Workforce Strategy

2. About Our Workforce Strategy

Our Workforce Strategy supports the Council’s vision and defines how we will build the capability, skills, and culture we need for our workforce. It not only meets our present needs but also the needs of our future workforce. This will involve strategies for employee development, succession planning, recruitment, and retention that consider long-term sustainability and the impact on future generations.

The Strategy describes five key objectives for action, to support and develop our workforce, strengthen our capabilities as an organisation and transform how we do things. By aligning our Workforce Strategy to the council’s corporate priorities, we will ensure that this Strategy focusses on embedding the Council’s purpose, vision, and values across our work.

2.1. Our Cabinet Vision Statement (2022 – 2027)

Our Cabinet Vision Statement recognises the important role  our workforce plays in delivering its five-year ambition. It has very clear expectations in terms of our workforce, and these have been used to shape our Workforce Strategy actions (see Appendix 1).

2.2. Our Corporate Strategy (2022 - 2027)

Our Corporate Strategy is clear about the need to further modernise and develop as a resilient and efficient Council following the pandemic, and key to this is our workforce. It recognises the benefits of having a more flexible, dynamic, empowered workforce to support our transformation programme, to help us achieve our wider aims and objectives.

2.3. Our Core Values

Our values are integral to our Workforce Strategy and are influenced by the Seven Principles of Conduct in Public Service (Nolan Principles). Our people, senior officers and elected members were involved in the development of our Core Values, which now reflect the type of organisation we want to be:

• Working as One Team
• Putting our Customers First
• Listening to Improve
• Striving for Excellence
• Acting with Integrity
• Taking Responsibility

These values underpin and guide the way we work, the way we improve, the way we work with partners and the way we make decisions to support the community that we serve.

2.4. Our Transformation Strategy (2022 – 2027)

Our Transformation Strategy has our workforce at the heart of its ambitions. It recognises that our employees are our most important asset and account for over 60% of the Council’s total expenditure. ‘The future recruitment, retention, development, and well-being of our workforce will be key to the delivery of a successful Transformation Programme and to the Council’s wider strategic objectives’ (see Appendix 2).