People and Culture Strategy 2024 to 2028

Welcome to our People and Culture Strategy 2024 to 2028 (PDF, 1 MB). This strategy sets out our commitment to the people in our teams and our communities, and to ensuring that we have capacity and people in the right places to deliver on our vision of a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality.

As a Council we are on a journey of transformation and change, reshaping our organisation to ensure that we are prepared to deliver the best public services we can for the people of Perth and Kinross, focussed on need and within available resources.

Our workforce is fundamental to the achievement of this goal. We recognise the importance of creating an environment which allows the people in our teams to be their best. Ensuring that they have access to training and opportunities which allow them to develop and to demonstrate the skills, values and attitudes which will meet the needs of our communities, now and into the future.

As a large organisation with teams working in a variety of settings and in a variety of roles there is no single solution to workforce planning. However, by aligning this strategy and action plans to our core values of ambition, compassion and integrity, we are providing a solid foundation to the co-ordinated planning which is needed to deliver a sustainable approach to workforce development across the Council.

As we move forward, we will continue to innovate, adapt, and grow. We will continue to listen, learn, and lead. And we will continue to put people at the heart of everything we do.

Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Thomas Glen
Chief Executive

Perth and Kinross is one of the most diverse local authority areas, spanning some of the most remote areas in Scotland with many villages and towns across the region and Perth city at its heart. The Council is high-performing and ambitious putting residents, communities, businesses and employees at the heart of everything we do.

Our Corporate Plan 2022/23 to 2027/28 sets out our vision for a Perth and Kinross where everyone can live life well, free from poverty and inequality.

Within this, we have identified seven interdependent priorities which, underpinned by our key principles, will determine our delivery plan over the period:

• Tackling poverty
• Developing a resilient, stronger and greener local economy
• Protecting and caring for our most vulnerable people
• Tackling climate change and supporting sustainable places
• Enabling our children and young people to achieve their full potential
• Supporting and promoting physical and mental wellbeing
• Working in partnership with communities

We are committed to making the best use of public resources and ensuring that we build upon our successes to provide the best services we can. We're also committed to enhancing the quality of life, not just for the people we serve, but also for the people who make our achievements possible: our dedicated and driven employees.

We recognise that they are fundamental to the delivery of our corporate priorities and achievement of our vision within the context of a very challenging financial landscape. This is reflected in one of the principles underpinning the Corporate Plan:

• Supporting our workforce to be the best, ensuring they are well-trained and empowered to make decisions

Our Transformation and Change Strategy is designed to ensure that we have the right capacity and people in the right places working to deliver our corporate priorities, within the resources available to us. Both the Transformation and Change Strategy and the People and Culture Strategy reflect the principles set out in the Financial Strategy and recognise that one of the main drivers for change is key budget decisions taken by Council that influence the size, shape of our workforce and what services will be delivered in future.

We developed our Values and Behaviour Framework through extensive engagement and consultation with our workforce. The framework describes the way we do things; our values are drivers of our behaviours as an organisation and as individuals, influencing the way we work with each other as well as the people and communities we serve. They are woven through our practices from being a key element of our recruitment process to a part of our annual performance and development discussions.

We have structured this strategy using our organisational values of Ambition, Compassion, Integrity, to ensure that it delivers direction not only on what we need to do but also why, where and how we should be delivering that activity.

To enable the delivery of a sustainable approach to workforce development, and a flexible and agile workforce with the right skills, values, and attitudes to meet the needs of our communities now and into the future.

Perth and Kinross Council is situated in a central location in Scotland. It is the fifth largest local authority area in Scotland, but the 8th least densely populated covering a geographical area of around 5,286 km² with a mix of urban and rural communities, and an estimated population of 150,800 (Scotland's Census 2022).

We provide services to individuals, households, communities and special interest groups. From education to supporting our tenants and community councils; from managing our roads and household waste services to planning for the future, we deliver the services and infrastructure needed to make Perth and Kinross a great place to live, work and visit. As part of the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership we also work with our NHS partners to deliver services with and in our communities in new ways to ensure that people will receive the seamless support they need to live active, healthy and independent lives in their own homes for as long as possible. To deliver such a diverse range of support and ensure that we direct this to the areas of greatest need requires effective management of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce.

