Unite would like to discuss the Wellbeing Survey being undertaken by ACAS and union involvement in its development.
Minutes:
The Staff Side had asked for a discussion to take place concerning the Wellbeing Survey that had been undertaken by ACAS. They wanted to know if they could be involved in its development.
The Director of HR expressed surprise that the matter was being raised at the LJCC. He advised that he had previously met with the Unions to discuss the survey and had promised that it would be looked at in the new financial year.
Ms Slater asserted that there had been no meetings to discuss the issue since the previous meeting of the LJCC. She said that although the matter had been raised at the LJCC meeting in July, it had been some time since the Committee had met and that therefore it was not inappropriate for the matter to be raised again.
Kathy Smith (Unite) stated that as far as the Unions were concerned, the discussion that the Director had referred to around the well-being survey had not taken place, and she asked for a copy of the minutes to be provided. The Director assured that a copy of the minutes would be provided. The Director mentioned that email correspondence had also taken place concerning the matter. Ms Slater remarked that the email correspondence related to a different issue.
Ms Slater stated that a previous unminuted discussion about the nature of the survey as a ‘staff wellbeing survey’ had taken place, where the Director of HR had confirmed that there would be an ACAS ‘wellbeing survey’ likely to reflect the experience Cllr King was familiar with in relation to such surveys. The Director of HR said that it was not specifically a ‘wellbeing survey’ but was a ‘staff engagement survey’ which was more broadly based.
Councillor Fawthrop suggested that the Unions be allowed to submit additional questions that could be considered for incorporation into the survey. The Director agreed that additional questions could be added to the survey as required.
Councillor King asked when the survey was going to take place. He also asked for clarification as to the nature of the survey—was it a well-being survey or not? The Director replied that it was a ‘staff engagement survey’. However, it was possible to add additional questions to the survey which could be related to well-being.
The Director drew attention to the sterling work that had been undertaken by Nicola Musto around mental health issues. The work had been carried out with the support of the Council and Ms Musto continued to raise awareness of mental health issues.
Ms Smith referenced a previous survey that had been undertaken by the Departmental Representatives concerning what was required to transform Bromley into a ‘Dream Organisation’. She said that it was her understanding that only 12 responses to the survey had been received. She stated that the survey should have the ‘right’ questions incorporated, along with relevant engagement from staff and unions. The survey should make a difference to people’s lives and should not be undertaken just as a formal exercise.
The Leader noted the excellent work undertaken by MsMusto and provided clarification on the ‘12’ responses that had been mentioned by Ms Smith. He said that the number ‘12’ was not the total number of responses that had been received; it was the number of Departmental Representatives that had sent in responses on behalf of their Departments. The Director of HR confirmed that this was the case.
Sally Tsoukaris said that the survey should be a meaningful exercise, and that was why the unions were seeking to be involved. She asked if a draft of the proposed questions could be provided to the unions. This would avoid duplication. Councillor Nicholas Bennett supported this.
RESOLVED that LBB’s draft survey questions are disseminated to the Staff Side in due course to streamline the process and to avoid duplication.