The Staffing Policy Committee of Wiltshire Council met on 26 November 2025 to discuss workforce analytics, management development, employee experience, and recruitment practices. The committee was scheduled to receive updates on the Biannual Workforce Report, the Management Development Initiative, the Employee Experience Survey, the Exit Interviews Project, and the SEND Recruitment Project. Councillors were also expected to review and approve the minutes from a previous meeting.

Biannual Workforce Report

The committee was scheduled to receive the Biannual Workforce Report, containing workforce analytics data up to and including September 2025. The report included data and metrics about the council's workforce demographics, salary costs, recruitment, development, sickness absence, turnover, and employee relations.

The report noted that headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) had risen quarter-on-quarter over the last 3 years. It was noted that many of the new posts in services such as Adult Social Care, Education and Skills, and Highways and Transport are funded by ring fenced grants. The report also noted a steady decline in agency staff.

The report stated that Wiltshire Council has a predominantly female workforce, with females accounting for 74.1% of the total workforce and males 25.9% as of the end of September 2025.

The report stated that the total cost of permanent salaries amounted to £167.9 million between October 2024 and September 2025.

The report noted that total agency costs have fallen by 43.18% in the last year with Adult Social Care and Planning, Economy and Regeneration experiencing the greatest reduction.

The report stated that recruitment numbers remain lower than in previous years, and there has been a noticeable decline since the introduction of the additional approval step in September.

The report stated that there are currently 267 staff undertaking apprenticeships from Level 2 – Level 7.

The report stated that over the last 12 months there has been a 9.5% rise in sickness days lost per FTE across the workforce compared to the previous year, rising from 8.99 to 9.85 days lost per FTE.

The report stated that mental health and stress-related absences remain the primary contributor to sickness absence, accounting for 32.3% of all days lost in the last 12 months.

The report stated that while sickness days lost per FTE across the council workforce have risen in the last 12 months, total sickness costs have declined by 3.6% (from £5.31m down to £5.11m) when compared to the previous 12-month period.

The report stated that the latest quarterly turnover figure (2.52%) shows a sudden rise in turnover. The latest annual voluntary turnover rate is 9.51%.

Management Development Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the Autumn 2025 launch of LEAD, Wiltshire Council's new Management Development initiative, designed to improve consistency in management practice and enhance employee experience.

LEAD stands for Leadership, Excellence, Accountability, and Development. It is designed to equip both emerging and experienced managers with the skills, confidence, and mindset needed to lead effectively. LEAD encompasses the following offer:

• Manager Framework
• Mandatory Training for Current Managers
• Self-assessment and 360 Tools
• Manager Hub
• Wiltshire Leader Programme
• Ongoing support and guidance

Employee Experience Survey Corporate Actions

The committee was scheduled to receive the proposed corporate actions arising from the 2025 Employee Experience Survey. The survey achieved a strong response rate of 68.9%, with over 3,500 staff participating. The survey provided insights into what matters most to the workforce, including:

• High levels of pride and purpose
• Strong peer relationships
• Concerns around workload, recognition, and inclusivity

The proposed corporate actions are grounded in:

• Quantitative and qualitative survey data
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) analysis of free text comments
• Statistical modelling of engagement drivers
• Alignment with the Our Wiltshire Plan 2025–2035

The strategic pillars containing the actions and activity planned to address them are:

• Wellbeing & Inclusion
• Management & Leadership Capability (LEAD programme)
• Employee Engagement

Exit Interviews Project Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress to date regarding the exit interview data review project. All employees are requested to complete an exit questionnaire on leaving employment with Wiltshire Council. The exit questionnaire enables the council to identify areas where things are working well and any areas that need improvement.

The exit interview questionnaire form does not currently distinguish between leavers from the Council and leavers who are internal movers within the Council. The HR Strategy team is revising the form to create two versions to more accurately reflect leaver data.

The questionnaire form will also be updated to include more detailed questions regarding the pay and benefits of roles that the leaver is moving to, thus supporting future role and salary benchmarking against the market.

An additional template is being created to assist HR when conducting face-to-face exit interviews.

It is proposed that a dashboard will be created by the Council's Data & Insight team which will enable live up to date analysis of the data from both the leaver and internal mover surveys.

SEND Recruitment Project Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on ongoing work to improve recruitment practices for individuals with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The aim is to promote inclusive practices, reduce barriers, and ensure alignment with equalities legislation.

Wiltshire Council continues to face challenges in recruiting individuals with SEND. Traditional recruitment processes often disadvantage neurodivergent individuals and those with learning difficulties.

Initial scoping work has begun to identify areas within the council's recruitment practices that may unintentionally disadvantage candidates with SEND. Early findings suggest that traditional recruitment methods, particularly formal interviews and competency-based scoring systems, may not accurately reflect the practical skills required for many council roles.

Work has begun in exploring alternative approaches that could offer a more equitable experience for SEND candidates. For example, roles in leisure, libraries, facilities management and customer service may be better suited to practical or working interviews, which provide a more realistic and inclusive evaluation of a candidate's capabilities.

A pilot project involving individuals with SEND who are supported by the WEST team is being worked on. This initiative is designed to test inclusive recruitment approaches in practice, gather feedback from participants and hiring managers, and identify effective reasonable adjustments that can be scaled across the council.