Agenda item

Amanda George, Director of Business Change and Customer Services, introduced the report and gave a presentation which covered the following:

·  Background

·  Keynsham Civic Centre

·  Design images for Keynsham Civic Centre

·  Other office accommodation (Lewis House/Guildhall and The Hollies)

·  Staff engagement

·  New technology

·  Impact of the changes

·  Impact of the changes – Climate Change

·  In summary

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

Councillor Hal MacFie asked if there is a figure on how many people would use the bus to travel to Keynsham Civic Centre. The officer explained that there is currently a staff travel survey and results would be shared.

Councillor Andy Furse stated that the data shows that hybrid working has had little impact on staff retention. How is performance/productivity measured? The officer explained that data from the staff survey showed that more staff had regular 1 to 1 performance conversations with their manager as this is more accessible online and people do not need to travel. A new online system is currently being peer reviewed which would record objectives and productivity.

Councillor Lucy Hodge stated that she had had feedback from some officers about it being unclear what the plans are regarding days spent in the office from June. She stated that she would have liked to see more metrics from the staff survey and also to see the questions asked in the survey. She stated that it would be useful to ask how travel has changed. Also, she asked if the reduction in the cost of meetings was referring to business meetings. The officer stated that it was a valid point that plans were not clear for June but this is being addressed. There is someone in post now who will create information packs for managers who will cascade this to staff. Every team who has asked will have a dedicated team space. We are committed to being flexible. The officer stated that she could share the questions from the staff survey and will also share the results of the current travel survey.

Councillor Shaun Hughes asked about the fuel savings mentioned – the officer explained that this saving was from business travel reimbursement. The officer stated that she would provide the response rate on the staff survey and also a breakdown by department on staff retention.

Councillor Hughes asked about the carbon footprint in moving from heating one large building, to heating 12,000 homes of staff working from home. The officer explained that it is hard to model this data because all homes are heated differently. There are currently studies regarding the impact of working from home. Keynsham Civic Centre will have the capacity of 650 staff per day. 450 staff are moving out of Bath but staff in offices will be spread over the week, not everyone will be in every day.

Councillor Hughes asked if the Hollies would be refurbished. The officer explained that there is collaboration space and hot desking on the top floor and that there would be a programme of work of improvements to the building eventually.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the report and presentation.