnicity:
-
There has been little change in ethnicity within the workforce from last year. The
workforce is predominately white with 83% of employees considering themselves as
White Scottish while a further 8.5% are from another white background.
-
A total of 0.7% of the workforce considers themselves to be from an ethnic
background. Within the Fife area, the last 2001 census data showed that 1.3% of
the Fife population were from minority ethnic communities.
-
Employees can opt out of providing this information on joining the Council and this
may prejudice the accuracy of these figures.
Disability:
-
There are currently 275 (1.2%) employees with a declared disability within the
workforce. Declaring a disability is optional for employees therefore the figures
gathered reflect only those employees who have chosen to declare their disability.
-
Work is underway to explore ways of engaging the workforce to gather a clearer
picture of disability. An employee disability forum has been established to consult
with employees on a range of issues. Work will also commence in the Autumn
2009 towards achieving the Disability Double Tick award by 2010.
Age:
-
The following graph sets out the age profile of Council employees between 2005/06
and 2008/09.
Age Profile of Council Employees 2005/06 and 2008/09 Financial years
18
16.08
16
15.07
16.17
14.62
14.41
14
% of Total Employees (Headcount)
16.06
15.38
13.48
12
11.63
11.38
10
2008/09
9.29
2005/06
8.19
8
7.64
7.27
6.67
6.16
6
4
4.31
2.65
2.30
2
1.26
0
<=24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50-54
55-59
60-64
>=65
Age Bands
Age profile:
-
In line with previous years, the council’s age profile continues to peak in the 40-59
categories. This is consistent with national picture of local government where it is
estimated that around a third of employees will be eligible to retire in the next 15
years (IDeA National Workforce Strategy Report 2008).
-
The average age in the organisation is 44.5 this is the same as last year’s average.
The average length of service is 11.5 years, this represents an increase of 0.7
years on last year’s average of 10.8 years.
-
Work is underway to implement a workforce planning process to assist the council
in identifying its current and future workforce numbers and skills sets required. This
will help to inform succession planning in the new leadership development strategy
due to be launched in the Spring of 2010.
Increases in the under 24s and 30-40 category:
-
There are slight increases in the under 24s and 30-40 age categories since
2005/06. While this is positive more is being done to continue to encourage these
age groups to the council to balance out the ageing workforce profile.
-
The increase in under 24s category has been the result of a concerted effort to
encourage a younger workforce, initiatives include;
o A programme for modern apprentices and skill seekers. Further information
of where the apprentices and skill seekers are placed within the council is
outlined in the table below.
o Graduate intake programmes, eg Kingdom Graduates.
o A proactive approach to recruiting and developing modern apprenticeships.
142 modern apprentices (including 30 adult MAs) across a range of
occupations are already in place. This is a 20% increase since 2007/08. A
bid of £171,899 has been submitted to Skills Development Scotland for
2009/10 to support an additional 30 modern apprenticeships.
o Further support has been provided for 10 additional modern apprentices,
who were made redundant part way through their training as a consequence
of the economic downturn in the construction industry
o An active ‘Employer of Choice’ promotion campaign. The Council has
attended 30 career events across Fife during 2008/09. Further presentations
have also been made at employer events for JobcentrePlus, as well as visits
to schools, colleges and universities throughout Fife, Tayside & Stirling.
o A re-launch of the Council’s career mini-site (re-branded ‘fcjobs’ in
September 2009 will also encourage young people to join the council. Under
24s respond well to online media and the site will be heavily marketed in
schools and colleges to encourage interest.
The following table shows the current numbers of apprenticeships and Skill seekers
employed across the Council by occupational area.
Occupational Area
Accounts
Business Administration
Electrician
Glazing
Horticulture
Joinery
Plastering
Plumbing / Gas Fitting
Road Construction
Roofer / Slater
Sport & Recreation
Vehicle Mechanic
Apprenticeships
1
26
30
1
12
30
5
22
Skillseekers
8
3
3
5
5
Totals
10
142
19
MODERNISING EMPLOYMENT
– Fife Council was among the first in Scotland to successfully implement the Single
Status Agreement which resulted in a new grading structure and terms and
conditions for all former APT&C, Manual, Recreational and Nursery staff.
