Following the Transformation Workforce Workstream’s extensive engagement with service managers, heads of service and HR business partners on enabling a flexible workforce, it is evident that an appropriate employment framework is in place which can be ‘flexed’ to enable services delivery in a dynamic way.

Understanding of how this employment framework can be used to facilitate a flexible and dynamic workforce was found to be inconsistent across the organisation. The key is always to have early engagement on your service and workforce delivery plans with your Lead/HR Business Partners so that appropriate solutions and flex can be discussed and bespoke solutions agreed that enables your service delivery plans and keeps the Authority within statutory limits.

You will find details of how the employment framework can be used to address some of the key areas raised in the discussion here

Further advice can be sought from the People Service Team as appropriate.

A Garden waste service and Debtors team collaboration, reduces customer frustration and saves time and money with a hybrid mail solution.

Working together, the Waste operations and Debtors teams have used Hybrid Mail to reduce costs and regain 6 working days in the process of  issuing Invoices and Information about the annual Garden waste service. Read their story and find out how the councils hybrid mail partner can support your department whether you are sending a single letter or a large mailing. 

What is the Garden Waste Service?

The Garden Waste service is managed by the Waste operations team and operates from March to October each year collecting customers green waste and recycling it into compost.  The service is an annual service which must be paid for each year by the service user to secure a place on the delivery rounds. New customers can pay using an online link to ‘book’ their service. For existing customers an invoice is raised by the debtors team for the service user to pay to recommence their service. The Waste operations team contacts all customers to advise of their collection days and weeks. These communication’s can be electronic or paper based dependant on the customers preference.

What was the Issue?

Of the 11,000 garden waste customers approximately 2000 have requested paper communications, this required the each team to produce 9000 email communications with either an invoice or a schedule and to produce, fold, envelope, frank and post a further 2000 documents each. The process of creating the paper versions took 3 people from each team over a day to do resulting in 6 working days lost to filling and sending envelopes

Following the release of the Garden waste schedules and Invoices in 2023 the contact centre, cashiers team and debtors team saw a significant rise in calls from confused or annoyed customers who had only received one or the other of their documents either electronically or via post and were struggling to get their service restarted.  The cause of these complaints was found to be the timing differences between the issuing of the two documents by the two services and the failure of some items electronic and posted to arrive at all.

What have they done?

Utilising the skills of the Marketing and Media team and working collaboratively the two teams have taken advantage of the corporate Electronic and Hybrid mail solutions, Gov.Delivery and DSI. The services arranged for a joint communication to be developed which included the schedules and information for the Garden waste service and the invoice and payment details in one communication.  The electronic versions were then sent via the council Gov.delivery contract and electronic copies of the paper versions were produced and uploaded to DSI who then collated the two sets of documents into a single postage item for each customer and posted them.

Results:

• Improved experience for customers
• Significant reduction in the number of calls to the call centre and cashiers
• Cost Saving £1664 on postage costs, envelopes, paper and printing
• Time Saving 6 working days
• Elimination of a mundane and labour-intensive task.

Find out more:

If you are still printing and posting your own mail whether it’s a single letter a week or a massive mail out there is a Hybrid mail solution for you. To find out how easy it is to move to this time and money saving solution contact Mark Howard, Senior Transformation and Change Officer for a demonstration or you can contact the Transformation team via our webform to let us know where you think hybrid mail could be used in your team's processes.

With the growth of Hybrid working staff are increasingly needing different types of space to meet, work and collaborate.

Following consultation on future accommodation requirements, the Transformation Workplace workstream has been working to rationalise our accommodation portfolio whilst modernising and improving the workspaces in our retained core buildings.

To date we have:

Completed the reconfiguration of office accommodation on 2 floors at Ty Elwyn. Education & Childrens Services staff based in Llanelli are now working together on a single floor of Ty Elwyn with Housing staff from Eastgate based on another floor alongside Health staff with better meeting facilities and flexible working spaces created.

Sold Parc Dewi Sant and relocated staff to Spilman Street, and County Hall.

Relocated staff from Old Library and Ammanford town hall to Ty Parc Yr Hun and future options for these spaces are being considered.

Started a usage study in Parc Myrddin to determine the needs and options for the staff currently based here.

