Workforce Strategy Refresh
North Ayrshire Council · 18 March 2025
Back to Cabinet — 18 March 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 18 March 2025 Cabinet Title: Workforce Strategy Refresh Purpose: To provide Cabinet with an overview of the refreshed Workforce Strategy. Recommendation: It is recommended that Cabinet approve the updated and refreshed Workforce Strategy, associated action plan and performance indicators. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 In March/April 2024 Audit Scotland conducted a Best Value Thematic review of Workforce Innovation – how councils are responding to workforce challenges. The report was published in August 2024 and presented to Audit and Scrutiny on 29 August 2024. 1.2 Key messages from that report included that the Council had set out a clear vision for workforce planning and that it takes a structured and comprehensive approach to this at service level but that the corporate level approach could be strengthened. 1.3 The report contained a number of recommended actions. The revised Workforce Strategy addresses four of the agreed management responses to recommendations identified within the final report. 1.4 The updated Workforce Strategy 2024-2028, associated action plan and performance indicators is attached at Appendix 1. 2. Background 2.1 North Ayrshire Council have had a Workforce Strategy in place since 2018. Since that time, a structured and comprehensive approach to workforce planning at Service level was adopted. The Strategy was further enhanced in 2023 to reflect the new Council plan. 2.2 Following feedback from the Best Value Thematic audit, a refresh to further enhance the strategy has been completed to reflect key recommendations arising from the audit. 2.3 The shape of our workforce is critical to the delivery of efficient and effective services. It is a significant factor in how we transform our Council and deliver our financial
Page 2
challenges. In order to be successful, it is key that the Workforce Strategy and actions supporting this are aligned with Council priorities. This flows from the Council Plan and links to both people management and operational processes. 2.4 The strategy takes account of the wider external and internal drivers affecting the organisation – unprecedented challenging financial climate and ongoing sustainability, Climate Change/Net Zero as examples together with other legislative and political factors such as the impact of national reviews and education reform. 2.5 A number of workforce challenges have also been considered including recruitment, retention, developing our young workforce, career development and wellbeing to ensure we remain an employer of choice. 2.6 The Best Value Thematic report sets out how the council is responding to current workforce challenges through building capacity, increasing productivity and innovation. The focus of the review was as follows: • How effectively are the council’s workforce plans integrated with its strategic plans and priorities? • How effectively has digital technology been used to support workforce productivity and improve service quality and outcomes? • How effectively is the council using hybrid and remote working and other innovative working practice such as a four-day week to achieve service and staff benefits? • What innovative practice is the council using to develop its future workforce capacity and skills needs and manage staff reductions in line with its priorities? • What progress has the council made with sharing roles or functions across its services and/or with other councils and partners? • How effectively is the council measuring the impact of its workforce planning approach? Whilst the report was positive, there were a number of recommendations to support the enhancement of our approach to workforce planning which resulted in agreed management actions and delivery milestones. 2.7 The audit report set out 8 recommendations. The revised Workforce Strategy addresses the agreed management response to 4 recommendations identified within the final report – namely: • The workforce strategy will be updated to include corporate workforce planning priorities and an action plan to allow progress to be measured. • The Workforce Strategy will be updated to ensure alignment to all council plan priorities, other key strategies/and include an extract of council-wide workforce data. • Workforce planning priorities should be regularly reported through Council Plan updates or other means. • A performance dashboard to improve how workforce planning priorities are monitored should be developed to provide a user-friendly overview of the impact of its workforce planning.
Page 3
Other recommendations arising from the report are being progressed in line with previously agreed timeframes. These include - measuring the impact of digital technology improvements, improving digital skills, gathering feedback on the Impact of agile working and exploration of joint working arrangements. 2.8 The corporate Action Plan included at appendix 2 of the Strategy will measure progress. This will be recorded on the performance management system and updates will be provided by the relevant Service Lead. These actions will complement the detailed workforce planning activity and action plans undertaken at Service level and supported by HR. Updates in terms of corporate actions will be included within Council Plan Performance Reports and the 1st Tier Joint Consultative Committee. In addition, a suite of performance indicators aligned to the Strategy are outlined in appendix 3 of the Strategy. These PI’s will be monitored and tracked through a performance dashboard, allowing benchmarking data to be readily available. This dashboard is currently in development. 3. Proposals 3.1 Cabinet is asked to approve the updated and refreshed Workforce Strategy 2024-2028, associated corporate action plan and performance indicators. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 No direct implications as a result of this report. Human Resources 4.2 There are no direct implications as a result of this report, however, workforce planning is a key tool that will impact on our workforce for the future. Legal 4.3 No direct implications as a result of this report. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 No direct implications as a result of this report. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 No direct implications as a result of this report. Key Priorities 4.6 Council priorities:
Page 4
A Sustainable Council – Effective workforce planning ensuring that we have the right skills/resources to deliver priorities. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The Workforce Strategy supports the Fair Employment Pillar as part of Community Wealth Building Strategy. 5. Consultation 5.1 Consultations and engagement has been undertaken with Chief Officers, Senior Managers and Trade Union representatives. Fiona Walker Head of People & ICT For further information please contact , Jackie Smillie, Senior Manager (People Services), on 01294 324671. Background Papers Appendix 1 – Workforce Strategy 2024-2028, including corporate action plan and performance indicators.