– Implementation commenced in April 2007 with backdating to 2006 for those
employees whose grades increased. Fife was unique at that time in achieving a
collective agreement with the Unions on new terms and conditions, without the
threat of industrial action. This was due in large part to the partnership approach
taken by the Council and the Trade Unions.
– The modernised arrangements delivered harmonisation, addressed the issue of
equity and equality and simplified the very complex raft of premium payments and
allowances paid to different groups.
– Groups of employees in jobs with a significant caring responsibility or in lower paid
manual work, many of which were jobs predominantly occupied by women - saw
increases in their pay.
– The Council had a relatively low number of employees in “red circled” positions ie
those roles which saw a reduction in pay. Employees in this position received 3
years pay protection. Many were former bonus earners.
– Approximately 8% (1,300) of employees required pay protection in 2007. The 3
year protection period expires in March 2010. Reviews of organisation and job
design, and the “catch up” effect of national pay awards has reduced this number to
594 (based on no pay increase in April 2010). Any national pay award will reduce
this further (e.g. an award of 2.5% would reduce it to approximately 279, although
this may be optimistic) on expiry of the protection period. The following table shows
the numbers of employees receiving pay protection from 2007/08 to 2010/11.
Year
Number of
employees
(Basic pay)
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
775
499
336
Number of
Number of
Total
employees employees (Basic
(Terms and Pay & Terms and
Conditions)
Conditions)
487
53
1315
328
50
877
210
48
594
These numbers would reduce further as a result of any pay award in April 2010.
Career Pathways:
– Work has also been done to develop career pathways, which involve the linking of
levels within job families to enable employees to develop their careers within their
own occupational group of jobs through taking on more complex responsibilities
where opportunities exist to do so. Pathways have been agreed by the JNCF in the
following areas and are now at the stage of implementation:
Employee Category
Service
Admin/Clerical
Care Practitioners
Roadworker/ Skilled
Roadworker
Team Leader/Service Manager
Team Leader/Service Manager
Team Leader/Service Manager
Corporate
Social Work
Transportation
Corporate
Legal
Development
Services
No. of Employees
Affected
2,080
1,612
114
257
4
16
– New pathways will continue to be developed at corporate and service level as
opportunities are identified.
Appeals:
– Approximately 20% (3000 ) of single status employees appealed against their new
grade. This represented 453 jobs. In dealing with these appeals, priority has been
given to those submitted from employees whose grade reduced (known as “red
circles”). The number of appeals is as follows:
Appeal No. of No. of
Priority jobs
employees
1
168
1012
(37%)
2
255
1827
(56%)
3
30 (7%)
117
Red circles (where pay preservation was
required)
White circles (where pay largely stays the
same)
Green circles (where pay increases
occurred)
Total
453
(100%)
2956
– All ‘red circle’ appeals have had complete re-evaluations done with the result that
55 jobs will now proceed to a formal hearing, because appellants remain
dissatisfied with the outcome.
– 80% of ‘white circle’ appeals have had full re-evaluations done, whilst ‘green circles’
have yet to be started. The programme agreed with the trade unions is scheduled
to be complete by Spring 2010.
Equal Pay:
– The Council has taken a positive approach to addressing the issue of equal pay.
– As outlined above our pay systems for local government employees were
harmonised under the Single Status Agreement, using a nationally developed
equality proofed job evaluation scheme. Potentially discriminatory characteristics of
the previous system, eg bonus schemes were terminated in 2007. The main
beneficiaries of the new pay structure were predominantly female occupational
groups.
– The new pay arrangements were designed to address future vulnerability to equal
pay claims, but the residual issue of possible historical equal pay liability remained,
primarily because of the above mentioned bonus schemes which generally applied
to predominantly male groups.
– In order to address these potential historical liabilities, the Council made offers of
compensation payments to those groups which it was considered represented the
highest risk, ie catering and cleaning and home care. Approximately 5,000 such
offers were made with the great majority (97%) accepting the offer made.
– A number of employees who did not accept the offer, and a number to whom offers
were not made, have submitted equal pay claims through the Employment Tribunal
system.
– The Council has approximately 900 cases in the tribunal system, which is
proportionate to our size compared to other Councils. Approximately 130 of these
cases are scheduled to be heard in February 2010, with the remainder yet to be
scheduled. Whilst the potential cost of these cases is difficult to predict, (they are
multi-faceted and successful defences may be run), the Council is strengthening its
balances position by way of contingency for any future liability.