The ‘Workforce’ Transformation Workstream is excited to announce the launch of a brand-new Learner Experience Platform and Learning Management System (LXP-LMS) called Thinqi (“Think-e”).

Recognising this as key workforce priority for our people, Cabinet Member for Organisation and Workforce Cllr Philip Hughes said, “The new system will help us to develop the learning and skills we need to continue to deliver excellent services to our communities and become a more modern, responsive Employer of Choice”.

Paul Thomas, Assistant Chief Executive said: “Thinqi has been procured with a ‘Once for Wales’ approach and it is expected that this will transform our learning across boundaries. The procurement has been carried out jointly with Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s, with all 22 local authorities and other public sector bodies listed on the All-Wales Contract. If we can share the learning, then that combined resource will be able to further develop the offering to our people”.

The new Thinqi system will be rolled out across departments over the coming months, making it simpler to access relevant learning you need, including all our ‘Essential Learning’ within the Council.

Keep an eye out for more updates on the Thinqi rollout from the Learning and Development Team, including training sessions and resources to get you started

In February 2019, we were one of the first local authorities to declare a climate emergency and made a commitment to becoming a net zero carbon local authority by 2030.

We have since been the first local authority in Wales to publish a net zero carbon action plan, which was endorsed by full council in February 2020.

Prosiect Zero Sir Gâr will shine a spotlight on every effort that continues to be made as we work towards being a completely carbon neutral authority by 2030.

To achieve this we’re asking you all to be involved - every effort and change made - large or small - will help towards the target of becoming net carbon zero

We generated 1,317,121 kWh of renewable energy during 2022/23 an increase of 1,106,902kWh from the previous year

The Council’s Total Energy Consumption (kWh) decreased by 5.65% from 67,694,145 in 2021/22 to 63,869,172 kWh in 2022/23

As a council we report annually on emissions deriving from four key areas; Non-domestic buildings, Streetlighting, Fleet mileage and Business milage and we have successfully reduced our carbon emissions by 36% since 2016/17

What we have been doing?

Prosiect Zero Sir Gâr involves everything from ensuring that all new major build projects such as homes and schools are energy efficient and incorporate renewable energy, to retro-fitting older buildings with an extensive range of energy conservation measures, including solar PV panels, LED lighting replacement, lighting controls, pipework insulation, building fabric improvements, boiler upgrades and water and heat saving technology.

As non-domestic buildings account for 70% of our reported CO2e emissions, ‘smart’ meters are in the process of being installed in all Council buildings to enable greater control and monitoring of our utilities consumption. This will also enable automated electronic billing for our utilities to be introduced, thus removing the need for intensive checking of paper-based invoices and credit notes.

How can you make a difference ?

Prosiect Zero Sir Gâr is about everyone a lot of us doing little things can make a big difference.
Energy - Use as little Energy as possible
• Turn off lights and appliances when not in use
• Do not leave computer screens on standby
• Do the lights need to be on? If there is enough natura light, turn the lights off.
• If you can use the stairs instead of a lift
• Encourgae everyone to have a hot drink at the same time. This prevents the kettle being boiled serval times.
• Do not have windows open and the heating on at the same time
• Ensure the building is only being heated when people are occupying it
Find out more about Net Zero Carbon by 2030 and Prosiect Zero Sir Gâr

I’ve got an idea

If you have an idea, or your already playing you part no matter how small. Share your Idea

The schools workstream led by Director of Education and Childrens Services, Gareth Morgans, meets monthly with the aim of identifying cost reductions and better ways of working, and supporting the development of more sustainable school budgets to help protect front line provision.

Sharing and disseminating good business practice.

To support consistency and promote best practice in school administration a series of networking opportunities for administrative staff have been developed.

It is recommended a member of the administrative team from each school should attend these events, which will include information advice, guidance and training from a range of county officers, external presenters and experienced colleagues.

Networking, advice and development meetings will be held termly. These sessions are designed to support the sharing of good practice and dissemination of information, advice and training for all personnel with responsibility for school administration.