Page 5
1 North Ayrshire Council Workforce Strategy 2024 - 2028 Version 4
Page 6
2 Contents 1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................... 4 2. Introduction - Understanding organisational goals and strategy .................................. 6 3. Strategic context.......................................................................................................... 6 4. Strategic future workforce ........................................................................................... 8 5. Engagement .............................................................................................................. 17 6. Monitoring ................................................................................................................. 18 7. Workforce profile ....................................................................................................... 18 Appendix 1 – Snapshot of Employee Data .................................................................... 19 Appendix 2 - Corporate Action Plan .............................................................................. 21 Appendix 3 - Corporate Performance Indicators ........................................................... 26
Page 7
3 Related HR Documents HR Guide – Our Approach to Workforce Planning Version Control Version Number Effective Date Details of Last Revision 1 2018 Launch of Workforce for the future 2 2023 Change in title and creation of an enhanced narrative - Workforce Strategy – our approach to Workforce Planning 3 August 2023 Refreshed in light of new Council plan 2023-2028. 4 2024 Refresh following Best Value thematic report feedback Equality Impact Assessment: December 2024 Prepared by: HR Team
Page 8
4 1. Executive Summary The shape of our workforce is critical to the delivery of efficient and effective services. It is a significant factor in how we transform our Council and deliver our financial challenges. In order to be successful, it is key that the Workforce Strategy and actions supporting this are aligned with Council priorities. This flows from the Council Plan and links to both people management and operational processes. Drivers for change in terms of workforce planning are factors or trends that influence how organisations anticipate and prepare for future workforce needs. These drivers can emerge from internal operational dynamics or external environmental factors. In terms of North Ayrshire Council, this includes: Financial environment – This strategy, linked to the Medium-Term Financial Outlook to 2027/28 recognises and reflects significant external pressures and financial uncertainty. It is also acknowledged that transformation activity in terms of what we do and how we do it will play a major part in the organisation’s success going forward. This will also have a direct and indirect impact on the workforce in terms of more streamlined ways of working through increased digital skillsets, adoption of automation and exploration of artificial intelligence tools and concepts to ensure that as an organisation we embrace new ways of working. The exploration and implementation of collaborative working is another area which has the potential to generate significant benefits from a financial and workforce perspective. Council Plan priorities - Our Council Plan 2023-28 priorities were developed with our communities and represent our contract with our residents. Workforce planning is central to the priority “A Sustainable Council” which supports the other three interlinked priorities of “Wellbeing”, “Communities and Local Democracy” and “Climate”. To ensure our priorities are met, workforce planning must be flexible enough to manage short term activity but ultimately be focused on medium to long-term needs, ensuring that sustainable long-term savings are delivered. It is important to ensure that resources are appropriately focussed on those priorities and have the capacity, skills and strategic direction to ensure success. North Ayrshire Council is one of the largest local employers in the area, providing a wide range of specialist services and requiring a highly trained, adaptable modern workforce. All public sector organisations are facing unprecedented financial pressures. The Council will be required to make significant changes to the delivery of our services ensuring this is delivered within the available financial envelope. This will require the workforce for the future to be re-considered in this context. The services we currently provide and the way we provide them will change over the coming years as we work more collaboratively with partners, stakeholders and communities.
Page 9
5 Demographics of North Ayrshire - The population of North Ayrshire is shifting; over the years the area is seeing a decrease in the number of people who live here. Within that decreasing population, we are seeing a shift towards higher number of older people offset by a decreasing working age and children’s population. Local information also suggests that the changing local population and high levels of poverty and deprivation indicate a growing demand for health and social care services in the long term. These changes will have a significant effect on the priority focus of public sector organisations, with more resources being required to support the growing older population. It should also be noted that circa 76% of our workforce live within North Ayrshire. North Ayrshire Council have progressed significant workforce actions over recent years, with the workforce strategy being a focus of the most recent Best Value Thematic Audit published in July 2024 which received a positive response. The strategy takes account of the wider external and internal drivers affecting the organisation – unprecedented challenging financial climate and ongoing sustainability, Climate Change/Net Zero as examples together with other legislative and political factors such as the impact of National reviews, Scottish Government Spending review and Education reform. A number of workforce challenges have also been considered including recruitment, retention, developing our young workforce, career development and wellbeing to ensure we remain an employer of choice. Scrutiny of the Strategy The strategy is managed by People Services and key outcomes of the strategy are reported within our corporate six monthly Council Plan Progress Reports. This enables effective scrutiny by our Executive Leadership Team, Cabinet, the Audit and Scrutiny Committee as well as our residents. This report is published on our website.