Craft Workers:
– An agreement was signed with the Trade Unions in December 2008 to implement
parity of hours for craft employees, in accordance with the national pay agreement
in 2008 which provided for parity of hours between craft and single status
employees. The move from 38 hours to 36 hours and changes to terms and
conditions has now been agreed and brings craft employee working hours into line
with that of single status employees. As part of the harmonisation the Unions
have also commited to new ways of working in future, including mobile working.
Sickness Absence:
-
Reducing sickness absence is a key area of focus for the public sector. Fife
Council’s absence has further improved in 2008/09 from 5.28% to 4.98%.
Comparative data from Audit Scotland showed Fife as being below the Scottish
average of 5.4% in 2007/08. Similar larger sized councils have shown an increase
in absence levels in the same period e.g. from 5.3% to 6.1% and from 5.6% to
5.8%. Comparative data for 2008/09 will become available in December 2009
when published by Audit Scotland.
-
A summary of percentage sickness absence rates from 2006/07 to 2008/09 is set
out below;
Chief Executive
Assessors
ALL SICKNESS ABSENCES
2008/09
5.36%
3.72%
2007/08
1.21%
6.53%
2006/07
2.03%
5.16%
Education - All Other Employees
Education – Teachers
TOTAL
4.76%
3.41%
4.05%
4.92%
3.71%
4.31%
5.40%
3.95%
4.60%
Social Work
6.14%
6.78%
6.79%
3.69%
5.70%
4.57%
3.72%
5.73%
5.63%
4.63%
6.15%
4.63%
5.43%
3.23%
6.24%
4.34%
3.97%
5.54%
6.43%
4.45%
6.55%
5.43%
4.80%
6.05%
6.44%
NA
6.51%
4.59%
4.72%
6.03%
Local, Community & Housing Services
Community Services (Incl Parks & Amenities)
Housing
Local Services
TOTAL
3.52%
6.53%
6.85%
4.40%
3.43%
6.08%
5.65%
4.03%
3.68%
6.06%
5.13%
4.11%
Performance & Org Support
4.26%
3.93%
4.76%
Finance & Resources
Finance
Information Technology
Procurement & Supplies
TOTAL
4.07%
5.07%
7.83%
4.68%
4.85%
4.61%
7.86%
5.03%
3.85%
3.47%
7.45%
4.05%
GRAND TOTAL
4.98%
5.28%
5.34%
Environment & Development Services
Development Services
Environmental Services (Incl Trading Stds)
Transportation
Asset & Facilities Management Service:
- Building Services
- CAMS Corporate Asset Mgt
- Catering & Cleaning
- Property Services
- Fleet Services
TOTAL
-
The improvements in this area have been a result of a concerted effort and
coordinated approach to managing absence at Service and Corporate level.
Tailored briefings have been delivered to 600 managers across Services, Health
promotion is more closely aligned to Occupational Health with joint briefings being
undertaken, HR representatives are working with management teams meetings at
Section level to provide more face to face support and capability to generate and
monitor management information is also being embedded in Services.
-
The definition for measuring sickness absence changed in 2008/09 from %
sickness absence rates to the average working days lost. The indicator is currently
measured both ways and the average days lost will be reflected in next year’s
annual workforce report.
-
Health promotion activity has also provided support to employees coming back to
work. Progress continues towards achieving the Healthy Working Lives gold award
in March 2010, including a Health Needs Assessment survey.
MOVEMENT WITHIN THE WORKFORCE
Turnover:
-
The turnover rate for 2008/09 is 7.5%, a reduction from the 2007/08 figure of
10.94%. This reduction is likely to be a combination of the current downturn in the
external job market over the past year and perceived job security by a high
percentage of employees who also live in the area. The current turnover figure is
below the average turnover rates of 13.7% for local government.
This is not
unusual as Fife Council’s turnover has been consistently lower than the national
average over the past 5 years.
-
Comparative information in the table below is taken from the Chartered Institute of
Personnel and Development Recruitment, Retention and Turnover Annual Survey
Report 2009 and shows Fife as having a relatively stable workforce.
Organisation
Fife Council
Local Authorities
Health
All Public Services
% Turnover
7.5%
13.7%
11.4%
12.6%
The following table shows the reasons for employees leaving Fife Council.
