Issue - meetings

Ticki Toogood, Organisational Development Manager gave a presentation on Organisational Development to the Panel which covered the following:

·  What is Organisational Development?

·  Corporate Strategy

·  Our progress

·  OD principles

·  Emerging Themes

·  What will success look like?

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Pearce asked how OD is different from other approaches. The officer explained that it is about involving people, getting ownership and getting people to be involved in solutions to problems. Andrew Pate, Strategic Director for Resources explained that the organisation has changed over the last 4/5 years and will change again in the next 4/5 years. He explained that the leadership team has worked on this approach to ensure that people are more alive to changes and that silos are broken down. Councillor Pearce asked if this learning has filtered down, the Director explained that work has been done to get the message out but this is a challenge. He explained that if the PDR system is simpler, it is more likely to work.

Councillor Barrett asked if the authority grows its own talent and does this show in the percentage of staff that are promoted rather than being recruited externally. He also pointed to the recent move away from external support and asked if savings have been made. William Harding – Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development explained that the reference in the report refers to the spend on OD rather than spend in general. In past year £100-£130k has been spent on external help and now it is £20 - £30k. He stated that the point regarding growing internal talent is valid and more attention is now being put to learning and development.

Councillor Furse commented that there is a balance to be struck between maintaining a highly skilled workforce and making savings. The Strategic Director added that apprenticeships and developing skills are important. He explained that this presentation is new and is at an early stage but that it will help the organisation.

Councillor Dando stated that it is a good presentation about getting ownership from individuals and it is good this is being done internally.

Councillor Goodman asked if salaries have an impact in officers rising through the ranks of the organisation. The officer stated that there is another piece of work being done regarding the workforce and development plan in the financial context.

William Harding added that in this ‘millennial generation’ there is a body of evidence that motivations are different from past generations and money is not always the main motivation. He added that for the first time there will be five generations in the workforce.