Page 10
6 2. Introduction - Understanding organisational goals and strategy It is important to align the workforce strategy with the organisations long-term objectives – identifying key drivers, such as growth, expansion, technological advancements or shifts in demands. 2.1 The Council’s Workforce Strategy 2024-2028 is linked to the Council Plan and Medium-Term Financial Outlook 2027/28 and beyond and sets out how our workforce will support the delivery of the Council’s ambitions within the available financial resources. The strategy builds on the work already carried out at a Service level in terms of short, medium, and long-term goals to support our workforce to deliver services to all our communities now and in the future. An Action Plan to support the delivery of council wide priorities is included at Appendix 2. 3. Strategic context 3.1 Our Council Plan, 2023-2028 aim is a North Ayrshire that is fair for all. Developed with our communities, together we identified four key priorities for the Council: 3.2 The Council’s long term financial outlook is the cornerstone of the Council’s strategic financial framework and establishes a sound basis for the development of the medium-term financial outlook and subsequent annual budgets, enabling the Council to address the challenges it faces and best align resources to key priorities.
Page 11
7 3.3 In addition, the Council has set out its commitment to tackling child poverty through the Child Poverty Strategy and Action Plan. It is important that the programme of work aligned to this strategy is reflected in our workforce planning to ensure that resources are optimised to address the persistently high levels of child poverty in North Ayrshire, which currently has the second highest rate of child poverty in Scotland. 3.4 The Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy sets out how the Council will address the challenges of responding to the climate and nature emergency, and moving toward a net-zero future, will be vital to ensuring the long-term sustainability of our communities and workforce. Our workforce is key to ensuring the changes required are implemented, both in the projects and programmes they deliver, and in ensuring their day-to-day activities are carried out in a way that reduces climate impact. This will require education and the development of new skills and engagement with our workforce to seek their buy-in and support. A workforce climate change engagement plan is in development to standardise the approach to sustainability awareness. This includes activities such as Carbon literacy training, e-learning modules on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Adaptation and staff engagement events and campaigns. 3.5 It is acknowledged that the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership have their own Workforce Plan which aligns with the Council’s Workforce Strategy. This plan sets out the ambitions for the HSCP workforce, how services will be shaped to ensure the best health and social care is provided to local people in line with strategic, operational, and financial plans. The expectation of the plan is that the HSCP workforce is ready to meet the future health and social care needs of local people, and a career with NAHSCP in health and social care is celebrated for the value it brings to our staff and the lives of local people. 3.6 North Ayrshire Council’s People Strategy - Our People Connect - supports the delivery of the Council Plan. Our ambition for our people is to create a culture where innovation and excellence thrives. Our future relies on the ambition and skills of our people. Our priorities are: • Strengthening our leadership across the council – we will have a visible, empowering leadership that provides a clear and shared vision for the council. • Transforming how we work – we will work together to become smarter, more innovative and will embrace new ways of working to deliver services that matter to our communities.
Page 12
8 • Creating a great place to work – we will be an “employer of choice” where the most talented people want to work • Supporting our people to thrive – we will ensure our people are flexible, adaptable and equipped with the skills they need to deliver great services to meet present and future challenges. 4. Strategic future workforce 4.1 Building our capacity to deliver In order to consider our capacity to deliver as an organisation, it is essential to review our current workforce profile and our areas of sustained and increasing demand, alongside reducing areas of demand and to use the information to develop our workforce of the future. Based on ongoing assessment of our workforce data (via Power BI), we have identified a number of challenges and opportunities we currently face as an organisation. From this, there are 6 main areas of focus. These are: • Responding to our multi-generational workforce • Developing our young workforce • Ensuring we promote and maintain North Ayrshire Council as an employer of choice • Reshaping our current workforce to support our areas of sustained and increasing demand • Supporting health and wellbeing • Analysis – assessing current workforce in terms of size, skills, demographics and performance 4.2 Responding to our multi-generational workforce With a multi-generational workforce comes a need for consideration of differing expectations around work environment and support. We need to ensure that these generational differences are taken into consideration when designing the work, the working environment and support mechanisms. Expectations of the working environment may differ amongst the workforce, and this is something we need to be mindful of in terms of future planning.