Reason
Retired
Not Known
End of Temp Contract
Personal Reasons
Other Employment
Termination Ill Health
Early Retiral
Retiral Ill Health
Redundancy With Pension
Dismissed
Death in Service
No. of
Staff
359
315
248
216
211
94
75
51
39
33
28
Reason
Teacher to Scottish Authority
Study
Redundancy No Pension
Dormant Casual
Teaching Outwith Scotland
Career Break
Transfer
Retiral Compassionate
End of Sick Leave Cover
End of Mat Leave Cover
No. of
Staff
27
9
7
7
5
5
5
3
1
1
Internal Promotions / Grade changes:
-
The workforce has not remained static despite a relatively low turnover. 1061 staff
changed grade internally during 2008/09. It is clear that succession planning is
occurring. Work is in progress to produce a framework to guide future succession
planning in line with the future organisational needs and skills. The table below
shows the movement between grades.
Promotion :
Reason for Promotion or grade change
No
%
Acting in Higher Duties
Promoted Internally
196
267
18.47%
25.17%
Internal Re-organisation
Transfer In
Return to Subst Post
Transfer of Post
SCP Change
Secondment
Other incl. Change of Hrs, Regraded Post,
Redeployment & Modernising Employee
Temp Cover for Career Break / Sickness /
Maternity
Change Temp/Perm Status
121
104
93
92
52
41
39
11.40%
9.80%
8.77%
8.67%
4.90%
3.86%
3.68%
31
2.92%
25
2.36%
Grand Total
1061
100.00%
RECRUITING AND RETAINING THE WORKFORCE
Recruitment:
-
The number of roles advertised during 2008/09 reduced by 10% to 2350. The total
number of adverts was lowest in the fourth quarter as shown in the table below;
Total Number of Adverts
2008/09 2007/08
Difference
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
TOTAL
6%
1%
-15%
-36%
-10%
752
645
565
388
2,350
707
638
663
604
2,612
Advertising Spend:
-
-
A reduction in the total number of posts advertised together with a reduction in the
average cost per advert has contributed to a 21% decrease in advertising spend,
from £714,412 in 2007/08 to £566,450 in 2008/09. This equates to a reduction of
£147,962 and has exceeded the original target of reducing costs by 20%.
The reduction was achieved through a combination of collaborative working
between Services and Human Resources and the decline in recruitment activity as
a result of the current economic climate and the services’ budget position.
-
Throughout the 12 months, 4 services have increased in spend in comparison to
2007 and 8 have achieved a reduction.
The following shows the services with the highest percentages of all Council spend:
Service
Education
Development Services
Community Services
Environmental Services
Transportation
Social Work
-
Percentage of all Council
Spend
2008/09
2007/08
27%
22%
14%
22%
13%
14%
10%
10%
8%
6%
7%
9%
Actual Service Spend
2008/09
£151,380
£77,269
£71,709
£57,161
£43,052
£41,300
2007/08
£158,612
£158,922
£99,630
£72,844
£41,963
£61,021
The top three services have shown a larger spend due to the following;
o Education – there are typically a high number of posts advertised. The cost
per advert was high during 2008/09 due to number of promoted posts being
advertised.
o Development Services spend has reduced during 2008/09 in comparison to
previous years (from 22% 07/08 to 14% 2008/09 of total Council spend) and
actual spend has halved. The Service has placed its own restrictions on
recruitment advertising and the average cost per advert is high due to the
use of specialist publications for the roles sought.
o Community Services advertised more posts than any other service however
the cost per advert is low. Advertising practice in the service is efficient
however due to volume of posts advertised it appears higher than other
services.
-
The average cost per advert was £604 in 2007/08 and has decreased 13% to £528
in 2008/09.
National Recruitment Portal:
-
The implementation of the national recruitment portal has been delayed due to a
number of technical issues. It is planned that implementation will take place on a
phased basis commencing Autumn/Winter 2009 and will conclude by May 2010.
-
Services have been supported in their preparatory work to ensure implementation is
rolled out as quickly as possible.
-
The portal will generate significant improvements to recruitment including reduction
in advertising spend, reducing time to hire and offering a process that reflects a
modern and efficient organisation.