The profile of the communities we serve is changing. Scotland's Census 2022 results show an increase in our population of 4,100 since the previous Census in 2011 (2.8% compared to Scotland increase of 2.7%) but between 2001 and 2021, there has been a 14% increase, the 7th highest percentage change out of the 32 council areas in Scotland and significantly higher than the 8.2% increase in Scotland's population over the same period.

The 2022 Census results also show that 37,000 people (24.7%) are aged 65 and over compared to 20.1% in Scotland; an increase of 22% since the 2011 Census. This highlights the ongoing requirement for the services provided by the Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership and the importance of working with commissioned service organisations and our communities to meet this need. The model of delivery will continue to change with the planned introduction of a National Care Service, and we will adapt our approach in line with this.

The age profile of our community also poses challenges to our arrangements for caring for and educating our children and young people. Scotland's Census 2022 indicated that there has been a reduction in our 0 to 14 years population - 14.7% compared to 15.9% in 2011 and 15.3% in Scotland overall. We continue to consider and adapt to these changes, again requiring flexibility and in-demand skill sets from our workforce who deliver social work and care, early learning and childcare and teaching directly to children, young people and their families but also to those who plan and manage the provision of nurseries, schools and other infrastructure requirements.

Nearly 6,000 children in Perth and Kinross are living in poverty (Local Child Poverty Action Report 2022 to 2023 (PDF, 836 KB)). The causes and impacts of child poverty are complex. There is no single solution to poverty as each household's circumstances will differ, the Council has identified this as a key priority and, with partners, will lead action to prevent and mitigate the impacts of poverty for children living in Perth and Kinross.

The purpose of our workforce is to provide public services and serve all our communities across Perth and Kinross, understanding what is important to them now and in the future. Our people need to be flexible, compassionate and apply a can-do attitude. They also need to have confidence, demonstrating our values and behaviours and the skills to challenge and redesign existing processes to adapt to the changing needs of those we serve. This is fundamental to effective service delivery of our outcomes and objectives.

As one of the largest employers in the area, we demonstrate the importance of inclusion by being a role model for initiatives such as Living Wage, Carer Positive, Disability Confident, Young Person's Guarantee and the Armed Forces Covenant. These reflect the commitment that we make as an employer to support the different groups within our workforce and our communities. Our employees work to continually develop and improve the services we provide with inclusion at the heart of our strategies and plans, such as the Joint Carers Strategy, Accessibility Strategy (PDF, 429 KB), and Corporate Parenting Plan (PDF, 760 KB), and by targeting specific roles in this area for example in our Employability, Equalities, Social Care and Communities teams.

We work with local partners to promote opportunities for employment for those we serve, for example, providing all our vacancy details to the DWP Job Centre to promote employment, and working with Perth Autism Support to refresh our policies and practice and develop toolkits to ensure that neurodiverse job applicants and colleagues are supported in accessing opportunities. Our Modern Apprentice programme recruitment includes a guaranteed interview for applicants who are care-experienced.

Our approach to inclusion is a key aspect of our Fair Work agenda in which we work in partnership with our trade unions to deliver Opportunities, Effective Voice, Fulfilment, Security and Respect to our employees as part of our day-to-day activity.

Like many other large public sector organisations, we operate in an increasingly complex environment where the needs of our communities have changed significantly and continue to evolve. In order to meet these changing requirements, we must support our employees to embrace the changes and develop their skills and knowledge to ensure that we can target our resources to those areas of greatest need. This is recognised through the development and delivery of an ongoing cultural change programme which seeks to develop the culture in line with the changing demands and expectations of the Council.

Leadership

A key aspect of our Transformation and Change work has been the delivery of a Senior Leadership Review. This review embedded our vision and set the cultural foundations for how we will engage and operate with and for our communities in future. All of this was achieved by extensive engagement with employees and communities during 2022 to 2023 to build relations, make connections and create a sense of what we can do together. This new operating model is designed around 4 pillars:

• Leadership culture and behaviour
• Leadership engagement across the Council, with partners and communities
• Leadership and management competence and performance
• Leadership structures and capacity across the whole organisation

The new model has driven change across the organisation and resulted in reshaping and restructuring our resources with the establishment of new portfolios to meet our corporate plan priorities and objectives. As well as establishing a new executive and senior leadership structure a Leadership Competency Model has been developed which, along with our Values and Behaviours, will further enhance our performance focus providing clarity of expectations and support available.

