Investors in People Communications Plan. Introduction What is IiP?

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1 Investors in People Communications Plan Introduction What is IiP? Investors in People specialises in transforming business performance through our employees. It is designed to help the Council achieve the results we want by focusing on business objectives, and develop strategies and actions for continuous improvement. At the heart of Investors in People is the Standard, a framework of best practice that is outcome focused: it outlines what the Council need to achieve as well as what are our strengths, challenges and priorities. Working towards Investors in People accreditation provides a number of key benefits including improved financial performance, productivity and effective and quality customer service. IIP supports engagement with employees and the further development of leadership capabilities. Overview In May 2012, South Lakeland District Council was accredited by IIP and will aim to achieve the Bronze Standard as part of the Council Plan. An external audit will take place on 10 th and 11 th October The accreditation will involve various stages. These include planning and applying for accreditation, benchmarking against the standards which must be met, collating supporting information and documentation for the assessors, and interview process and feedback and outcomes for consideration. Many of these stages will be building up behind the scenes but from 10 th October, every employee will be involved, as two days of interviews take place across our sites. The Council will be assessed against ten performance indicators, backed up by 39 individual evidence requirements, which are identified within the IIP Standard. As we are hoping to achieve the Bronze Award, the Council will have an additional 26 evidence requirements with a focus on Leadership and Management and Performance Management. Communication Objectives 1 To support the IIP Working Group To successfully engage with employees about the benefits of IIP To simplify the process into a digestible format To inform employees about the process and the role they play To ensure managers are aware of what will be required from them and their teams To build a two-way relationship between the IIP Working Group and all other employees To gain the commitment of employees to achieving the requirements of the standard

2 2 To remind everybody of the timescales involved Audience As the IIP Standard covers the whole of the Council, our audience is wide and will include: Employees managers Senior Management Team Members of the Council Trade Unions and Employee representatives The wider media Our customers and Residents of South Lakeland Key messages: Key message Employees There are many benefits to being accredited with IiP including recruiting and retaining the best employees. IiP is not about being the best Council to work for. IiP is about continually improving our business to ensure that we can listen to the needs of our employees and offer the best possible client / customer experience. The accreditation of the IiP standard will help us to position the Council against our competitors and will enable us to be seen as an exemplar of best practice in the public sector. It will allow us to take pride in a job well done and develop ourselves flexibly for the future. IiP supports the Councils stated aims for excellence. The IiP employee interview is compulsory. Names are chosen at random from the employees list and it is necessary for a percentage of employees to be interviewed for the Council to gain the accreditation. Interviews will cover a number of areas and might include information on: Taking part in training courses Career and skills developments Appraisal training and the use of these skills to develop individual learning plans for and SMART objectives Undertaking professional development activities, as appropriate Being a member of the IIP Working Group, if applicable Attending Chief Executive Briefings, Team meetings and compulsory training these are designed to develop and inform employees about key skills and activities Sharing ideas for best practice in team meetings Saying thank you for a job well done by colleagues recognising others contributions is important to helping us in Valuing People, Excellence and Openness

3 Familiarisation with the Personal Qualities Framework and think about how employees can positively engage with Thinking Ahead, Working collaboratively, Focusing on your citizen s needs, Managing performance, Motivating and leading and Living the values. Key message Managers There are many benefits to being accredited with IiP including recruiting and retaining the best employees. The IiP accreditation can help the Council to continue to compete against other providers of services (e.g. Building Control) to offer exceptional client / customer service and recruit and develop the best employees. IiP can identify good people management practices and ensure consistency of approach throughout the Council, this includes the holding of regular team and 1:1 meetings and the pro-active engagement with the Performance Appraisal process, as well as effective communication to all employees about key Council priorities, activities and future plans. Effective and timely management information, communication and recognition of the quality work produces by your teams is vital to support not only the IiP process but the Council Plan going forward. IiP can raise the profile of the Council significantly at the time of accreditation as well as long into the future. Key messages Senior Management Team IiP is a vital business development tool for the Council and will help to shape and grow the organisation to help meet the challenging demands of a modern and flexible public service. By securing the Bronze standard and working towards the Silver or Gold standard in the future, the Council can position itself to continue to compete with other providers to recruit and retain the best employees and partners / clients / customers. SMT can work with the IiP Working Group and all employees to deliver the successful accreditation of the standard and encourage other employees to engage with the process. People practices, management capability and effective customer service are at the top of the agenda and IiP can help us to identify our strengths and weaknesses and resolve or build on these. Key messages Members of the Council IiP is a vital business development tool for the Council and will help to shape and grow the organisation to help meet the challenging demands of a modern and flexible public service. 3

