Council Staff Have Their Say

Members of staff at Herefordshire Council - the County’s biggest employer - have said the authority is good to work for.

Around 40 per cent of the Council’s 5,500 employees completed a survey which asked them, among other things, what they thought of the Council, their working conditions and opportunities for training.

65 per cent of those who replied said the Council is good to work for – a six per cent increase compared to last year, and ten per cent more said they will still be working for the Council in a year’s time compared with the survey carried out in 2005.

Other improvements included:
 
· 67 per cent of those who replied said their targets and standards are achievable (61 per cent last year)
· 63 per cent said communications in their service area works well (58 per cent last year)

“These are very encouraging results and demonstrate the results of the extra efforts we’ve been making to make the Council a better employer,” said David Johnson, the Council’s Head of Human Resources.

“Staff are key to the successful delivery of services to every community in every corner of the County. Without our staff we couldn’t deliver the quality services we do,” added David.

“We’re particularly pleased that 40 per cent of our staff members took the time to complete the questionnaire – this was a two per cent improvement over the return rate for the survey last year.”

To make it easier for staff to answer the survey, it was made available electronically for the first time.

“In many areas of the survey the clear message from employees is that things are getting better.

“We’ve had a difficult year seeing through Single Status and Job Evaluation, but we’ve put measures in place and invested in our staff. These have paid off and I’m please to say we have a happier and more content workforce now than we had 12 months ago,” added David.

One of the measures put in place is the authority’s Pay and Workforce Development Strategy which looks at leadership, organisation development, skills development, pay and reward and resourcing across the Council.

“We’re not complacent though. More of our staff – 56 per cent this year compared with 62 per cent last year – said they felt they could do their job without working long hours, while five per cent fewer were satisfied with their work environment this year compared to last year.

“Overall, these figures are a step in the right direction – we know we’re not there yet, but we’re continuing to invest in our staff to ensure the best for the County.”