We are now undertaking the next phase of the Leadership Review programme which will embed these expectations among our wider leadership team. The newly appointed Strategic Leads will play a critical role in driving and delivering change both within their area of responsibility and collaboratively across the Council.

Engagement and inclusion

Enabling everyone to have a voice is fundamental to working together and ensuring that this is embedded in how we work will support equality of opportunity for all our employees.

All new employees are invited to in-person induction events led by the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council. These in-person events were reintroduced in 2023 and demonstrate the commitment from senior leaders to welcome new employees and share from the outset our vision and what it is to be a public servant in Perth and Kinross Council. These events set the cultural tone and have a focus on sharing and understanding our values and behaviours. The accompanying "connection marketplace" sets the benchmark for new staff to make connections and engage with colleagues to give a greater sense of who we are as a Council, why we exist and what we can do collectively for those we serve.

The strengthening of our engagement offer through more structured one-to-one conversations, focused workshops and events such as the What Matters to You programme delivered in HSCP, and the involvement of trade unions and employees in our employee survey working group ensures that we continue to provide opportunities for our employees to comment on and influence how we work. The 2024 employee survey (live from 15 April to 31 May 2024) will produce action plans at team and organisation level which, in line with previous practice, will be followed up using "You Said, We Did" updates. This continuous engagement is enhanced by the implementation of recognition events allowing management to acknowledge the contribution of teams and individuals who are exemplars of our values and commitment to excellent service.

We will work with our trade union partners to engage openly and constructively regarding the challenges we face in the management and development of our workforce and encourage ongoing dialogue to ensure their voice is heard as part of that process.

As an employer, we continue to drive forward the Fair Work agenda to ensure that fairness and equity is at the heart of all the Council's employment practices. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity across our workforce and to actively support individuals and groups within our employees. We work to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation or any other prohibited conduct, advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations. Equality training forms a part of our induction process ensuring that our employees are aware from the start of their employment journey of the culture we are developing and the support that is available. Other activities include unconscious bias training as a compulsory element of our recruitment process, advice and support for reasonable adjustments to processes and working arrangements and the availability of our Staff Networks which provide peer support and advice.

Ownership

Our employees are first and foremost public servants and offering everyone a fulfilling working experience is essential in our efforts to make the most of the skills of our employees and in the development of the services most needed by our communities. Our "Think Yes" approach to individual and team responsibility allows everyone to take initiative and be accountable for not only their own service but also the services and perception of the Council overall.

Growth

Having the right skills and knowledge among our employees will be directed by our understanding and planning of the required services. Our Leadership for All programme ensures ongoing development and training opportunities for managers and leaders at all levels across the organisation. Our move in 2023 to a longer-term financial planning framework allows our managers and employees to understand how the demands and constraints on our services will change. Our learning and development activity will support the opportunity this gives employees to prepare and adapt to planned changes. This will be delivered by enhanced personal and career development tools and changing ways of working including the use of hybrid and revised patterns of attendance, all of which are designed to optimise fulfilment and increase flexibility in our workforce.

Innovation

Having open minds and an innovative approach to opportunities and working arrangements will generate the best possible outcomes for all organisations and our communities. Our model of delivery continues to evolve and this requires a culture which embraces partnership and collaborative working and the creation and adoption of innovative approaches to service delivery.

We have many rich and productive external working relationships in the area including with our own Arm's Length External Organisations (ALEOs), Tayside Contracts and organisations such as the Perth and Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS) which produce many opportunities for innovative thinking in service design and delivery.

Supporting this our Digital Strategy outlines the need for bold digital leadership that upholds 'One Council' values. Our forward looking digital work allowed a swift response to the challenges of the pandemic and we have continued to build on this with a pro-active and forward thinking Digital Skills team ensuring that our employees have access to learning and tools to allow them to maximise the benefits of the technology we have available and a development team who work with services to develop in-house responses to the need for streamlining, digitising and automating processes - our MyPKC Portal provides an efficient platform for many of the tasks employees and managers routinely undertake.