Primary Business Managers and Administrators
17/10/2023, 21/02/2024, 15/05/2024 9am-12.30pm Neuadd Y Gwendraeth

Secondary Business Managers and Administrators
19/10/2023, 22/02/2024, 16/05/2024 1-4pm Neuadd Y Gwendraeth

Efficiency and Benchmarking

A range of Benchmarking and Efficiency matrices have been developed to support School Leaders and Governing bodies in identifying areas in which adjustments can be made to promote operational and financial efficiency.

Following the agreement of Secondary Headteachers to share data, a Curriculum, Staffing and Financial benchmarking exercise was undertaken. The findings of this review have been shared with Headteachers for use as an aid to local decision making and school development planning. The documents enable Senior Leaders to compare key areas of structure and expenditure with other similar schools and to explore the reasons for variances, with a view establishing if a change of approach to an area could result in higher levels of efficiency for the school. Following the success of this pilot consideration is now being given to the best format for a Primary based exercise.

For schools facing more specific financial difficulties the transformation team are supporting Headteachers and Governing bodies with the preparation of detailed efficiency matrices which seek to identify areas of cost saving for schools by undertaking detailed analysis of curriculum and staffing models, and school expenditure patterns.

Following these reviews key actions are identified to support schools in adjusting their processes and practices to support them in moving towards increased efficiency. The workstream is currently prioritising schools who are in, or are facing, deficit positions. If governing bodies of other schools wish to access this support, please contact Allan Carter in the first instance.

SLA’s

Following consultation with School stakeholders work has been undertaken with SLA leads to develop a consistent framework for SLA data and information. The first phase of this work was completed in readiness for the start of the financial year 2023 -24 with the annual SLA costs being collated into one document for each school. The documentation for Annual SLA’s has been brought into a consistent format and Work is ongoing to bring all multi year SLA’s into the same format. This consistent approach is intended to support schools in being able to quickly and efficiently access information about their SLA’s and to support the monitoring of effectiveness and value for money moving forwards.

All SLA documentation has been centralised and can now be found on Porth, individual schools financial information relating to SLA’s is available via My School on the CCC Sharepoint.

Procurement

Schools are encouraged to access the savings available through using the Councils Corporate buying contracts.

The following contracts are open to all schools and recent benchmarking has identified schools accessing the contracts have secured substantial savings. In addition, should any school have issues with any framework suppliers not meeting the service levels required of the contract the CCC procurement team will be able to support in resolving issues and disputes.

   This contract offers free next day delivery on a range of items. They also offer simple compliant online purchasing options and full invoicing and credit facilities. Products available include paper and envelopes, stationery and equipment, exercise books, office supplies and furniture, hygiene and facilities products and PPE.

  This contract offers free next day delivery on a wide range of educational supplies. Please note this is the approved supplier for Schools in Wales. The previous contract holder Consortium is no longer operating under the framework and are under no obligation to meet the delivery and price agreements linked to the framework. The council is also unable to support with service related issued pertaining to the use of Consortium as a supplier.

  This contract offers significant reductions on line rental and equipment costs for telephony. Please be aware there are a number of companies attempting to agree independent contacts with schools at present using the 2025 changes to BT lines as a pretext for initiating contact. Adept is the only approved supplier for schools, they are working in conjunction with the IT department to ensure all schools hardware and infrastructure can support the changes. Schools are strongly encouraged not to sign contracts with other suppliers.
Any school not already using Adept for all phone lines are advised to contact Allan Carter for support in moving to Adept.

The contract for the provision of photocopying devices and services for schools in CCC has now been awarded to Canon. If you are currently in contract to Konica, please contact Allan Carter for advice on the steps required to transition to Canon at the end of your current contract, there is a significant lead time for machines and therefore it is advised all schools start the transition process at least 6 months before their current contract is due to expire. Please DO NOT renew your contract with Konica. The IT department will work with schools at the appropriate time to support a smooth transition to the new systems.

The council has a corporate contract with PHS for hygiene and washroom services. To access the council specific pricing for this contract please contact Dominic Boyle. Please be aware contracts agreed directly with PHS may not be benefiting from the reduced pricing available to schools under the corporate contract. It is recommended all schools establish their current contract expiry date and contact Dominic at least 6 months prior to expiry to allow the more competitive pricing to be applied to future contracts.

If you have any ideas for contracts which could be explored corporately to support schools in accessing improved pricing through group purchasing, please contact the Transformation team.

