Workforce Training Award
sponsored by Skillsoft
Awarded to the local authority training scheme that demonstrated both high levels of staff satisfaction in the level of training provided and an improvement in staff performance as a result of its rollout.
Winner: Dacorum Borough Council
Dacorum Borough Council’s ambitious amalgamation of two frontline services – Street Cleansing and Grounds Maintenance - has been successful largely due to a comprehensive training package for its workforce.
The Council is situated in the west of Hertfordshire and even though some of the area is designated as part of the Chilterns area of outstanding beauty it still has inner city issues such litter and flytipping that blight the landscape. Prior to April 2009, the Street Cleansing and Grounds Maintenance services were based at different sites and had separate management structures and working practices which prominently involved grass cutting and litter picking.
The lack of joined up working was partly to blame for a poor public satisfaction of street cleanliness, as well as low staff morale, high levels of sickness and little or no opportunity for staff development. The aim of the project was to address these problems, integrate Street Cleansing (30 staff) with Grounds Maintenance (56 staff), to make a £250,000 saving whilst running a more efficient and effective service. A training package was introduced to empower the workforce through the changes.
The programme included Skills analysis (opportunities to up skill and appoint 8 team leaders), Sharps training, Basic First Aid (provided by St. John Ambulance to 30 staff ), technical training (e.g. mechanical sweeper, triple mower), Sequena workshops on service mapping, Customer Service training, Appraisal training for supervisors and team leaders, Sickness Absence Management for Supervisors, and NVQ level 2 Waste Management Operations.
The workforce were consulted and made decisions on a new service name and logo and terms and conditions on working hours and overtime. During the service changes, no redundancies were made and £250,000 savings were achieved. Sickness levels have also decreased by 50%. The motivated teams are now empowering residents to take pride and ownership of their neighbourhood through community activities such as Clean Up days, roadshows etc. Future plans include Literacy and Numeracy training, People Management training for Supervisors and Team Leaders, Traffic Management training and the completion of ISO14001 Environmental Management Standard.
Staff confidence has increased because the workforce has been consulted and empowered with more skills and knowledge to increase their performance levels, and the lone working culture on repetitive tasks no longer exists. Dacorum's investment in training its workforce has improved staff satisfaction and performance levels and has in turn improved the environmental quality of the borough.
Commended:
Staffordshire County Council
London Borough of Islington
Chelmsford Borough Council
City of Edinburgh Council
