Our ambition is for the Council to be a fabulous place to work, through exceptional employee experience, talented managers and leaders, and a culture underpinned by our values, kindness, fairness and equality.
Our last staff survey in 2021 helped to indicate how the positive culture envisaged by Our Ambition is being received by staff. Since the first survey in 2015, ‘Quality of Line Manager’ increased from 69.2% to 73.3% and ‘Quality of Senior Management’ increased from 42.9% to 57.3%. Overall satisfaction with working for the Council also increased from 62.2% to 75.7%. We are repeating the survey in February 2024 and will be keen to compare the feedback and take on board any learning points.
We continue to promote the Council’s values with these now being embedded in the recruitment and selection process. They are also used as the basis for the annual Staff Appreciation Awards, which are promoted by the Chief Executive, and have proved to be a popular way for services to give some recognition to their colleagues for outstanding effort.
As a way to build and reinforce positive messaging around the organisation’s culture, the Chief Executive continues to send a weekly message to all staff. It is a useful way of sharing positive highlights from across services, as well as helpful resources on staff wellbeing and the Council’s values.
The Management Network meets on a quarterly basis and involves all Team Leaders, Executive Managers and Directors. These are well attended and are a useful way to encourage collaboration across services on various issues, but also help to foster the positive culture envisaged in Our Ambition.