Recruitment Hot Spots:
-
Skill shortages occur throughout the public sector however many of the shortages in
occupations such as Planners, Environmental Health Officer and employees are
less acute or have disappeared due to the economic climate and more people
seeking job security within the public sector.
-
The Council has experienced some skills shortages during 2008/09. Examples are
home carers, school crossing patrol officers and modern language and home
economics secondary teachers. Focused recruitment campaigns are ongoing in all
these areas to attract these skills to the council.
Encouraging people to join the Council:
-
A Local Employment Partnership (LEP) with Jobcentre Plus (JCP) started in
December 2008. Since then 30 JCP priority customers have been appointed within
the council.
-
The variety of schemes for modern apprentices, skillseekers and the Employer of
choice promotion campaign mentioned under the age section earlier are also
encouraging people to join the council.
Training and Development:
Resources:
-
Employees can access a range of training and development activities through the
Corporate Training Programme and through service focused training. In addition, a
number of employees are being sponsored to study for external professional and
academic courses related to their job roles. During 2008/09 148 employees were
supported to study. A breakdown of the qualifications supported in each service is
outlined in Appendix 3. Not all services responded to the survey therefore the
appendix reflects the information received.
Training attendance and spend:
-
During 2007/08, 4864 delegates attended 609 corporate training events an average
of 8 delegates per event). In addition to this 1670 learners accessed a total of
5,454 e-learning modules. Uptake reduced slightly during 2008/09. 2,801
delegates attended 455 corporate training events (an average attendance of 6
delegates per event) with 1,180 learners accessed a total of 4,479 e-learning
courses. The reason for the slight reduction was that many employees had already
attended corporate events in previous years and did not want to duplicate.
-
The Training Spend 2008/09 was £3,803,116. This represents 0.7% of the total pay
costs for the year. The overall training spend has increased by £21,115 from the
2007/08 financial year.
Review of training:
-
A review of training and development is currently underway and seeks to sharpen
what is currently provided and ensure that a cost and quality balance is achieved for
all training and development activities. The outcomes of the review and options for
improvement will be considered by Corporate Management Team later this year
with a new approach and programme planned for implementation by April 2010
Modern Apprentices and Skillseekers:
-
The Council won a Government Business Award for Workforce Training. This
award reflected the training programmes which the Workforce Investment Fund has
supported.
-
Over the last year the Fund has supported the training of adult Modern Apprentices,
trainee posts including Architectural Technicians, surveyors and Lighting
Technicians. The Fund has also supported a pre-recruitment training programme
for minority groups and women returning to the workplace.
-
As previously mentioned earlier in this report 142 modern apprentices (including 30
adult MAs) across a range of occupations are already in place. This is a 20%
increase since 2007/08. A bid of £171,899 has been submitted to Skills
Development Scotland for 2009/10 to support an additional 30 modern
apprenticeships.
-
Further support has been provided for 10 additional modern apprentices, who were
made redundant part way through their training as a consequence of the economic
downturn in the construction industry
-
The ‘Employer of Choice’ campaign will continue to be actively promoted through
attendance at employer events for JobcentrePlus, as well as visits to schools,
colleges and universities throughout Fife, Tayside & Stirling.
Celebrating success - Awards and recognition:
-
The Council has been recognised for good practice and excellence in some areas.
The Council achieved 46 awards during 2007/08. A full breakdown of the awards
received against the Council Plan priorities is in Appendix 4 of this report.
-
Work is underway to establish a Fife awards scheme which would celebrate
success within the council and seek to showcase good practice as well as
recognising excellence. A cross organisational group is currently developing a
scheme which will be consulted upon with staff and JNCF before finalising and
launching during 2010.
Engaging the Workforce:
-
Employee perceptions are important to improving the organisation. Work is
progressing to review and reshape a programme of employee engagement and
communication. Three employee forums are being established to focus on equality
issues at present. Employees also participated in a number of employee forums
facilitated by senior members around the Big 8 priorities during 2007/08.
-
A key method of measuring employee perceptions is through the employee survey.
Results highlight areas that are working well and those that require further attention
and improvement.
-
This is the third employee survey and the first one to include teaching staff. All
employees were invited to complete the survey in May 2009 and a total of 5429
employees responded which represents a 26.2% return.
-
The last employee survey was conducted in 2007. While some new questions were
added in 2009 the majority of questions remained the same. Comparisons shown
below are between 2007 and 2009.
