Agenda item

A presentation on the HR Dashboard was given by the HR Manager.

The HR Dashboard outlined the following:

Workforce Planning:

·       The establishment was 621 (340 males and 281 females). During the year, the Council had 105 new starters and 70 leavers. 

·       60% of the workforce had been employed by SKDC for less than 5 years.

·       The total combined service of Council Officers is 5,361 years.

·       Exit interviews were used to identify trends which were reported to the Senior Leadership Team.

Reward and Recognition:

·       The Council’s Recognition Strategy included long service awards, employee awards and the ‘#TeamSK Thank You’ scheme which received nearly 600 nominations in 2026.

·       A staff awards evening was held in June 2025. More than 200 nominations for the awards were received prior to the event and 19 awards were presented. 

Wellbeing:

·       A comprehensive wellbeing programme was delivered including more than 50 events across the year to support engagement and resilience.

·       Staff absence levels were 11.40 days per FTE compared to 12.45 days per FTE for 2024/25.

·       The most common reasons for absence (days lost) remained as stress and mental health related illness, back and neck and other musculoskeletal issues. 

 Learning & Development:

·       There were 121 formal learning events during the year.

·       94% of appraisals were completed with the remaining ones being finalised as of May 2026.

·       The outputs were being built into the Workforce Development Plan. 

·       There were 42 colleagues on apprenticeship programmes in varied topics including: senior leadership; joinery; facilities management and IT.

·       Development opportunities this year included: ILM courses; mentoring; internal work experience; coaching; and various bitesize learning sessions. 

·       Continued delivery of the Line Manager Forum saw a resilience training programme in March, alongside ongoing Senior Manager Forum engagement to strengthen leadership capability. 

 Equality, Diversity and Inclusion:

·       A focus on being an inclusive place to work in 2025 included: support through the Carer’s Network; celebrating Black History Month; Menopause Cafes; and raising awareness of hidden disabilities.

·       Nearly 70% of the workforce was aged over 40 with the largest proportion in the age range of 50-59. South Kesteven was an accredited ‘Age-Friendly Employer’.

·       The Council currently had a negative Gender Pay Gap meaning that, on average, women were paid slightly more than men across the organisation.  

Employee Experience:

·       Employee engagement levels were measured in an annual survey in June 2025. They demonstrated an increase across the Council. 

·       Feedback sessions took place across all teams to discuss the survey results and to recommend action plans in response to the survey. 

·       The People Panel continued to inform improvements and workforce decisions. The Panel consisted of employees from across the Council (one from each team) who provided feedback, shared employees’ perspectives and acted as a sounding board for proposed changes. 

·       The HR Hub continued to be enhanced to improve policy accessibility and support for employees. 

·       Staff engagement had been maintained during LGR through regular briefings and change planning activities.

During discussions, the following comments were made:

-       Reassurance was sought and given that unsuccessful job applicants were given suitable responses and feedback.

-       The HR Manager expressed that exit interviews had been a successful mechanism that all employees were invited to attend and the results were reported to CMT.

-       Given the high proportion of employee absence due to mental health related matters, it was queried how officers were responding. It was confirmed that, in such instances, the HR were in regular contact with the individual, the individual’s manager, and there was a series of mental health related support available both in-house, with trained first-aiders, and support facilitated externally.

-       It was noted that the number of absence days per-employee had decreased, however, it was still higher than the Council would like. It was pointed out that SKDC was not an outlier in mental health related matters causing a high proportion of absences and not all mental health absences were work-related. The results of the Employee Engagement Survey had indicated employees found SKDC were highly satisfied with their working environment.

-       A Member suggested a report benchmarking absence days per-employee against neighbouring authorities.

-       It was requested that figures be provided showing the number of internal promotions. ACTION

-       Clarity was sought and given that those on degree apprenticeships secured permanent roles.

The HR Dashboard was noted by the committee.