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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
AGREED – That the work programme be agreed as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/33/23s subject to the aforementioned amendment.
AGREED - (i) That the Committee compliment the project team on the refurbishment works to both Crown Buildings and Lambpit Street Offices, particularly the recognition of the Environmental Sustainability Award from Ystadau Cymru. (ii) That issues raised regarding the next staff survey be further considered when the Workforce Monitoring Annual Report is submitted to Committee in June 2023.
There were no apologies for absence.
AGREED – To sign as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 16 March 2023.
Decision as recorded
AGREED – That the work programme be agreed as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/33/23s subject to the aforementioned amendment.
The Chief Officer Governance and Customer submitted a report (COGC/33/23) allowing Members to consider the work programme of the Customers, Performance, Resources & Governance Scrutiny Committee as attached at Appendix 1 to the report. The following amendment was put forward and subsequently agreed – · Meeting on 11 May 2023 – no items of business scheduled so it was suggested to replace this with a meeting of the Council owned farms and land Task & Finish Group. AGREED – That the work programme be agreed as attached at appendix 1 to the report COGC/33/23s subject to the aforementioned amendment.
Decision as recorded
AGREED - (i) That the Committee compliment the project team on the refurbishment works to both Crown Buildings and Lambpit Street Offices, particularly the recognition of the Environmental Sustainability Award from Ystadau Cymru. (ii) That issues raised regarding the next staff survey be further considered when the Workforce Monitoring Annual Report is submitted to Committee in June 2023.
The Lead Member for Finance & Performance and Lead Member for Corporate Services submitted a joint report (COH/03/23) which provided Members with an update on the progress of the Modern Ways of Working Programme including an update on Office Accommodation Review. The Lead Members introduced their joint report and responded to questions accordingly thereafter, with input from the relevant officers including the Chief Officer Housing. During the debate, the following points were noted, in particular: · Members of the Committee were impressed with the refurbishment of the Lambpit Street Offices which they had visited immediately prior to the meeting. · Recognition that the majority of feedback received from employees with regards to agile working had been positive. · In discussing the employee survey questionnaire it was suggested that alternative communication options needed to be considered in order to increase staff engagement rates. It was further suggested that incentives for providing feedback could be considered · Suggestion to issue a reminder to all staff of the Customer Access Standards in terms of telephone and email responses to ensure compliance. · MWOW encouraged regular employee face to face contact so that those important issues and tasks that supported the role of the job whilst also helping to protect employee mental health could continue e.g. team building, problem solving and supportive conversation. · Recognition that the continuation of a high standard of service to the customer remained a priority for the Local Authority whilst staff continued to adjust to the MWOW. · It was queried whether staff car parking in the city centre was adequate. · The MWOW agenda was essential when considering staff recruitment and retention. It was important to embrace both cultural change and the technical changes that could continue to protect and enhance the workforce. · A Members suggested that agile working was in a large part based on trust and queried if appropriate checks and balances were in place that supported a system of accountability. A number of Members suggested that Managers within a team should be able to demonstrate progress and competency through the meeting of both individual and team targets and outcomes. Officers confirmed that regular dialogue took place between team Managers and their staff and that a Personal Review Development (PRD) was also in place to highlight any issues of concern. It was noted that departmental performance was also discussed at SLT (Senior Leadership Team) meetings. · It was acknowledged that the Council had made good progress over the years on reviewing its office accommodation portfolio. This had been further accelerated as a result of the Council’s MWOW Programme. · The continued delivery of the Office Accommodation Review (OAR) would not only deliver a modern working environment but would also reduce the ongoing repair and maintenance costs for a significant number of years. · It was noted that the OAR would provide an opportunity to improve the lifespan of some Council buildings and support the Council’s carbon net zero target. AGREED - (i) That the Committee compliment the project team on the refurbishment works to both Crown Buildings and Lambpit Street Offices, particularly the recognition of the Environmental Sustainability Award from Ystadau Cymru. (ii) That issues raised regarding the next staff survey be further considered when the Workforce Monitoring Annual Report is submitted to Committee in June 2023.
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