Report of the Deputy Chief Executive.

This report provides an overview of the Council’s Workforce Strategy and highlights the progress and achievements made to build a talented, diverse and thriving workforce that has the capacity and capability to deliver the Corporate Plan, Our Manchester Strategy and deliver excellent services to residents.

The committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive which provided an overview of the Council’s Workforce Strategy and highlighted the progress and achievements made to build a talented, diverse and thriving workforce.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       Workforce-related successes achieved in 2024 so far;

·       The five strategic priorities within the workforce strategy were:

o   Attract, develop and retain diverse talent

o   An inclusive employer that represents the communities that we serve at all levels

o   Develop world-class leaders and managers

o   High performing workforce that delivers great services for our residents

o   Healthy, engaged and thriving workforce.

·       The objectives and activities of the Council’s Talent Plan;

·       The objectives and activities of the Health and Wellbeing Plan, which launched in 2024;

·       How the Workforce Equality Strategy and Race Review Action Plan were delivered;

·       Key achievements in the last 12 months, including within leadership, management and education and learning;

·       Policy, processes and systems in place;

·       How equality, diversity and inclusion was celebrated and awareness raised in Council communications;

·       The disciplinary process;

·       The impact of the strategy;

·       A refresh of the strategy, which would launch in November through an extensive city-wide campaign designed to raise awareness and embed the strategy; and

·       Diversity targets.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·       Diversity targets and how these compared with previous years;

·       The number of BAME staff at a senior level;

·       What key actions were taken to tackle the underrepresentation of BAME staff in senior roles;

·       If there was scope for collaborative initiatives with external organisations to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) goals across the city and to address systemic barriers to employment;

·       Whether the redefining of the disciplinary process was addressing issues with unconscious bias; and

·       If flexible working was offered to those employees struggling with stress and stress-related illness.

The Director of HROD and Transformation stated that the Council needed to be able to attract and retain talent, create the right culture, have staff who were healthy and supported and provide access to learning and development in order to tackle inequality in the workforce. He stated that significant progress had been made in the last year but that there was still more to be done. He explained that the refreshed Workforce Equality Strategy set out the work that the Council would continue to do over the next four years and highlighted targets to be achieved over this period. 

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The Head of Workforce Strategy recognised that the Council was continuing to make good progress since the independent Race Review in 2019 and that representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff had increased at all levels including senior management. He explained that there was a focus on staff experience and that the staff survey had highlighted positives, such as 88% of BAME respondents agreeing that the Council was a great place to work. He stated that the refreshed Workforce Strategy represented the next chapter of the Council’s equality, diversity and inclusion journey and continued with a commitment to advancing this through actions that were co-designed with staff. He stated that the Council wanted to tackle key challenges and this included addressing anti-racism and cultural and organisational transformation.  

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Members of staff attended the meeting to share their experiences of working at the Council. One staff member explained that she had taken part in the LeadHERship programme which she stated gave her insights, support and confidence to develop further and to help other women to recognise the career opportunities at the Council. She was also a facilitator of Lets Talk About Race training and had co-hosted at the Council’s Leadership Summit, which she stated demonstrated the Council’s commitment to listening to the voice of staff. Another explained that he had worked on two corporate-wide strategies, which provided him the opportunity to utilise his lived experience as a young, black man. He was also a member of the Race Equality Network and Steering Group and stated that he felt a responsibility to empower others within the workforce to support and drive change and to ensure accountability. He explained that he had contributed to the Workforce Equality Strategy Action Plan and was consulting with other members of the Steering Group to ensure that their voices and opinions were heard. A further staff member explained that she was also a member of the Race Equality Network, which she stated provided an opportunity to share her lived experiences with forums such as Scrutiny Committee. She explained that 300 staff members had attended webinars during Black History Month which highlighted a collective desire to learn. In addition, she also expressed her excitement to continue working with senior colleagues on the Workforce Equality Strategy.  

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Councillor Ahmed Ali, Lead Member for Race, highlighted that around 40% of Manchester’s population were from a BAME background and that the Council’s Making Manchester Fairer programme aimed to tackle systemic racism and discrimination and to improve health, housing and economic indicators amongst the city’s BAME community. He stated a need for inclusive leadership, equalities training to have a completion rate above 90% and an acceleration in recruitment and promotion to ensure that those in decision-making roles better represented the city’s diverse population. He acknowledged progress with recruitment and within the disciplinary process but highlighted the need for further behavioural change. He commended the engagement with staff from BAME backgrounds and recognised the knowledge and experience of staff who were passionate to work for the Council.  

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Councillor Igbon, Lead Member for Race (Women), recognised that the Council was listening to staff and ensuring that their voices were heard. She suggested that it would be beneficial to measure the number of BAME staff at directorate level in each service area and that Lets Talk About Race training should be rolled out to elected members. She noted that 61% of BAME employees responded to the staff survey but emphasised the importance of increasing this response rate and further reiterated the need to address racism and react where this may affect staff, such as the recent disturbances over the summer.  

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In response to members’ queries, the Director of HROD and Transformation advised that the report provided an overall breakdown of the composition of the workforce and that there was no diversity targets set until this year when the Workforce Equality Strategy was refreshed. It was also confirmed that 11 members of staff at a senior level were from the BAME community.  

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The Director of HROD and Transformation explained that underrepresentation of BAME employees at a senior level could be addressed through recruitment and selection processes which had an emphasis on equality, but he noted that recruiting to senior roles often provided challenges such as requiring previous local government experience and a specialist skillset. The Head of Workforce Strategy explained that the approach to senior recruitment was being reviewed as the Council was mindful that it was not attracting diverse talent for these roles. He acknowledged a need to engage with and be visible to communities and candidates to promote the Council as an employer of choice and the employment opportunities available. He informed the committee that the approach to recruitment was being modernised using social media and LinkedIn, which the labour market typically used to search for vacancies. The committee was also advised that learning and practice on this work was shared between the Greater Manchester authorities and other organisations. 

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In response to a query regarding the redefining of the disciplinary process, the Director of HROD and Transformation stated that this was an area which highlighted the importance of behavioural and cultural change. He explained that statistics within the report included cases referred for a preliminary meeting which was used to decide whether a formal disciplinary procedure was required. He recognised that more progress was needed on this as there remained a disproportionately high number of BAME employees being subject to the disciplinary process and more needed to be done to understand and tackle the reasons behind this. 

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The Head of Workforce Strategy explained that the Health and Wellbeing Strategy placed a significant focus on early intervention and prevention and tackling the root causes of stress, such as workload and demand. He advised that HR worked with services to understand and identify solutions for employees experiencing stress and this may include workplace adjustments such as flexible working.  

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The Deputy Chief Executive explained that this work played a key role in the Our Transformation programme and highlighted the importance of the workforce’s culture and that the Council was on a journey to be a proficient, culturally competent organisation where equality was at the heart of all activity. He advised members that the Joint Consultative Committee and trade union colleagues regularly sought updates in respect of this work and recognised that there was more to do, but the Council remained committed to making sustained and embedded changes.  

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The Executive Member for Finance and Resources stated that all of the Council’s strategies and initiatives were underpinned by the belief that staff were the most valuable asset. He explained that the Workforce Equalities Strategy sought to prevent the bullying, harassment and intimidation of individuals and ensured that all identities were valued, recognised and respected. He acknowledged that significant progress had been made with more to do, and placed on record his thanks to all those who had contributed to this progress since the 2019 Race Review. 

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In concluding this item of business, the Chair thanked the respective staff members for their attendance and contributions.  

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Decision: 

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That the report be noted.