We must respond to the demands for the services we deliver and changing expectations of the employees who deliver them. For example, we have an intergenerational workforce and this brings different expectations and poses different challenges, such as attracting young workers to local government, losing the skills and knowledge of workers choosing to retire early and the impact of aging employees continuing to work. We are aware that what an older worker wants from work is very different from a young person and of the need to work to meet their expectations as a means to address retention issues in specific areas.

The extended period of home and then hybrid working experienced by some of our employees has generated ongoing review of our approach to hybrid working, how this can facilitate the achievement of our priorities and support our employees and we will continue to develop this. However a hybrid work style is not an option available to the majority of our employees and our Flexible Working Framework is the foundation to allow other forms of flexible working options including different working patterns, the application of special leave provisions and use of career breaks and this will continue to be developed during the life of this strategy.

At 1 May 2024 our workforce of 5,878 employees is predominantly:

• female (73%)
• white (98%)*
• non-disabled/experiencing a long-term health condition (98%)*
• permanent (90%)
• full-time (61%)

*of those who provided a response

with:

• a median workforce age of 45 years compared to a Scottish median age of 43 years, and Perth and Kinross median of 48 years (40 to 49 years being the most common age group)
• an average service of 11.2 years and turnover of 10%
• approximately 1,600 employees having access to hybrid working arrangements
• around 33% of our workforce working outside of a "Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm" pattern and 12% scheduled to work over weekends
• Technical, Administrative and Support roles (TAS6, 7, and 8) being the most common grade

Workforce information (May 2024)

Along with other employers we continue to experience difficulties that exist in attracting new employees because of increased volatility in numbers looking for work and increased demand/advertised vacancies. Scotland's Labour Market Trends report (published in April 2024) showed a reduction in the unemployment rate and corresponding increase in the employment rate which demonstrates a continuing challenging recruitment market.

Our offer has been enhanced in the past 12 months with the launch of a dedicated platform providing access to a wide range of employee benefits designed to help employees physical, mental and financial wellbeing. This sits alongside ongoing health and wellbeing advice and support from an Occupational Health provider and peer support staff networks.

We have also adapted to the challenges faced in recruitment with increased innovation through the use of social media including videos and advert design. Although having a positive impact for some roles, 27% of recruitment adverts were re-advertisements in the 12 months to April 2024 for particular occupational groups. Re-advertising activity has not only been experienced on our traditionally hard to fill positions in areas such as social care, social work and specific teaching posts it is now extending into regulatory roles, such as Clerk of Works, Environmental Health, and Trading Standards Officers, technical positions including Planners, Architects and Building Standards Officers, and other positions in our Health and Social Care Partnership such as Occupational Therapists.

Learning from experience

We will continue to review, refresh and tailor our approaches to adapt to meet any arising and ongoing challenges during the lifetime of this strategy. This includes the evolving model of delivery in Social Care where there is an increasing need from our communities. We will continue to work together with our partners and commissioned service providers to use our collective resources to ensure the right skills are available and statutory minimum staffing levels are maintained. In 2023 we launched a targeted campaign to attract new employees into social care including social media campaigns and other advertising and this delivered excellent results; sustaining this impetus and outcome in the short term is essential while looking at alternative approaches to the organisation of service delivery in the longer term.

We will continue to engage with national initiatives regarding specific targeted occupational recruitment and retention campaigns such as the recent national pilot of Modern Apprenticeships in Building Standards. Our participation resulted in the recruitment of two Modern Apprentices in these roles and the incorporation of these roles in the related career pathway and future succession planning.

We will build on existing tools and previous experience through internal redeployment, for example, Learn to Teach initiative to develop our existing talent, enhancing the values and behaviours which exist within our current workforce with new knowledge and skill sets required to deliver the services needed by our communities.