Page 13
9 As the skills the organisation needs to deliver its business change, particularly digital skills and processes, we need to ensure that our workforce has those skills, knowledge and behaviours to adapt to change. An older workforce will have significant knowledge, skills and experience. As the workforce ages, and with the utilisation of voluntary release/early retirement – there is a risk to the organisation that the depth of knowledge, skills and experience is reduced. It is important therefore, that the organisation has a workforce which can develop and learn and gain the knowledge, skills and experience from this generation and bring their own new skills to the organisation. It is also important to note that the younger workforce and those of the future workforce will have different expectations around their career and support provided by organisations – this will be key to recruitment and retention of future talent. 4.3 Developing the young workforce As at 31 October 2024, 40.4% of our workforce is age 50 and over (see appendix 1). This has clear implications for succession planning. Those under 25 equates to only 4.85% of the workforce. An age diverse workforce brings benefits to our ability to work creatively as an organisation and supports succession planning. We therefore wish to improve working life for our existing young workforce as well as attract new young employees into our workforce of the future. There are a range of initiatives in place/currently being developed to support our young workforce: 4.3.1 Apprenticeship Programmes Apprenticeship programmes are in place which include Modern and Graduate apprenticeships across a range of job roles and areas. It is intended that as we develop our apprenticeship offering, this will provide career pathways and succession planning opportunities to our existing workforce whilst at the same time, providing talent pipelines for our workforce of the future. • Modern Apprenticeships - offer young people over 16 an employment and training programme, focusing on areas of increased demand such as early years and social care. • Graduate Apprenticeships - provide opportunities for work-based learning at degree level for current employees. We have recently partnered with the University of West of Scotland to support Graduate Apprenticeships across a range of frameworks.
Page 14
10 4.3.2 Support to our Young Workforce To maximise the opportunities and the potential of young employees, support, guidance and development need to be in place as well as recognition of the contribution they make to the organisation. This will be important for retention of young employees and succession planning as well as for attracting young people to consider the Council as an employer of choice. North Ayrshire Council will work in conjunction with other organisations as appropriate to support ongoing development of the workforce – e.g. the Improvement Service have recently set up a Local Government Connect network to bring together professionals in the early stages of their local government career and promote collaboration across all Scottish local authorities. 4.4 Ensuring we promote and maintain North Ayrshire Council as an employer of choice North Ayrshire Council wishes to maintain and enhance its reputation as an employer of choice in order to be attractive to potential employees and to retain the existing workforce. There are a range of policies and benefits in place to ensure that our organisation is viewed as a great place to work. Some examples of this are: • Competitive salaries • Pension scheme with optional Additional Voluntary Contribution’s • A range of supportive HR policies – work life balance, flexible working hours, etc • Generous holiday entitlement • Agile working in appropriate roles • Occupational Health services and Employee Assistance Programme • Green Car Scheme • Cycle to work Scheme • Shopping vouchers and discounts for a range of retail and leisure facilities
Page 15
11 4.5 Reshaping our current workforce to support our areas of sustained and increasing demand With some areas of the organisation facing reduction in demand and others facing difficulties recruiting or requiring an enlarged workforce, it is important that we redirect our employees to the areas which are needed. This will require a focus on developing internal talent and shifting this talent to areas that will ensure organisational priorities are being met. It is vital to ensure we have the flexibility in our workforce and in our processes to transfer resource from areas of reducing demand and to areas of growth in a targeted way. This will require an emphasis on developing the necessary knowledge, skills, behaviours and, where appropriate, qualifications, accreditations and memberships, in our existing workforce. There are some roles, where we face significant challenges in recruitment – these are areas of sustained demand (hard to fill) and areas of increasing demand (growth areas). Reasons for these vary but include local and national shortages, specific areas of growth where there is a corresponding shortage of supply, changing demographics and the impact of government initiatives (such as early years expansion). In summary – to address workforce challenges with capacity, we will: • Promote our employer of choice status through a range of supportive policies and procedures to support a skilled and flexible workforce – eg Agile Working, Work life balance • Support workforce diversity • Use turnover and voluntary release to manage areas of reduced demand • Grow our own talent to provide opportunities to develop our workforce. 4.6 Supporting health and wellbeing Promoting and supporting employee wellbeing can have a positive effect on people, organisations, economies and communities. Happy, healthy individuals are more likely to embrace change, work flexibly to help others and be creative problem solvers at work. North Ayrshire Council have a range of wellbeing supports and supportive HR policies to provide advice and guidance on a range of topics. These supports include: • Access to an Employee Assistance Programme 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for in the moment support, legal, tax and medical information, bereavement support, CBT and Counselling. • Access to Occupational Health services including Physiotherapy
