Staff survey
We’ve just received the initial results from this year’s staff survey and I’m pleased to say most of the issues are moving in the right direction.
Here are some headlines:
The overall response rate was 2% higher than last year and it’s encouraging to see the number of hard copy responses had more than doubled from last year, hopefully indicating that staff working in remote sites had a greater input than ever before.
No area performed worse than last year and in many areas staff responses were much more positive. For instance, awareness of safeguarding has improved significantly since the last survey which is really good news. The results indicate there’s still work to be done in this area but that we’re heading in the right direction.
The experiences of bullying and harassment have dropped compared to last year, but almost 60% of those who had experienced it did not report it. We need to understand why this is the case and I’ll be asking for views on this.
The full results are available on Staffnet by following this link www.swansea.gov.uk/staffnet/staffsurvey and I‘ve asked for the survey to be sent to the Innovation Community for analysis and observations.
I’m hoping we’ll be able to use these results at the It’s All About You 2 event at the Marriott Hotel next week which I hope many of you will be able to attend.
In the meantime, I’ve asked CMT members to consider the results relating to their service areas and develop plans to address those areas which need improving.
CMT away day
There was a full agenda for the CMT away day on Wednesday this week. We started with a presentation on city centre funding from Phil Holmes and Huw Mowbray which set out the proposals for the next decade. Securing the funding will be challenging but doing nothing is not an option and further reports will now be brought to Cabinet and Council to progress this corporate priority.
Also on the agenda was a 178-page report on the Leading Learners strategy for the education service presented by our Chief Education Officer, Lindsay Harvey. The strategy sets out in detail the aims, outcomes and work plan for the future and this was debated at some length, given that pupil attainment is another of our key corporate priorities. The strategic aims focus on three areas: empowering schools, transforming central education services and improving learning environments.
CMT members emphasised the need to have clear links to other corporate priorities, particularly poverty, the economy and safeguarding, and supported the report which will now be discussed with the Cabinet and hopefully be formally endorsed.
Thanks to Lindsay and his team in education for this mammoth piece of work.
Budget
Our budget discussions have all but drawn to a close for now with the recent challenge sessions going well. It’s meant we’ve been able to propose a series of budget reductions to go to Cabinet on December 12. Following that we’ll be launching a public consultation and holding staff roadshows to get feedback on the proposals. Then in February we’ll report back on the feedback and Cabinet and Council will discuss the 2017/18 budget proposals. These discussions are never easy so thank you to everyone involved so far.
Spike
Next Friday will be the last working day for Mike Davies in Unison, better known to the rest of us as Spike. Spike began work with us in March 1979 as a clerical officer with the City Treasurer’s Officer (Swansea City Council). He held a variety of posts in the Treasurer’s department, reaching senior officer level rapidly through a series of promotions. In May 2001 he started his Unison duties one day per week and in June 2004 he was seconded to Unison on a full-time basis. This was originally intended for a year but it was extended annually and he has remained in the post of Branch Secretary up until his last day with us! Spike and I have had numerous meetings and discussions since he took up his Unison duties. These have often involved difficult and contentious workforce issues and on many occasions management and the trade union did not see eye to eye. Throughout these negotiations and discussions Spike conducted himself professionally and appropriately, representing his members passionately and with great integrity. He has become an institution in the council and will be sorely missed by me and many others. I will, however, inevitably bump into him in future given our common love of the Swans and the Brunswick Inn. I wish him all the best for the future. He will be having his leaving do at the Bay View from 5.30pm on November 25 and all are invited.
Safeguarding
This week has been National Safeguarding Week and teams across the council have been showing their support online and attending events aimed at improving practice and developing networks. More than half our staff have done the mandatory safeguarding training and, if you’ve not done yours, I’d urge you to participate soon.
Community spirit
Our libraries are at the heart of our communities. A great example of this recently saw a man come into Morriston Library with an old paper copy of his CV. We work in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions Communities for Work team and a staff member was on hand to help him update his CV on a computer. His CV was sent to employers and he’s now been offered a job. It just goes to show the support our libraries and partnerships provide.
Christmas cheer
Waterfront Winterland will return to Museum Park in the grounds of the National Waterfront Museum from this evening, so my thanks to staff in events and marketing for its organisation and promotion. The Admiral ice rink, a children’s ice rink, Santa’s grotto and a big wheel all again feature.
A Christmas Market on Oxford Street and Santa’s grotto on Portland Street will be running from Thursday (November 24) until December 21. Thanks to staff in our city centre team for their work in helping arrange these attractions.
City centre
Representatives from Swansea’s business community will be at an event at Meridian Quay on Monday, where they’ll be updated on progress of plans to redevelop the St David’s site. Consultation with businesses and residents will follow over coming weeks as Rivington Land, the company we’ve appointed to manage the regeneration of the site, head towards the submission of an outline planning application in March.
Finally, you may have recently read about US basketball superstar Steve Nash’s links with Swansea. Our tourism team are making the most of these links by sending Steve a basketball-themed info-graphic on Twitter, encouraging him to visit Swansea Bay in future. A great idea!
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