In addition to the redesign of our senior leadership model and implementation of the competency framework in 2023 to 2024, there is a budget saving of £1.6 million to be delivered across our leadership and management grades over the next 3 financial years. In reviewing our middle management group, we need to balance the need for stability drawing on experience and expertise of our existing staff whilst establishing a framework for the identification and development of our next cohort of leaders. It is important that we transition to the new operating model in a safe, structured and planned way. The existing age profile of middle management/leaders (those in Team Leader and Service Manager positions) indicates that 72% are aged 50 years and over, and 13% are over aged 60 years and over. Identifying future talent is also important to ensure that we continue to have the right skills, values and behaviours needed to lead across our organisation in future. Services will continue to ensure that effective resource planning is embedded into operational activity to maintain effective service delivery and mitigate any risk arising from potential loss of skills, knowledge and experience in key roles.

Our values and behaviours define not only how we deliver the services that the people of Perth and Kinross need, the expectations we have of our employees and how we can support them, but they also underpin the fact that people are at the heart of what we do.

Our One Perth and Kinross approach will flourish through teamwork, connecting with each other and our communities, by thinking yes, putting people before processes, and by having business heads and social hearts.

Ambition

We have an ambitious Corporate Plan and set of Priorities to deliver; adopting a mindset of continuous improvement requires everyone to generate and be open to the creative ideas and opportunities needed to realise this. Everything we do must contribute to taking forward the design and delivery of our services to maintain a focus on positive outcomes for the people we serve. To ensure sustainability and the targeting of our resources to where and when they are most needed in the delivery of our services to communities. We do this most effectively by focusing our efforts where they are needed and avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy, by working together across teams and by thinking yes.

Our leadership will work together and across service areas to deliver the actions required to achieve the priorities we have set out. They will be required to be innovative and take responsibility for their own performance and that of their teams. Considering new ways of working, maximising existing and new technology to make processes as efficient as possible for our customers and our employees and working with partners, ALEOs and other local authorities to deliver effectively will be key aspects of the work of our leaders. We will do this through the identification and development of future leaders at an early stage in their careers using our competency model and values and behaviours as the basis for the model of their development, career grade structures including apprenticeship and graduate programmes and complimenting these through the opportunities offered by external networks to provide a different focus to their thinking.

Ambitious for our people

Our Values and Behaviour Framework, and Leadership Competency Framework clearly demonstrate the attitudes, behaviours and skills that are needed in our employees to enable them to be successful in their roles. The requirement is to emphasise these in our recruitment process under the banner of a "One PKC Employee" and to generate an expectation in applicants of the need to be flexible in what, where and how they deliver to serve the people of Perth and Kinross as well as creating the opportunities for their own ambition to be achieved.

In addition, our managers and employees have access to a suite of supporting tools to improve the design and delivery of our services including:

• Job Families Framework
• Framework for Managing Workforce Change
• internal-only vacancy opportunities
• leadership and management development opportunities
• career grade structures
• Flexible Working Framework
• vocational training and development

In a large and diverse organisation, it is appropriate that different teams will make use of tools that best meet their needs. Our aim is to review and refresh the application of tools to optimise their use to align with future business needs. Embedding workforce planning and development into operational activity will support the delivery of our Priorities. We will share best practice across services and with partners ensuring that the contribution of our employees is considered at every stage of service delivery.

Our Digital Strategy also provides direction for the way that we deliver these services and the need for our workforce to be open to change, adapt processes and develop skills to ensure that we maximise the benefits that can be harnessed from technology. It mirrors the ambition of growing a culture of "One Council" and recognises that digital transformation is as much about cultural and organisational change as it is about technical change, the input of our employees is key. That employee investment in innovation, automation, streamlining and sharing frees them up to do what they do best, such as it creates capacity to work compassionately with the people who need our services.

Our Financial Strategy principles highlight the importance of ongoing, meaningful communication and engagement with our communities, partners and employees to ensure that we can effectively prioritise the delivery of services which we must provide by law and deliver services in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

Tackling climate change is a priority for the Council. Our Climate Change Strategy and associated Action Plan have been developed to address the necessary action to make both the Perth and Kinross Council area and the Council itself net zero and climate resilient. The Climate Action Plan has been divided into eight thematic areas each requiring contribution from our employees and the development of related skills and knowledge to achieve the targets, for example, our mechanics developing the skills to manage our EV fleet, our property team developing understanding of approaches such as Passivhaus standards.