Page 16
12 • Wellbeing Warriors – employees who have been trained in mental health first aid and can support, listen and signpost colleagues to a range of both internal and external resources. • Supportive employment policies/guides – Menopause, Supporting Carers, Mental Health in the Workplace, Domestic Abuse, Disability in the workplace, Gambling related harms in the workplace to name a few. In addition, accreditations to a number of organisations including – Disability Confident Leader, Employer with Heart, Fostering Friendly, Carer Positive Exemplary Employer. Our LiveWell programme which is aimed at promoting the wellbeing of our employees, provides access to a range of activities that many might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate. The activities are aligned under the themes of Workwell, Bewell, Playwell, Eatwell and Savewell and these promote health and wellbeing initiatives covering a variety of topics. Fostering a wellbeing approach in a workplace setting is beneficial for the employee and the organisation, helping to create a more positive working environment and ultimately improve engagement and performance. 4.7 Analysis As a Council, consideration of how we deliver our future services is essential. Each Service within the Council have 6 monthly workforce planning meetings to ensure that the workforce is organised and structured in the right way with the correct skills to meet current and future needs to ensure priorities are delivered within an affordable budget. Methodology and tools to aid analysis and review of data are embedded in this process to inform decisions. It is extremely important to understand the organisation and its environment with a clear understanding of the external factors impacting this. A PESTLE analysis is used to provide that insight and is one of the most effective frameworks for understanding the “big picture”.
Page 17
13 In addition to a PESTLE analysis, the profile of the workforce is also reviewed. North Ayrshire Council utilise Power BI as the tool to analyse workforce data. This enables Services to drill down to their area of the organisation and understand, in greater detail, key data that impact on the workforce plan – demographics, attrition rates and absence data etc. Span of control (the number of direct line reports to manager ration) is another aspect of workforce analysis that is utilised and considered during service review and redesign activity to ensure that these are appropriate for the business area taking into consideration the level of supervisory intervention or requirement, the nature and complexity of work and the management of risk. This information supports self-assessment across our Council. A corporate approach to self-assessment is currently in development. The strategy overall is managed by People Services and key outcomes of the strategy are reported within our corporate six monthly Council Plan Progress Reports. This enables effective scrutiny by our Executive Leadership Team, Cabinet, the Audit and Scrutiny Committee as well as our residents. This report is published on our website.
Page 18
14 4.7.1 Organisation and Service Design Over the coming years, there will be a significant degree of organisational change, both in terms of structures but also more importantly about how we work. The extent of change and the pace required, cannot be underestimated. To achieve alignment to our strategic agenda, whilst addressing forecasted funding reductions, North Ayrshire Council will undertake and consider various options to support the delivery of this. This will include: • Targeted approach to Voluntary Early Release (VER) to achieve savings aligned with the financial landscape. • Scenario planning in terms of the potential impact of key external factors such as National Reviews and Education Reform. • Exploration of joint workforce arrangements/shared services and collaboration opportunities across partner organisations. 4.7.2 Redeployment Workforce planning may highlight that some roles are no longer required or needed in the future. Where a redundancy situation arises, the Council is committed to supporting employees, where possible, to transfer to a new role. The redeployment register ensures that employees in this situation are prioritised for relevant vacancies based on their skills and abilities. 4.7.3 Voluntary Early Release The early release scheme empowers employees to plan for their future, by enabling them to request to leave the Council early. Release is subject to specific criteria being met and employees can leave gaining either access to their pension and/or receiving a cash enhancement. This option is currently utilised as part of the service review/redesign process; however, the option remains open to utilise this in a more targeted way (as referenced above) given the ever-increasing financial challenges faced. 4.7.4 Vacancy Management One of the simplest ways to transition a workforce is to manage vacancies that arise through natural turn over (retirements/resignations). When a vacancy arises managers must critically appraise the requirement to fill the role before advertising for a replacement, considering if the post needs to be filled, could the work be delivered in different ways, if it can be filled internally or if it should be filled on a temporary basis. In addition, there is a requirement to justify recruitment via the Vacancy Scrutiny Panel which was introduced in 2022.