Corporate scorecard results:
-
The Council agreed 4 corporate measures of a Top Performing Council in 2007.
This was consistent with Mori research of top performing councils at that time and is
reflected in the corporate scorecard. Targets of 75% are to be achieved in each
area by 2011. The results in the table below show an improvement on 2007 results;
People Results
Leadership
Communication
Achievement
Employee Development
2007
70%
67.5%
72.5%
65%
2009
72.8%
69.9%
74.7%
66.6%
Change
+2.8%
+2.4%
+2.2%
+1.6%
Survey results:
The results are summarised as:
Good and Improving
-
83% of employees feel they have job security (69% in 2007, and 78% in 2000)
83% of employees are satisfied with their work (66% in 2007, and 70% in 2000)
74% of employees feel part of a team working together to achieve shared goals
(70% in 2007, and 67% in 2000)
73.6% of employees believe they have the right information do their job properly
(67% 2007)
82.4% of employees feel that their managers take notice of what they say (77% in
2007)
67.7% of employees feel that they are kept up to date with what is happening in
their service (56% in 2007)
76% of employees feel they are loyal to Fife Council
87% of employees regularly use the recycling facilities at their workplace
Good and Holding Steady
-
77% of employees believe they have what they need to do their job properly (79%
in 2007, and 59% in 2000).
98% of employees feel they do a good job (97% in 2007, and 96% in 2000)
91% of employees know the contribution they are expected to make (89% in 2007,
and 92% in 2000)
-
71% of employees feel that they receive the training and development they need
(70% in 2007, and 57% in 2000).
77% of employees feel that they have the same opportunity for training and
development as those around them (77% in 2007, and 51% in 2000).
Middling with Scope for Improvement
-
67% of employees feel that their Service makes best use of their skills and abilities
(62% in 2007, and 66% in 2000)
66% of employees feel valued for the work they do (58% in 2007, and 32% in 2000)
67% of employees trust senior managers to look after their best interests (50% in
2007, and 49% in 2000)
49.8% of employees believe that internal communications is improving (37% in
2007) more is being done currently to improve this further
Areas for Ongoing Improvement
-
41% of employees feel change is well managed in their Service (41% in 2007, and
25% in 2000)
47% of employees believe that their Service is unified and is pulling together in the
same direction (41% in 2007)
61.3% of employees believe that ‘Team Talk’ is useful however this is a reduction
on last year where 70% of staff felt it was a useful communication tool
37% of employees believe that Fife Council is a unified Council, with everyone
pulling in the same direction
-
Corporate and Directorate results will be circulated to all Directorates early October
for consideration. Directorates will develop their own action plans to address any
issues arising.
-
Future employee surveys will take place every 2 years with intervening years used
to focus on particular organisational issues.
Employee Benefits:
Working flexibly:
-
In accordance with our aim to be an Employer of Choice, the Council offers an
attractive package to attract and retain employees. The opportunity to vary working
hours has provided many employees with opportunities to work more flexibly in
order to balance their personal and working lives.
-
The Council is also seeking to embrace new ways of working and to promote
flexible working which will see changes in where and how people work. It is
anticipated that this will lead to a rationalisation of facilities and making best use of
new technology. Employees can currently request a range of working patterns,
such as compressed hours, flexitime and term time working to name a few.
-
A flexible workstyles project is underway and this has identified 2680 job roles with
the potential to work in different ways in line with customer needs. This means
some job roles may be home based and others will be working from different bases.
This will enable a more responsive and flexible workforce that can meet the needs
of our customers.
Benefits scheme for employees:
-
In addition to flexible working, there has been a concerted focus in developing a
range of employee benefits over the past three years. Employees can access
discounts on an extensive range of products and services available locally, online,
over the phone and through their salary.
-
A focus on achieving value for money has been inherent throughout the scheme
and contracts negotiated until November 2010 will deliver marked savings.
-
Under the new UK & Local Discounts scheme, which opened on 1st February 2009,
over 3000 employees are registered and spend by employees to date is in excess
of £120,000, providing an average saving of 5% to the employee. Over 300
employees currently take childcare vouchers and 207 employees joined a bike to
work scheme in 2008, schemes which also produce savings to the Council through
reduced national insurance contributions.