Compassion

Supporting our employees is of the highest priority as they are our most valuable resource and critical to delivery of our services. Understanding the balance that differing aspects of their lives can place upon them and doing all we can to support them to be at work, be engaged, and the best they can be by providing them with clarity on the roles they are expected to deliver and feel comfortable being their authentic self while doing this. This will support the mental and physical health and all aspects of employee wellbeing and, in return, develop the commitment that will result in high-performing, compassionate service delivery.

Moving forward with compassion

The need for agility and the importance of this for the organisation to thrive and be productive requires employees to adopt a flexible, resilient and creative mindset equipping them for change. Focusing delivery of the Corporate Plan priorities and outcomes will necessitate deployment and use of resources to best meet needs of the Council.

We have tools to support flexibility in role and working practices, such as job design, job families, the flexible working framework including the use of hybrid working and differing working patterns, and the framework for managing workforce change, and these will continue to be used and developed. Reviewing our processes to ensure agility and freedom from unnecessary bureaucracy will further support our speed of response to business need.  The application of these tools will assist our employees to take the initiative and examine options for their own wellbeing and development during change.

We are developing the tools that we have in place to support the wellbeing of our employees, such as the development of a Trauma Informed Workplace, the provision and promotion of an Employee Assistance Programme.

Pro-active work to develop resilience and reduce our sickness absence levels is being further developed to optimise attendance and support, not only those who have been absent but also their colleagues who are at work. From both an employee wellbeing and financial perspective this is therefore one of the most impactful actions we can take.

We also have well-established staff networks (LGBTi+, disABILITY, Belong, Carers and Women and Men's Health Groups) which provide peer support and a sounding board in the development of policies and practice (and who participated in the development of this strategy). In the face of changing attendance and work patterns of those attending these groups we need to ensure that the support mechanisms and information that are provided meet the needs of all employees optimising opportunities for access and effective voice. We will continue to work with the members of these groups, our trade unions and employees to promote the continued value and ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the groups.

Integrity

Being honest and transparent with our communities, partners and workforce is a key element of how we operate. Behaving in a fair and consistent manner contributes to building trust in our workforce which supports effective long-term workforce planning, engagement, productivity and development activities.

Working with integrity

The move to a longer-term budgeting cycle has allowed us to understand our workforce requirements over a longer period and share our expectations on demand, transformation and service delivery with external and internal stakeholders earlier. To support the development of a more flexible workforce as a result of internal and external drivers we know that numbers in some areas of work will reduce whilst other areas will need an increased or different type of resource. Being open about these changes now and taking a longer-term approach to resource planning allows managers and employees to engage proactively to explore opportunities and consider future business and skills needs for those impacted by change. This contributes to the development of a culture which instils confidence and trust in the messages being shared. Gathering and acting, where appropriate, upon employee and other stakeholder feedback will contribute to that culture. Trust between leaders and their teams requires to be fostered to support this change in environment. Managers will be provided with the necessary tools and skills to deliver difficult messages to customers, trade unions and employees.

As the holder of several accreditations including Living Wage, Disability Confident (Leader), Developing the Young Workforce, Carer Positive, Equally Safe at Work (Developing) and the Armed Forces Covenant (Gold) we have made public commitments to adhere to the principles of each accreditation and deliver specific actions. Continuing to deliver these commitments is essential to build on the existing trust and relationships that exist in these areas not only with our employees but also with our communities.

Operating in a truthful and open manner is fundamental to being able to progress our corporate objectives and actions.

Our identified actions are summarised in the following tables where those responsible for delivery and the indicators of success are included. More details and individual actions will be contained in individual service plans.

Working in a changing environment means priorities in our four-year plan will shift and there may be things outside of our control that will change in this period. We have newly appointed senior leadership roles with reconfigured portfolios that we are transitioning as a workforce into. Our culture is evolving, and we will require to continue to embed this throughout the employee life cycle to ensure that we have the right people in the right place who are thriving, engaged, performing and developing. This is the beginning of this process and regular review and reporting will ensure continued relevance and provide the opportunity to change related actions to reflect shifting priorities. Consequently, the actions below are those planned for the first two years of this strategy and, although some will continue through to 2028, the timescales for their delivery are noted for this period only.

We will monitor our performance for each action, reporting progress on an annual basis to the Finance and Resources Committee.

Ambition

Compassion

Integrity