Issue - meetings

The Committee received a presentation from the Executive Director of Business Development on the Council’s Way We Work Programme.

Councillor Harwood, Cabinet Member for Customer Service and Transformation, James Strachan Executive Director for Business Development and Helen Saward, Programme Manager, were in attendance and with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Committee discussed how the Council works, where it works from and the spaces that Council staff work in as well as work styles, behaviours and how the Council could positively impact the customer experience and workplace wellbeing. 

RESOLVED that:

(i)  the Council develops a flexible approach to supporting the purchasing of office furniture for employees;

(ii)  the Council promotes access to, and the uptake of, information and training that supports employees to adopt safe and healthy working environments when working away from civic buildings;

(iii)  in recognition of the new ways of working had changed working practices, the Committee recommended that the Council reviewed its HR policies to help clarify employee and employer expectations and responsibilities;

(iv)  the Council considered opportunities to develop camaraderie and mutual support in the workplace, particularly for new employees;

(v)  the Council committed to identifying and learning from best practice from across the public and private sector in delivering the proposed blended model of working;

(vi)  the Council developed mechanisms to monitor and measure the impacts of the new ways of working on key outcomes, including staff wellbeing, equality within the workplace, Council finances, service performance and customer satisfaction; and

(vii)  the Committee recognised the advantages of flexible and remote working but understands the value of having employees, including senior managers, that live within Southampton and its environs, and understand the city.  If newly recruited employees did not wish to relocate to Southampton the Council needed to understand the reasons behind this and develop approaches that sought to address these issues.