CascadeFebruary 2013

Monthly briefing to keep you up to date with news from across the council

In this issue

•Everyone’s equal – talking about equality•View from the top – MyView in depth•If you’re ill and off work – what to do•When you’re the new boy or girl – new employee induction•Latest developments in improvement•Looking Local – council on ‘TV’

Everyone’s equal

Talking about equality

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Equality Questionnaire

We will be issuing an Equality Questionnaire to all employees soon, so that we can update the equality information held in our HR system on an individual basis.

Taking part is voluntary, but we would encourage all employees to complete and return their updated questionnaire – this will help Argyll and Bute Council to comply with the Equality and Diversity Act.

Any information that employees provide will be stored confidentially and will only be used for equality monitoring.

Equality matters

Employee Equality Forum

We would like to hear from volunteers who are interested in being part of our Employee Equality Forum.

The forum will review relevant policies, Equality Impact Assessments and consider equality issues.

We would welcome volunteers from those groups protected under the Equality Act (2010) – age, sex, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation.

View from the top

MyView in depth

MyView• MyView is the HR and Payroll self service system which is used by Argyll

and Bute Council employees and managers.

• MyView supports our objective of making processes more efficient and streamlined.

• Self service means employees and managers can access, update and submit information about themselves and their teams.

• As we change the way we pay our staff – the Rationalisation of Pay Frequencies – those employees who have had access to MyView since January 2012 (monthly and fortnightly office-based staff, not Education) will no longer receive paper payslips from April 2013 and should log on to MyView as soon as possible.

MyView

• We began the rollout of MyView to all council employees in January 2013.

• MyView enables staff to view their payslips online and submit travel/subsistence expense claims.

• We will give each department details of their ‘Go Live’ time and employees will be invited to come along to road shows to find out more.

• Employees will be given login details and a link to access MyView before going live. You will be asked to set security questions to make sure that your details remain secure.

• Please note that login security is extremely case sensitive – remember how and what details you have entered.

Rollout plan for MyViewRollout Plan for My View

Go Live Date

Chief Executive’s Unit (Strategic Finance) and Customer Services (Governance and Law) for fortnightly/monthly paid employees only

23/01/2013

Development and Infrastructure (for fortnightly/monthly employees only)

NB: weekly and remaining fortnightly paid will be invited at a later date

28/01/2013

Community Services (for fortnightly/monthly employees only

NB: weekly, remaining fortnightly and Education employees will be invited at a later date

18/02/2013

Customer Services – Facility Services (fortnightly paid employees) 25/02/2013

Education and remaining weekly/fortnightly paid employees will be invited to attend training sessions between April and August 2013 and will be approached in due course.

MyView - car details• If you claim mileage it is your responsibility to ensure that your car

insurance covers you for business travel. • Once you have access to claim expenses on My View (please see rollout

plan) you will need to check that your car registration details are up to date. To do this you will need to access the module ‘Travel Expenses’– Click on ‘Create a new Claim’– Scroll down to Car Mileage – VATable– Enter a date within the calendar– Your car details will now show under the ‘Vehicle’ section

• You can only set up one vehicle against your record - this should be the main vehicle you use to claim mileage on. Should you use any other vehicle please ensure that you have the appropriate business insurance cover.

• Email travelclaims@argyll-bute.gov.uk for further info.

MyView - car details

• If your details are incorrect (for example, wrong car registration) or if you have never provided car details you should email travelclaims@argyll-bute.gov.uk as soon as possible indicating the following:

– Employee Number– Car registration– Make and model– Petrol or diesel – CC of car (size of engine)

• You can still make a claim if your car details on the system are incorrect. However we would encourage you to ensure your details are up to date.

• If you are still having problems or if you have recently changed your post and are having trouble submitting a claim, please email travelclaims@argyll-bute.gov.uk

If you’re ill and off work – what to do

Reporting sickness absence – Absence Line

• You must call the Absence Line on your first day of sickness and call back when you have returned to work to close off your absence. Should your work require to be covered by another member of staff then please ensure your line manager is contacted direct as soon as possible. They will then report your absence on your behalf.