4 By securing the Bronze standard and working towards the Silver or Gold standard in the future, the Council can position itself to continue to compete with other providers to recruit and retain the best employees and partners / clients / customers. The investment in the IiP standard will have long-term effects on the business as we benchmark ourselves, use the action plan provided to improve our business and produce great workforce and business results including effective cost management, reduced absence and recruitment costs. The Members of the Council can drive forward our commitment to IiP by reflecting the vision and mission of the Council in all that they do. IiP will also support the embedding of our key objectives within the Council Plan, namely the Economy, Housing, Culture and Wellbeing and the Environment by allowing us to employ and retain the best employees to offer the best service to the customers and residents of South Lakeland. Key messages Customers and Residents of South Lakeland The Council is working towards the accreditation of the IiP Standard to ensure we attract and retain high quality and successful employees to meet the needs of the community in which we live, work and explore. The Council is committed to working towards the IiP standard and using the results to implement actions for the improvement of services for the customers and community of south Lakeland. The Council works hard to deliver customer demands and expectations and ensure the excellent experience of our customers can continuously grow and develop. Our customers / clients remain the key focus of the business and all the actions developed through the IiP process will have the success and development of our services at the heart of them and the meeting of the Councils objectives. Key messages Trade Unions / Employees Representatives We are committed to the long term development and continuous improvement of the Council. We are working hard to ensure that we can recruit and retain the best employees, while offering them an attractive opportunity to work for us and develop their skills and career. We are keen for the Trade Unions (UNISON and GMB) and Employees Representatives to be involved in the Councils IiP Working Group and communicate progress on the project to their members and colleagues. We continue to listen to and respect the opinions and ideas of our employees and we will use these to develop our action plan following our assessment result from IiP. 4

5 Key messages Wider media / Residents of South Lakeland (proactive approach once all internal communications are complete and subject to result awarded, if any) The Council has successfully secured the accreditation of the IiP standard and the Bronze Award. The Council was assessed for the Bronze Award to allow time to embed the standard in the organisation and to allow for future growth and development for the Silver Award in the future. The Council is delighted to retain the IiP standard during this re-accreditation and remain to be a good employer within the local business and public service communities. The Council is already working on a further action plan developed from the IiP assessment which will help to grow the success of the business in the future. Timing of the project Communication of the IiP process and the requirements of employees must begin as soon as possible. Communication of the on-going work to achieve accreditation, feedback we receive from the process and any promotion to the media will continue beyond October

6 Communication Plan Date Activity Audience Comments Owner Progress Spring 2013 SMT SMT To outline the overview and plan for accreditation of IiP and agree involvement and endorsement of SMT. To be followed up before October 5 July 2013 via w/c 25 July 2013 w/c 25 July Managers Briefing Managers Intranet update To advise roll out of communication regarding the IIP accreditation to all employees and make managers aware of the role they and their team will play Complete intranet pages with all information about the standard and the accreditation process. Create front page image to attract attention. Information to include: Working Group membership, role and meetings Overview and history of IIP Timescales and process Benefits and outcomes of IIP Role employees will be asked to play Assessment performance indicators / IIP Evidence Case study or quotes Desktop News Produce Desktop news article to include the following: Definition of IIP standard Membership of Working Group Signpost to intranet page for more info What does it mean to me 30 July Meeting To consider standards 1, 2, 3 & 4 and communication. request for case studies locally to support journey with employees. Briefing to also include: IIP comms plan What is IIP and What does it mean to me communications Timescales and membership of group Team briefing activities calls for dates / times AD Assistant HR IiP Working Group On-going

