Rutland County Council to discuss a new workforce strategy at a meeting tonight (15 October) following the results of a survey showing staff are unhappy with recent changes.

The Council is making changes to its staffing structures, with departments realigned, several job cuts and new roles, but a staff survey carried out by the council has shown that those impacted do not think the changes have been well managed. 

The survey found that only 41 per cent of those directly impacted by the changes thought the process had been well managed and even less (37 per cent) thought the changes had been well implemented. 

The authority is in the midst of a budget saving exercise and intends to make several millions of pounds of savings over the next few years. Like most local authorities, it is being impacted by greater numbers of children needing specialist support and it has also had a hefty additional £2 million bill after it decided to scrap its local plan in 2021 and start again. 

The council employs 458 staff, with just under three quarters of the workforce female. The chief executive is Mark Andrews, but the five strategic directors reporting into him are female. 

The survey also found that only half (48 per cent) of staff had ambitions to develop their career at the authority, less than half (41 per cent) thought their supervision had improved and more than a third (42 per cent) thought that the council is not making positive progress in recognising equality, diversity and inclusion.  

The positives were that the vast majority (87 per cent) felt they had great job satisfaction and 83 per cent felt they had freedom in their jobs. 

The council's deputy leader Andrew Johnson (Lib Dem) said: "There has never been a more challenging time to work in local government and we are incredibly proud of everyone who is part of Rutland County Council. 

"The council's new workforce strategy aims to create the best possible environment for our staff and has been developed using their honest feedback. Some of this feedback reflects the pace at which we must change how we work – because of significant reductions in funding from government – and will help us to better support staff in the future. We have received a huge amount of positive feedback from staff and are especially pleased that 87% say they feel committed to the council, county and community." 

The council's new workforce strategy will be discussed at the employment and appeals committee on Tuesday (October 15).