• The Absence Line telephone number is 01546 605 513 (press 1).

• The line is open from 7am until 5pm Monday to Friday. Add this number to your mobile now so you can find it when you need it.

• When you call you will need to give your name and ideally your employee number.

• To find out more about the Absence Line service please look on the Hub.

Reporting sickness absence• On returning to work you should ensure you call the Absence Line to close off

your absence.

• You should also complete a Self Certification form and pass to your line manager as soon as possible.

• Your line manager will then undertake a Return to Work Interview (RTWI) with you.

• If you have hit a trigger within the Maximising Attendance Policy and Procedures your manager will decide if it is appropriate to proceed to an attendance review meeting.

• For further information please see the Sickness and Absence section on the Hub

When you’re the new boy or girl –

Induction process for new employees

New induction process•A new induction process has been developed and is now available on the Hub for immediate use.•This will provide more a more structured and effective integration and development process for new recruits.•It will also enable managers to support and develop the skills of new staff appropriately within a defined framework.•The process will also provide the opportunity to review and monitor the development and achievement of new staff and to address any concerns at an early stage.

Induction - role for managers

• It is the line manager’s responsibility to ensure that new employees are aware of what is expected of them in their job and how they fit in with the council’s aims and objectives.

• It is also the role of the line manager to ensure the employee is supported through the learning and development process and this is underpinned by the Induction process.

• The new and revised induction process puts into place an induction programme over a six-month period, with four reviews taking place on day 1, week 1, week 6 and week 26.

• The new revised forms outline the essential information required for new employees and can be tailored for individual posts or

departments to include additional information.

Where can I find more information?

•Information on the induction process is available in the MyHR section on The Hub and includes copies of the forms to be completed at each stage of the process. http://intranet.argyll-bute.gov.uk/my-hr/induction-new-employees

•Information is also available from the HR Advice Line – email:•HRadviceenquiries@argyll-bute.gov.uk or telephone 01546 605513

Latest developmentsin improvement

Workforce DevelopmentAn update on the work of part of the Improvement and Organisational Development team:•New PRD (Performance Review and Development) process •Annual driving licence and insurance check•Future courses planned•Argyll and Bute Manager•SVQ centre

Responding to the employee survey (see December Cascade)

• Employee survey showed dissatisfaction with:– regularly receiving constructive feedback– work contribution being recognised by line manager– having agreed development and training needs with a line manager– poor performance being dealt with effectively

• The new Performance Review and Development process will help to tackle these concerns and improve the way we work

Performance Review and Development

• The new PRD process will replace the old PDR process from April 2013• The new process focuses on the development you need to do your job,

whether that relates to your team or service plan, your job description or the council’s core competencies

• Training on the new PRD process will be delivered by Improvement and Organisational Development in two-hour sessions face-to-face from April 2013 and an e-learning course will provide a handy reference

• The new PRD process will be completed using an online system to reduce paperwork

Annual driving licence and insurance check

• Following a recent audit review it was agreed that departments should ensure that staff who undertake business travel using their own vehicle on behalf of the council have a valid driving licence and appropriate insurance cover.

• At the annual performance review meeting managers are requested to carry out a driving licence and vehicle insurance check of all employees.

• Whether you are using the old PDR or the new PRD process you must make sure that you complete the annual driving licence and insurance check

• Forms are available on the Hub here

Future courses planned• We are arranging courses in response

to training requests from PDRs/PRDs• If you have requested this through

your PDR you will automatically receive details from LearningandDevelopment@ argyll-bute.gov.uk

• Keep an eye on the Hub for the latest news

January – March 2013:Equality and diversityManaging stressMinute takingPlain EnglishBullying and harassmentPRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Presentation skillsTrain the TrainerSpeed writingSharePoint IT Microsoft Office Time managementReport writingAssertiveness

Argyll and Bute Manager

• As part of the ongoing redesign of the organisation, we’re committed to supporting change by enhancing employee skills, competencies and knowledge

• The Argyll and Bute Manager programme is part of this work and, in line with the council’s competency framework,

• aims to:– Ensure that managers have the required knowledge and skills to work

in accordance with and deliver essential policies and procedures– Develop leadership capacity and behaviours to support managers and

their teams to be resilient and sustain high levels of performance

Argyll and Bute Manager

• The Argyll and Bute Manager programme was piloted in May/June 2012 with good feedback so far.