Page 19
15 A recruitment Exemption list is in place that lists the critical posts within the Council that require to be recruited without delay. Vacancy management allows for service re-design with minimal impact on the existing workforce. Services should consider future savings commitments and where appropriate fill vacancies on a temporary basis to minimise impact on the workforce and future release costs. 4.7.5 Workforce Management Effective workforce management is critical when considering and reviewing current and future workforce requirements. A wealth of information is available to managers regarding workforce costs, absence, and demographics. Services should already be considering and taking appropriate action in relation to reshaping the workforce to improve employment security (consider employees who hold more than one role) and reviewing routine overtime with the opportunity to create new jobs/amend contracts for part-time staff regularly working overtime to adequately reflect the roles being undertaken. The Wellbeing@Work (Supporting Attendance Policy) and Maximising Attendance Policy (Teachers) aims to ensure our employees are supported to maintain high levels of attendance, thereby minimising the detrimental effects of sickness absence on service provision, our service users and colleagues. The policies ensure a fair, consistent and compassionate approach to supporting employee attendance, considering individual circumstances, whilst ensuring compliance with all associated legislation. Sickness absence is one of the Council’s Statutory and Key Performance Indicators and is used for performance review and benchmarking. High levels of sickness absence are costly and disruptive and can lead to: • Additional pressures being placed on work colleagues leading to higher levels of stress and low morale • Loss of continuity for service users • Additional salary costs necessary to cover absences • A poor reputation for the Council 4.8 Skills pipeline Ensuring we have the right people with the right skills is critical. We need to ensure that we have a pipeline of talent available to ensure we can shape our workforce of the future, enabling us to meet areas of demand such as services to older people, children, and young people. It is also important to consider how we work across our schools plus our Further and Higher Education partners/organisations to articulate our skills requirements to promote local government opportunities as attractive career choices.
Page 20
16 4.8.1 Attracting our future workforce Early intervention is crucial when developing a skills pipeline and working with Universities and Colleges to ensure that courses complement our jobs of the future plays a vital role in this. Providing opportunities for our young people to transition from education to employment is equally as important and we have various programmes to support this such as the Modern Apprenticeships, Skills for Life initiative and Developing the Young Workforce Programme. 4.8.2 Recruitment Recruitment for some roles has been very difficult over recent years and this continues to be the case. Areas such as Health and Social Care, Teaching, Regulatory posts have all been difficult to fill and retain, with alternative approaches being adopted to address this. In addition to the traditional route of applying for a job vacancy, there are alternative routes into employment with the Council such as the Modern Apprentice Programmes, Trade Apprenticeships, and Graduate Programme. These routes enable employees to develop their skills while in work. 4.8.3 Developing our talent It is important to recognise the potential and aspirations of our existing workforce. Growing our own talent provides our employees with opportunities to transition into new occupations within the organisation with, for example, Teaching and Social Worker roles open to internal candidates as a retraining opportunity. In-house initiatives such as skills development, the Leadership Academy and other developmental opportunities support employees to achieve their full potential. Creation of career paths is another way to support the continued development of employees retaining key skillsets and experience for the future. 4.8.4 Succession Planning The process of identifying and developing potential future leaders or senior managers, as well as individuals to fill other business-critical positions, either short-term or long-term, is another component of our workforce planning strategy. As well as training and development activities, this may include the provision of practical, tailored work experience relevant for future senior or key roles. The aim is for the organisation to be able to fill key roles effectively if the current post holder were to leave.
Page 21
17 4.9 Equality Monitoring Equality monitoring of our workforce enables us to ensure our workforce is reflective of our wider communities as well as ensuring compliance with our equality duty. All public authorities in Scotland must comply with the public sector Equality Duty, also known as the General Equality Duty, set out in the Equality Act 2010. We must demonstrate how we: • Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited under the Act. • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and those who do not share it. • Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Equality means everyone has the right to be treated fairly and have the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Promoting equality is one of the North Ayrshire Council's core values. The principles of equality and fairness are central to all of our activities. How we meeting our statutory obligations are outlined in our two yearly Equality Mainstreaming and Outcome reporting. This is scrutinised by the Executive Leadership Team and Cabinet. 5. Engagement 5.1 Engagement of key stakeholders is important in terms of developing and implementing the workforce strategy. This includes engagement and feedback from all Council Services, through our Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and Trade Union discussions. Given the challenges ahead in the coming years, continuation of this collaborative work with Trade Unions will be extremely important. • Elected Members, the Chief Executive and Executive Directors will set the strategic direction for the Council. • Heads of Service and Senior Managers should identify the internal and external factors which may affect the future operation of their Service and its ability to achieve corporate objectives. They should also develop strategies to deal with any issues and gaps that are identified. • Best Value audits have shown we have a culture of continuous improvement. To deliver the outcomes of the Council Plan and workforce strategy, there is a need for the council to further encourage our innovative, collaborative organisational culture driven by inspiring leaders at all levels. We rely on
Page 22
18 employees at all levels to be empowered and skilled to develop increasingly efficient, effective, and sustainable ways of working. • People Services will support Directorates by providing advice, guidance and challenge where required and also by ensuring key stakeholders are working collaboratively. • Employees and Trades Unions will be consulted when developing actions, strategies, and workforce redesign to ensure they are acceptable and workable. We continue to have positive working relationships with our Trade Unions. We ensure they are kept up to date with our plans and progress through regular meetings between TU leads and our HR professionals and their quarterly attendance at our Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team meetings. 6. Monitoring 6.1 The Workforce Strategy and associated action plan is aligned to the Council Plan and accordingly will be monitored and reviewed regularly. Workforce planning activity is conducted on a 6-monthly basis with Chief Officers on a Service basis with annual updates provided to the Executive Leadership Team. Action Plan updates will be captured through the performance management system to provide transparency on key actions as well as regular updates via the performance dashboard and reported via 1st Tier Joint Consultative Committee. 7. Workforce profile 7.1 A snapshot of current workforce data is provided within Appendix 1. Current workforce data is provided via Power BI on the GIS & Analytics SharePoint and can be accessed via the internal link - Employee Stats. Further snapshots will be captured at appropriate points to enable year on year comparisons.