Waste and Recycling

From April 2024 all commercial waste including schools waste and recycling will by law be required to be sorted at source and collected by type. The council recognises this will present a challenge to schools. To support schools with this change, the council is currently working with CWM environmental to develop a new contract which will provide both efficient services and appropriate storage receptacles both in bin areas and within schools. Schools who are already with CWM will be included in this corporate approach.

Any schools currently using alternative suppliers are encouraged to review their contracts for waste and recycling and to ensure their suppliers are offering appropriate support.

Any school wishing to obtain a quotation for service by CWM should contact Allan Carter for support.

Agency supply

The high cost of agency supply has been recognised as an area for review across all departments in the council. There are currently several pilots and reviews being undertaken to establish the reason for the high agency supply demand and to look at options for supporting departments in reducing the costs involved. To support in this the transformation team are currently undertaking a review of agency supply in schools. We will be approaching schools in the Autumn term to request information and discuss supply needs to support us in ensuring the requirements of schools are understood and to seek any good practice which can be shared to support reduction in costs for schools.

New Supply Framework Pricing

The Welsh Governments’ Commercial Procurement Section has issued a revised Supply Framework for the Engagement of Agency workers for schools. Details of the confidential pricing have been circulated to Headteachers and Senior Administrators via the weekly bulletin. If you manage Supply in your school please contact your Headteacher/Senior Administrator for access to this information.

Have your say

The purpose of transformation is to improve, to become a modern, innovative, and dynamic organisation we all want to work for.  If you have any ideas for ways to make something within the council even better, let us know, all ideas are welcome, transformation is for everyone.

We welcome ideas and suggestions from all members of staff. Even the most outrageous suggestion can sometimes be unpicked to find some very useful ideas which wouldn’t otherwise have been thought of!

• What do customers complain about and how can we stop it from happening?
• Where are the areas of waste or inefficiency in the current process?
• How can the process be improved?
• Can the whole process be done differently?
• What are the essential parts of the process? Can the other bits be stripped out?
• Is there a reason for what is currently being done? Keep asking “Why?” until you get to a reason, or “because we’ve always done it”.
• What wastes your time?

Have your Say

As an authority we have saved over £2m of travel related expenditure since 2012, however, with staff travel claims continuing to be over £1.7m we are continuing to look at how we can reduce this expenditure.  

Recent analysis of staff travel data indicates that staff mileage and associated costs appear to be increasing by about 10% each year.

There are many benefits associated with reducing business travel not just for the council in financial terms but also for you as an individual and for our wider community
• a reduction in travel time
• more flexibility and better work - life balance
• increased productivity
• less traffic, especially at peak times
• less air and noise pollution

Where face to face visits and meetings are required, managers and employees are encouraged to consider the following options as alternatives to using a personal car and making a travel claim.

Pool Cars:
Any member of staff can book a corporate pool car, which are located at Parc Myrddin, Carmarthen and Trostre Depot, Llanelli. Further details on how to book a pool car are available on the intranet

Dedicated team cars are also available in some services such as Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, Planning Services, IT and Housing and Public Protection. If you are unsure whether your team has a pool vehicle or are unsure how to book a vehicle, please check with your line manager.

The accessibility of pool cars is also being reviewed as part of the move to consolidate staff in core buildings across the county and this will also provide an opportunity to ensure that there is adequate pool car provision at these hub sites.

Car hire:
For longer journeys, such as out of county journeys, staff are encouraged to make use of a hire car option as this is considered to be most cost-effective option for higher mileage journeys (e.g. over 60 miles).Further details on how to book a hire car is available on the Travel & Parking pages on the intranet.

Public Transport:
When booked with sufficient notice Coach and Rail travel can offer good alternatives to Car hire with the added benefit that you can relax during your journey and arrive at your destination refreshed and ready to go.

