The Richmond and Wandsworth Joint Staffing Committee met on Monday 11 November 2024 to discuss workforce indicators and trends, and the proposed structure of the Place directorate. The committee approved the recommendations for the new Place directorate structure.

Proposed Structure of the Place Directorate

The committee discussed and approved a new structure for the Place directorate, which will lead to the recruitment of three substantive Director roles. This decision was supported by three votes to one, with one abstention. The committee also agreed to commence recruitment to the agreed structures and roles, with four votes to one in favour. Finally, the committee agreed to delegate final post titles, terms, and recruitment packages to the Chief Executive and Head of Paid Service, based on input from recruitment advisers, with four votes to one. The Interim Director of Place, Mr Moore, was present to explain the proposed structure and its benefits, noting that Option 3 was recommended. Members sought assurances on how the structure would work in practice and requested further information on costings, which the Interim Director of Place undertook to provide.

Workforce Indicators and Trends

The committee considered a report on workforce indicators and trends, noting improvements in the format of the report. Members discussed agency spend, with overall spend with Adecco trending downwards and being favourable compared to the London median. However, off-contract spend for specialist staff remains a significant factor. The existing contract for agency staffing has been extended for two years, providing an opportunity for a more comprehensive review of the councils' needs for agency staff.

Improvements were noted in 'time to hire' statistics, and employee relations cases were reported as relatively low. A concern was raised regarding mental health-related sickness absence, which remains the most common reason for absence and is almost twice as high as absence due to colds and flu. Officers committed to exploring organisational learning from mental health referrals and interventions.

The Interim Assistant Director of OD and Internal Communications outlined work with HR business partners to expand their roles in workforce planning and development, aiming to improve recruitment and retention, particularly in care directorates where staff retention is a national challenge. The professional career progression work in the Housing directorate was highlighted as a model to replicate. Officers also agreed to report back on reasons for short staff retention periods and recommended actions as part of the Great Employer portfolio work.

The Executive Director of Change and Innovation undertook to check the accuracy of figures in the recruitment section of the report and to clarify the use of median versus mean averages in tables and graphs. The committee noted the contents of the report.