The meeting was scheduled to begin with a closed session to approve the minutes of the last meeting. The committee was then scheduled to consider a report on the workforce of the shared staffing arrangements in place between Wandsworth and Richmond Councils, before moving into a closed session to discuss recruitment and the structure of the Place directorate.

Workforce Indicators and Trends

The committee was scheduled to consider a report on Workforce Indicators and Trends in the two boroughs. The report notes that:

FTE within the Councils has increased by over 100 since September 2023

It goes on to say that:

Agency usage through Adecco remains stable, except for ASC&PH, which accounts for half of both agency workers and agency spend.

The report also states that:

A low success rate in ASC&PH permanent recruitment (explored further in the report) indicates a heavy reliance on contingent workers.

The report details how much the councils spent on agency workers, breaking it down by directorate. It says that:

Simple extrapolation of the spend to date suggests that annual spend for 2024 will be around £18.65 million, a small reduction of approximately £363,000 compared to the previous year.

The report says that the council has extended its contract with agency worker supplier Adecco:

The Councils have recently agreed to extend the Adecco contract for an additional two years, with an option to extend for a further two years, providing an opportunity to explore alternative models that may better meet the Council’s needs better.

The report compares Richmond and Wandsworth Councils' spending on agency staff with other London councils, finding that it was in the bottom quartile of London councils. The report showed that staff turnover at the council was 12.1%, with a target of 8%. The report noted that this is largely due to retirements, and that The London average is 13%. The report also showed that sickness absence has risen slightly, which:

This slight increase is a due to long term mental health absence, which is difficult to manage especially in the short term.

The report concluded by providing an overview of employee relations cases at the authority. It noted that:

The organisation aims to closely monitor trends in employee relations, as these can serve as indicators of staff well-being, motivation, and overall productivity. Each case also represents a considerable workload for local managers and HR, with more challenging cases carrying the potential for escalation.

Chief Officer recruitment update

The committee was scheduled to receive a verbal update on the recruitment of a new Chief Executive in private.

Proposed structure of the Place directorate

The committee was scheduled to consider a report on the Proposed structure of the Place directorate in private.