Staff survey 2023

Staff survey 2023

The improvements we have made

In the 2023 Staff Survey, you highlighted job satisfaction, role clarity, and fairness and inclusion as some of the best aspects of working here.

You also pointed out several key areas for improvement. Here's a summary of what we have been working on to improve over the last year:

You told us there were considerable challenges linked to workload and demand in many of your services.

To improve this, we have implemented service planning across the council and updating our council plan to help with prioritisation of work. In Education and Children's Services, the Leadership Team have developed a clear set of overarching priorities for the Directorate. They are also using the service planning cycle to ensure that staff are engaged in discussions about the contributions their services make to these priorities and how we show the impact this has on our residents.

We also heard that resource and capacity presented a real issue for many of you.

To help with this, our newly created Talent Acquisition team are now supporting local and specialised recruitment initiatives to speed up the process and increase success. The E&CS Leadership Team have made significant investments improving the stability of our workforce and reducing dependency on agency staff.

Many of you said that opportunities for career progression could be improved and we need to focus more on working with you to develop your skills and experience.

This is something we're really committed to and our new People Services function which launched in spring 2024, has a clear focus on workforce and succession planning. This includes talent management, a dedicated function on career growth and the use of apprenticeships. Adult Services have increased the number of new social work apprentice posts and introduced a new occupational therapist apprentice scheme. The process for students applying for permanent roles has also been streamlined and a process has been developed for people who have been out of practice to quickly refresh their qualification and secure a permanent position. They are also developing a career progression framework to provide more opportunities for staff.   

We know that Oracle Fusion was a cause of considerable frustration for you throughout 2023.

Since then, our Digital Services colleagues and others have invested significant time and effort to resolve the outstanding issues. They have closed more than 17,000 incidents and delivered over 80 solutions, including annual leave, reporting and data migration issues, as well as the implementation of PALS, a password reset functionality, and a solution to provide files to the council's pension provider.

You provided a variety of feedback on leadership and management at the council, including areas for improvement and greater consistency.

This has led to the development of a leadership framework, Leading Lancashire, which is currently being rolled out across the council to all levels of leaders. The framework for all our people managers will be launched later this month so watch out for that. In E&CS, the Leadership Team have been working more cohesively, with a focus on bringing senior managers together through collaborative leadership team events, to help tackle cross cutting issues within the Directorate.

You told us that change is not always well managed here, and that we need to do better at involving you in shaping changes that affects you.

To improve this, we have established a Change Service that will focus on our corporate portfolio of change priorities working hand in hand with you within services. Our Change Influencer Network continues to grow with the mission of influencing positive change within the council and ensuring that you are involved in shaping those changes wherever possible. A nominated Change Influencer colleague has a seat at the wider Growth, Environment, Transport and Health Directorate Leadership Team monthly meetings to provide updates and address issues raised by staff. Adult Services have also involved staff in the design and implementation of a new strength-based practice model, with positive feedback.

We also heard that we need to improve communication at service and directorate level.

This has led to initiatives such as the Executive Director newsletters, informal staff drop-in sessions with Mark Wynn in Resources, and Directorate Leadership Team regular visits to depots, household waste recycling centres and frontline services across the GETH Directorate to gain a deeper understanding of the issues affecting staff. Similarly, the E&CS Directorate have provided more opportunities for staff to come together, hear from senior leaders, share ideas and experiences, and showcase their services through network events. The GETH Directorate Leadership Team are also exploring opportunities to improve communication with frontline staff with little or no access to the network.