7 Date Activity Audience Comments Owner Progress Employees Survey update Desk Top news communications content General Update August 2013 Meeting Team Meetings To communicate the IiP standard, process and gain Q&A s to inform 28 August Meeting To consider standards 5,6,7 & 8 and communication / request for case studies locally to support journey with employees 3, 4, 5 Sept Briefing Street scene To meet with Street scene employees (with Andy Vickers) Employees to discuss IIP, roll out information to employees who have limited access to computers. Consideration to be made for printed materials for these employees. w/c 10 Sept Briefing Cleaning employees To meet with Cleaning employees (with Jim McGuire / Carl Robinson) to discuss IIP, roll out information to employees who have limited access to computers. Consideration to be made for printed materials for these employees. Nick Pearson Andy Vickers employees rep on Jim McGuire Carl Robinson employees rep on w/c 10 Sept employees Deadline for completion of Performance Appraisals Managers w/c 3 Sept Screensaver employees with access to pc To launch roll out of internet pages with all information about the standard and the accreditation process IT Services w/c 10 Sept Desktop News employees To directly engage employees in information about what will be expected of them and timescales w/c 16 Sept Payslip info employees Use paper payslip to provide additional information to all employees as mop-up prior to IIP assessment w/c 16 Sept Web site Stakeholders To update any IIP pages to reflect our current position within the accreditation process Communications Payroll Assistant HR On-going Complete Complete Complete On-going Communications to write policy for screen savers Complete Communication written awaiting launch On-going 7

8 Date Activity Audience Comments Owner Progress IT Services / Comms w/c 16 Sept 8 employees Employees Survey send out to all employees and paper version for Street Scene and Cleaners w/c 23 Sept Inside Story employees Feature article explaining IIP, the benefits to the Council and a timeline of involvement w/c 23 Sept Intranet employees Update Intranet pages to include timetable for those who are being interviewed, including details of times, locations and groups. Change front page image to attract attention 25 Sept Meeting Sept Council Meeting 28 September w/c 30 Sept Desktop News w/c 30 Sept Telephone / w/c 30 Sept Face to Face or Post Chair of Council Chief Executive Employees employees Employees to be interviewed Employees to be interviewed Meeting to look at standard areas 9 & 10 and mop up communication for next few weeks Recognition activity as part of Council to highlight achievements of employees who have been successful in professional and personal development Closing date Employees Survey To update all employees about the accreditation process and where we currently are in terms of timescales and progress To speak directly to all chosen employees to advise that they will be interviewed. Details including date and time to be included as well as link to intranet To ensure all chosen employees receive information in advance of the interview and are aware of date and time of interview Comms Assistant HR Chair of Council Chief Executive Survey written and text approved to be launched Communication written awaiting launch On-going Date communicated Request for papers sent out Names identified Invitations sent out Dates in the future work is being undertaken in preparation of deadlines

9 Date Activity Audience Comments Owner Progress w/c 7 Oct Briefing SMT Workshop / Presentation to outline progress make on IIP accreditation w/c 7 Oct Meeting Final meeting to update on progress and activities during week 4 October Employees Survey HR Initial findings of survey to communicate to SMT and Operational Managers by 8 October w/c 7 Oct Briefing Cabinet To outline progress made on IIP accreditation and inform Cabinet of all plans for Assessment Audit on 10 and 11 October w/c 14 Oct Global Employees To thank everybody for taking part and to report timescales for feedback Portfolio Holder AD The following activities are subject to IiP Accreditation Assessment outcome and may be subject to change, as appropriate November Global employees To report outcomes of IIP assessment November Press Media / To promote successful accreditation of the Council in the Communications Release Residents wider community December In Sight employees To report on success of IIP and how results will be used to Communications drive the Council forwards December Website Stakeholders To report on success of IIP and how results will be used to drive the Council forwards December Intranet employees To report on success of IIP and how results will be used to drive the Council forwards December Celebrate Success and agree way forward in preparation for next assessment Communications Communications Dates in the future work is being undertaken in preparation of deadlines Awaiting outcome before proceeding, as appropriate Draft (v2) produced 4 September 2013 Author: Jane Barker, 9