Agenda and minutes

Venue: Fire Conference Room - Fire Service HQ, Clemonds Hey, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 2UA. View directions

Contact: Donna Linton  Governance and Corporate Planning Manager

Items
No. Item

1.

PROCEDURAL MATTERS

1A

Recording of Meeting

Minutes:

Members were reminded that this meeting would be audio recorded.

 

1B

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mike Biggin, Stef Nelson and Karen Mundry.

 

1C

Declaration of Members' Interests

Members are reminded to disclose any interests that are relevant to any item on the Agenda.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of Members’ interests.

 

1D

Minutes of the Staffing Committee pdf icon PDF 433 KB

To approve the minutes of the Staffing Committee held on 11th January 2022

 

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

 

That the minutes of the Staffing Committee held on 11th January 2022 be confirmed as a correct record.

 

2.

People Strategy 2022-2025 pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from the Director of Transformation that presented the draft People Strategy 2022-2025. The intention was to present the final draft of the Strategy to the Fire Authority on 27th April 2022 for consideration and approval.

 

The previous People Strategy was structured around the service’s established “Steps Framework” and assigned priorities and objectives into three key stages of employment: Step In, Step Forward and Step Up. The new People Strategy had maintained a similar approach but the Steps Framework had been updated and extended to include a fourth stage “Step Away” which recognised the challenges and ongoing work associated with an ageing workforce. The Strategy had also been updated to reflect the new core values and referenced both the internal and external drivers that shape the organisation’s people priorities.

 

RECOMMENDED: That

 

[1]       the People Strategy 2022-2025 be approved by the Fire Authority at it’s meeting on 27th April 2022.

3.

2021 Staff Survey Action Plan pdf icon PDF 125 KB

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Transformation that provided an update on progress with the development of an action plan following the 2021 staff survey.

 

Members were advised that the 2021 survey was the seventh exercise that had taken place and had been undertaken by an independent provider ‘People Insight’. The online survey ran for six weeks between 18th October and 26th November 2021 and had received an overall response rate of 59%.

 

The survey was used to gauge the Service’s engagement score and the overall score for the Service this time was 85%. This was the highest engagement score that the Service had achieved in a staff survey and demonstrated a 7% improvement on the previous survey. The 2021 survey showed results improving across each of the themes, however, there was a slight decline in the scores compared to the 2019 survey for Immediate Managers and Wellbeing.  It was reported that there were a range of perceptions regarding wellbeing, with a significant difference in scoring between various roles and departments within the organisation.

 

Corporate Staff Survey Action Plans and the Departmental Staff Survey Action Plans were currently being developed and would be provided for staff to view once they were finalised. Progress against the plans would be monitored and a further update would be provided to Members in due course.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]       the report be noted.

4.

Communications and Engagement Department Update

Update on the completion of the project to transfer staff from the joint corporate services communications team to the Service’s re-established in-house communications and engagement department.

Minutes:

The Director of Transformation provided an update on the completion of the project to re-establish an in-house Communications and Engagement department.  Members were advised that:-

 

-       the Head of Communications and Engagement had been appointed at the Staffing Committee on 11th January 2022 and was now in post;

-       transition of the communications team from Joint Corporate Services to the new in-house Communications and Engagement Department took place on 1st February 2022 – seven posts through the ‘expression of interest’ process and one by way of TUPE transfer;

-       the Engagement and Public Affairs Manager and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor had moved into the Communications and Engagement department;

-       the Head of Communications and Engagement had revisited the proposal to recruit a part-time Internal Communications Officer and living wage Communications Apprentice. The plan was to create one full time Level 4 Internal Communications Apprentice role, to be advertised in due course; and

-       the Communications and Engagement department had recently had a two day teambuilding and development session which focussed on building the new communications and engagement strategy.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

[1]       the update be noted.