Page 23
19 Appendix 1 – Snapshot of Employee Data Workforce Profile The undernoted is a snapshot of workforce data as at 31 October 2024. The majority of this information can be found within our performance dashboard or via the GIS Analytics Sharepoint – which has live data. Data as at 31 October 2024 Workforce Total headcount – 7633 (5853 Female/1780 Male) Total FTE – 6470.29 (4724.09 Female/1746.20 Male) Headcount by employee type o Permanent – 7042 o Temporary - 591 Turnover rate – Whole Council 15.16% Workstyles profile – This is the number of occupied posts with the attached workstyle, not FTE. o In Building - 4236 posts o Mobile – 1669 posts o Agile – 1950 posts o Home – No posts are allocated the Home Workstyle, however 10 employees have been approved as the Home Workstyle, and 4 employees are on a pilot of this work style via our Worklife Balance Policy. 76% of employees live in North Ayrshire 89.22% of employees are members of the Pension Fund (LGVT or Teaching). Average length of service – 11 years Average age – 45 years Age profile –
Page 24
20 o 16-24 years 4.85% o 25-34 years 19.09% o 35-49 years 35.66% o >50 years 40.4% Equality Data The Public Sector Equality Duty requires local authorities to gather and publish employee statistics by protected characteristic. This data is captured within North Ayrshire Council’s Equality Mainstreaming report (Equality mainstreaming report 2021 to 2022 and outcomes 2021 to 2025 mid term report). The report includes an overview of employee information by age, sex, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief. It also includes the Employee Pay Gap information by sex, ethnicity and disability. Undernoted is a brief snapshot as at October 2023. • Ethnicity o 80.82% - White o 1.14% Other o 18.03% not disclosed • Disability o 76.42% no known disability o 4.13% known disability o 19.45% not disclosed. • Gender pay gap o 0.22% Absence Data Sickness absence days per teacher as at end 2023/24 – 9.30 days Sickness absence days per employee (non teacher) as at end 2023/24 – 13.83 days
Page 25
21 Appendix 2 - Corporate Action Plan The actions below are corporate actions to support the delivery of the Workforce Strategy. These corporate actions will be recorded on the performance management system and updates will be provided by the relevant Service Lead – frequency of updates highlighted below. These actions will complement the detailed workforce planning activity and action plans undertaken at Service level and supported by HR. Overall key outcomes will be reported and scrutinised through our corporate six monthly Council Plan Progress Reports. Theme Action Timescale Update frequency Lead Services Embedding Workforce Planning Review Service Workforce Plans on a six- monthly basis in conjunction with HR to ensure robust planning of current and future workforce, including succession planning, knowledge & skills transfer to support a multi-skilled workforce for the future and growing our own talent and ensure where appropriate this is aligned to transformation. 31 March 2028 6 monthly All Services – Lead Officers to be agreed. Incorporate workforce planning / implications where appropriate into the digital transformation programme. 31 March 2028 Annual All Services plus Transformation Team Develop and regularly review Workforce Plans to support the delivery of the 30 June 2025 6 monthly Executive Directors
Page 26
22 Council’s Priorities for Wellbeing, Climate and Communities/Local Democracy. Host workforce planning development sessions to enhance knowledge of workforce planning approach. 31 March 2028 Annual People & ICT Enhancing Workforce Information Develop a digital Toolkit that will provide managers with workforce information in an easy to access format. 30 September 2025 Update when complete. People & ICT Develop a digital performance dashboard to provide a user-friendly overview to monitor and inform workforce planning practice. 30 September 2025 Update when complete. People & ICT / Democratic Services Promote completion of equalities information by employees to ensure diversity of workforce is appropriately captured. Annual Annual – following exercise. Democratic Services Building workforce Capacity Design and host a Digital Skills survey to assess and further enhance the digital skills and knowledge of the workforce to inform future development interventions. 31 March 2025 Update when complete. People & ICT
Page 27