Cycling:
If you are interested in reducing your reliance on your car and are able to cycle to work why not check out the staff Cycle to work scheme Cycle to Work Scheme (buddionstaffcsg.co.uk). The scheme is a council run initiative that has purchased over 300 bicycles to date. It enables staff to hire a bike and/or approved accessories for a 12-month period with an option to buy outright at the end of the term

Parc Myrddin staff there is currently a trial pool bike scheme in operation Staff Pool Bike Scheme

Have your Say

If you have an idea or suggestion on how we can reduce the cost of staff travel and improve the environment for our local communities get in touch and let us know Have your Say 

Travelling to print or post or sign a document?
The transformation team are currently rolling out a number of initiatives to rationalise and/or automate some of the paper-based processes .Introducing these processes will support staff to work in a more hybrid or mobile way. Latest News 

Can you help?
If you are aware of a process or task which is requiring you to attend an office which you believe could be automated and done in a more productive way, please contact the Transformation Team

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A successful rationalisation pilot has  taken place with Housing and Education & Children’s Services (E&CS) staff in Llanelli. E&CS staff based in Llanelli are now working together on a single floor of Ty Elwyn with Housing staff from Eastgate based on another floor alongside Health staff in Ty Elwyn, Llanelli.

A service led re-design of the workspace accommodated the teams across 2 floors with 315 staff comfortably working from 120 desks, with better meeting facilities and flexible working spaces created. This model can now be applied across the authority but will be adjusted to reflect the way that each service works as we recognise that not all teams work in the same way.

Ty Elwyn, Llanelli, flexible working spaces and better meeting facilities

The council’s Transformation Programme will help drive significant change to ensure that we continue to be innovative and provide high quality services cost effectively over the next five years (2027).

A key aim is to invest in our staff, buildings and technology to encourage modern working practices, speed up processes as well as developing the skills, culture and behaviours required to make change possible.

If you have any ideas for ways to make something within the council even better, let us know, all ideas are welcome, transformation is for everyone.

Have your say

Learn more about the Workplace workstream

Help us continue to become a paperless authority

We are continually improving our recycling rates but what if we didn’t need to recycle in the first place?
What if we could avoid having to purchase and store the paper in the first place?
What if you could manage all your correspondence needs without having to leave your desk?

Well now you can.
The Digital and Customers Workstream of the Transformation Programme have been identifying and have set up paperless options that everyone can benefit from – meaning less travel, less paper and easier – as well as making the planet a better place.

The environmental benefit
• Every 15 seconds 199 tons of paper is produced,
• To make just 1 tonne of paper takes 2,700 litres of water.
• 93% of paper comes from trees
• 50% of a business waste is composed of paper
• Recycling 1 tonne of paper saves around 1400 litres of oil, 26500 litres of water and 17 trees
• (data source The world counts)

The cost benefit
• Purchasing stationery (paper, envelopes, staples, files, plastic wallets)
• Buying and maintaining printers.
• Storage space with suitable security for confidential items
• Destroying confidential material when its retention expires
• Recycling non confidential waste

The time benefit
• Travelling to a printer
• Collating documents
• Distributing for signature
• Copying
• Filing
• Stuffing envelopes
• Franking mail
• Going to the mail areas

What’s new and how can you get involved?

Electronic Signatures

It’s no longer necessary for documents to be physically signed and stored as a hard copy. We are in the process of deploying a suite of digital alternatives to wet signatures. This will allow documents to be electronically stored without the need to print, sign and re-scan.

There is an electronic solution for everyone. If you are currently producing hard copy documents for signatures and are not sure which paperless alternatives will work best for you, you can find out more here

Hybrid Mail

To support us in minimising the need to print, frank and post mail from our offices we now have a contract in place with a regulated and approved supplier of mail services, Govmail.

Moving forward there will be less need to purchase paper and print or collate mail shots into envelopes. There will be less need for us to hire or purchase franking equipment. Physical mail can now be sent with a few clicks of your mouse. Instead of sending your item to print it could be diverted directly to the Govmail system where it will be printed and sent via Royal Mail for you. In addition, the postage costs are reduced due to the increased purchasing power for the mail provider which CCC could never hope to achieve.

Whatever your postage need be it two letters a month or tens of thousands of letters in a mail shot with multiple enclosures there will be a system to support you. You can find out more here.

If you have any ideas for ways to make something within the council even better, let us know, all ideas are welcome, transformation is for everyone.

Have your say

Learn more about the Customers and Digital Tranformation workstream

The Transformation Board has approved the following Service Improvement Review Framework to ensure we have a  robust process for the service reviews where opportunities for transformational change and improvement identified are optimised and departments are supported in progressing their projects alongside their essential ongoing work.