Agenda item

Report of the Chief Fire Officer

John Buckley, Chief Fire Officer, presented the report which updates members on organisational development and inclusion activities taking place within the organisation. Matt Sysmey, Equality and Diversity Officer, was in attendance to respond to questions.

The following points were highlighted and responses given to members’ questions:

(a)  the report provides an overview of the organisational cultural and behavioural values change to date;

(b)  there has been a focus on aspiring leaders at every level of the Service. There were 32 applications for the aspiring leaders course, the majority of which were female. As a result several secondments are underway and coaching is taking place as part of a holistic approach to developing careers;

(c)  a trial of ‘three hundred and sixty degree’ appraisals, with input from senior and junior colleagues, has been welcomed by staff as improving awareness and inclusiveness and will now be rolled out;

(d)  the staff suggestion scheme ‘little acorns’ continues to receive valuable suggestions at every level;

(e)  the focus on a diverse workforce is not merely about numbers but also progressing diversity of thinking and behaviours change;

(f)  the comprehensive programme of positive action has resulted in applications from 40 candidates during the recruitment drive, 13 of which are female and 7 are from a Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, which is the most diverse result yet;

(g)  55% of staff responded to the staff survey which is an increase on last year’s response of 40%. 84% of respondents would recommend the Service as a good place to work but only one third were happy with middle management. A working group will be established to develop an action plan to respond to and address the issues raised in the survey;

(h)  the Service is no longer listed in the Stonewall Top 100 Employers but this is due to the positive progress of other organisations;

(i)  the recruitment process is still at an early stage so there are no guarantees that all candidates will succeed. However, a female firefighter is actively supporting female candidates by running gym fitness sessions in preparation of the fitness tests;

(j)  communication with staff is regular and in different formats such as bulletins and via the intranet. It is appreciated that not all retained staff will regularly access such information, so a face-to-face communication approach with managers is to be promoted. The staff survey was helpful in understanding how staff prefer to receive communications;

(k)  staff may provide their details but the staff survey can be competed anonymously. It is hosted by an external company and every measure is taken to ensure that individuals cannot be identified. However, some staff remain sceptical.

Councillor Andrew Brown and Councillor Johnathan Wheeler reported that they had visited fire stations local to their constituencies and met crews. It was a concern that it appeared that there were some areas where communications needed improving to ensure that staff were informed of current circumstances, positions and activity. Meeting staff in person had proved a valuable experience which should be promoted to all members of the Authority.

The Chair welcomed as valuable both the positive and negative feedback by members of the Authority following their visits to stations and meeting with staff, emphasising the importance of staff being as open as possible in raising issues, suggestions and concerns.

REOLVED

(1)  to note the progress made in the organisational development and inclusion agenda;

(2)  to agree to receive further annual updates in this area.