• We’ve procured face-to-face courses to be delivered as part of the programme including:– Communication and Coaching for Managers– Maximising Attendance, Managing Disciplinary Processes and

Recruitment and Selection– Leadership Development

• We will be working closely with the training providers over the coming weeks in order to launch the programme and will keep managers updated on developments

SVQ centre

• The council operates a centre for SVQs in health and social care• The SVQ centre has had a very positive report from the External Verifier

for its first year of operation• The induction pack for new assessors and the centre’s processes for

assessing candidates were found to be excellent.• For further information about SVQs in health and social care, contact:

LearningandDevelopment@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Looking Local –

Argyll and Bute Council on ‘TV’

• On Tuesday 26th November, Argyll and Bute Council launched a new, free digital TV and smartphone information service called Argyll and Bute Looking Local.

• Looking Local is a national public sector provider used by over 150 local authorities to deliver content from the council’s website for viewing through Sky TV, Virgin TV, smartphones and Nintendo Wii games consoles linked to broadband.

Argyll and Bute Council launches Looking Local Service

• As it is an interactive service it is not available on standard Freeview set top boxes but will shortly be available on the new national Freeview service ‘YouView’.

• This new service is part of the council’s ongoing commitment to improving customer service by increasing the ways in which customers can contact the council.

• Argyll and Bute Looking Local is being trialled for a year and is paid for by ring-fenced Scottish Government funding for customer service improvement.

Argyll and Bute Council – Looking Local

What can you view on Looking Local?• Latest council news (live feed from website)• Latest service disruptions information (live feed from website)

• Over 400 pages of content from the council’s website including top tasks such as:o School term dateso Leisure centre opening timeso Contact details for your local Councillor

• Log service requests including:o Report potholeso Report street lighting faultso Request Library item renewalso Request Bins

• Access content from national services like:o JobCentre Pluso NHS24o Transport Direct

How do you view Looking Local?

Go to Channel 539 Press the red button Select Scotland Select Argyll & Bute

Go to Channel 233 Press the red button

Enter in your browser:

lookinglocal.gov.uk/argyllbute

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the Argyll and Bute Council Looking Local service, or if there is any more content you would like added to it, please contact the Customer Management Project Team:

Bob Miller - Project Manager Jamie Robertson - Project Assistant01546 604026 01586 555202robert.miller@argyll-bute.gov.uk jamie.robertson@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Feedback, comments and content

For further information please visit: www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/tv

It’s good to talk!

Tell us if you have something for Cascade

Keep in touch!Argyll and Bute Council’s communications team is here to help you – and now each council service has been allocated a communications officer to work alongside:

•Development and Infrastructure – Lindsey Ingram (01546 604105)•Community Services – Sheila Faichney (01546 604016)•Customer Services – Aileen McNicol (01546 604103)•Email - press@argyll-bute.gov.uk

Over the coming months, we’ll be getting to know your service better – and while most people may know us from dealing with reactive press enquiries, we are also keen to hear about the good news stories in your service and teams. We can help in lots of different ways. Do you have a brochure or leaflet to produce? Some material to write? A photo opportunity? Contact the communications team for support with all this and more.

Got something for Cascade?Cascade is normally issued to managers on the first Friday of the month, and goes live on The Hub one week later. If you have anything for future issues of Cascade please send it to the communications team at:

cascade@argyll-bute.gov.uk

or contact Aileen McNicol on 01546 604103. Cascade depends on your contributions, and we’re happy to help with layout, content and presentation if you wish.

The next Cascade is due for issue early in March.

If you have anything you’d like included, please send it by Friday 22 February. We can help with formatting and creating slides – don’t hesitate to call if you would like some assistance with this or any other communications issue.