23 Design and host a survey aimed at those deemed an agile workstyle to gauge the continued benefits on wellbeing and productivity. 31 March 2025 Update when complete. People & ICT Promote and support the recruitment of Apprentices (Modern, Craft, Graduate). This should include data on recruits/retention etc. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Economic Development, Growth & Regeneration Develop proposals and approaches to address skills shortage in key areas (Eg. CAH, Building Standards, Social Workers) This may include links to Schools, Colleges, Universities etc. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Health & Community Care, Children, Families & Justice, Housing & Public Protection Embed and enhance ’Grow your own’ programmes – e.g. Social Work Trainee scheme/ Graduate Apprenticeship in Social Work. 31 March 2028 6 monthly HSCP Promote and enhance our employee benefits packages to all employees supporting our offering as an employer of choice. 31 March 2028 6 monthly People & ICT
Page 28
24 Review and reduce the number of casual employees/transition to temporary/permanent contracts 31 March 2028 Annual Relevant Services with Casuals Health, Safety & Wellbeing Promote, develop and enhance LiveWell – our programme aimed at promoting the wellbeing of NAC employees. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Democratic Services Reduce sickness absence rates through appropriate application of policy by Managers. This also includes ensuring promotion and application of supportive policies, Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health. 31 March 2028 6 monthly All Services Embed, evolve and enhance Occupational Health provision and support across the organisation. 31 March 2028 6 monthly People & ICT Develop, enhance and promote HR policies and guides to support the workforce. 31 March 2028 6 monthly People & ICT
Page 29
25 Promote a safety culture to support reduction of the number of RIDDOR incidents across the council. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Finance (Health and Safety) Update on proactive Health and Safety activity with Services to support overall wellbeing of the workforce. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Finance (Health and Safety) Promote a culture of zero tolerance to support reduction in violence and aggression incidents within the workplace. 31 March 2028 6 monthly Finance (Health and Safety)
Page 30
26 Appendix 3 - Corporate Performance Indicators The suite of Indicators noted below will be surfaced and monitored through the performance dashboard and will support the delivery of the Workforce Strategy. This data will support the detailed workforce planning activity undertaken at Service level and supported by HR. Responsibility Action Target/Comment Update frequency Performance Team/Analytics % of the highest paid 5% employees who are women. Current LGBF requirement. Year on Year comparison Annual in line with LGBF Timeframe. Performance Team/Analytics The gender pay gap (%) Current LGBF requirement. Year on Year comparison Annual in line with LGBF Timeframe. Performance Team/Analytics Sickness absence days per teacher Current LGBF requirement. Reduction year on year Annual in line with LGBF timeframe Performance Team/Analytics Sickness absence days per employee (non-teacher) Current LGBF requirement. Reduction year on year Annual in line with LGBF timeframe Equalities Officer Snapshot of equalities data Increase % data disclosed by end Mar 2027: Ethnicity to 90-95% (Oct 23 – 81.96% Disability to 90-95% (Oct 23 – 80.55% Annual snapshot – end Mar Performance Team/Analytics Reduce employee turnover for those services with >15% Snapshot annual of employee turnover. (annual turnover info Annual snapshot – end Mar
Page 31
27 as at Sept 24 was 15.26 overall) Review and monitor. Resourcing/People Services Time to recruit Average time to recruit – split by LG/Teaching Annual snapshot – end Mar Performance Team/Analytics/People Services % of employees in the pension fund Review and monitor. Baseline Oct 24 - 89.37%. Annual snapshot – end Mar Employability No of Apprentices – Modern, Craft and Graduate recruited Review and monitor Annual snapshot – Apr - Mar Employability No of Apprentices – Modern, Craft and Graduate retained/secured permanent employment % retained Review and monitor Annual snapshot – Apr - Mar Performance Team/Analytics Headcount data – currently on GIS site Year on year comparison. Annual snapshot – end Mar Performance Team/Analytics/People Services No of casuals as % of workforce by Service Year on year review. Review and monitor. Baseline from Casuals report Nov 24. Annual snapshot – end Mar Performance Team/Analytics/People Services Age split/Average Age– increase<50 Year on year review. Review and monitor. Annual snapshot – end Mar Finance/Health and Safety Team No of RIDDOR incidents Year on year review. Review, monitor and take appropriate action. Annual snapshot – end Mar